reply to post by The Last Man on Earth
No...no it isn't. Atheism is simply what occurs when you look at life realistically.
Um. No. You're confusing agnosticism with atheism. Or do you truly think mankind has completely figured out the universe and what is possible and
impossible beyond any shadow of a doubt?
Is it likely that there is some big happy beardy man in the sky who just happens to love me and will forgive my sins as long as I spend my time
worshipping him?
Christian beliefs
*or monotheism as it is currently embodied* are not integal to believing in a "higher power".
Or is it more likely that we live in a universe of natural causes, cold and emotionless, and we have humanised it for our own ego's sake,
because we're afraid that the vastness of the cosmos simply doesn't care about our existence?
Neither does a "higher power" have to really care about us or even pay all that much us.
And humanism isn't a religion. According to my god, the almighty Wikipedia:
Humanism rejects deference to supernatural beliefs in human affairs. Humanism is generally compatible with atheism[4] and agnosticism[5] but being
atheist or agnostic does not make one a Humanist. Although the words "ignostic" (American) or "indifferentist" (English, including OED) are
sometimes applied to Humanism, on the grounds that Humanism is an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise of gods, many
Humanists are deeply concerned about the impact of religion and belief in a god or gods on society and their own freedoms. Agnosticism or atheism on
their own do not necessarily entail Humanism; many different and sometimes incompatible philosophies happen to be atheistic in nature. There is no one
ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere, and not all are humanistic.
Anything can be a religion. And while we are at it you really should provide a link back to the information cited as opposed to just saying it's from
wikipedia. And funny, I found this there as well, I underlined the pertinent line:
*aka you're not being honest, tsk tsk, which is why you didn't
cite your source, right?*
[edit] Religion
Humanism rejects deference to supernatural beliefs in human affairs. Humanism is generally compatible with atheism[4] and agnosticism[5] but being
atheist or agnostic does not make one a Humanist. Although the words "ignostic" (American) or "indifferentist" (English, including OED) are
sometimes applied to Humanism, on the grounds that Humanism is an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise of gods, many
Humanists are deeply concerned about the impact of religion and belief in a god or gods on society and their own freedoms. Agnosticism or atheism on
their own do not necessarily entail Humanism; many different and sometimes incompatible philosophies happen to be atheistic in nature. There is no one
ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere, and not all are humanistic.
Because Humanism encompasses intellectual currents running through a wide variety of philosophical thought, its proponents say it is able to
fulfill or supplant the role of religions, and in particular, to be embraced as a complete life stance. For more on this, see Humanism (life stance).
In a number of countries, for the purpose of laws that give rights to "religions", the secular life stance has become legally recognized as
equivalent to a "religion" for this purpose. In the United States, the Supreme Court recognized that Humanism is equivalent to a religion in
the limited sense of authorizing Humanists to conduct ceremonies commonly carried out by officers of religious bodies. The relevant passage is in a
footnote to Torcaso v. Watkins
SOURCE:
en.wikipedia.org...
Next!

Enthusiasm for your answers does not replace factuality, true zealots forget that.
[edit on 3-6-2009 by Watcher-In-The-Shadows]