Riddle me this, Atheists..

Greetings.

Being a believer in a supreme being, I can understand why people of faith unite on ATS and throughout various parts of the world. The thing I can't seem to grasp to the fullest though is.

What unites Athiests?

I've heard it many times on ATS. "Atheism is not a religion!". Why unite then? What is your purpose of coming together? To share in your disbelief?

I am honestly puzzled by this question.



*This has seriously gone off the point. This is not a Christian/atheist bashing thread. A simple question was asked and a response should be given. People, try to be mature about this please.

[edit on 28-3-2010 by Ghost in the Machine]

Other than our common love of humanity (irrespective of race, creed or religion) we are united by our common love of and dedication to the truth.

I believe in a higher power too, so I don't know..

but they seem to be united more because they feel attacked.. I dunno, I know I personally have never attacked one, but I'm not saying they aren't either. Just my thought. I would like to hear some of their answers though.


EDITED TO SAY: Star and flag because I think this is an interesting question, and it could lead to some understanding if us believers will listen..

[edit on 28-3-2010 by Thoreau1]

Well people still want friends with similar beliefs. Some people go very far though, and cause chaos to people who do believe in something.

reply to post by gandhi



I personally am a christian.. my friends are not all christian. the atheists friends do not cause chaos in my life, and they do not hang out with only atheists.. so no, I don't think that is the case at all.

Originally posted by Ghost in the Machine
Greetings.

Being a believer in a supreme being, I can understand why people of faith unite on ATS and throughout various parts of the world. The thing I can't seem to grasp to the fullest though is.

What unites Athiests?

I've heard it many times on ATS. "Atheism is not a religion!". Why unite then? What is your purpose of coming together? To share in your disbelief?

I am honestly puzzled by this question.



[edit on 28-3-2010 by Ghost in the Machine]

As an atheist who has no need for "self validation" thru congregating with like minded people, I can't answer your question...I come to ATS for reasons other than meeting with people who share my atheistic views in order to make me feel good about my atheism...

I do agree tho that some atheists need and seek this validation thru congregating where other atheists do, whether that be on the Interwebz or elsewhere...

I think there are far more Agnostics who parade around as Atheists in the world today.

You see, people who say, well I don't believe in God, label themselves atheists, when truly they have no idea what the term means.

I don't believe in THEISM, as in, one supreme being.

Atheism is commonly defined as the position that there are no deities.[1] It can also mean the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[2] A broader definition is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[3]

Source

Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable.[1] Agnosticism can be defined in various ways, and is sometimes used to indicate doubt or a skeptical approach to questions. In some senses, agnosticism is a stance about the differences between belief and knowledge, rather than about any specific claim or belief.

Source

I myself am an Spiritual Agnostic.

I believe that we can't possibly EVER understand our creators or where they come from, until we reach their level.

~Keeper

Well first off all when people share the same beliefs as you, you tend to talk to those people then people who oppose your belief. Atheists are not threatened as, what do they have to be threatened against, if they don’t believe in anything? When you say to share your disbelief, it sounds like your saying it is a bad thing? Why not share your disbelief, for one might think that is negative a bunch might think it is a positive reason to share your disbelief. We need atheists on ATS because without them a lot of the topics on ATS would just be boring. What I don’t agree with are atheists or people who are religious that bash other groups like they think they know everything. Because in reality we really don’t know what comes after death.

reply to post by Ghost in the Machine


What I must ask is why do you care? Just because a person or a group of people doesn't believe in a "supreme being" doesn't mean they can't unite with each other. They have a common belief and gives them great material for philosophising or debate...which many rabbis, priests and imams do with each other on a regular basis.

Think of an atheists beliefs and your own beliefs. A religious person, more often than not, cannot comprehend an atheists beliefs and vice versa. There are too many divisions in society as it is with regards to religion, colour, customs etc and the main thing that is always forgotten is that we are all human. Someone is right in their beliefs or everyone is wrong. We should accept each other until we have the answers....we are such a backwards race.

As a former-atheist Christian, these thoughts...
To be fair, most people feel the need to be sure they're "not alone" in the way they think, and they may seek out people with similar opinions. It doesn't need to be something you could call a "faith"- having the same viewpoint is enough.
I get the impression that the Christian religion is still a dominant social force in the US. In that case, those who are not part of it would feel slightly threatened (by that fact alone), and might be more inclined to react against it strongly, joining forces with other people doing the same thing. Mind you, I still don't understand what British atheists, like Dawkins, have got to react against.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
I myself am an Spiritual Agnostic.

Exactly...We do not know what comes next. I think being an Agnostic is what everyone should be. Just my personal opinion.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Maybe threat was the wrong word to use... sorry if it offended you. Do you feel that religious groups push certain policy that affects the atheist community in a negative way? That is what I was saying.. maybe that you feel like it is a push against your freedom? I guess that was what I was saying with the word threat.. not fear.

reply to post by itchy_tartan_blanket

They have a common belief and gives them great material for philosophising or debate

Could you please elaborate on these 'common beliefs'? It would help out the discussion alot.

Star for the most ignorant statement of the day.

What I must ask is why do you care?

[edit on 28-3-2010 by Ghost in the Machine]

reply to post by Thoreau1


Lol, no it didn't offended me at all don’t worry hmmm certain religious groups I would say push the atheist community, by trying to push them into their religion. It is the hardcore bible thumpers that make the atheists so pissed off. If no Christian ever pushed there beliefs on you or judge you then I would say a lot of atheist's would not have a lot of ignorance towards Christians.

Well in uniting, are atheists not subject to be classified as religious pratitioners themselves? You don't need to believe in God to be part of a religion and atheists seem to have the fundamental belief that God does not exist (in fact, atheists need God in order to call themselves atheists but that's a different story).

So a question to atheists: Are you not part of a religion?

Originally posted by Portugoal
Well in uniting, are atheists not subject to be classified as religious pratitioners themselves? You don't need to believe in God to be part of a religion and atheists seem to have the fundamental belief that God does not exist (in fact, atheists need God in order to call themselves atheists but that's a different story).

So a question to atheists: Are you not part of a religion?

Not in my case, no...

Read my post above...

Originally posted by DJW001
Other than our common love of humanity (irrespective of race, creed or religion) we are united by our common love of and dedication to the truth.

I agree with that! I myself am an Athiest. I used to be a Christian and was baptised until I grew up. Then I realised that believing in God was just blind hope.

And the problem with religion is that it causes alot of aggression and wars between people and races that should get along in peace cause we are all human. Religion is a control tool. The ten commandments however are good for social structure but as so many historians and philosiphers said the ten commandments came from the egyptian book of the dead. Nothing to do with Christianity.

We should unite with the fact we are all peaceful Human Beings. Don't try to unite with religion because as we have seen in the past and present wars have begun between them!!

reply to post by Retrovertigo


Well you can argue the same for Christians. Not all Christians live every facet of their lives to be with other Christians.

My question is aimed more at the fact that atheists all have one fundamental belief (that God doesn't exist) and therefore can be classified as part of a religion. The fact that atheists (not all or even a majority) congegrate on websites, basements, wherever, to express their beliefs sounds like a religious experience to me.

Originally posted by Portugoal
reply to post by Retrovertigo

 

Well you can argue the same for Christians. Not all Christians live every facet of their lives to be with other Christians.

My question is aimed more at the fact that atheists all have one fundamental belief (that God doesn't exist) and therefore can be classified as part of a religion. The fact that atheists (not all or even a majority) congegrate on websites, basements, wherever, to express their beliefs sounds like a religious experience to me.

Agreed, the same could definitely be argued for anyone with any belief or lack thereof

In my case it isnt a "belief", I know there is no god, therefore the label doesn't stick with me

reply to post by stevcolx


Once again, case in point. Atheists, and not all, can align themselves with being disillusioned with other religions and so revolve around the humanist idea, which is what most religions do.