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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]
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]
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.
Originally posted by tothetenthpower
I myself am an Spiritual Agnostic.
They have a common belief and gives them great material for philosophising or debate
What I must ask is why do you care?
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?
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.
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.