This is on of the best thread's I've read in a long time here on ATS. I'm on page 13 so far, but I decided to post and make a few observations, and just write my own thoughts. I am an atheist, or non theist, what ever you want to brand me. I was raised as a RC(Roman Catholic), my home city is nicknamed the Silesian Rome... so religion played a big part back home.

An atheist like myself does not know how life began, we all have our own ideas about everything. There are those who pursue science, seeking to find these and other answers. I personally feel no shame in not knowing, and not knowing something drives me to try to find it, be it by reading scientific, philosophical or religious texts. I was never a true believer, I questioned everything from an early age, why, how and when. The answer I was given was never enough, as the answer was "It's the will of God" most of the time. That was worse than just saying "I don't know".

The way that I see it, is that filling the 'unknown' with some supernatural entity is one of the worst things to do. Why? Because you tend to leave it alone while claiming the question at hand as answered, when it is not. The way I see things is like a Dam(belief in a supernatural entity/religion), with cracks(flaws in religious dogma/free thinkers) from top to bottom, the dam holds back water(science, and knowledge with experience) which in this case take the form of questions, the water that passed through the dam are questions that have been answered. 'God did it' are the fingers that theists use to try and plug the cracks, the more we learn, and the more we understand, the bigger the cracks become until the dam breaks.

That's my view on science vs religion, to claim to know, that 'God did it'... or that 'this is what happened because I believe it', is what I think is ignorant. Not trying to offend anyone, but it seems that the theist will be the one who claims to 'know' because they will fill the unknown with an entity they 'know' exists without having any proof of said entity existing, except their faith...

Theists think that for something to 'be' it has to have a creator to exist. Why? because you don't understand the unknown as of this moment, so it can't 'be' unless it has a creator? That's sad, plugging the hole with your fingers every time you attribute the unknown to a supernatural entity.

I'm not a scientist, too many numbers, but those who work in their relative fields seek answers to the questions we all have. Yes they make mistakes, and yes they HAVE to change their theories when new information comes along, I think that's called progress.

How did life start? I don't know.
What's the meaning of life? 42!, again I don't know.
Where do we 'go' when we die? I don't know.. but I'm going to Disney Land!
Am I wrong for not believing in a god? I don't know

No shame in saying 'we don't know'.

It's been a long day for me, so hopefully this came out as coherently as I think it did I'm OK.

All personal belief systems will decay and crumble like stone buildings; but the stone and building materials of that crumbled system can be used again to build new and better belief systems.

Whatever you believe pertains to you and you alone. No one should rely on the interpretations of others as a belief system. To pigeon-hole yourself as a christian, atheist or agnostic is setting yourself up for disappointment and it immediately enslaves you to those ways of thinking, to the interpretations of other people, rather than your own.

Why won't anyone subscribe to their own system of beliefs rather than feeling they must choose to be atheist or christian? There is no need to label yourself for the benefit of others, to make yourself easy to categorize.

Originally posted by dizziedame


The physcial anatomy and workings of plant and animal life is more than remarkable. It is perfect in every way.


[edit on 18-5-2010 by dizziedame]

Damn my bad back (or if you are so inclined, my poorly-designed back). That'll do, there really is no point arguing ad infinitum. I don't believe in a deity of any sort. There is no need for one for the universe to work.
I am an animal, as we all are, of the Genus Homo.