The Growth of Atheism and What it Means for Our Future

reply to post by The Old American


"Mother is the word for god on the lips and hearts of all children. Do you understand?" Eric Draven *The Crow*

I hope Atheism is growing.

It can only be a good thing- especially for America!

It is crucial to our evolution that we free ourselves of the need for a god.

Noone is coming to save us.

It is up to us to save ourselves.

Onwards and upwards for the human race.

Originally posted by lifecitizen
I hope Atheism is growing.

It can only be a good thing- especially for America!

It is crucial to our evolution that we free ourselves of the need for a god.

Noone is coming to save us.

It is up to us to save ourselves.

Onwards and upwards for the human race.

Your really need to look up all the horrible actions committed by atheist's in the 20th century. Most of the problems we face to day are BECAUSE of atheist's of the 20th Century.

P.S
Atheism isn't growing, your just becoming more vocal.

Originally posted by korathin

Originally posted by lifecitizen
I hope Atheism is growing.

It can only be a good thing- especially for America!

It is crucial to our evolution that we free ourselves of the need for a god.

Noone is coming to save us.

It is up to us to save ourselves.

Onwards and upwards for the human race.

Your really need to look up all the horrible actions committed by atheist's in the 20th century. Most of the problems we face to day are BECAUSE of atheist's of the 20th Century.

P.S
Atheism isn't growing, your just becoming more vocal.

Muhammad wielded a sword himself to kill 600 Jews for being Jews. His followers today are emulating him.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of pederasts have been rooted out of the Catholic church.

Buddhists have been attacking Christians for years in Mayanmar, attempting to convert them to Buddhism.

How many Jews were involved in the slave trade during America's infancy?

Do you really think that religion exempts one from treating their fellow man like filth?

/TOA

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so tired of people ignorantly assuming that atheists have no morals, and can't possibly know right from wrong, and wonder how atheist have nothing to live for if they don't believe in a god.

1. My standard of morals is colossally higher than any Christian I have ever known ( which is a lot!) and I bet most atheists have extremely high morals.

2. I am a good person because it's the right thing to do!. I don't need to be bribed with a reward for a heaven to force me to be a good person. It comes naturally for me, with no threat of punishment from a big daddy in the sky.

3. I do have faith. I just don't have faith in your god. I have faith in people. I have faith in myself. I can have faith ( as one poster said) for a better tomorrow without a believe in your god.

4. I have everything to live for. Life is beautiful and precious. As are my children, my spouse, my family, and my friends. I don't need faith in a god to have a reason to live.

5. Unlike Christians, atheists don't believe in a heaven, and that makes this life all the more worth making it the best it can be.

Please, educate yourselves. Don't make ignorant assumptions about people because they don't have the same beliefs ( or lack of ) that you do.

Originally posted by korathin

Originally posted by lifecitizen
I hope Atheism is growing.

It can only be a good thing- especially for America!

It is crucial to our evolution that we free ourselves of the need for a god.

Noone is coming to save us.

It is up to us to save ourselves.

Onwards and upwards for the human race.

Your really need to look up all the horrible actions committed by atheist's in the 20th century. Most of the problems we face to day are BECAUSE of atheist's of the 20th Century.

P.S
Atheism isn't growing, your just becoming more vocal.

huh, I posted once

and pffft to the rest of your post because Im tired and just couldnt be bothered correcting you.

Originally posted by virraszto
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so tired of people ignorantly assuming that atheists have no morals, and can't possibly know right from wrong, and wonder how atheist have nothing to live for if they don't believe in a god.

1. My standard of morals is colossally higher than any Christian I have ever known ( which is a lot!) and I bet most atheists have extremely high morals.

2. I am a good person because it's the right thing to do!. I don't need to be bribed with a reward for a heaven to force me to be a good person. It comes naturally for me, with no threat of punishment from a big daddy in the sky.

3. I do have faith. I just don't have faith in your god. I have faith in people. I have faith in myself. I can have faith ( as one poster said) for a better tomorrow without a believe in your god.

4. I have everything to live for. Life is beautiful and precious. As are my children, my spouse, my family, and my friends. I don't need faith in a god to have a reason to live.

5. Unlike Christians, atheists don't believe in a heaven, and that makes this life all the more worth making it the best it can be.

Please, educate yourselves. Don't make ignorant assumptions about people because they don't have the same beliefs ( or lack of ) that you do.

star for you.

you stated the obvious where I couldnt be bothered. lol. good post

This is probably the most interesting thread I've seen on ATS since I joined. Religious people do not have anything to fear from us atheists, we have no intention (Well I certainly don't) of 'converting' you or leading you off your path. If you wish to be religious fine, I simply don't, and I will not support anyone who wants to stop you either. I don't believe in any deity, god, or gods or demons, in my opinion these were early Mans attempts at explaining the world around him. When I was in school, we had to say the Lords Prayer everyday and had Church services, Religious Education, but I still turned out to be an atheist, the reason being is none of it adds up or makes any sense to me. If God had truly existed and given us religion, then there would be no flaws or contradictions within it as God is meant to be all knowing and powerful, plus a being of that nature would have no need of for an ego, so why would he demand worship from lower beings. Man invented religion, that's why it's flawed. Now I know that many religious people get offended by atheism, I saw it in the face of the last Jehovah's witnesses that turned up on my doorstep, they simply could not comprehend what I was saying, and couldn't accept an opposite view, but you shouldn't be offended, my choice to not believe is mine and is in no way an attack on religious people, which judging by some of the posts on here, you seem to think it is. If I am wrong, I am going to Hell, not YOU, so why worry? If you could prove to me without a shadow of a doubt that I was wrong, I'd accept it. I don't think all religious people are Fundamentalists, far from it, but it is fundamentalism that is a major problem within religions, there is a reason the word 'mental' is in fundamentalism. :-)

Originally posted by The Old American
I think the 19 pages of posts have proven that not all atheists are arrogant elitists, and not all people that proscribe to religion are unthinking drones.

Truest words in this entire thread.

Think of your closest atheist friend and your closest theist friend. What is it about their character that makes them your friend?

See the love and beauty and understanding that happens when we treat people as individuals?

The collectivist mentality is strong with this thread. Good work helping dispel it, TOA.

Originally posted by dreadblitz
reply to post by HunkaHunka

 

Quantum Physics tells us that we are basically able to will things into existence and create our own reality... how does that fit into an atheistic viewpoint?

What law or principle of quantum physics tells us we are able to will things into existence?

reply to post by virraszto


Im interested in whe you derive your sense of "right and wrong" because to me, thats the biggest flaw of the believers, is being duped into the belief that right and wrong exist....

Perhaps God has gotten tired of all the trash talk in his/her name and has decided to follow the philosphy of Futuramas God.

"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

Does that make an Atheist a true believer then?

Paradox.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
reply to post by virraszto

 

Im interested in whe you derive your sense of "right and wrong" because to me, thats the biggest flaw of the believers, is being duped into the belief that right and wrong exist....

Wait...
Right and wrong do exist.
its wrong to murder people, eat babies, etc...its right to help out someone in need...

this is not lessons taught by a book...its understandings that life it precious and society needs to grow and flourish.
Once you dismiss right and wrong, then there is no merit in doing the right thing, nor is there worry in doing the wrong thing.
There are many wrong things you can do and still remain inside the law of man..and lawmaking itself requires a understanding of what is right and wrong.

I am, incidently, not a believer. I have a healthy understanding of right and wrong..I base my views on what makes both life and civilization grow and excel verses what slows it down and hampers it. the ultimate goal is survival of the species, and this will come only when we are colonizing other planets around this galaxy and the next...so each decision, no matter how small, should be weighed...is this helping my life? my fellow human being's life? society as a whole to grow and prosper...

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
reply to post by virraszto

 

Im interested in whe you derive your sense of "right and wrong" because to me, thats the biggest flaw of the believers, is being duped into the belief that right and wrong exist....

Wait...
Right and wrong do exist.
its wrong to murder people, eat babies, etc...its right to help out someone in need...

Perhaps to you...

Sure it's illegal... but wrong? I don't think so.

this is not lessons taught by a book...its understandings that life it precious and society needs to grow and flourish.

Nice opinions... let me introduce you to my viking lineage... rape, pillage, plunder... not wrong... but RIGHT! At least to them it was... but to you they were wrong... see how subjective that is?

Once you dismiss right and wrong, then there is no merit in doing the right thing, nor is there worry in doing the wrong thing.

Bingo!

There will always be consequences and results... but that has more to do with people who would rise against you or exalt you, than any concept of right and wrong and the same action in two different cultures might get you different results...

There are many wrong things you can do and still remain inside the law of man..and lawmaking itself requires a understanding of what is right and wrong.

No lawmaking requires only the understanding of how to maintain power and squash things which cause dissent...

I am, incidently, not a believer. I have a healthy understanding of right and wrong..I base my views on what makes both life and civilization grow and excel

It appears you base your concept of right and wrong on what you THINK makes civilization grow and excel...

Some of us could care less about the growth or reduction in civilization... My guess is that you feel safer in a civilized world and thus your fear is at the root of your basis.

verses what slows it down and hampers it. the ultimate goal is survival of the species,

It is? Where is this written? Who told you that?

I don't believe it for one second....

and this will come only when we are colonizing other planets around this galaxy and the next...so each decision, no matter how small, should be weighed...is this helping my life? my fellow human being's life? society as a whole to grow and prosper...

The only question which needs to be asked is "Is this what I really want... or am I simply acting out of fear of my own judgement or someone elses?"

I wasn't born anything than human, but you could say that i was born an atheist. I make my own decision on what i believe as i grow up and take in more information. And i still am an atheist purely because i dont care about God im living my life now not for when i die

reply to post by conspiracysarestupid


I was born believing in magic... even though my family was against it and never mentioned it to me... I always believed there was magic in everything....

To see your self in others and others in your self, the very meaning of empathy which is very real, is to see that causing harm in others is like causing harm in yourself. If others, think, feel pain, feel emotion, suffer hardship then why not you also? If someone you care about gets killed or raped, then it affects you in a negative way, right? Then if using your mind and seeing the connection between other's experience and how it could very much be your own, you will not need to ponder whether there is such a thing as right and wrong. Of course it is subjective, but some things are quite universal without the need to label.

Originally posted by korathin
Your really need to look up all the horrible actions committed by atheist's in the 20th century. Most of the problems we face to day are BECAUSE of atheist's of the 20th Century.

P.S
Atheism isn't growing, your just becoming more vocal.

This old Chestnut that religious folks drag out in every single one of these threads...


NOBODY has killed anybody in the name of Atheism.... no more than Hitler ordered the deaths of people because he had a moustache.... or Stalin killed because he was short.


There is no "Group" or "group think" in Atheism.


Atheism is a lack of belief in a deity/god, not a belief that one doesn't exist, and that's not semantics, people just fail to grasp the difference.

It just means without religion...

People aren't a-fairyists if they don't believe in fairies... or a-loch ness monsterists if they don't believe in the loch ness monster... or millions of other things....

It's not that people believe or don't believe, there is no evidence, nothing that would make ANY rational, intelligent person believe in a god.


Now crazy dictators who were corrupt and greedy may have ordered the deaths of millions of people..... but Atheism never killed anyone and was never the reason why anyone died, unless of course you count people who spoke up against the church through the ages....

reply to post by blupblup


There is certainly group-think in everything... atheism is not excluded from this...

Originally posted by Watcher-In-The-Shadows
reply to post by gentledissident

 

Too bad TPTB as you no doubt imagine it *a unified entity* are little more than a fantasy fabricated in the minds of the paranoid. Funny that you would pull that line out while calling others crazy for their beliefs.

edit on 14-6-2011 by Watcher-In-The-Shadows because: (no reason given)

Yea, I can be looked at as a loon for thinking there are a few very rich people in the world who guide events to benefit them. It started out as a religious type feeling. I then went down a rabbit hole and found the strangest things. I'm willing to admit that I could be wrong. I haven't seen proof either way, but I'm leaning toward some powerful puppeteers.