Atheist Sunday Assembly goes worldwide, the future is bright for non-believers

reply to post by FraternitasSaturni

What? People hooking up together to celebrate life without unsubstantiated scriptures ruling the agenda?
Call it what you like, it matters not. I'm looking forward to meeting loads more people who genuinely do not believe in gods in my area. They are coming out of the woodwork now organised meeting places are popping up under the Sunday Assembly brand

Originally posted by LoneGunMan

Originally posted by grainofsand


but without any unproven wild claims of magic and mystery. Everybody likes to be inspired through interesting talks, and most of us like to sing songs in a social setting while enjoying the added benefits of a social group with shared views on life.
.

Life without magic and mystery feels dead. Like a purely materialistic dead end.

Read the following quote, reach inside and tell me it does not resonate at some level with you.

Soon the child's clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After that day, we become seekers.

If it does not you must be dead inside.

You know . . . just goes to show everyone is of their own opinions. I've always thought the same of those that put their faith in the supernatural, as opposed to the natural, and live for a "next life" as opposed to this one . . .

Funny how that works.

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


You are one of the ones here that sound like you are worried that this will take off and spread. If you aren’t then why rail against it so hard? We get that you don’t like it but you fail to understand we do not care what you think. Maybe you are trying to squash this now because it threatens you somehow.

I have no interest in betting you and I do not care if you think it will fail. I have nothing to lose by supporting this idea but it seems you do.


I would love to have a place to hang out with like-minded people where I do not need to listen to dogmatic speeches where that kind of thing will be shunned. No idiots railing against evolution claiming eternal damnation and such. Yeah bring it I love this idea.

They will have a leader

They will need donations

They will want to be tax free

They are becoming a religeon without knowing

Now thats funny

Originally posted by LoneGunMan

Originally posted by grainofsand


but without any unproven wild claims of magic and mystery. Everybody likes to be inspired through interesting talks, and most of us like to sing songs in a social setting while enjoying the added benefits of a social group with shared views on life.
.

Life without magic and mystery feels dead. Like a purely materialistic dead end.

Read the following quote, reach inside and tell me it does not resonate at some level with you.

Soon the child's clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. After that day, we become seekers.

If it does not you must be dead inside.

Again, that is just your unprovable faith based belief.
Good luck with it but I obviously do not subscribe to your way of looking at the world.

Originally posted by skalla
reply to post by Chrisfishenstein

 

you could take odds on there being child abusers amongst such groups too, i hear it's not exclusive to priests whatsoever.

I think the point is that the church has protected the priests. There are bad people everywhere but the church has been a haven for them.

Originally posted by mikell
They will have a leader

They will need donations

They will want to be tax free

They are becoming a religeon without knowing

Now thats funny

Haha, brilliant!
It matters not if you decide the label should be 'religion' what really is important is that no silly unprovable claims are made under the banner of magical mysticism and invisible entities. I welcome such rational thinking.

Originally posted by Grimpachi

I would love to have a place to hang out with like-minded people where I do not need to listen to dogmatic speeches where that kind of thing will be shunned. No idiots railing against evolution claiming eternal damnation and such. Yeah bring it I love this idea.

Get in touch with the Sunday Assembly from the links in th OP, they are putting people in touch with each other and creating regional mini-sites where the demand is highest.
A new forum is coming soon and I can't wait, be wonderful to discuss evidence based concepts without ranting religious types spoiling debate through their unprovable solely faith based arguments.

reply to post by Grimpachi


without doubt, i just dont see the need for rose tinted specs when some other group of folk get together, i work with child protection and predators simply look for good cover and opportunities, the church simply provided an excellent example of this (and still does).

i could imagine going to an atheist gathering an having plenty of them get my back up for reasons that have nothing to do with religion. we may as well meet up for male pattern baldness nights out and swap tips for cleaning our increasingly large foreheads.

Prepare for the 2016 election, if this country is still around. The main topics will be Gays, Wars, Rep vs. Dem, and now Atheists. Let's see what other stupid topics we waste our time focusing on.

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
reply to post by grainofsand

 

Why is it that atheist believe they are being rational? just because you have not experienced a spiritual event does not make you more rational. It just means you missed something in life or are unable to receive it because of your current life path.

I find it highly irrational to believe it cannot exist. If you have never fallen in love it seems like you have no proof of it being real. If you have never felt spiritual it just means it has not happened for you, it does not disprove it.

Faith by it's very definition is not a reasonable proposition. It requires belief, in the face of a overwhelming lack of evidence and support . . . it's even mentioned in Hebrews 11. I would think a believer would realize that.

Originally posted by FidelityMusic
Prepare for the 2016 election, if this country is still around. The main topics will be Gays, Wars, Rep vs. Dem, and now Atheists. Let's see what other stupid topics we waste our time focusing on.

So, are you saying that believing in unprovable invisible entities is not a waste of time??

I think that people have the right to gather for whatever reason they want. As a Christian, initially, I take this as an attempt to make a point or push it in our faces, but then I remembered all of the tent revivals that I've been to and flyers that I have posted every where for all to see. It's only fair that the non-believers have their meetings too.

To the Christians out there.....your not gonna win anyone by making smart comments and antagonizing those who don't believe the way you do. It's actually counter productive.

reply to post by grainofsand


like I said, a true atheist celebrates nothing. to embellish on this. an atheist only celebrates what is important to him/her in there life not anybody elses, and certainly not an idea. anybody that would attend one of these things is a poser, and just trying to fit in.

Originally posted by grainofsand

Originally posted by FidelityMusic
Prepare for the 2016 election, if this country is still around. The main topics will be Gays, Wars, Rep vs. Dem, and now Atheists. Let's see what other stupid topics we waste our time focusing on.

So, are you saying that believing in unprovable invisible entities is not a waste of time??

It's obvious you actually take this serious if you got offended by a comment that wasn't intended to be offensive, and you also brought up something irrelevant to my response.

Have fun wasting your Sunday, good luck with the movement.

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
reply to post by grainofsand

 

like I said, a true atheist celebrates nothing. to embellish on this. an atheist only celebrates what is important to him/her in there life not anybody elses, and certainly not an idea. anybody that would attend one of these things is a poser, and just trying to fit in.

Oh, so you decide what a 'true' atheist is now yeah?
An atheist is one who does not believe in gods, do you not get that?
Do you not get that for some people who espouse such views it is nice to hook up with likeminded folk?
Your opinion is welcome in a public forum of course...I think it is a poor argument though, however much I defend your right to share such an opinion.

Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by grainofsand

 

Cool sounds interesting. Just a place to get together without having to listen to fairy tales. I can see this spreading to America. I would check it out.

The religious folk seem to feel threatened by this and maybe they should. Religious institutions are probably craping their pants right now over this. I bet within the next 50 years this institution gains more members than Christianity. You will not have to worry about your kids being molested by priests then them hiding behind the church anymore.

It is about time sanity returned to the world and this is a good step in doing so.

during such a shift things get more insane, i'll bet atheists will follow the path of every major religion before it, destroying opposition by any means, it's only a matter of time before atheism is a catalyst for war and genocide, and it'll be worse than any war in history and don't think "modern thinking" people are immune to their nature, it's merely waiting for such a revolution to come out and play.

don't get all morally superior just because you aren't christian or whatever, atheists are still human and just as capable of evil, especially in large groups with devotion to a cause.

beliefs always seem good at first until the followers start becoming an organized institution then it starts becoming dangerous.

Originally posted by FidelityMusic

Originally posted by grainofsand

Originally posted by FidelityMusic
Prepare for the 2016 election, if this country is still around. The main topics will be Gays, Wars, Rep vs. Dem, and now Atheists. Let's see what other stupid topics we waste our time focusing on.

So, are you saying that believing in unprovable invisible entities is not a waste of time??

It's obvious you actually take this serious if you got offended by a comment that wasn't intended to be offensive, and you also brought up something irrelevant to my response.

Have fun wasting your Sunday, good luck with the movement.

No offense taken, if I'm completely honest my reply was born more of ridicule than any other emotion.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by FraternitasSaturni

 

What? People hooking up together to celebrate life without unsubstantiated scriptures ruling the agenda?
Call it what you like, it matters not. I'm looking forward to meeting loads more people who genuinely do not believe in gods in my area. They are coming out of the woodwork now organised meeting places are popping up under the Sunday Assembly brand

it will fizzle out, you are meeting out of a "negative"- ie, we don't believe in God- it won't last

"LET'S ALL MEET UP BECAUSE WE DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD"


I think a lot of you just want attention, I'm right about that

The fella behind it interviewed on Jeremy Vine's show sounded like a right bellend

reply to post by grainofsand


despite my lack of interest in the meetings mr GOS, great thread, and really interesting discussion, SnF to you while i remember