Atheists, what do you believe in?

As an atheist we are free to believe in anything (excluding gods) and free to reject anything as well.

Is there anything paranormal and/or outside the realm of science that you believe in? Is there anything in science that you rejected as an acceptable explanation for a phenomenon?

Personally, I believe that what could be described as Ghosts exist. I don't believe in angles or demons, but I do believe that there could be a sort of "dark energy" type thing.

The same thing goes for reincarnation, some cases seem very curious and I feel that it could be possible.

Of course in both cases I have no proof and only subjective observation (confirmed by others whom experienced the same thing). Certainly not proof by any means, but enough to convince me that these two things could be possible in some way.

I don't think aliens are classified as Paranormal in the same context as the two above, but It would be mind blowing to find out that aliens actually don't exist

What about you?

I believe I will one day fall asleep and never wake up.

Eternal sleep, I'm looking forward to that to be honest, I've felt really tired these last few years and getting older certainly doesn't help.

a reply to: Ghost147

I believe in ghosts of various kinds (white ghost apparitions and poltergeists) and have had a couple of unexplained experiences. One in a mirror and one in a heavily wooded area. Freaked me the hell out lol.

Souls are something else I believe in. Not sure to what degree, but I believe we all are "something" within our regular bodies (make sense?).

Not sure about an afterlife though. Ask me again when I'm dead and I'll tell you if I believe in one or not lol.

I also believe in aliens (does that count?) of some kind. Statistically, it's got to be possible.

I can't prove these scientifically and don't need any "supreme being" to explain them.

(BTW, nice to see you back)

a reply to: Ghost147

The meaning of the word atheist or atheism:

Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists. The term atheism originated from the Greek ἄθεος (atheos), meaning "without god(s)", used as a pejorative term applied to those thought to reject the gods worshiped by the larger society.

Atheism root word definition

Some people turn that to mean all spirits or anything spiritual.

Cognito ergo sum. Everything else is pretty much opinion.

a reply to: Ghost147

I don't give much thought to the paranormal. In the past I had, but as I got older my interest in it all dropped. I do have an open mind about it all, as in I don't try to deny the possibilities.

I am content in going about my every day life without concern about any of it, but if actual evidence turns up on any of it I think I would accept the ramifications casually.
I would probably be like "oh cool that stuff is real".

I believe I can fly..

I also believe in life after love..

i believe that aliens and ghosts may represent different aspects or manifestations/interpretations of the same phenomena.

Cause I'm a believer...

I'm bored.. Slow news day huh?

originally posted by: Ghost147
I don't believe in angles or demons...

I believe in "angles" to a degree!

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Ghost147
I don't believe in angles or demons...

I believe in "angles" to a degree!

That's very "acute" of you.

I try very hard not to invest belief in any supposed aspect of the physical world which cannot be validated empirically.

That of course does not rule out non-physical things, which by their very nature do not fall within the purview of science. And it also doesn't mean I don't like to consider certain non-falsifiable ideas.

I'll provide an example of each:

I believe murdering an innocent human being is wrong, even though such a claim is not falsifiable. Morality cannot be empirically vetted. Neither can philosophy. Toward that point, I'd say roughly half of our human thought processes involve things which cannot be falsified and which therefore require belief of one form or another.

I really like considering the information theory of quantum mechanics which posits that we live in a computer simulation. I don't BELIEVE it per se, but I do like considering the aspects of quantum mechanics that could be explained by it.

I consider myself a "scientist" (the method of thinking, not a professional) before I consider myself athiest (probably more leaning towards agnostic) but I do have some hypotheses that are outside the realm of provable science that entertain me to think about.

I think that ghosts might exist, but I don't think they're either demons, angels, or dead people because ,frankly, if even .01% of all the people that died became ghosts the world would be inundated with ghosts. I hypothesize that they might be echos from another universe brushing up against ours, or maybe even a life form from a higher plane of dimensions that we just aren't equipped to comprehend. I've had a couple incidents that indicated to me that something else was there that I could not perceive. Doors closing on their own, even had a giant martini glass shatter into a thousand tiny pieces on the counter when I walked by it five feet away from it.

Now regarding actual death, reincarnation would make a little sense scientifically speaking, seeing as energy cannot actually disappear or be destroyed but only changed into some sort of other energy. Also, unless its an extremely elaborate hoax that kid that remembers about being a WW2 fighter pilot is too compelling to completely disregard.

I also think that there were other previous civilizations on our planet that must have achieved at least industrial revolution levels of technological advancement in the past 200,000 years that humans have been on the planet in their current stage of evolution. The fact that we went from wearing furs and using sharp sticks to our current level in about 10,000 years I figure the odds that it's happened prevously seems pretty likely, even though the only trace of technology would be its constituent minerals within a couple dozen millennia (especially if you throw glaciers into the mix). I love out-of-place artifacts but its hard to find reputable sources for them because young earth creationists constantly are trying to use them to disprove radiocarbon dating and such.

So yea, I "believe" in quite a few things that are entirely impossible to prove at this point, but believe might be too strong a word to use, maybe "speculate" is closer to how I feel about these topics.

originally posted by: TerryDon79

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Ghost147
I don't believe in angles or demons...

I believe in "angles" to a degree!

That's very "acute" of you.

I think it's quite obtuse if I'm honest.

a reply to: Ghost147

Great thread! Thanks!

I'm not married to my beliefs. In fact, they're fairly weak. The more I explore them, the more I realize that any belief we have is just our preferred fantasy. I find my beliefs falling away, in favor of a wait-and-see approach. Some beliefs remain, though.

I believe that we are more than our physical bodies and are all "connected" by a force. I call it love. Love is so easy to access.

I believe my body and my mind are entities that belong to the "spirit" that is me.

I think there's something more after death, maybe because I want to believe that, but I have had experiences with people who have died, especially my mother and my best girlfriend. If I'm wrong, that's ok, too. The thought that we just cease to exist doesn't bother me, either. I've become pretty comfortable with not really knowing anything.

I believe that people are inherently good.

originally posted by: Misterlondon
I also believe in life after love..

originally posted by: Ghost147

Is there anything paranormal and/or outside the realm of science that you believe in? Is there anything in science that you rejected as an acceptable explanation for a phenomenon?

I consider myself a Spiritual Atheist (yes, there is such a thing: spiritualatheism.com...)

I DO NOT believe in any God (of any kind) in the religious sense. Religion is man made.

I've had too many Paranormal (for lack of better word) experiences to not believe more is going on then what I can "see-feel-touch".

I do believe everything is energy - energy consciousness. Not all of it physically manifested.

If there's a "god force" - - it's the "source outlet" we're all plugged into.

"All connected, all ripples in the same pond"

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978

originally posted by: TerryDon79

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Ghost147
I don't believe in angles or demons...

I believe in "angles" to a degree!

That's very "acute" of you.

I think it's quite obtuse if I'm honest.

Maybe you're "right".

I think you set me "straight".