Atheism

Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.

So, we've already covererd why you don't believe. Now, I want to know what comes after.

Atheists, amongst other 'religions' and beliefs, is one of the most followed pattern of beleifs in the world. Do you consider Atheism a religion?. Why?.
I personally do not. Atheism is a belief to me, a belief that there is no god.

Do you believe Atheism is responsible for much of the anti-Christian sentiment around today?
I say we must take some responsiblility. Of all the God worshipping religions, Atheists channel their hatred at Christians. Convenient, some may say.

How do you, assuming you are a member of another religion, how do you view Atheism?.
I can't personally give my opinion on this.

What are the flaws of atheism?
I can see many. For one, there are no rules, just one belief. There is nothing to believe in, nothing to have faith in, almost nihilistic. I always think it is good to have some morals to live by or soething to guide you. Unfortunately, atheism does not give that.

What are the benefits of atheism?
I'll leave that up to you. Peronally, atheism is just a word that gives me identity, something to call my disbelief in god. There isn't any real community. Maybe that is a good thing. I don't know.

So, go forth and discuss your views on atheism, its flaws and benefits.
Any talk about why you don't believe in God will get my thread locked and can also be done in the 'Why don't you believe' thread.

I don't care. Its your own personal decison if you want to believe in God or not.

Flaws? Like you said, there isn't really anything to follow, its just saying you don't believe in a God.

Benefits? Same thing, there isn't anything you have to follow, and I think that's why people choose not to believe, because they don't want to be pressured to follow what religion is telling them.

(I'm a christain FYI)

I don't believe it's a religion, but I kinda think most Atheists don't claim it to be one. Real Atheism is just believing there is no god - that's it. They don't care much what anyone else thinks about that - they just don't believe in God and that's it. People who hate Christianity do not necessarily base it on being Atheist. I am against religion, as I believe God is not a racist homophobic freak that Christianity portrays Them as, nor do I agree with the idea of religion.
If someone doesn't believe in God - there is nothing wrong with that. I totally see their point, and it's their right. However, I don't believe it to be a religion. Religion is a cult, altheism is a belief.

I wouldn't blame negativity towards Chistianity on Atheism alone. Some people dislike the religion because they don't believe in God all together - others (like myself) dislike the religion because they do believe in God, but do not agree with the Christian view of Them. The one things that pisses most of Chistianity opposers off is how it fucks with politics, which should never ever be happening.
Most Atheists I know don't care about Christianity - they just don't care about anything related to God...why would they, if they believe God doesn't exist?

I dont really consider the fact that there arent any 'rules' to being an Atheist as a flaw. To me, its more of a huge benefit. It give you room to make your own rules and to follow the morals YOU pick.. not the Bible (or whatever).

Personally, I believe Atheists are amazing people. They dont give in to all the bullshit that is said in the world. I dont think there are any flaws to that. But hey, I could be wrong.

ava0893:

I dont really consider the fact that there arent any 'rules' to being an Atheist as a flaw. To me, its more of a huge benefit. It give you room to make your own rules and to follow the morals YOU pick.. not the Bible (or whatever).

Personally, I believe Atheists are amazing people. They dont give in to all the bullshit that is said in the world. I dont think there are any flaws to that. But hey, I could be wrong.

Same with people who believe

I combine stuff: I'm an atheist, so I don't believe in God, and behave according to my personal code of ethics, while also adhering to the Buddhist precepts. But those are pretty basic "don't be douchey" things.

A lot of organized religions are crocks. They're generally nice, but there's always something about them I find quite odd. I do not hate Christianity as a whole...individual Christians, yes, on occasion. But then again, I hate some people of many walks of life. It's more a matter of the person's attitude on religion; "my way or the highway" endears you to nobody.

im not an atheist, but i dont believe in god as he/she is depicted in the Bible. I believe there is something out there, but he/she/it obviously has better things to do than worry about our pathetic little lives

I couldn't find the afterlife thread, so this goes here.

Hell

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41.

So, the question is, do you believe in the existance of hell?
Of so, what are your perceptions of hell?
Is it a dark, fiery pit where souls of non believers roast on hot coals where satan rules?. Perhaps a Dante's Inferno type of set up?.
If you don't believe in hell, what are your views on biblical portrayal of Hell?.

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/hellreal.htm

Arguments for hell?. Well, in essence, the bible is the only real source. Although, it cannot be proved hell exists, it cannot be proved it does not. I personally, do not believe in hell, mainly down to my belief that all humans are good and have some worth, even if it can be hard to see. So, no human should ever be punished for eternity in such a way. Plus the little fact that hell can't be proven...but that is flawed.

It doesn't fit, really, but in an effort to make this semi-relevant, how do you think atheists should feel about hell?

Should they fear it?.
Is it moral that a good atheist is going to rot in hell for eternity just for not believing, while a dissolute christian gets into heaven with all sins forgiven?

i believe in God, BUT i dont believe that we can find him in one place on a sunday in church i think he is in us, and i also think that the bible is a book to try and live your life by, it is a like an A - Z of life if you want, BUT again i dont think everything that was written in the bible is true for now.

You can still have rules to live by, it's just that you must set them for yourselves. It's not like Atheists break more laws or are any ruder than people with a religion.

I dont consider it a religion since they dont believe in anything of that nature.....as for that Hell part I think Hell is your worst possible nightmare what scares you the most. I believe Heaven is your best possible the way you want it to be like happy and joyious and stuff. Not hungry not thirsty or anything.

All i have to say is that Atheism takes a lot of faith.

It takes BALLS to just look around and say "It just was there" there needs to be some sort of explanation, but Atheism isn't specific in beliefs, only in dissagreements, so it's not a religion.

I don't consider Atheism a religion because it doesn't believe in any kind of God. I do think Atheism is behind a lot of anti-Christian sentiments, which I find awfully... I don't know the word. I'm not really sure of the benefits. The flaw is, like it was said, there are no morals or things to live by.

I'm not an Atheist, but my mother is.

And she doesn't channel her anger at Christians.

She channels it at hypo-Christians.

Just like I do.

druscilla_armstrong:

I'm not an Atheist, but my mother is.

And she doesn't channel her anger at Christians.

She channels it at hypo-Christians.

Just like I do.

sorry for being thick but can you explain what one of them is please?

ixlovexbilliexjoe:

I don't consider Atheism a religion because it doesn't believe in any kind of God. I do think Atheism is behind a lot of anti-Christian sentiments, which I find awfully... I don't know the word. I'm not really sure of the benefits. The flaw is, like it was said, there are no, morals or things to live by.

Do you consider Buddhism a religion? Also, did you ever think that it is more commendable to live good as an Athiest as opposed to someone who is uber-religious. Because religious people don't have any morals, the only reason the do good things is to please some sort of higher being. They're being nice to avoid eternal damnation as opposed to just doing it because it's right. I also believe that religion itself clouds judgment when it comes to morals. How many people have killed in the name of religion? How many in the name of Atheism? Who are the moraless ones now?

Magne:

sorry for being thick but can you explain what one of them is please?

Him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_phelps

ixlovexbilliexjoe:

I don't consider Atheism a religion because it doesn't believe in any kind of God. I do think Atheism is behind a lot of anti-Christian sentiments, which I find awfully... I don't know the word. I'm not really sure of the benefits. The flaw is, like it was said, there are no morals or things to live by.

I'm an atheist. That's my religious belief--the disbelief in a god or gods. Hard atheism is a religion. There are also atheistic religions.
Not all atheists hate Chistians or Christianity. In fact, most don't. The ones who do are usually looking for attention because they're such "rebels" for believing that there is no god or gods.

Many atheists are not JUST atheists, too. I mean, there are Buddhists who are atheistic but also follow the guildelines of Buddhism. And that's not the only example (I don't know much about Satanism though, so I'll leave that to someone who does).

Jesus Christ Supermarket:

ixlovexbilliexjoe:

I don't consider Atheism a religion because it doesn't believe in any kind of God. I do think Atheism is behind a lot of anti-Christian sentiments, which I find awfully... I don't know the word. I'm not really sure of the benefits. The flaw is, like it was said, there are no, morals or things to live by.

Do you consider Buddhism a religion? Also, did you ever think that it is more commendable to live good as an Athiest as opposed to someone who is uber-religious. Because religious people don't have any morals, the only reason the do good things is to please some sort of higher being. They're being nice to avoid eternal damnation as opposed to just doing it because it's right. I also believe that religion itself clouds judgment when it comes to morals. How many people have killed in the name of religion? How many in the name of Atheism? Who are the moraless ones now?

Magne:

sorry for being thick but can you explain what one of them is please?

Him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_phelps

thankyou!!

I don't believe Atheists channel their anger at Christians, or any other religion, I just think they don't care.

I wouldn't consider Atheisma religion, 'cos that's the point, they don't care about religion.

Sure, many Atheists are anti-Christian, and this could fuel the anti-Christian sentiment, but many other religions are aswell, so you can't completely blame Atheists.

Magne:

druscilla_armstrong:

I'm not an Atheist, but my mother is.

And she doesn't channel her anger at Christians.

She channels it at hypo-Christians.

Just like I do.

sorry for being thick but can you explain what one of them is please?

Christians are people who actually live the way the Bible tells them to. With compassion for people and praying for the sins of others.

They aren't the people who shove scripture in your face, tell you you're going to hell, hold signs that say 'die fags' and things like that.