What do you think of atheist when they say they've developed a mind of their own?

Question

That emptiness you speak of can be filled with art.

Answer 1

I say good for them. I'm a Christian and I too have a mind of my own. Interesting, huh?

Answer 2

I can't say I have ever heard an Atheist say this: I certainly know I have never said it. I live in this universe, and I long ago set myself the task of finding out what I could about it. One of the important things I discovered was that not one of the religions I came across had all the answers, despite claiming to have them. It was obvious to me that no one can ever have a monopoly on truth, and indeed that truth changes over time. It was also obvious to me that "God did it" was not a satisfactory answer to anything, and equally obvious that every single time people had said something could only be explained by reference to God, people went out and found a perfectly rational explanation for it, whereupon the religionists would move the goalposts and say "AH! But you can't explain THIS..."

By extension from that, it seems utterly clear to me that there is no reason whatsoever to suppose that process will ever end, and that the likeliest explanation for everything is that there are no gods, that the universe simply is and has always been, and that it is in no sense at all an improvement on that to say "of COURSE the universe has not always existed, nothing can be self created... GOD created the Universe..." and leave wide open the question of what created God then. There HAS to be something which was uncreated, and it is a simpler and easier answer to say that the universe has always existed than that God created the universe and God has always existed.

I await with interest the spluttering outrage from christians (and possibly others, but it nearly always IS christians) who have not understood anything I have said here.

Answer 3

The same thing that I think when a religious person says the've developed a mind of their own... "Prove it."

If you can present a well reasoned arguement, well thought out, consisting of reasonable statements and internal consistancy, then I will acknowledge that you just might have a mind of your own.

I am not an atheist, nor am I religious, nor am I agnostic. The question is not who is "right".. as no one belief is correct for all people. The question is "Do your beliefs serve you constructively?"

To claim one has "developed a mind of one's own", one should be able to state why and how.. They should be able to explain why a particular belief holds truth for them, and they should be able to do so in a clear, logical way that shows that they have, indeed, thought about it, and explored it, and also explored disagreeing beliefs, and the methodogy they employed to arrive at their conclusion.

"Because it says so in this book" or "Because I can't see it." do not, for me, comprise valid reasoning. Another acid test is whether or not a person can handle disagreement. If I disagree with your reasoning, and your first instinct is some sort of emotional, knee-jerk response, then no, you are just another sheep and have not at all yet developed a mind of your own, irrespective of being religious or atheist or agnostic or whatever.

Answer 4

Religion is sometimes like "groupthink". The group makes up your mind for you. Where do you stand on so-and-so issue? Ask the church for their official stance and then you'll know YOUR official stance. The ONLY "official" stance in atheism is that the atheist is without belief in a god or gods. After that, everything else is truly up to the individual. They aren't obligated to concur with any point of view or stance. An atheist who has split from religion has therefore developed their own mind in that it is TRULY their own and no longer part of a mandatory collective.

Answer 5

It is really their way of stating that they have developed a religion of their own. Problem is, it is based upon ignorance.

The combined knowledge of all humans is less than one percent of all universal knowledge. Another way of putting it is this, less than one percent of the known universe has been explored, not to mention the unknown universe. Yet, an atheist states, "There is no God".

So while it is possible, in fact probable, that God exists among the unexplored universe, they have decided, in the face of all of this vast void of information, that God does not exist there.

This is the equivalent of studying one square inch of soil in New Jersey, and upon finding no trace of gold there, stating that, not only is there no gold on all of planet earth, gold does not even exist.

A very unscientific way of thinking, controlled purely by the emotions of fear and hatred of the concept of a higher authority to be accountable to.

Answer 6

I think that we all should develop minds of our own. Get those noses out of man made religious books.

Can you not see how a belief in a supreme being is illogical? I know it is, but I still believe.

What puzzles me, is how could anyone dismiss evolution? How do they ignore scientific proof that we all can see and touch? It is beyond me!

Answer 7

Well. I don't think we literally developed a mind on our own. We are the product of our environment, and genes. Just as Christians are Christians because of their environment, and genes. Same for Muslims.

Answer 8

I assume they have probably thought hard about certain things in religion, and maybe even have read some books on it, and have arrived at some conclusions that are different from those of the people around them.

Answer 9

It just means that they have chosen a course independant of God, no different that what Adam and Eve did that plunged us into sin and death. Way to go, huh! This is why God is sending his son Jesus Christ back to cleanse this earth of this type of wickedness, so that the righteous can enjoy everlasting life without persecution.

Answer 10

I would think they have made a break through in genetic engineering in creating a mind and would be on their way to franchise island.