Isnt the fact that Atheist believe in nothing actually a sudo belief system in itself? To not believe in anything religious is actually to believe in something nonreligious thus they are believers of a sort with thier own rules. (And to not have any rules is to have rules about not having any rules). We are all servents of some faith be it religious or not. I will respect yours if you respect mine.
2006-09-29 06:06:15 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Atheist run around the terms belief and faith like they are the plague. I merely said that your lack of belief in GOD is your religion. Your lack of Belief in GOD not hambergers, not baseball, In GOD. You are all uninfied in common knowledge(You think) that there is no GOD. That is the staple of your belief system the one thing that ties you together. Yes you are all different people so are christians. But the one thing that you can all agree upon is the lack of any spiritual being in the universe. That in itself is your religion. I have heard a dozen lame excuses why your not a religion but not one good one that explain why. You all believe there is no God(s) so you are all unified in a common belief structure. Now tell me there is no place you can go to be with others of your beliefs to talk about how foolish the rest of us are or whatever you talk about and i will tell you you have a church of sorts.
2006-09-29 09:20:18 · update #1
That is true. It takes more faith for an Atheist to "believe" what they see , than it takes for me as a Christian to have faith in Christ...
2006-09-29 08:42:14 · answer #1 · answered by heresyhunter@sbcglobal.net 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
No one ever said Atheism isn't a belief, of course it's a belief; I believe in Atheism. I also believe in the tastiness of hamburgers and the awesomeness of baseball. I think you're using "belief" to mean "religious faith." Now, as cool as it would be to having a religion based on the divinity of hamburgers and baseball, it just ain't gonna happen because this "belief" doesn't center around a higher being that manipulates and changes it....except for maybe Tim Wakefield...he's MY God of baseball....
But I digress. Think of this statement. I am an Atheist, so I am considered a "non-believer." This doesn't mean I don't believe in anything, it just is an assumed shortened version of "non-believer of religious faiths." And believe it or not, I happen have extreme respect for all religions and faiths, as I see the good that it does for people. I just can't "believe" in something I, well, don't. Most Atheists I have come in contact with feel the same; we LOVE religion and religious people...tolerance of all kind should be embraced. You have to understand, though, it's hard to talk freely about our "belief" in Atheism when so many religious people who are SUPPOSED to teach tolerance think we belong in hell, just because we don't agree. I have lots of respect for you; I hope the feeling is mutual.
2006-09-29 13:27:47 · answer #2 · answered by Ms. Lissa 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People keep trying to claim this about atheism. This a mere trick of semantics. There is no system of rules to atheism. Religion inherently is about the supernatural. Atheism is a philosophy, not a religion. Some may have rules, I don't care if they do or not, they don't apply to me. If I believe in a god, I'm not an atheist. That's not a "rule" that's a definition.
It's like being gay or something. There aren't "rules", but if I love women and only have sex with women, I'm not gay. It's the definition.
2006-09-29 13:12:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a semantic confusion between the words "belief" and "faith". The words are NOT synonyms!
Yes, everyone has beliefs, even atheists. A belief is a part of the model of the world that we make in our minds. Most of the beliefs we have are supported by evidence. Some of our beliefs are supported by both evidence and reasoning. I believe in elecromagnetic radiation. I can directly experience light. I can indirectly experience radio waves when I use my radio, or my wireless internet connection. But there is Maxwell's Theory of Electromagetic Radiation that provides a mathematical description of radiation that allows us to predict the effects of radiation, and build tools that take advantage of its properties. My belief in Maxwell's theory is a scientific belief.
Faith is belief in the absence of evidence. Faith is irrational when you continue to have the belief in spite of contradictory evidence.
I think it is possible to have a rational faith in "god". But I don't think it is possible to have a rational faith in the God described in the Hebrew Bible.
2006-09-29 13:18:44 · answer #4 · answered by Jim L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whether other atheists like it or not, yes, we are acting in faith. There is no proof one way or the other, so humanity cannot possibly know the nature of a deity or its nonexistence. To use Occam's Razor to then dismiss is an act of faith -- experience has shown us that occam's razor is usually true... but it's never been proven. It's sometimes wrong, even. Einstein tried to pull occam's razor on quantum randomness -- he was wrong.
However, you're wrong about the rules thing. We do not have a unified set of rules, at all. Put two atheists in a room and pose a question of morality and you will likely get five or six different view points and either a courteous agreement to disagree or agreement in fact.
I'm fairly sure my fellow atheists are going to thumbs-down me but sorry guys, it's true. We operate on faith as much as the theists do. Want to say you have no faith at all, you need to be playing the agnostic game.
2006-09-29 13:18:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
No... we are not all servants of some 'faith'.
You don't believe in Zeus, do you" No... I thought not. Based upon your premise, though, you must consider your self to be a servant of the 'no-Zeus' faith, and follow the rules of the no-Zeus faith.
Your question provides an excellent example in support of the reason that many atheists consider most Christians to be essentially stupid.
Atheism can only be considered to be a belief in the same sense that you would consider NOT COLLECTING STAMPS to be a hobby.
2006-09-29 13:18:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Saying that even though atheists don't believe, they really do believe is like saying "not being a fan of the 49ers is really sort of like being a fan of the 49ers because it has to do with fandom and the 49ers". Saying atheism is a belief is like saying bald is a haircolor or not collecting stamps is a hobby. Atheists are WITHOUT belief. Being WITHOUT BELIEF cannot, by definition, be defined as being WITH BELIEF. It's like saying someone without a book in their hands really does have a book in their hands. You can't have it both ways.
Atheism does not qualify as a religion in any sense. If you'd like to more, I could take the time to explain it to you. Just let me know.
And as for adherence to atheism based on "faith":
It takes logic and reason and understanding to arrive at atheism, not faith. Well, not the kind of "faith" that it takes to believe in and worship a nonsensical, muddled, uknowable concept like a deity.
Faith in your mental facilities or faith in the talent of a basketball team or faith in the honesty of your best friend isn't the same as blind religious faith. Faith in this context can be defined by THIS definition: confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Confidence implies REASON. Confidence tells us that we don't have to assume sans any supporting evidence. I can have this kind of "faith" in a conclusion I've reached after careful consideration of all the facts and relevant information (i.e. atheism).
Religious faith is quite accurately defined by THIS definition: belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Religious faith is belief not grounded in evidence and reason, belief in what cannot be understood. Religious faith is faith based on nothing but gut feelings, the assurance of others and the word of a storybook. Logical proof and material evidence is often IGNORED as inferior to blind religious faith.
The incidence of this word and its separate definitions that are appropriately applicable only in specific situations being MISUSED and MISAPPLIED is either very sloppy or very childish to say the least. Faith will NOT mean the same thing in every context and to imply that it does and to attempt to manipulate language and meaning as such is mere sophistry.
2006-09-29 13:10:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are differing degrees of atheism. Weak atheism is just disbelief and is the default position from a philosophical viewpoint-i.e. the most logically sound position. Positive atheists who insist there is no God are however believers.
2006-09-29 13:09:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Technically yes. Technically you believe that you are looking at a computer screen powered by electricity. But you have never seen the electrons at work powering said electricity or how they travel inside your screen, so you "believe" what others have told you about how it works.
Everything is a belief.
2006-09-29 13:09:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Atheism is the lack of belief in a deity.
A hole is a lack of dirt in an area, correct? So atheism is a belief in the same way that a hole in the ground is dirt.
2006-09-29 13:08:48 · answer #10 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I have a firm belief in the *fact* that there is no god. If I had a pseudo belief in anything, it would make me agnostic, and I'm not.
2006-09-29 13:08:40 · answer #11 · answered by Squirrel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋