I mean, the lack of religion or the belief that there is no God, is a religion...or more like a belief or faith. Even if we knew 10% of what is in the universe or knowledge in general, the other 90% could allow for the existence of God. Unless you know 100% of all knowledge, how can you say, with any credibility that there is no God? If you make a decision with God in mind, you make a religious decision....if you make a decision without God in mind you are still making a faith-based decision since it takes faith not to believe that there is a God.
2006-10-23 02:56:04 · 27 answers · asked by Matt 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To me a hardened violent criminal is the epitomy of Atheist, because they believe in absolutely nothing and have no faith whatsoever.
Total criminality is a total lack of conscience.
A conscience means putting something or someone over you, hence you become subserviant. YOu view something or someone as being more important than you are.
No one is more important to the criminal than themselves and their needs.
They have no faith in anyone else, no system, no government, no rules, no feelings, often no regrets.
Theists believe in a multitude of somethings and somone (plural or singluar, based on the religion) and do things or don't do things because of the belief system (God will getcha, Santa Claus is keeping a list, you don't want coal in your socks!).
A criminal walks in, shoots up the places, rapes,pillages, takes the money and leaves. They worry about nothing, which is why police worry about criminals. The only thing some criminals might value is their own existance and they will shoot at anything that moves.
Soldiers are this way too. When a soldier develops a conscience their effectiveness diminishes and they become a hazard to themselves and others.
This is why it looks like we are losing in Iraq, because we are not there to wipe out an identifyable enemy into oblvion or surrender. We are there doing a polcing action, hence we don't just shoot at everything that moves.
The opposition, on the other hands, can care less. Everything and anything is a fair target. They are fighting a war against an idenfityable enemy (people in uniform) and anyone who happens to be near them, too bad.
To be a "human being" takes some type of respect, faith, conscience and belief system. Which means you are automatically subserviant and have put other things on a pedistal. You have created sacred cows of one type or another.
There is no getting around this.
A criminal in human society is just another name for the Shark, Lion or T-Rex or other preditory species that is just own to live their own life. They survive by preying, as opposed to praying.
2006-10-23 03:16:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Excellent point. This is the point I try to get across when people ask why Atheists and Agnostics answer and ask questions in the Religion & Spirituality Section. I try to explain that choosing to not believe in God is still a Religious and Spiritual choice. You're absolutely right - it takes faith to not believe in God just as it takes faith to believe in God. No one has 100% knowledge about everything so every belief, or 'lack thereof' as some may call it, takes faith.
2006-10-23 03:16:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Faith is in many ways a Christian concept -- the word that gets translated as faith from the Hebrew (but has different connotations, I think it's misleading to use 'faith' for it) appears in Torah only twice. The Christian canon has it nearly 250 times.
So those of us who aren't Christian (or Muslim, which followed after), don't put as much emphasis on that word or concept. Of course you can create a definition of faith which applies to those of us who don't believe in a god. But that's missing the real issue completely.
A lot of us are comfortable with the not knowing, some of us even find that stimulating and amazing and just awesome. Science is always our best guesses at anytime. Notice the plural there -- that diversity of opinion and thinking is inherent, accepted and valued because that's where clearer and more complete understanding comes from.
2006-10-23 03:42:29 · answer #3 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So I guess people have Faith there aren't any Unicorns or Dragons? I mean, they could be on other planets... you can't know for sure. And all Christians have Faith that the Goddess does not exist. And all Jews have Faith that Jesus did not exist. (Do you see where this is going????????)
Faith, according to Christianity, is things Hoped for yet NOT SEEN.......... I don't think Atheists have Faith at all. If you don't believe that something exists, you don't have Faith that it doesn't exist. Belief and Faith are not the same thing.
2006-10-23 03:28:47 · answer #4 · answered by riverstorm13 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
But what do you have faith in? Yourself- You are a creation. Other people- they will let you down. This world- it's going to hell, rapidly, in a hand basket.
Faith in God is the only way- because He is the only way.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the Truth and the life". He was not a liar-
If you don't have faith in God- you really can not have faith in anything.
"Now faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11-1
2006-10-23 03:09:45 · answer #5 · answered by IN Atlanta 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
to believe in a god, is a leap of faith. which means you are taking a chance.
not to believe in a god means ..you just don't think of a thing called "god" it;s the way you were raised, not brainwashed for one and you live your life believing that you should be a good person with principles. But if you decide that you don't believe in a god anymore then you use your experiences in life that have made you believe that ..there is no god...at all...
2006-10-23 03:13:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have faith in this question coming up at least once every three days.
You're assuming that you're right. Does it take faith for you not to believe that the world was created by a giant spider? There isn't anything I can think of to say that it's completely unprovable.
2006-10-23 03:08:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
In logic, the natural default is non-existence. Since the atheists take the default logical stance, there is no faith involved -- we are operating on the system of facts the world shows us, and that system of facts has no information about the existence or lack thereof of a deity, therefore, non-existence is logically concluded.
It is not taken on faith, but a lack of evidence.
2006-10-23 03:01:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It takes belief in God, faith is an action on the belief.
2006-10-23 03:01:00 · answer #9 · answered by Birdbrain 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it is called Atheism. Atheists have great faith, yet they deceive themselves and are continuously contradicting themselves into a greater and greater lie. I feel sorry for them, but it is ultimately their choice to believe a lie in order to avoid the truth. Jesus said that He is the way the truth and the life. The Bible has not changed. It was true 2000 years ago and is true today. Evolution is just what it states: constantly evolving beliefs into fairy tales for adults. So sad, yet so true. For man loves darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil.
2006-10-23 03:05:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋