I'm an atheist in my own way. I know there are many kinds of atheists, and I'd like to hear from all of you about exactly what you do and don't believe, your principles, etc.
Not only am I truly curious, it's also nice to be able to speak more accurately when I say, "You know, all atheists aren't like that. Some think X, some think X..."
2006-12-01 16:04:29 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There were a lot of great answers. Since there were 3 or 4 that I was vacillating between to choose, I'm going to put this to vote. Thank you all for your answers!
Voters, please do read them all. Some of the best are near the end.
2006-12-05 13:42:26 · update #1
Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. In antiquity, Epicureanism incorporated aspects of atheism, but it disappeared from the philosophy of the Greek and Roman traditions as Christianity gained influence. ...
Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This absence of belief generally comes about either through deliberate choice, or from an inherent inability to believe religious teachings which seem literally incredible. It is not a lack of belief born out of simple ignorance of religious teachings.
Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: they actively believe that particular gods, or all gods, do not exist. Just lacking belief in Gods is often referred to as the "weak atheist" position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as "strong atheism."
Regarding people who have never been exposed to the concept of 'god': Whether they are 'atheists' or not is a matter of debate. Since you're unlikely to meet anyone who has never encountered religion, it's not a very important debate...
It is important, however, to note the difference between the strong and weak atheist positions. "Weak atheism" is simple scepticism; disbelief in the existence of God. "Strong atheism" is an explicitly held belief that God does not exist. Please do not fall into the trap of assuming that all atheists are "strong atheists." There is a qualitative difference in the "strong" and "weak" positions; it's not just a matter of degree.
Some atheists believe in the nonexistence of all Gods; others limit their atheism to specific Gods, such as the Christian God, rather than making flat-out denials.
2006-12-01 16:11:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The spectrum is something like this.
An atheist believes there is no god
An agnostic believes that it is impossible to know
A deist believes there is a god but no one has direct knowledge of him
There is common ground between the three in that we all acknowledge there is absolutely no hard evidence of a god
I am an atheist. I take the lack of evidence to indicate that there isn't a god.
An agnostic takes it to mean that it is impossible to know.
A deist looks at the universe and says that its existence implies a god, but since there is no direct evidence that god probably isn't directly involved with our lives and certainly doesn't care rather we believe in him or not.
As an atheist I find all three to be rational, though I disagree with the deists. The agnostic and me have a lot of common ground I just find the one possibility to be far more likely and the second to be very unlikely. I never say anything 100% though.
I do not find most other beliefs to be rational. Without any hard evidence, you are just making it up if you think you have direct knowledge of god. I really have a tough time seeing how you can rationally justify it in your own head. I do see why they would want to believe it because of the fear of dieing, but it is just that. You want to believe it so you have "faith" that it is true. Wanting something never makes it true no matter how many want it that way.
2006-12-02 00:26:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
AS I understand it, Atheists believe that man is the top of the food chain, spiritually. There is no god of any kind, that when we die, we die...its over competely. As a result of this, atheists live each day to its fullest, do unto others as they would have done to them...all in all, they are often much better people than many religious people, for they feel the buck stops with them...there is not god to blame for thier sins, and redemption for sins against man must come from them, not some secret, higher power. All in all, atheists are very good people, very honest, and live a relatively straight and good life, for they have no escape from their actions. Many religions provide an escape clause from evil...Atheists do not have that clause and therefore watch their actions as they go along. I have a feeling that if more people were atheists, the world would be a far better place, with much less hypocricy floating about. Atheists don't judge others as to their beliefs, other than to think, at times, that others may be pipe dreaming. I am not at all sure they are wrong.
2006-12-02 00:11:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I label myself an atheist, but it truth it is only an educated guess based on Occam's Razor. There are conceptions of a God that are both internally consistent and would fit the data, but God has to be cruel and capable of evil for them to work (even if its all Satan's fault, God knows the future and created Satan). He also has to erase all observable evidence of his existence (I have checked quite thoroughly, and never found any "proof" that will survive logical criticism). The simplest explanation is that either God does not exist or does not deserve worship any more than his adversary.
As for my principles, call me a secular humanist. Someone wrote a good wikipedia article on us:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism#Tenets
Its kind of fun to think this way because religious people always assume atheists have to be pure evil or even satanic, and secular humanism just totally trips up that worldview.
2006-12-02 00:29:32 · answer #4 · answered by Wise1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Abosoutely Terribly Horrendous Exestanetialistical Idealistically Senseless Troublemaker
2006-12-02 00:44:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
TYF,
I think that I am an atheist by the definition of "lack of belief in the existence of God" rather than "disbelief in the existence of God," which is the phrasing that comes up in many dictionaries...Thus, those who *believe* that there is no God are considered atheists, but their philosophy seems so fundamentally different compared to mine. So yes, so many different sorts of atheists! :)
As an atheist I am still figuring out exactly what I believe...I am not anti-religion and believe that all religions hold basic truths at their cores...I am spiritual but also materialist in the belief that all spiritual things are reality based in the physical...I see God as
life
goodness
beauty
humanity/compassion
love
selflessness
& am trying also to see 'God' also in the negative things, or the opposites. :) Still trying to define God for me personally...but I am not in the agnostic position or theist; I guess that I simply do not have belief in God (yet?).
Hope this helps!
2006-12-02 00:33:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I know the clear-cut dictionary version (summed up) is one that does not believe in god.
Personally, these are my beliefs...whether they relate to Atheism is anyone's guess...it may also be more political...but since people relate the two together nowadays, it works....
1) There is no god, heaven, or hell.
2) A man name Jesus probably did exist, he was a nice guy, he died, and stayed dead.
3) Evolution did happen and continues to happen.
4) Pro-choice and pro-gay rights
5) I respect everyone's RIGHT to believe what they want, and will have discussions if asked. I DO NOT believe in forcing those beliefs down others throats or judging them because of their choices.
That's about it!
2006-12-02 00:09:42 · answer #7 · answered by Heck if I know! 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
An atheist is not a person, it's a description.
If you do not believe in any gods, then you are an atheist. That's it.
Atheism is a lack of a god belief.
...aside from that, believe whatever the hell you want and you'll still be an atheist.
2006-12-02 00:15:34 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am sure there are many kinds of Atheists, as there are many kinds of Christians. However an atheist does NOT believe in any gods or deities. If you are not sure, you are agnostic, Agnostics cannot commit to believe in a god because they do not know for sure! I am agnostic, I do not know if there is a God or not.
2006-12-02 00:10:47 · answer #9 · answered by Amanda D 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
By definition, all atheists are like that. There is only one kind of atheist; a person who doesn't believe in any kind of god or supreme being. Period. Any other beliefs that you may have are personal opinions, morals, etc. They have nothing to do with atheism.
2006-12-02 00:08:26 · answer #10 · answered by normobrian 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋