Is it a contradiction in terms that an atheist should be on a religious and spiritual group?

Question

This is a serious question and asked in an honest way. I'm perplexed as to why an athiest would be involved in a spiritual and religious group. If God has no meaning in your life why even bother being here?

Yes of course I know that this question has been asked before. I just wanted a few answers for myself. Thanks for all of you who gave very intelligent responses from both sides of the fence. I was expecting a 'bashing' but instead I got a more 'enlightened' that expected. Thamks for your kindness.

Answer 1

I'm here for the drinks.

*BRRAAAAPPP*

(Religion affects me, whether I believe in it or not, and usually not in a good way.)

Answer 2

Because deep down they're curious. But they refuse to see what’s right in front of them. If they weren't then they would have no reason to be here would they? They may say they are here to 'educate' but why do they care about educating people they often call fools and uneducated idiots?

According to the Atheist Foundation of Australia the definition of an atheist is someone who accepts that there is no credible scientific or factual reliable evidence for the existence of a god, gods or the supernatural. Therefore an atheist cannot believe in the supernatural any more than a god or gods. If an atheist has a problem with this definition I suggest they take it up with an organization that is advocating for them and see why your and their views are divergent.
If they have no belief then why are they curious?

To skeptic: I would like to point out that the Christian Church has the largest global network of volunteers and that most welfare agencies were either begun or are run by religious organizations like the Salvation Army or St Vincent De Paul Society. Without them many poeple would fall into major poverty or not be able to survive at all.

Answer 3

Having been a devout athiest for 23 years prior to God smacking me upside the head with a 2x4 and saying get your **** over here I learned that ultimately EVERYONE is spiritual in some fashion.

Spiritually is an inherent human trait and our 'religion' is how we respond to our search to understand that portion of our existance.

I reached the pinacle of my athiesm when I realized that to be a true athiest I needed to cease and desist all activities that caused me to have an opinion on anything spiritual. I found that the more I tried to 'negate' the spiritual opinions of other people the more I realized that I was forming my own spirituality an 'anti-spirituality' if you will but a spirituality none the less.

If someone TRULY wants to be athiest they need erradicate all concepts of god from their lives because every concept of god that they operate by for or against, is a spiritual perspective and ultimately a part of their spirituality.

Ironicly it was my attempt at doing this, of removing every aspect of even implied spirituality that ultimately lead me to 'finding Jesus'.

Ultimately what happened was I removed from my mentality all references to god and spirituallyt and realized there was one 'concept' that I could not remove. That concept was this irking sensation that I had 'missed something'. The more I did my best to find 'resolve' in the idea that I didnt miss anything and that I reallhy had ruled everything out and that there was no god and that I was not operating by any concept of god for or against the more I realized that I was in a loosing battle with something that was sentient.

Finally I gave up, got pissed off and said "What the **** are you?" The response was simply: "I am Jesus, your Lord and Savior, stop doing that!"

That was the end for me. Put my self in a mental hospital and ultimately gave up at being an athiest and became a Christian.

Every true attempt at removing god from one's life ultimately ends in finding him because he cannot be removed and everything else that isnt him ends up being removed instead.

Answer 4

The topic is NOT just Religion. it's Religion AND Spirituality. I know a LOT of Atheists, yes some are NOT spiritual at all, others are MORE spiritual than MOST of the so-called condemning Christians that I've seen posting on here. I see this as just another of those "baitng" questions intended to bring out the Hostility from BOTH sides. The Atheists who are tired of being called evil people just because you are UNABLE to convince them to adopt YOUR version of Religion. And the Christians who are tired of the Atheists standing UP to denounce your brand of Religion. It's ALL just an unending battle where NEITHER side comes off looking very good to the rest of us. STOP this stupid childness and pose some MEANINGFUL questions or go somewhere else to carry on your immature argueing. PLEASE?

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 5

This is such a common question and it's amazing to me that it's even asked. My response to the believers is:

You should be glad that Atheists are on here.

Do you not have compassion in your heart? Do you not believe that their very souls are in danger of forever being burned in hellfire? Well, this is your chance to be a good believer and reach out; or are you only concerned with preaching to the choir?

I believe that you are on here for the best of reasons - you love your faith and believe it will save you and others.

Haven't you ever really wondered why Atheists are on here as well?

They, like you, believe there is probably no more important question in the world than "Is there a God?"

So why would you be upset if they were just trying to test themselves to see if there really is a good reason to believe? You should be glad (unless you are happy with the thought of souls burning in hell, which I believe you are not.)

But Atheists have good intentions as well (even though they may not always show it). Imagine for a moment that they are right and there is no God...

Then religious wars, scaring children with threats of hell, and persecution of homosexuals were all just a shameful waste. Moreover, look at the atrocities caused by the beliefs of groups like the Catholic church that teaches AIDS ridden areas of Africa and the Americas that condom use is a sin. They are (at least partly) responsible for the loss of innocent life. Believers spend more time worshiping their imaginary friend then they do caring about real issues like alleviating poverty, or doing something about the great problems this planet faces. With that in mind, the best thing atheists could be doing is trying to introduce people to a logical way of thinking and overcome their superstitions.

Also, consider what you asking this question really says... if you are worried about people who question your belief system, maybe you are not all that secure in your beliefs. If your beliefs are logical, then answer their questions; it shouldn't be an issue.


Ultimately, what matters is who is right (if any of us), and how do we know that.


If you wish to know more about the damage that religion causes, I suggest you read "The End of Faith," and "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.

Answer 6

I will never understand why it's so amazing that someone who isn't religious can have an opinion about organized religion. I mean, do you find equally perplexing the fact that liberals have opinions about George Bush and conservatives have opinions about Bill Clinton? I mean, conservatives disagree with Clinton on everything, so why do they even care about him? They should just not think about him at all, right? No, that's not how it works: You can still have opinions about something that you dislike or disagree with. The same goes with atheists and religion. No, atheists don't think that God is real -- but organized religion is very, very, very real, and THAT is why we're here.

Answer 7

Well, they have an opinion on religion don't they?

And you can be spiritual without believing in God.

Maybe they want to learn about religions? See why people believe in certain things?

There is no use saying just because someone doesn't believe in God that they can't come on this part of the site. If I don't have a pet, I can still go on the pets section can't I?

Kc. Christianity is about God and His Son. Not all religions are like that. I have Gods and Goddesses... but to me, they don't have a Jesus like character.

Answer 8

Depends what you term as an Atheist, I guess. Buddhists are considered by some to be Atheists because they do not adhere to a Creator God philosophy.... but Buddhists believe that gods are just another race/form of beings, humanoid or formless... even the possibilty of aliens :)

I mean, some of their iconographic images have like 16 arms and green in color, I certainly have never seen any human being looking like that :)

Answer 9

Well, in a way atheism IS a religious belief, a belief that a god or gods doesn't or don't exist. There are many spiritual atheists, because to believe in the spiritual world, you don't have to believe in a supreme spirit.

Answer 10

No it 's not a contradiction in terms.
There is a fatal flaw in the logic of the argument of those who say they are 100% convinced about their belief (in Atheism or Christianity etc). The flaw is you cannot be 100% certain because of what you don't know and understand. Our knowledge and understanding of this universe and all it contains is minute. Therefore what you can be certain about is minute. To claim 100% certainty about any belief is therefore illogical.

Answer 11

Apparently it is a contradiction but in fact it is within the mainstream of R&S purview;as the reasoning to contradict some point of view is basically reasoning to assert the negativity of the contradiction.Atheism is basically a misdirected psycholical reaction to contradictions in the conduct which the so called people of reigion and spirituality suffer from.God may not be having any meaning for some people at some stage but how can they come to be in know of Him at any latter stage.The poor atheists only expose the bigotary of so called religious people with their knave questions, what else they do?There is no reason to be jittery about it.People make slanderous remarks about Islam and its prophet without properly ensuring their authenticity, should they be stopped?It will reduce the population of R&S drastically.