Question for Atheists?

Question

What are your beliefs for creation, making of man, and the rapture...I kno you dont believe in it but how do you think the world is going to end...I am always wanting to kno more about other religons...do yall congregate somewhere like a church? Anywayz just give me some of your thoughts...please do not leave any mean answers I am just wondering.

Answer 1

Atheism is not a religion. We don't "congregate".

Creation: Nope. Natural process as yet incompletely understood.

Making of man: Evolution. Original life? TBD

Rapture: You said no mean answers so, ... LOL! Nope.

World coming to an end: When sun expands to beyond earth orbit after having exhausted its fuel 5-6 billion years from now.

Answer 2

The universe came to be after the Big Bang. We really don't know what, if anything, caused the Big Bang.

Man was made by a long process called biological evolution.

The rapture is a superstition. We'll either destroy the world, ourselves, or the Sun will eventually swallow up the Earth in a few million years.

First, atheism is not a religion. It is simply a lack of a particular belief. I do meet with other atheists, but it is more of a club than a church. There are groups that act more like atheist churches, with some of the similar social constructs as a regular church. Ethical Unions fill that role and so do Unitarian Universalists to some degree.

Answer 3

I don't claim to know how life came into exsistence, (neither does evolution either by the way)

However, I think the scientific approach to answering the HOW's of life is the best approach, as it is self correcting. I don't think reading a 2000 year old book, written by people who did have access to telescopes, microscopes, laboratories etc. will yield much useful information on scientific matters.

I think for the WHY's of life (like what is the meaning of life, etc.) that it is OK for people to turn to religion for those answers, but they should not try and force THEIR answers on others.

Basically , since I believe that matter can never be created or destroyed, that all the matter in the Universe has always existed, and is constantly changing, and that all matter is permeated with an innate intelligence. I guess basically I am an agnostic pantheist.

Some atheist do congregate, there is Ethical Culture, there are some Humanist organizations, and many atheists are members of Unitarian Universalist Congregations, but not all UU's are athiests.

There is an expression that trying to organize atheists is like trying to herd cats !

As for the rapture, I don't believe in it. I think that mankind might eventually destroy civilization as we know it, probobly through war fare. But out of the rubble a new civilization might eventually emerge.

In fact, I think it is entirely possible that many civilizations have peaked and been destroyed before us, and we just have yet to uncover them. I also believe that some sort of intelligent life exists in other place in the Universe, probobly farther away than we can ever find.

Answer 4

To answer your questions, not in the order they were asked:

Atheism is not a religion, therefore we don't congregate in any specific place. I see some atheist friends when I go to our local Meetup group events. That's not a congregation, it's more like an excuse to drink. ;-)

The world will end when the sun comes to the end of its lifespan (in about 5 billion years), expands and burns the planet to space cinders. It won't matter to anybody because by that time, all life will be long gone from Earth.

If you've read your bible -- I mean really read the whole thing -- then you already know there's no Rapture mentioned in it. That's just some 19th-century clergyman's wet dream; you can research it and find out for yourself.

H@mo sapiens came into being just as all other species do, namely by the process of evolution by natural selection.

Finally, I have no idea how the universe came into being. There's been some work done recently that suggests the Big Bang theory has some merit, though.

Answer 5

Evolution explains creation just fine. Man evolved from other animals. Rapture is a song by Blondie. The world will end in any number of ways, but certainly, when our Sun becomes a red giant star, we are done for. If we are still around as a species and haven't gone extinct. We are not a religion, and do not have a "club house." There are some organizations, but they are not every where.

Answer 6

1) There was no creation. Please look up the big bang.

2) Look up evolution.

3) There's no reason to believe in anything the bible has to offer us - there's no rapture.

4) The world will end in 5 billion years when the Sun enters a red giant phase and engulfs the Earth.

5) This is not a religion - it's a lack of religion. Like not collecting stamps is not a hobby.

6) It's called the bar.

Answer 7

Atheism is NOT a religion or a 'belief'... it is simply the ABSENSE of a 'belief' in dieties. That is ALL that it means.

Atheists simply find that the reasons in support of the existence of invisible, magical sky-fairies (gods) is not compelling, and are therefore insufficient to initiate or sustain a mental state of 'belief'. Atheists do NOT believe in gods for EXACTLY the same reasons that you do NOT believe' in Thor, Zeus, Isis, bridge trolls, garden gnomes, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and a herd of invisible pink unicorns that cavort in your back yard every time there is a full moon.

"I contend that we are both atheists.  I just believe in one fewer god than you do.  When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." ~ Stephen Roberts

"A thorough reading and understanding of the Bible is the surest path to atheism” ~ Donald Morgan

"Atheism can be considered to be a 'belief', or a 'religion', only in the same sense that one might regard NOT collecting stamps to be a 'hobby'." ~ Unknown

As for the rest of it... there is NO SUCH THING as 'atheist beliefs'... so asking about 'atheist beliefs' regarding creation, making of man, the rapture, creation, making of man, and the rapture and how the world is going to end is absolutely meaningless. Individual atheists THINK whatever reason tells them to think... they just DON'T think that the answer to any of those questions lies in the myths, superstitions, fairy tales and fantastical delusions of an ignorant gaggle of Bronze Age fishermen and wandering goat-herders.

Answer 8

I don't believe in creation, I accept the fact that we evolved. The rapture is pure poppycock.

How will the world end? You mean the planet Earth or the entire universe or just humanity?

No one knows for sure. However this much I can tell you, in about 5 billion years the sun will enter its red giant phase and consume the planet and burn it to a cinder.

Answer 9

* Atheism is not a religion, it is the lack of religion.

* Here's how it all happened:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_bang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution

* You don't need to be an atheist to understand science - many theists accept it too. Only in backwards countries like turkey and the united states there are large pockets of anti-science.

* The rapture... people have been certain the world was going to end for at least 4800 years:
http://www.abhota.info/end1.htm
Most christians don't believe the rapture stuff either.

* If you understood how illogical, and unfounded the beliefs you've been raised with are, you'd likely be atheist too. Can I ask you to read Letter to a Christian Nation?


Nobody can prove any gods, much less a specific god, exist; many people will tell you their god exists but no others, but will never be able to prove it, even if they think so. Some will threaten you with eternal pain or promise eternal joy to get you to believe in their god; these are all stories, created for people who were scared long before we understood the universe. Now we have no more reason for these superstitions.

How terrible the bible in particular is:
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
http://www.evilbible.com/

What's the origin of the Jesus stories?
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5.htm
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html
http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/jesus.html

How silly and horrible religion in general is:
http://godisimaginary.com/
http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

The alternative:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/
http://www.infidels.org/
http://www.positiveatheism.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism

Answer 10

You speak as though you think that atheism is a religion and it is most certainly not. Humans are not the dominant species here on the planet, nor in the universe. We have never been, we aren't, and we never will be. It is NOT all about us.

Regardless of what I believe, it does not change how I will end and will have absolutely not effect on how all this will end. We are gnats circling the porch light of the greater universe, nothing more.