The OP asks a philosophical and even possibly scientific question. Are we born with a genetic predisposition to have a ‘belief’ in a supreme being? If we are born with an inherent quality for belief of this nature, then we MUST believe in something for it’s nearly impossible to deny an inherent quality, an inborn nature.

In that case atheism is a believe – it is a belief that opposes the inherent theist belief and replaces it with another "disbelief".

BUT, if, however, there is no inborn, genetic, inherent quality that provides the predisposition to believe, to be a theist, then it becomes a chosen characteristic of those who do believe. That makes those who are atheist simply the control group, who have not been influenced by the beliefs of the theist.

We hold no believe pertaining to god because we were not programmed to believe. Therefore, our minds are clear, concise and FREE and not beholding to the whims of any mystical supreme fairy tale being.

So what would be your philosophy?

imo of course......did you not read why Jesus spoke in parables......not to make it fit more scenerio's....

10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,


Now for me pretty clear......for you not so....hmmmmmmm

The OP asks a philosophical and even possibly scientific question. Are we born with a genetic predisposition to have a ‘belief’ in a supreme being? If we are born with an inherent quality for belief of this nature, then we MUST believe in something for it’s nearly impossible to deny an inherent quality, an inborn nature.

In that case atheism is a believe – it is a belief that opposes the inherent theist belief and replaces it with another "disbelief".

BUT, if, however, there is no inborn, genetic, inherent quality that provides the predisposition to believe, to be a theist, then it becomes a chosen characteristic of those who do believe. That makes those who are atheist simply the control group, who have not been influenced by the beliefs of the theist.

We hold no believe pertaining to god because we were not programmed to believe. Therefore, our minds are clear, concise and FREE and not beholding to the whims of any mystical supreme fairy tale being.

So what would be your philosophy?

I believe some people are followers and some leaders. Especially in the case, like mine, of being raised in a religious environment, and ending up a non believer. I am not prone to following the crowd, why, because I have questions the "crowd" cannot answer. The answers they have are "you will not know until you meet god", or " his will is not always known", or "we are not meant to know his plan". But in contradiction, this all loving all forgiving "god" will do terrible things, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, disease, etc.... taking lives of innocent children who have done nothing to deserve this fate. The answer is always, "god works in mysterious ways". What this tells me is if there is a god, we are but playthings for him. Ants in the antfarm of deviant child. There is no logic to the WHOLE concept of this all powerful being who punishes the innocent.

This was the beginning of my freedom. This concept of god was man made for many purposes, back in the day gods or a god explained the unexplainable, later it was for control of us. I am unburdened from this contradictory man made concept of "big brother" who illicits fear of burning you for eternity if you do not follow his "loving" message.

Losing this burden has made my life so much more of a spiritual journey.

Just my experience of course.

I believe some people are followers and some leaders. Especially in the case, like mine, of being raised in a religious environment, and ending up a non believer. I am not prone to following the crowd, why, because I have questions the "crowd" cannot answer. The answers they have are "you will not know until you meet god", or " his will is not always known", or "we are not meant to know his plan". But in contradiction, this all loving all forgiving "god" will do terrible things, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, disease, etc.... taking lives of innocent children who have done nothing to deserve this fate. The answer is always, "god works in mysterious ways". What this tells me is if there is a god, we are but playthings for him. Ants in the antfarm of deviant child. There is no logic to the WHOLE concept of this all powerful being who punishes the innocent.

This was the beginning of my freedom. This concept of god was man made for many purposes, back in the day gods or a god explained the unexplainable, later it was for control of us. I am unburdened from this contradictory man made concept of "big brother" who illicits fear of burning you for eternity if you do not follow his "loving" message.

Losing this burden has made my life so much more of a spiritual journey.

Just my experience of course.

The OP asks a philosophical and even possibly scientific question. Are we born with a genetic predisposition to have a ‘belief’ in a supreme being? If we are born with an inherent quality for belief of this nature, then we MUST believe in something for it’s nearly impossible to deny an inherent quality, an inborn nature.

In that case atheism is a believe – it is a belief that opposes the inherent theist belief and replaces it with another "disbelief".

BUT, if, however, there is no inborn, genetic, inherent quality that provides the predisposition to believe, to be a theist, then it becomes a chosen characteristic of those who do believe. That makes those who are atheist simply the control group, who have not been influenced by the beliefs of the theist.

We hold no believe pertaining to god because we were not programmed to believe. Therefore, our minds are clear, concise and FREE and not beholding to the whims of any mystical supreme fairy tale being.

So what would be your philosophy?

The book contains ten chapters. The first few build a case that there is no God, while the rest discuss religion and morality. It is dedicated to the memory of Dawkins' late friend Douglas Adams,[11] whom Dawkins quotes as having said, "isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"

Dawkins writes that The God Delusion contains four "consciousness-raising" messages:

* Atheists can be happy, balanced, moral, and intellectually fulfilled.
* Natural selection and similar scientific theories are superior to a "God hypothesis" — the illusion of intelligent design — in explaining the living world and the cosmos.
* Children should not be labelled by their parents' religion. Terms like "Catholic child" or "Muslim child" should make people flinch.
* Atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind

Robert Pirsig's observation in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is that "When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."

I have just finished reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
It took me bloody ages to wade through it, as some of the concepts were very complex.

Robert Pirsig's observation in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is that "When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion."

I have just finished reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
It took me bloody ages to wade through it, as some of the concepts were very complex.

But in essence, here is a synopsis from Wiki ...



Whilst it is a weighty tome, it does make some very good arguments as to why our God-Squad refuse to move away from their sheep-mentality, and actually question their existence outside of their imaginary friend.

I believe some people are followers and some leaders. Especially in the case, like mine, of being raised in a religious environment, and ending up a non believer. I am not prone to following the crowd, why, because I have questions the "crowd" cannot answer. The answers they have are "you will not know until you meet god", or " his will is not always known", or "we are not meant to know his plan". But in contradiction, this all loving all forgiving "god" will do terrible things, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, disease, etc.... taking lives of innocent children who have done nothing to deserve this fate. The answer is always, "god works in mysterious ways". What this tells me is if there is a god, we are but playthings for him. Ants in the antfarm of deviant child. There is no logic to the WHOLE concept of this all powerful being who punishes the innocent.

This was the beginning of my freedom. This concept of god was man made for many purposes, back in the day gods or a god explained the unexplainable, later it was for control of us. I am unburdened from this contradictory man made concept of "big brother" who illicits fear of burning you for eternity if you do not follow his "loving" message.

Losing this burden has made my life so much more of a spiritual journey.

Just my experience of course.

Atheists are free minded people who obey logic ,
evidence , and proof . They are free and owe nothing to anyone and no one owes them anything .
Religious people are the slaves of their beliefs and depend on what others think for them .
Atheism was not , is not and will not be a religion .

I don't know any atheists who "believe" God (take your pick, there are plenty) does not exist. All the atheists I know simply do not believe God does exist.

Therefore, our minds are clear, concise and FREE and not beholding to the whims of any mystical supreme fairy tale being

* Atheists can be happy, balanced, moral, and intellectually fulfilled.

Here is what I gather. What do you think Atheism is?



"Atheism is a religion", for some strange reason, is often used by theists to criticise non-believers. A couple of examples from my email and guestbook:

"Do you have a belief that atheism is true? If no, then you're lying, if yes, then you are acting on faith. If you don't believe in God, you must believe in something or someone else. An atheist doesn't simply lack positive belief in God. The atheist has positive belief in the non-existence of God."

"The Religion of Atheism is for the totally unrational person, which is why Atheists account for less that 10% of the population. There are Ulterior Motives to Atheism, namely : Admitting the obvious of an INtelligent Creator introduces accountability and someone who is bigger and more important than oneself ...and, it impedes on the present less than desirable and/or immoral (incl. sexually, in most cases) lifestyle that the Atheist has chosen for himself. Both of these can be summarized by Pride."

It seems odd for a follower of a faith to try to attack atheism by saying it is also a faith. I think the reasoning is that if atheism is a faith or religion, then atheists have no cause to criticise other faiths or religions. One flaw in this argument is that if atheism were indeed a religion, then theists would have no reason to criticise atheism being taught in schools as part of religious education, or even the setting up of atheist-run schools alongside Baptist, Catholic and Muslim schools.

Somehow, I think voices may be raised in protest should that happen. =)

Alternatively, the idea is that atheists are hypocrites for attacking the faithful when atheism itself is a result of faith.

However, the big problem is this :

ATHEISM IS NOT A RELIGION OR A FAITH!

Atheism, by definition, is the absence of theism. If you cannot say "I believe in a Deity/God/Supreme Being" then you are an atheist. If you are not a theist, then you are an atheist.

As mentioned in the Introduction page, there is a subtle but important difference between "believing there is no God", and "not believing there is a God". The first is a belief, the second is a lack of that belief. I don't know any atheists who "believe" God (take your pick, there are plenty) does not exist. All the atheists I know simply do not believe God does exist.

There is a big difference between positively believing that a thing does not exist, and simply lacking belief in it's existence. In many cases, atheists will say "That God does not exist", not because they choose to do so, but because, from the description of the God, it cannot exist due to contradictory attributes. In the same way that a square circle cannot (and therefore does not) exist, a God defined as (for example) all-knowing, yet cannot see into the future, cannot and does not exist because the definition is self-contradictory. If you describe your God with self-contradicting attributes which make it logically impossible, then I may safely say that such a thing does not exist as described. This is not faith - this is reason.

If someone asked you about unicorns, would you say "I believe there are no unicorns", or would it be more honest to say "I do not believe in unicorns"? These are two different answers. Nobody disbelieves in unicorns purely as a matter of personal faith.

Again, apply the same reasoning to the Gods of other religions. Example : if you are a Christian, do you believe the Hindu God Ganesh does not exist? Or do you not believe in Ganesh?

If you believe that unicorns do not exist, then may I say that you a member of the "No unicorns" religion? Is it a matter of faith that unicorns do not exist? Can I come along to your non-unicorn church with you tomorrow?

If you are a Christian, do you believe Ganesh does not exist? Why, then you must be a devout follower of the "No Ganesh" faith!

Do you see where this is going? [ Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit, but it's excellent for getting a point across.

If me not believing in your God is a faith, then you not believing in other Gods is an equal faith. How many Christians do you know who would say they do not believe in other Gods as a matter of faith?

If my atheism with respect to your deity is a religion, then your atheism with respect to other deities is also a religion.

How does atheism differ from religion and faith? Let me count the ways...
The following is usually yes for theists and no for atheists.

Belief in God(s)
Prayer
Churches / temples
Holy Book / Scripture
Priests / religious leaders
Belief in supernatural (including angels / devils)
Miracles
Afterlife
Holy wars
Heaven / Hell
Lifestyle restrictions (dress, diet, marriage etc. etc.)
Belief without evidence (faith as a virtue)
Belief despite conflicting evidence
Supernatural origins of universe and / or humans
Murderous fundamentalist extremists
Annoying street / doorstep preachers
The soul
Regular ceremonies / acts of worship
Sin
Blasphemy
We are God's chosen people


Atheism is neither religion nor faith, but the happy freedom from them. Declaring it to be otherwise, sadly, will not make it so.

Would you agree?

Belushi,

Thanks for posting that excerpt. As a child, when reading definitions, I discovered that my beliefs met the definition of 'atheist'. Then I discovered that many people think 'atheists' were inherently less ethical than other people, which baffled me because I saw (some!) Christians thinking they could continue to do wrong as long as they asked for forgiveness, and atheists generally seemed more thoughtful and premeditative in their choices.

Anyway, its simply absurd to think that atheists are inherently less moral than theists...yet so many theists seem to believe this.

I don't know if atheism is a religion or not. But I have noticed that quite a few atheists spend a good bit of time in this religeon forum.

Atheists spend lots of time in religion threads to observe religious fanatics on how far they can go in following others ideas and preaching .