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| Topic: Is Atheism a religion? | |
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I would say not a religion but a way of thinking....maybe to some a religion. I think you would have to ask them. Atheism = non beliefs of godsrmation of the nonexistence of gods Pantheism = believes that the trees are god, the mountain is god...that my dog spot is god. This is what came to me regarding this thread. Matthew 13 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, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. 14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. Man wrote the bible in parables because it can fit into more than one scenerio, making it easier to pass off as some divine work of revelation. All religions must claim to have some kind of divine knowledge that is above the normal for people to believe they are superior and therefore special. Otherwise all religions would fail. My opinion of course. 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 No offense here of course, but I read it perfectly and if I gave my view you would probably be offended, I can tell already, so I will just say, people see what they WANT to see in the bible, and I will leave it at that. Just my opinion of course Hello feral. Unfortunately, the Scripture you quote is meant for believers. The fact that you post it and the response it invites only affirms this. I would congratulate you on receiving it, however, the argument will provide fruitless results. You can provide Scripture only to those willing to accept it as infallible. Sadly, all else are spiritually discerned to it. Very true indeed. What's sad is the anger by those who don't get it. Instead of seeking God out they have to bash those who express their faith to others. The Psalams talks about "why do the heathen rage?" |
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Here is what I gather. What do you think Atheism is? Atheism can only exist because God doesn't if the existence of God could be established then Atheism would fall..but since a God could never prove it's existence then Atheism can only be perceive as being rational thinking God proved Himself repeatedly to His own people. Despite having seen the "Shekinah" (a cloud of white hot smoke that ascended into heaven), or the glory of God, they still fell into worshipping false gods. So I wonder, having the truth of the Bible which gave that example, even if God were to tap you on the shoulder, would you believe then? Because that same Bible says that you wouldn't. That is part of His all-knowing character. "Why waste the time" seems like the perfect sylligism against showing a people who wouldn't believe anyway. I could be wrong. So true...even Jesus said that to the cynics. They killed the prophets & then God's Son. Some are just rebellious. a cynic can just be thought of as someone that chose to think rationally when there is not enough sufficent proof to think otherwise ....if Jesus was truely the son of God then he could have easily establish that fact but choose not to or couldn't...so the blame lies on Jesus's shoulder for being inept .also it's an on going debate wheather jesus ever claim that he was the son of God ..a son of a God would have no problem proving that he was the son of a God and wouldn't have to die to prove the point |
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I would say not a religion but a way of thinking....maybe to some a religion. I think you would have to ask them. Atheism = non beliefs of godsrmation of the nonexistence of gods Pantheism = believes that the trees are god, the mountain is god...that my dog spot is god. This is what came to me regarding this thread. Matthew 13 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, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. 14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. Man wrote the bible in parables because it can fit into more than one scenerio, making it easier to pass off as some divine work of revelation. All religions must claim to have some kind of divine knowledge that is above the normal for people to believe they are superior and therefore special. Otherwise all religions would fail. My opinion of course. 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 No offense here of course, but I read it perfectly and if I gave my view you would probably be offended, I can tell already, so I will just say, people see what they WANT to see in the bible, and I will leave it at that. Just my opinion of course Hello feral. Unfortunately, the Scripture you quote is meant for believers. The fact that you post it and the response it invites only affirms this. I would congratulate you on receiving it, however, the argument will provide fruitless results. You can provide Scripture only to those willing to accept it as infallible. Sadly, all else are spiritually discerned to it. Very true indeed. What's sad is the anger by those who don't get it. Instead of seeking God out they have to bash those who express their faith to others. The Psalams talks about "why do the heathen rage?" Heathen's rage because christians are so damn condasending. Your post perfectly describes my expierence with christanity and why so many people hate it. what's sad is the anger by those who don't get it
Translation: I look down upon you because your angry and don't accept my truth as the only truth. Instead of seeking God out they have to bash those who express their faith to others.
Translation: You shouldn't bash christians, instead you should follow our path and become one. I simply do not talk about my religion, or my faith. I'm content with believing it for me. Yet the other side of that is for 20 years, anytime i've bought up my religion or faith to the majority of christians i've been called a 'Heathen', a weirdo, i've been looked down upon, made fun of, and my religion has been bashed beyond belief. I use to be angry, and that anger was more then justified. I've learned sense then that fools are fools. They rarely can accept any other viewpoint but there own. You want to know the ultimate contradiction in the bible? in the same breath you where saying it was wrong for others to bash people because they express there beliefs, you called everyone else "heathens". Lets take this arguement out of faith. if i said "It's sad that you can't hit the golfball the right way. Instead of getting angry, you should be learning how i hit the ball, weirdo' You wonder why people get angry. The thing you guys forget is that most of us look at the golf score after the game. 9/10 times, we like our score much better. |
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Red wrote:
He may well think that my seeing only falicy in the place of religions is a belief I'm bound to. Red, I wasn't thinking of any specific belief of yours. It just seems to me that 'allegiance to a belief' in and of itself is a kind of shackle - it doesn't matter whether that belief is derived from a religion or from another source. So anyone who suggests that atheists are categorically 'more open minded' than theists is propagating a lie. And if they claim that they personally came to atheism due to a 'love of truth', then maybe their love of truth ended after they put on the clothes of atheism - otherwise they would think more carefully about the validity their beliefs. I feel silly for saying such an obvious thing as the following; but when I was 16 it was not obvious to me at all that: theists, on the whole, might be equally open minded as atheists. I've known many theists who are very capable of sincerely entertaining and examining new ideas, even those very alien to their core beliefs, and many atheist who react with strong emotion and irrational argument to any idea that threatens their beliefs. Atheists are simply not categorically 'more openminded' than theists. It all depends on the individual. |
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CreativeSoul: Thanks for your comments!
 The ideas you bring forward are in the same family as those which I'd like more atheists to consider.
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Actually it's becoming a religion. Plenty of people that believe there is no higher power are finding eachother and agreeing with eachother.
To me, this is one of the most interesting posts in this thread. I strongly agree that there is increasing momentum behind the tendency for atheists to identify with each other and with a certain collection of beliefs. The popularity of some of the atheists authors mentioned in this thread plays a role in this. This does not make "atheism" a religion. Is 'theism' a religion? No, its simply a position on the existence of something. (Or 'Someone'.) The only essential quality of a theist is that they believe in 'a God', not any particular god of any religion. Theism is not a religion, and atheism is not a religion. It is, bizarrely, possible to having something very like an "atheist religion" - and the way some readers of some atheists authors march in lock-step with that author's beliefs helps make that possibility more clear to me. But even if there was an obviously 'atheist religion', it would not make atheism itself a religion. It's kinda a pathetic topic.
I hope you meant 'opening post' ? I think its an interesting and important topic. The biggest difference is athiests could care less if its a religion or not.
Or course, my beliefs are what they are, and anything else is just labels. So in a way I don't care what labels people apply as long as they are meaningful and consistent. But when -some- Christians try to claim that 'atheists' are participating in 'a religion', they are mis-using these words in a way that spreads ignorance. And that, I do care about. |
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nope, atheism is not a religion or a faith because there is no unseen, unknown, belief in that arena. Actually, you believe there is not God. That is a belief since you can not prove whether or not he exists. |
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Is Atheism a religion? a religion requires the pratitioner to follow the laws set forth by a God since Atheists follow no God therefore it is not a religion |
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Is Atheism a religion? a religion requires the pratitioner to follow the laws set forth by a God since Atheists follow no God therefore it is not a religion I am not sure about that. Jedi is an official religion and there is no god. I also dont think Buddhism believes in a god, but they are a religion. |
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Edited by
Redykeulous
on
Tue 07/01/08 10:03 PM
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Massage,
when one identifies themselves as an atheist, I do not automatically assume we hold the same values for anything. If I take that person at their word and if their word (atheist) holds the same definition for him or her as I give it, than I believe that person is not a theist. Of course that belief is conditional on all assumptions holding true. You see Massage, you have taught me somethings. As far back as our first encounter where we discussed the difference in the definition of agnostic. Thanks to you inspiration I no longer BELIEVE that everyone uses the same definition or puts the same values on words as I do. So NOW, you have indicated that there are areas in which you think or see that atheists hold enough similar beliefs and values to be considered a religion, but you have not given us an accounting of what those might be. I still have a great amount to learn - I'm willing to review what you have to say - so speak and clarify your position. As always it's great to talk with you. |
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Is Atheism a religion? a religion requires the pratitioner to follow the laws set forth by a God since Atheists follow no God therefore it is not a religion I am not sure about that. Jedi is an official religion and there is no god. I also dont think Buddhism believes in a god, but they are a religion. any set belief in which the practitioner worship no God is called a "philosophy" Atheism is not a philosophy or a set belief because atheism would fall if the existence of God could be proved ..but since the existence of a God could never be proved Atheism is merely rational thinking to prove this point ..simply reveal rationally how you would know that a being that claimed that it was God was actually God the belief in a God is the litmus test between reality and delusion so to claim that atheism is a religion is delusional |
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 As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense |
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Edited by
MirrorMirror
on
Wed 07/02/08 05:13 AM
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense  They put their faith in science and rationality. They believe humans are the highest power. They posit a past and a future and a way for humans to reconcile with an absolute truth. These are common features of all belief systems.
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense They put their faith in science and rationality. They believe humans are the highest power. They posit a past and a future and a way for humans to reconcile with an absolute truth. These are common features of all belief systems.
to express a thought and/or an opinion is a belief but it doesn't make every thought and/or an opinion a religion .. a religion requires a belief in a God ...Atheism does not meet this requirement ..especially since a religion is based on not being able to prove the existence of their God...that's why their religion can only be nothing more than a belief and not truth |
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense They put their faith in science and rationality. They believe humans are the highest power. They posit a past and a future and a way for humans to reconcile with an absolute truth. These are common features of all belief systems.
to express a thought and/or an opinion is a belief but it doesn't make every thought and/or an opinion a religion .. a religion requires a belief in a God ...Atheism does not meet this requirement ..especially since a religion is based on not being able to prove the existence of their God...that's why their religion can only be nothing more than a belief and not truth You are mistaken about that. There have been religions that do not believe in a god. The eastern religion called Jainism is a prime example of this.
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense They put their faith in science and rationality. They believe humans are the highest power. They posit a past and a future and a way for humans to reconcile with an absolute truth. These are common features of all belief systems.
to express a thought and/or an opinion is a belief but it doesn't make every thought and/or an opinion a religion .. a religion requires a belief in a God ...Atheism does not meet this requirement ..especially since a religion is based on not being able to prove the existence of their God...that's why their religion can only be nothing more than a belief and not truth You are mistaken about that. There have been religions that do not believe in a god. The eastern religion called Jainism is a prime example of this.
a belief that worship a standards of set beliefs without a God is classified as a philosophy not a religion ...a religion consist of the laws set forth by a God not a Man |
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As far as I can tell atheism is a sort of religion. it has all the traits of a religion. I suppose a better word for it would be a philosophy. That being said, I have noticed over the years that atheist do indeed catch a lot of flack from people of faith (of all religions). At one time I considered myself an atheist but no matter what i did I could not escape "GOD". However, there are some elements of atheist philosophy that have merit (in my opinion).
a religion requires faith to believe in an unprovable God ....Atheism requires rational thinking to realize that the God is unprovable a religion requires that one worship a God ..Atheism requires that one worship their rationale a religion worship the laws of a God a philosophy worship a set belief a atheist worship their common sense They put their faith in science and rationality. They believe humans are the highest power. They posit a past and a future and a way for humans to reconcile with an absolute truth. These are common features of all belief systems.
to express a thought and/or an opinion is a belief but it doesn't make every thought and/or an opinion a religion .. a religion requires a belief in a God ...Atheism does not meet this requirement ..especially since a religion is based on not being able to prove the existence of their God...that's why their religion can only be nothing more than a belief and not truth You are mistaken about that. There have been religions that do not believe in a god. The eastern religion called Jainism is a prime example of this.
a belief that worship a standards of set beliefs without a God is classified as a philosophy not a religion ...a religion consist of the laws set forth by a God not a Man A religion is more than a "deity". I understand what your saying This is what my college textbook says:
This is what makes a religion: 1. The Absolute (need not be a deity) 2.The World ( a view of the world) 3.Humans (what are they?) 4.The Problem for Humans (enstrangement from the absolute) 5. The Solution for humans (how to reconcile with the absolute) 6.Community and Ethics 7.An interpretation of history 8.Rituals and symbols 9.Life after death (is there one?) 10.Relationship to other religions. If a philosophy has these things it is a religion.
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A religion is more than a "deity". I understand what your saying This is what my college textbook says:
This is what makes a religion: 1. The Absolute (need not be a deity) 2.The World ( a view of the world) 3.Humans (what are they?) 4.The Problem for Humans (enstrangement from the absolute) 5. The Solution for humans (how to reconcile with the absolute) 6.Community and Ethics 7.An interpretation of history 8.Rituals and symbols 9.Life after death (is there one?) 10.Relationship to other religions. If a philosophy has these things it is a religion.
yes "MirrorMirror" a "philosophy" may have those beliefs if it choose to but those same rules could also apply to the philosopy of a serial killer so does that means that serial killing is a religion... that's why a religion requires a God ..your college textbook may need to be undated ..just like the science books when it comes to the planet Pluto |
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Edited by
MirrorMirror
on
Wed 07/02/08 07:27 AM
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A religion is more than a "deity". I understand what your saying This is what my college textbook says:
This is what makes a religion: 1. The Absolute (need not be a deity) 2.The World ( a view of the world) 3.Humans (what are they?) 4.The Problem for Humans (enstrangement from the absolute) 5. The Solution for humans (how to reconcile with the absolute) 6.Community and Ethics 7.An interpretation of history 8.Rituals and symbols 9.Life after death (is there one?) 10.Relationship to other religions. If a philosophy has these things it is a religion.
yes "MirrorMirror" a "philosophy" may have those beliefs if it choose to but those same rules could also apply to the philosopy of a serial killer so does that means that serial killing is a religion... that's why a religion requires a God ..your college textbook may need to be undated ..just like the science books when it comes to the planet Pluto yes indeed you are correct. Many things can be considered a religion. From our perspective, yes a religion must have GOD. I never said that I believe all religions are true. The textbook is the most current edition for my World religion class. Im not disagreeing with you Funches. Im just trying to explain it as I was taught in school. These are the parts that all religions have in common.
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