"What is atheism?"
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.






I was not sure what atheist was so I looked up the meaning.
I am so sick of reading all these attacks on God, Jesus, and
certain religions...I do not attack your beliefs...Why do you attack
mine...This area is for disscusion not attacks...
My opinion is: I feel sad for people that don't believe in God,
very sad...I also feel sad for people who are miss informed and
give out information that is wrong or half right...Before anyone jumps
me for posting this...I got this information from
an ateistic web site...
I believe in God and am proud to admit it...We all have a will
to choose what we believe and a choose...
Everyone have a good day!!!

everyone has a right to their beliefs but i would have to say that an
athiest must have such a cold heart and must be hollow
inside

AMEN TO THAT

it is not ignorance,don t judge anybody.their just confused
and nobody in the right state of mind took the time to
help them or they had a bad lifestyle,thats not stupidity
and ignorance.you have to agree that there are too many
denominations and it confuses them and even the ones that
are faithful with their own beliefs get confused,they don t
know what to beleive,i understand.every church is always
trying to add another soul in the church,thats extra money
in the offering plate ,right.....i never seen it going to
the poor

This is supposed to be in the religion sectiom...
I am so sorry...
My computer is doing really weird things today!!!

it alright teddy bear this is about relationship advice and it seems
there are plenty of people confused as to were they stand on the god
relationship trip

Lisa, I am going to have to disagree with that statement. I am an
atheist and I think I am FAR from being cold hearted. And as hollow, I
have to be THE most caring sensitive person going. My lack of believes
does not make me any less of a person. Being an atheist is my belief
that is it. Does not make me any less of a person. I think that
statement was a very general one and not at all correct. It is not a
belief that makes up a person. It is the person alone that makes them.

No matter if I was a Christian, or anything else. I would still be who I
am. A person could be just as "cold hearted and hollow" without being an
atheist.

well iam sorry i just think that not having a belief in God
must be cold and lonely
really i dont what being an athiest is
what can possibly be in your heart to give you any subtstance of life if
you dont believe in God

some of the nicest people i know are atheistic. they are also among the
most intelligent and most logical.

let's face it...when you break christianity down, it does NOT make much
sense.

I find it disturbing that so many people that believe in God look
down on others who don't.
They of all people should see them as equal as is taught
in the bible. The atheists I know are mostly warm hearted people,
always prepared to help, while a lot of those who claim to believe in
God, leave a lot to be desired.

Lisa, why do I need to belief in a supernatural being to give me some
sort of substance? How does me not believing in something I can not see
make me cold? I just can not see where you are coming from. Lulu is
right. When you break Christianity down, it does not make much sense at
all. I am happy with myself with what I belief. And in the end that is
all that matters.

everyone has a right to their beliefs
personaly i cant see how i could not have my beliefs
and still feel whole
call it passion
its just me
i was not personaly attacking anyone

Lisa you may not be attacking anybody, but it is still a very judgment
statement. Does your "Bible" not state not to judge?

i was not judging any one sory you took it this way
i was merely stating my belief

As an atheist myself, I will admit to a bias here, but I do think it's
going a little overboard to characterize atheists as a group as "cold
hearted and hollow."

The problem with that line of reasoning is you seem to be committing
yourself to the idea that life must inherently include some religious
aspect in order to avoid being empty and meaningless.

From my perspective, nothing could be farther from the truth.

I did not come by my atheism casually. I have read the Bible (in
various versions) cover to cover, seven times. I am familiar enough
with the material that my friends who are Christians will come to me
with questions about where to find such-and-such quote or event.

I have done a great deal of reading about other religions, too. Right
now I am in the middle of the complete works of Josephus, as well as
Asimov's Guide to the Bible.

But, after a great deal of research and thought, I have reached the
conclusion that it simply doesn't add up. There is too much
manipulation, too much brainwashing, too many internal contradictions,
too much arbitrary inclusion vs. arbitrary exclusion (do some research
on the gospels and other books that were not allowed to be included in
the final version of the Bible, it's amazing), too many things that only
work for the benfit of the "leaders," etc. --

I see "sin" as nothing more than an ancient, primitive and superstitious
misunderstanding of cause and effect, going back to the days when people
attributed evetything to gods and other supernatural beings.

OK, so atheism works for me. Ask the people who know me and I doubt if
any of them would call me cold-hearted or hollow inside.

But, at the same time, I'm willing to be proven wrong, which I suppose
would put me into the "weak atheism" category, because I believe it is
absolutely essential to be open to learning new things, and to being
wrong.

And if God comes over and talks to me about this, and had some
credentials that can be verified, I will be the first to admit I was
wrong.

The real problem with this whole topic is that in necessarily boils down
to the question of the existence or non-existence of a deity. And
that's a tough question, because when you get right down to it:

a.) I don't know, and

b.) You don't know either

We have our assumptions, our guesses, our preferences, and that's all
fine and good because it serves as the basis for more discussion and
learning, unless you end up with people such as some on the Religion
forum, who KNOW EVERYTHING and who are ALWAYS RIGHT, even when their
beliefs are demonstrably pulled, fully-grown, from their rectal
cavities.

The bottom line is we will not actually know anything until we die, at
which point I personally believe that's the end of it, period -- but I
know I could be wrong. And I'm OK with that, it's not like I haven't
already been wrong ten million times in my life, and will be wrong
probably twenty million more times in the future.

But to categorize all atheists, across the board, as cold-hearted and
hollow -- ?? That's like the people who post "Why are all men
_________?" or "Why do all women __________?" It's just too
all-encompassing, too "blanket-statement" for me.

Some of us really don't need God (or, at least, we perceive it that way,
in our demonically-inspired and -influenced erroneous thinking patterns,
according to some) in our lives.

That doesn't make us bad people, or cold, or hollow, or stupid, or
ignorant, or misguided. It just means we don't believe something that a
lot of other people do believe.

When you start attributing negative characteristics to a whole group of
people, simply because they hold a different belief, then I think you
need to take a look at where your own perspective comes from.

I certainly don't see all religious people as "foolish" or "naive" or
"gullible" simply because they believe as they do. There are "foolish"
and "gullible" and "smart" and "wonderful" people in both camps.
Everybody is an individual.

If I believed in God, I believe that's how he would want me to look at
others. Each as his/her own individual, each with his/her own
individual worth and value and humanity.

Lex is have some difficulty with the site so I am posting his post on
his behalf
==================================================================


As an atheist myself, I will admit to a bias here, but I do think it's
going a little overboard to characterize atheists as a group as "cold
hearted and hollow."

The problem with that line of reasoning is you seem to be committing
yourself to the idea that life must inherently include some religious
aspect in order to avoid being empty and meaningless.

From my perspective, nothing could be farther from the truth.

I did not come by my atheism casually. I have read the Bible (in
various versions) cover to cover, seven times. I am familiar enough
with the material that my friends who are Christians will come to me
with questions about where to find such-and-such quote or event.

I have done a great deal of reading about other religions, too. Right
now I am in the middle of the complete works of Josephus, as well as
Asimov's Guide to the Bible.

But, after a great deal of research and thought, I have reached the
conclusion that it simply doesn't add up. There is too much
manipulation, too much brainwashing, too many internal contradictions,
too much arbitrary inclusion vs. arbitrary exclusion (do some research
on the gospels and other books that were not allowed to be included in
the final version of the Bible, it's amazing), too many things that only
work for the benfit of the "leaders," etc. --

I see "sin" as nothing more than an ancient, primitive and superstitious
misunderstanding of cause and effect, going back to the days when people
attributed evetything to gods and other supernatural beings.

OK, so atheism works for me. Ask the people who know me and I doubt if
any of them would call me cold-hearted or hollow inside.

But, at the same time, I'm willing to be proven wrong, which I suppose
would put me into the "weak atheism" category, because I believe it is
absolutely essential to be open to learning new things, and to being
wrong.

And if God comes over and talks to me about this, and had some
credentials that can be verified, I will be the first to admit I was
wrong.

The real problem with this whole topic is that in necessarily boils down
to the question of the existence or non-existence of a deity. And
that's a tough question, because when you get right down to it:
a.) I don't know, and

b.) You don't know either

We have our assumptions, our guesses, our preferences, and that's all
fine and good because it serves as the basis for more discussion and
learning, unless you end up with people such as some on the Religion
forum, who KNOW EVERYTHING and who are ALWAYS RIGHT, even when their
beliefs are demonstrably pulled, fully-grown, from their rectal
cavities.

The bottom line is we will not actually know anything until we die, at
which point I personally believe that's the end of it, period -- but I
know I could be wrong. And I'm OK with that, it's not like I haven't
already been wrong ten million times in my life, and will be wrong
probably twenty million more times in the future.

But to categorize all atheists, across the board, as cold-hearted and
hollow -- ?? That's like the people who post "Why are all men
_________?" or "Why do all women __________?" It's just too
all-encompassing, too "blanket-statement" for me.

Some of us really don't need God (or, at least, we perceive it that way,
in our demonically-inspired and -influenced erroneous thinking patterns,
according to some) in our lives.

That doesn't make us bad people, or cold, or hollow, or stupid, or
ignorant, or misguided. It just means we don't believe something that a
lot of other people do believe.

When you start attributing negative characteristics to a whole group of
people, simply because they hold a different belief, then I think you
need to take a look at where your own perspective comes from.

I certainly don't see all religious people as "foolish" or "naive" or
"gullible" simply because they believe as they do. There are "foolish"
and "gullible" and "smart" and "wonderful" people in both camps.
Everybody is an individual.

If I believed in God, I believe that's how he would want me to look at
others. Each as his/her own individual, each with his/her own
individual worth and value and humanity.

Lisa wrote:
"what can possibly be in your heart to give you any subtstance of life
if you dont believe in God"

The human spirit?

Just a guess.

Sorry for that double post everybody.

Whatever peoples beliefs may be.......


We all falter from it @ times.



And we All make judgements from time to time.


It is called HUMAN!

quick question: if an atheist falters from his belief...does he
suddenly believe in God, if only for a minute?