Natural atheist
When we are born we are all Atheist and we are also nudist when we are born. Like wearing clothes we were also taught about religion. The ideas is not in our minds until we are told about them. Just like the the animals, we are free of such ideas. Let freedom ring!
Raymond Haley
One of my favourite stories: An alien lands on Earth and happens to meet an atheist. It turns out that the two can converse in each other's language and still be completely understood thanks to some technology on the alien's ship.
Theatheist says: You know, my husband and I don't believe in God.
The alien says: You don't believe in what?
And the atheist introduced the alien to this very Terran concept of religion...
I am not an atheist. The reason is very simple. In order to be an atheist one must have a belief in the non-existance of a god that is every bit as commited as the beliefs held by those who worship.
Maybe I am an agnostic - although the definition there is "just don't know". If I were forced to choose a flag to wave I would really like one that says "I really don't gave a rats arse" - sadly I cannot find that option on the form!
Love n stuff
Rudie x
I make a difference between atheist with a capital A and atheist with a lower-case A. The one with a capital A is convinced that no god exists, none whatsoever. The one with a lowercase A is ready to look at the evidence and change his or her mind if the evidence calls for for it.
When it comes to the existence of a god in any way, shape or form,I tend to be an atheist with a lower-case A. For all we know, he or she may be hiding somewhere. Until he or she decides to revealhim- or herself, there's really no point in losing sleep over it. In this case, it's similar to being an agnostic.
When it comes to the existence of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim god, then I'm an Atheist with a capital A. Quite simply, I'm convinced that no god, nor any other being, could ever be all-powerful, all-knowing and all-merciful at the same time. If all-knowing, he will know when a tragedy will occur. If all-powerful, he will be able to prevent the tragedy. If all-merciful, he will prevent the tragedy or at least restore the victims to their pre-tragedy state. Since he or she does not, she either is not all-powerful or not all-knowing, or doesn't give a rat's ass what happens to victims.
Two out of three is close, but no cigar.
Haha, that made me chuckle Gerry. Sowhat's the difference between a lowercase A, and an Agnostic?
A lower-case A atheist has no reason to believe any god exists until such evidence is presented to show that being's existence.
An agnostic believes that any such knowledge is beyond our reach. We'll neverknow it, so why worry about it?
There is a difference.Whether that differenceis important depends on each person's politics, I guess.
I think the term 'atheist' originated in 18th century Europe and was used by christian ministers as a derogatory term for non-christians. Since they were purporting their religion as the only 'true' religion, atheism was meant to include persons with other religious beliefs (jews, muslims, etc.) as well as the non-religious or anti-christian.
So I think it's proper to say that in order to be an atheist, one has had to have previously been introduced to and rejected at least one religious tradition. If you've simply been raised without religious indoctrination, then you are more properly referred to as simply non-religious. Therefore it's not 'natural' to be an atheist, but rather it's natural (passive) to be without religion. To be an atheist requires making a specific choice about religion.
So I think it's proper to say that in order to be an atheist, one has had to have previously been introduced to and rejected at least one religious tradition. If you've simply been raised without religious indoctrination, then you are more properly referred to as simply non-religious. Therefore it's not 'natural' to be an atheist, but rather it's natural (passive) to be without religion. To be an atheist requires making a specific choice about religion.
Good points re atheist/non-religious. I was brought up (by my 2 scientist parents) without any real religious training. Back then, it wasn't as accepted as now to be atheists, so whenever we were asked about our religions, we were "Protestant" just not practicing at the time. So in a sense I may be more non-religious than atheist. However I do believe from the law of Nature and the lack of credible and concrete evidence that there isn't any deity with super-powers that violate the laws of Nature as we know them.
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