Just thought I would share a few quotes from my favorite atheist - Douglas Adams - and open them up for discussion:

"Yes, I think I use the term 'radical' rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as 'atheist,' some people will say, "Don't you mean 'agnostic' " I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It's easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it's an opinion I hold seriously."

"Now it is such a bizarrely improbably coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful [the Babel fish] could have evolved by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
     The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
     "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED"
     "Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."

"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?"

"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."

I'm listening

And if you want more - there are loads here - Positive Atheism

In the garden I sense no fairies, but somehow if there is still a feeling of fairies, do I deny this feeling?

knolyourself wrote:

In the garden I sense no fairies, but somehow if there is still a feeling of fairies, do I deny this feeling?

If you sense no fairies, how can there be a feeling of fairies? Are you sure you haven't just been listening to the guy who insists there are fairies and tells you that if you believe it too, you will be better off ?

How should I Frasier this? Fairies are more fun.

Have you seen the YouTube clip where Richard Dawkins invites Douglas Adams to read from the Hitchhikers' Guide? If not, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ygqJ5ZA5ss

Oh Mark, you woke up on the not self side of the bed today! I guess after all it is Palm Sunday when Jesus rode the ass into Jerusalem to prove that he had human imperfection (and a good sense of humor!) but could still be an instrument of God/Universal Truth/Energy...and your not real self had to take charge just to make sure your Real Self couldn't peep out a bit! and bring your soul some solace.

And you don't believe in fairies either? I call them elementals and they bring me joy. Of course you can't feel them...you are too busy allowing your not real self have the say in everything!

And...you know for a fact Douglas Adams was an atheist?...it wasn't just that the character in his book was atheist? Maybe Dougy was just having a not self kind of day when he created the atheist character.

Well, shame on you, Mark, for not believing in fairies or Jesus on his ass or even the univesally-known fact that Douglas Adams was a member of the Church of Latterday Saints!

Where have you been all your life?

Nobody said anything about shame but you Thom!  I guess I forgot to put in some smilies so people wouldn't make assumptions that come from within their own subconscious!

I read Douglas Adams when I was a teen...so its been a few decades! Obviously I didn't pursue his work because I intuitively knew his path was not mine to follow. So no, I never knew he was an atheist. Just like you may have never considered that Jesus had a sense of humor...riding an ass...you have to admit that's a pretty good one

Mark Knowles wrote:

Just thought I would share a few quotes from my favorite atheist - Douglas Adams - and open them up for discussion:

"Yes, I think I use the term 'radical' rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as 'atheist,' some people will say, "Don't you mean 'agnostic' " I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It's easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it's an opinion I hold seriously."

"Now it is such a bizarrely improbably coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful [the Babel fish] could have evolved by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
     The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
     "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED"
     "Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."

"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?"

"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."



I'm listening

And if you want more - there are loads here - Positive Atheism

So is atheism your religion...or should you start another thread:D?

LOL

Well, I was just having a little fun. I never see Jesus laughing in all those thousands of paintings I have seen of him, but I am keen to learn more about his sense of humor.

Thom - no I hadn't seen that clip.

DA was very much an atheist - no question.

And I guess atheism is the other side of the coin.

Fairies - No, never seen one. Felt them? who knows?

Mark Knowles wrote:

"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."

I'm listening

LOL.  So, the contradiction never goes away.  Hoping there is no afterlife is no different philosophically than hoping there is.  I'm confident in the afterlife, but, if I wasn't, I would hope I wouldn't have to hope there wasn't.  I'd hope I was certain there was not.

LOL

No, of course not - there is only one way to be certain whether or not there is an after life

But, what I found funny was the praying that there wasn't an afterlife. Douglas Adams was awesome and definitely one of my all time favorite writers. He could put a smile on any one Well, almost anyone.

So, is the thread Atheism Rules (guidelines)(!), or Atheism Rules (Yay atheists)(!)?

Both

Clearly atheists need rules, but you better be careful, pretty sure there will be different denominations of atheists.  Didn't you guys learn anything from religion?

Sounds like you guys need a Messiah too.

You didn't know? :

Peter

There can never be separate denominations of atheists. Denominations arise because people have different interpretations of the same belief.  Atheism is not a belief, it's an absence of belief.   There is no variety in absence. 

It's like the difference between having hair and being completely bald.  If you have hair, you can style it in lots of different ways.   If you have no hair, you just have a chrome dome and that's it.   


I'm not an atheist - I'm happy to just wait and see what happens.  The principles of living a good life are the same whether you're a religious or non-religious person so what does it matter, really, whether you believe or not?   I don't adhere to the view that if I haven't "accepted Jesus as my saviour" I will go to Hell.  That suggests Jesus (and God) are mean, vengeful characters who would send a good person to Hell just because they refused to take unverifiable information as fact, and that would be just plain silly - and if They are mean, vengeful and silly, then I wouldn't want to have anything to do with Them anyway!

I prefer Picard, but a Star Fleet Captain comes pretty darn close.  They do always seem to save the day.

LOL Mark, I used to be in your camp for quite some time. In fact, probably 90 to 95 percent of Soviet Union population were atheist. Based on everlasting works by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Brezhnev we religiously believed there is no such thing as god.

Well, I already got rid of quite a bunch of lies I was taught at that times. And while I'm not 100% sure yet, I strongly suspect this "scientific atheism" was a lie, too

And you know me - I'm not likely to believe to a bunch of ministers whose religious zeal is based on what they were taught themselves and do not really understand. This does not differ a tiny bit from "scientific atheism" of Soviet times.

But we have people here whose experience is no doubt first hand (at least for me) - people like Sandra, Peter, and Jenny... And that makes me thinking hard...

I guess you too are thinking - cause your interest to the topic is obvious

Marisa Wright wrote:

Peter

There can never be separate denominations of atheists. Denominations arise because people have different interpretations of the same belief.  Atheism is not a belief, it's an absence of belief.   There is no variety in absence. 

I realize this, Marisa.  I was just teasing Mark a little.  Our religious banter goes waaaaay back, 4-5 days at least.