Atheism

1. 70

   speaseposted 11 years ago

   What is an atheist?
   
   How do you atheists define yourself?  What do you believe or not believe about our existence?

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   1. 60

      Jeramiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I understand Atheism to mean 95% of the time   ...  to be a discized (sp?) form of anti reliogin which is a different issue than that of  Creator!

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   2. 59

      Mark Knowlesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Personally, I am slightly offended that I even need to label myself such, but basically - I don't believe in a god. That is what the word means. Lack of theism.
      
      I define myself as a human.
      
      I also happen to be anti-religion, and loudly anti-religionist, but that does not necessarily apply to all atheists and has no bearing in the meaning of the word a-theist.
      
      I am not sure I understand the third question. Could you be more specific?
      
      Plus - why do you ask?

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2. 72

   Cagsilposted 11 years ago

   Wouldn't it been better for you to watch the forums, get informed on who is an Atheist and then check out their hubs?
   
   I mean seriously. It beats the hell out of starting yet another religious thread, which I am pretty sure you could have done a search of, before you opened this one.
   
   Do religious folk even think before they do something? I wonder sometimes.

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   1. 70

      speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have read many of the forums and I would like to see if there are any atheists that would like to have a discussion without calling names and saying people who believe in the Bible are stupid.

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      1. 72

         Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Well then, I have only two things to say.
         
         (a) Good luck with that
         (b) I'm not Atheist.
         
         Have fun.

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3. 86

   gamergirlposted 11 years ago

   Here are the Reader's Digest versions of the replies you're most likely to get:
   
   "Hi, I'm a hypocritical Cafeteria Christian.  God is awesome, isn't he?"
   
   "OMGWTFNOREALLY, ANOTHER PERSON WANTING TO PREACH TO THE ATHEISTS?"
   
   "You're dumb and so is your religion."
   
   "There is no God."
   
   "Hi, I'm an insightful and caring forum poster.  I'm here to make one really long post about the benefits of letting people believe how they wish, and then I'll step out of the thread forever."
   
   "herpderpderp... drooooool"
   
   "OBAMA IS SATAN'S HANDYMAN, AND GAY MARRIAGE IS A SIN! ALSO, KITTENS."
   
   I hope this saves you ten to fifteen pages of trouble.

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   1. 70

      speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Why is there so much hatred against something you don't believe?

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4. 86

   gamergirlposted 11 years ago

   I don't harbor hatred against the beliefs.  I harbor irritation and amusement at the heavy-handed proselytizer wherever they appear.
   
   You can believe in a purple faced diamond shaped igloo that serves as an IMAX movie screen and feeds all the starving people in the world via osmosis and creme brulee for all I care, it's the arrogance in thinking that atheists are just people who need to be bashed over the head with "Biblical truth" that makes my eyeballs twitch.

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   1. 70

      speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not trying to bash anyone over the head with anything.  I would just like to have a rational discussion about something that I feel passionate about.

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      1. 86

         gamergirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Tell ya what.  I'll bite.
         
         To answer the OP:
         
         
         
         A person who denies the existence of supernatural forces, rejects faith-based belief systems, and/or enjoys living in the real world.
         
         
         
         Answered that already.
         
         
         
         I believe I was born as a product of a natural process, raised in awareness based on the many, many cycles of evolution that brought us to this point, and someday, I will die and my existence will cease.  I believe this process is the same for all creatures, no matter what their personal belief structure may be.

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         1. 70

            speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            If you believe in evolution, does that not take a lot of faith?  What proof is there that we evolved from a different species?

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            1. 86

               gamergirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               The marked difference between faith in an invisible pink unicorn and in science is that you can physically see, measure and cross-verify scientific data.
               
               If the first thing you're going to challenge or question is the validity or presence of proof, then I'm afraid we're done here already. Science proves it's claims.  I've yet to see actual proof from any religious or spiritual individual as to the basis of their faith.

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               1. 70

                  speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Science is the process of proving theories.  Evolution is a theory that is unproven.  If you believe in the big bang, how did any type of living organism form from the matter that exploded from the big bang?

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                  1. 86

                     gamergirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Science lesson time:  a theory is constantly tested, and contains principles one can observe, record and verify.  Darwin's theory of evolution has been tested, battered against, and in the almost two centuries since it's presentation, the theory remains SOUND.  Every test of evolutionary theory has been met with verifiable proof the theory is correct.
                     
                     Now, as far as the big bang goes, the chemical processes and materials by which living organisms formed and evolved into higher and more complex organisms began at that moment of explosion.  Microorganisms of the universe, unite!

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                        Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        YAY!

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                     2. 70

                        speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        Why are there no creatures that are in the process of evolving into another species?  Why are there no fossils of creatures that died while they were evolving?  How do 2 creatures that are evolving into the new species become both sexes at the same time so they can mate and produce more of their species?
                        
                        These things are not proven, they are theories.  Doesn't it take faith to believe that this is true?  Man has never been able to create life from inert matter to prove that the process you say created life is possible, how do you know that is true?

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                        1. 85

                           Jane Bovaryposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           There are. Archaeopteryx, has a reptilian skeleton with a bony tail, teeth, and four paws with jointed fingers...
                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx

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                              speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              In the story you reference it says most experts regard all the remains that have been discovered as belonging to a single species.  There is no partially evolved creature here.

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                              1. 85

                                 Jane Bovaryposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 It says "Archaeopteryx is a clear candidate for a transitional fossil between dinosaurs and birds", which you claimed didn't exist.

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5. 86

   gamergirlposted 11 years ago

   I'm going to attempt to break away from teaching you about science, since you don't seem to really care to follow rational discussion on facts.
   
   
   
   Inference is not faith.  Acknowledgement of our current understanding of findings based on thousands of tests and recorded elements is not faith.

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   1. 70

      speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You have not given any facts.  I have never seen any proven fact that evolution from 1 species to another has ever happened.  A scientific proven fact is for instance, the laws of gravity.  It is easily proven that gravity exists, even though we can't see it because if we drop something, it falls to the ground.  What are the proven facts that support evolution?

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      1. 85

         Jane Bovaryposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Evolution 101...
         
         http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01

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         1. 70

            speaseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It talks about how they have several plausible models of how macro evolution would happen, it's still only theory;  There is no proof.

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      2. 86

         gamergirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Would you like me to Google it for you?
         
         Let me put it this way:
         
         The ONLY material (propaganda) that is distributed that "disproves" evolution in any way is spread by religious organizations.  Considering that the vested interest for religious organizations is the expansion of their numbers and thus the spread of their prevailing belief system among other things, this isn't surprising.
         
         Beyond that point, if you'd like a staggering list of the many supportive facts for the validity of evolution, I'll be happy to give you a link:
         
         http://www.proof-of-evolution.com/index.html
         
         It's even written in a point of view that I think will resonate with you, instead of a dry, scientific journal or peer reviewed article, which I think you may be more likely to simply discard in favor of asking five or six more questions without offering anything of your own.

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6. 62

   PaulGoldenposted 11 years ago

   Atheism and Evolutionists are two different people.  And Atheist simply believes there is no God.  An Evolutionist (Most common in science) is somebody who believes in Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
   
   Theory doesn't mean "idea" btw.  It means a claim backed by science.  So, for someone who doesn't believe in God it seems a logical theory.  Microbiology being a HUGE factor in the theory of evolution.  To simplify it... if you pour toxins on bacteria they will die.  Buuuut, some will live, adapt and adjust to form an entirely new strain of bacteria that lives off of toxins.  This isn't a main argument for Evolution, but it is a great example of what a Theory is.
   
   Christianity, however, is not a theory.  There is no scientific evidence of a creator, and nor should any true Christian want there to be.  If God exists and it's proven this destroys faith.  You can't have faith if you have no doubt.  (Example: A chair is a chair, I don't have faith in a chair.  I can only have faith it won't fall.)
   
   An argument I hear Christians use a lot is, "Scientists are divided on the theory of evolution" ... which is funny, because there's some 3300 different denominations of Christianity.  Scientists are pretty much in agreement with only a handful of different theories and translations of Evolution.
   
   So, if you really want the proof of evolution go to wiki or google and be bored out of your mind.
   
   If you want to prove God exists, you won't.  It's impossible.  God is in your heart, not a physical being.  Enjoy your relationship with him and don't worry so much about what other people think.
   
   That's my two cents.

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