All Religions

[9harmony]

A new born baby would have no belief one way or another about God, they can not be atheists.

there is a story about a young couple who had a new baby and a 4 yr old little girl, the 4 yr old asked if she could go talk to the baby alone, since the couple had a baby monitor in the room they said okay, and what they heard brought tears to their eyes, the little girl walked up to the crib and said "tell me about God, i'm forgetting".

So imho we are born with the knowledge of God, yet the material world has a way of obscuring that knowledge and we spend our lives searching to regain what we've lost.

 

[lunamoth]

If a baby were born and raised in a culture that had no belief in Something More, there would be another philosophy or set of mores to take the place of religion. And almost certainly that philosophy or earth/material-based social ethic would include things like ritual and worship of something. These are the trappings of human social structure and certainly anthopologists would confirm that any culture no matter how primitive in our view incorporates these religious activities to some degree. Even secular people in our society today have activities and outlets that make very little sense except to view them as 'spiritual' activities, such as the accumulation of weath, being a sports fan(atic), collecting objects, participating in artistic expression. Humans are social and humans are organizers. If structure is lacking we create it, and next thing you know we have a new 'religion.'

2 c,
lunamoth

 

[eudaimonia]

In order to be an atheist, you believe there is no God or deny the existence of God. A new born baby would have no belief one way or another about God, they can not be atheists.

Very few self-identified atheists define atheism in this way. Atheism simply refers to a lack of belief in deities.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[PureX]

Very few self-identified atheists define atheism in this way. Atheism simply refers to a lack of belief in deities.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Atheism is the belief that there is no god. Agnosticism is the position of not knowing if there's a god or not. And theism is the belief that there is a god/s.

 

[reyjamiei]

Very few self-identified atheists define atheism in this way. Atheism simply refers to a lack of belief in deities.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Defining atheism as a lack of belief in deities is vague and wrong.

The word Belief also means: The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another

If I say someone believed in me, I don't mean that they believe I exist (they know I exist), I mean they had faith in me or trusted me or had confidence in me.

By defining atheism as a lack of belief in deities, it is possible for a person to believe that God exists but not believe in him (or have faith in him) and still be an atheist.
In other words a person can believe in God and not have confidence in him and still be an atheist by that definition.

The word Lack means: Deficiency or absence but it also means To be without or in need of, To be in need of something, and the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.

By defining atheism as lack of belief in deities, you could be saying that atheism or atheists is/are in need of belief in deities or in a state of needing belief in deities.

The Dictionary definitions of Atheism are:
1. a. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
b. The doctrine that there is no God or gods.
2. Godlessness; immorality.
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God
2. a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods

 

[Moses the God Archetype*]

Defining atheism as a lack of belief in deities is vague and wrong.

The word Belief also means: The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another

If I say someone believed in me, I don't mean that they believe I exist (they know I exist), I mean they had faith in me or trusted me or had confidence in me.

By defining atheism as a lack of belief in deities, it is possible for a person to believe that God exists but not believe in him (or have faith in him) and still be an atheist.
In other words a person can believe in God and not have confidence in him and still be an atheist by that definition.

The word Lack means: Deficiency or absence but it also means To be without or in need of, To be in need of something, and the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.

By defining atheism as lack of belief in deities, you could be saying that atheism or atheists is/are in need of belief in deities or in a state of needing belief in deities.

The Dictionary definitions of Atheism are:
1. a. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
b. The doctrine that there is no God or gods.
2. Godlessness; immorality.
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God
2. a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods

m: What is your point.......atheists have no belief system rooted in the spiritual of course, if you read the bhagavad-gita krishna says as such.....are you atheist are not?:flower2:

 

[Mike182]

m: What is your point.......atheists have no belief system rooted in the spiritual of course, if you read the bhagavad-gita krishna says as such.....are you atheist are not?:flower2:

there are atheists who identify with pagan spiritualities. they are undeniably atheists, yet undeniably spiritual

 

[Moses the God Archetype*]

there are atheists who identify with pagan spiritualities. they are undeniably atheists, yet undeniably spiritual

m: Beloved do you not realize that the form of hinduism that i adhere to is not rooted in paganism:tsk: ......tho you do have a pantheistic nature within the belief system.....to give you better understanding krsna says that theres no point in woshiping the gods for the benefits they bestow upon you is thru Gods grace alone, that is why they have the ability to bless you, it is thru para-brahma(krsna/vishnu) that they do so:flower2:

 

[Mike182]

m: Beloved do you not realize that the form of hinduism that i adhere to is not rooted in paganism:tsk:

if you look at what i wrote, you will see that i was making an argument against what you said about atheists not being spiritual, it is possible to be spiritual without believing in God, i used atheistic pagans as an example of this.... how you managed to interprit that as a comment on hinduism being pagan is completely beyond me :sarcastic

......tho you do have a pantheistic nature within the belief system.....to give you better understanding krsna says that theres no point in woshiping the gods for the benefits they bestow upon you is thru Gods grace alone, that is why they have the ability to bless you, it is thru para-brahma(krsna/vishnu) that they do so:flower2:

i worship my Gods for various reasons, how is this relevant to the debate at hand?

 

[Arkangel]

A good parent does what he thinks is the best for his child, that is the end of discussion. You, me and no one else as a right to judge what Genes or what belief a parent passes down. Nobodyelse loves or cares for that child more than a parent so then why should a book written down pass its belief and not a parent.

A father or a mother who are devout religious people, think that the path they have chosen is the right one as all of us in the forum and those who everywhere believe so. And they like to pass on the right things to the ones they love, their children. Now if a child grows up and starts to think what is parents taught him is not right, he can change and does who do not dont become idiots for there act of sticking to what there parents taught.

Culture too is passed on similarly and so is names, memories, stories, legends now do we have to stop these too.

Morality has become part of religion whether that is good or bad is another debate but as long as it stays this way, parents will and should teach childern what they believe. They are not just passing their genes and name, they are also passing their belief, knowledge, way of life, and faith to make what they stood for meaning something.

 

[reyjamiei]

m: What is your point.......atheists have no belief system rooted in the spiritual of course, if you read the bhagavad-gita krishna says as such.....are you atheist are not?:flower2:

My point is, as I thought I made clear in the first sentence of my last post, is that defining atheism as lack of belief is vague, meaning that it could be taken to mean something that it's not based on the definition given.

I don't believe in God or any deities but I do not identify with any atheists that I've ever met and most of the ones I have met, I didn't even like. I no longer refer to myself as an atheist because of this, even though I don't believe in God.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

99% of people with a religion, believe in a religion that was chosen for them by someone else, and all of them can say,"I did not choose my name, my mother or father, or my religion".
Who said? "Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you a (your religion here) for life".
If all the children in the world were not taught about religion, it would die in one generation.
All this may be true, but if you have been captured, you will not agree with one word of this.
PS. Everyone is born an Atheist.

Even though I was raised in Christianity, I made the decision to be a Christian for myself when I decided to be baptized. My parents didn't even push me to make that decision. A parent's job is to teach his or her child what they believe to be right, and how the child should live. Ultimately, the child makes the decision when they come of age to go along with this, or to drop what their parents have taught them and the child makes the decision on what to believe.

 

[scitsofreaky]

Even though I was raised in Christianity, I made the decision to be a Christian for myself when I decided to be baptized. My parents didn't even push me to make that decision.

What if you had been raised Hindu, or Muslim, or any other religion, would you have still chosen to become a Christian? Ok, that isn't an answerable question, but my point is that while they didn't openly force you to become a christian, they injected you with the beliefs for your whole life and so you see it as the truth, whether or not it actually is. Which directly relates to:

A parent's job is to teach his or her child what they believe to be right, and how the child should live. Ultimately, the child makes the decision when they come of age to go along with this, or to drop what their parents have taught them and the child makes the decision on what to believe.

I think that a parent's job is to raise his/her child to make their own decisions while being aware of the consequences.

 

[smiling4ever]

you have to seak about the TRUE religion

 

[ayani]

perhaps it's more like "religion chooses you"?

true, we can look into other faiths and the traditions we were raised in, but i've always felt that it's something beyond our intellect which allows us to believe and remain steadfast in study (and searching).

 

[Moses the God Archetype*]

My point is, as I thought I made clear in the first sentence of my last post, is that defining atheism as lack of belief is vague, meaning that it could be taken to mean something that it's not based on the definition given.

I don't believe in God or any deities but I do not identify with any atheists that I've ever met and most of the ones I have met, I didn't even like. I no longer refer to myself as an atheist because of this, even though I don't believe in God.

m: So be it......because you are buddhist your thoughts do not suprise me in the least bit, for the hindu faith is the fountain spring to which buddism came, and they do not accept the Godhead either.....which is not a promblm for everyone has there own paths to follow some choose bhakti-yoga like myself or some choose jnana-yoga the path of knowlegde....as my lord krishna would say; to each there own according to there temperament.:flower2: