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Any Downside to Atheism?

Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
Wait, was it belief SYSTEM? I thought it was just belief.

OK, for clarity, strong atheism is NOT a belief system.
 
K

Kerr

Well-Known Member
mohammed_beiruti said:
If you obey your desires then your desires is your God. regardless
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If you follow the actual definition, then no, our desires can never be our God. If you widen the concept of "God" then maybe, depending on what you mean... In any case, most people doesn´t follow just their desires, we have other drives as well, such as morality.
 
Autodidact

Autodidact

Intentionally Blank
Storm said:
Of course it is. Once you have a belief, you have an assertion. "There is no God" is just as unevidenced as "YOUR ALL GOING TO HELL SINNERS!!!11!"


Not what I meant, doll.

Just most beliefs are positive, and the rules get kinda bendy when you break out of that mold.
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No, I don't mean I believe it strongly. I mean I'm a Strong Atheist. I positively claim that there is no God. I have a belief that God does NOT exist.
 
Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
Kerr said:
Just a quick question... what do people mean by belief system here? Wikipedia has several articles about the subject, for example, and I am a bit confused of what people mean with it, even though I suspect they mean it in the religious context.
Belief system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sorry if I sound stupid.
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Storm said:
Wait, was it belief SYSTEM? I thought it was just belief.

OK, for clarity, strong atheism is NOT a belief system.
Click to expand...

Kerr said:
I think so (that it was belief system and not belief), but I have issues with words, lol.
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Storm said:
Well, the two are rather different. Give me a sec and I'll review the thread to be sure.
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:eek: Reviewed the thread, and the original phrase used was "belief pattern" by footprints. I assume that's the same as "belief system." Mea culpa. :eek:

OK, so to reiterate my clarification: strong atheism, while a belief, is not a belief system.

I apologize for any confusion I may have caused. :sorry1:
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Storm said:
Well, they're far from universal, but two trends I've noticed are devaluation of ritual and an utter failure to grasp what myth is. It should be noted that many believers share in the latter. :(
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I suppose my approach to ritual may "devalue" it compared to the perspective of many religious theists, but I don't think that ritual has zero value.
 
K

Kerr

Well-Known Member
Storm said:
:eek: Reviewed the thread, and the original phrase used was "belief pattern" by footprints. I assume that's the same as "belief system." Mea culpa. :eek:

OK, so to reiterate my clarification: strong atheism, while a belief, is not a belief system.

I apologize for any confusion I may have caused. :sorry1:
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Nope, I won´t accept your apology, because making a simple mistake that everyone does every now and then is criminal!

Kidding, no worries. It was actually not directed specifically at you, just wanted cleared out what people actually meant with the word so there would be no misunderstandings.
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Storm said:
Would you care to elaborate on that?
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I read the best analogy I ever encountered for my attitude to ritual in a book by Douglas Adams (the Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, maybe?): iron filings. Iron filings by themselves aren't particularily valuable or important in their own right, but when you sprinkle them on a magnet, suddenly they emphasize things that were always there, but not necessarily apparent.

Personally, most of the explicit examples of ritual in my life I encounter through my martial arts. While I don't think there's any intrinsic link between, say, bowing and respect, I do think that mentally attaching them together and practicing the ritual of bowing helps to emphasize and remind me of the respect I have for my teachers, my school and my discipline as a whole. And while I could probably learn just fine without the brief meditation we have at the beginning of class, I find that it helps me focus more on practice by creating a separation from my martial arts and all the "everything else" that could distract me from it.

Basically, I think that while the form of rituals is often arbitrary, they can be employed for useful purposes.
 
Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
9-10ths_penguin said:
i read the best analogy i ever encountered for my attitude to ritual in a book by douglas adams (the long dark tea-time of the soul, maybe?): Iron filings. Iron filings by themselves aren't particularily valuable or important in their own right, but when you sprinkle them on a magnet, suddenly they emphasize things that were always there, but not necessarily apparent.

Personally, most of the explicit examples of ritual in my life i encounter through my martial arts. While i don't think there's any intrinsic link between, say, bowing and respect, i do think that mentally attaching them together and practicing the ritual of bowing helps to emphasize and remind me of the respect i have for my teachers, my school and my discipline as a whole. And while i could probably learn just fine without the brief meditation we have at the beginning of class, i find that it helps me focus more on practice by creating a separation from my martial arts and all the "everything else" that could distract me from it.

Basically, i think that while the form of rituals is often arbitrary, they can be employed for useful purposes.
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Ita. :)
 
Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Well-Known Member
Storm said:
Well, they're far from universal, but two trends I've noticed are devaluation of ritual and an utter failure to grasp what myth is. It should be noted that many believers share in the latter.
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"I've noticed are devaluation of ritual and an utter failure to grasp what myth is."

No more then any theist, Storm. Atheist are not different then theist; these lines you are looking at, they only exist in your perception.
 
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Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
Jeremiah said:

"I've noticed are devaluation of ritual and an utter failure to grasp what myth is."

No more then any theist, Storm. Atheist are not different then theist; these lines you are looking at, they only exist in your perception.
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It would help if you read the whole post.
 
Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
Jeremiah said:
Nice, cop-out answer, Storm. But you are still building lines that do not exist.
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No, I'm really not. The OP didn't ask for problems exclusive to atheism, it asked if there were ANY. I think there are, but I also made a point of sying that they're neither universal nor exclusive.

However, if you're hellbent on taking offense, I don't much care. Just stop trying to put words in my mouth as justification.
 
Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Well-Known Member
Storm said:
No, I'm really not. The OP didn't ask for problems exclusive to atheism, it asked if there were ANY. I think there are, but I also made a point of sying that they're neither universal nor exclusive.

However, if you're hellbent on taking offense, I don't much care. Just stop trying to put words in my mouth as justification.
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I am not putting words in your mouth, Storm. I am just understanding what you said and that is why you are upset with me.
 
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