Dear Atheist pt. 2

[savethedreams]

Why aren't most atheist and/or agnostic ..

Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian...or Zen Buddhist? sense they really don't have a religious kind of foundation, and some support the idea of atheist, so why title atheist and not Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian?

by the way *coughs* *taps shoulder* ummmm *whisper silently* What exactly is Taoism, the 'religious' perspective of it, only religion on wikipedia that confused me out of all of them.

OH! *taps shoulder again* What is REALLY the difference between Humanist and Unitarian just asking thanks! love you

 

[Chirpy]

Hi Savethedreams,

I consider myself an Atheist. I'm also a Humanist because I don't believe in God and believe in a rational basis for ethics. Humanism is based on Atheism/Agnosticism. I'm not a Confucius (Confucianist?) or Taoist because I don't know what those involve. I'm not a Unitarian because that seems to involve following Jesus and I have a few difficulties with some of his teachings.

I went to a Unitarian service once and it seemed like quite a nice occasion socially. The people there were very thoughtful and respectful. I think it might even be possible to be and Atheist and a Unitarian. I get the impression that they are non-dogmatic. The difference between them and Humanists seemed to be that the Unitarians focus on Jesus and the Bible whereas Humanists look to science, reason and human nature. I don't think there's a hard line between them so I think it's possible to be both. We had a Unitarian come to our Humanist group and tell us why he thought Jesus never existed (See the Jesus Puzzle by Earl Doherty). That at least indicates that there's some overlap.

Cheers,
Chirpy.

 

[linwood]

Hi Savethedreams,

I consider myself an Atheist. I'm also a Humanist because I don't believe in God and believe in a rational basis for ethics. Humanism is based on Atheism/Agnosticism.

No actually it`s not.
Humanism was started by members of the Abrahamic faith.
They simply did not want their religion mixed with their politics.

There are humanist Jews humanist Christians and so on, you can be a theist and be a humanist as well.

Humanism is based on an ideology based on objective realism that puts the welfare of humans first and foremost.

As for the OP...why?

Why does an atheist need to have his ethical system handed to him in the form of religious dogma even non-theistic religious dogma?
Why can`t he/she simply figure it out themselves?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why aren't most atheist and/or agnostic ..

Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian...or Zen Buddhist? sense they really don't have a religious kind of foundation, and some support the idea of atheist, so why title atheist and not Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian?

Because each of those labels have beliefs that go along with them, and individual atheists don't necessarily agree with them.

Also, when you get into more "fringe" beliefs, if a person wasn't raised in it, they'd have to go looking to find it and learn what it's about before they decide to accept it.

Take Taoism, since you mentioned it: I don't really know that much about it, but I don't feel any particular need to learn more about it.

OH! *taps shoulder again* What is REALLY the difference between Humanist and Unitarian just asking thanks! love you

A humanist is someone who believes in the inherent value of all people. A Unitarian is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church (and presumably someone who believes in their Principles).

IMO, it'd be pretty hard to be a UU without being a humanist, but humanism itself doesn't necessarily imply acceptance of beliefs in the way that the UU promotes.

Speaking for myself, my beliefs generally align with the UUs and I briefly tried attending a UU congregation, but I never really got into it. Togetherness is all fine and good, but I guess I didn't see the point of getting up early on Sunday morning (early for me, anyhow) to sing songs about it.

 

[Chirpy]

No actually it`s not.
Humanism was started by members of the Abrahamic faith.
They simply did not want their religion mixed with their politics.

That's a fair point. It all depends on what you mean by the word "Humanist" though. I was using it to mean Secular Humanist - as represented by the British Humanist Association and the American Humanist Association. There are also Religious Humanists who have ethics which are close to the Secular Humanists but have religious beliefs. I must admit I don't know much about the history of those groups and need to do more reading.

Cheers, Chirpy.

 

[Diederick]

I'm an Atheist and a Humanist. I don't believe in god = Atheist, I care about people = Humanist (oversimplified).

 

[savethedreams]

Because each of those labels have beliefs that go along with them, and individual atheists don't necessarily agree with them.

Also, when you get into more "fringe" beliefs, if a person wasn't raised in it, they'd have to go looking to find it and learn what it's about before they decide to accept it.

Take Taoism, since you mentioned it: I don't really know that much about it, but I don't feel any particular need to learn more about it.


A humanist is someone who believes in the inherent value of all people. A Unitarian is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church (and presumably someone who believes in their Principles).

IMO, it'd be pretty hard to be a UU without being a humanist, but humanism itself doesn't necessarily imply acceptance of beliefs in the way that the UU promotes.

Speaking for myself, my beliefs generally align with the UUs and I briefly tried attending a UU congregation, but I never really got into it. Togetherness is all fine and good, but I guess I didn't see the point of getting up early on Sunday morning (early for me, anyhow) to sing songs about it.

Slowly I'm having a new revelation.... Can I join your side?

 

[Penumbra]

"Secular Humanist" applies to me, but I don't use any particular overarching label. I use the word atheist when describing whether I believe in deities or not.

I don't consider myself a follower of tao, zen buddhism, unitarian universalism, or confusionism either because I disagree with them or I find them to not have much to do with any beliefs or lack of beliefs I have.

 

[Revoltingest]

Why aren't most atheist and/or agnostic ..

Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian...or Zen Buddhist? sense they really don't have a religious kind of foundation, and some support the idea of atheist, so why title atheist and not Confucius, Taoist, Humanist or Unitarian?

I'm just not big on joining groups to be spiritual. I find it creepy.

 

[YmirGF]

I'm just not big on joining groups to be spiritual. I find it creepy.

Some of us just don't need to be part of the herd, quite frankly. We are secure enough without a need for external props.

 

[dust1n]

Why aren't most atheist and/or agnostic ..

Confucius,

Confucius propagated false ideals about civil duty and inherent responsibility.

Taoist,

The Tao Te Ching is ******* awesome, but there are small things that I don't agree with. After all.. it was just a Chinese guy writing a book.

Humanist

Why would I use Humanist over Atheist? Humanism doesn't even address ontological questions.

or Unitarian

Historically, Unitarianism was a denomination within Christianity. The term may refer to any belief about the nature of Jesus Christ that affirms God as a singular entity and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, but is usually distinguished from Arianism which was rejected by mainstream Christianity, a consensus of Christian bishops at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Unitarian Universalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Universalism broadly refers to a theological belief that all persons and creatures are related to God or the divine and will be reconciled to God (Universal Salvation).



I don't believe in God.

...or Zen Buddhist?

Although I agree with various Buddhist concepts, I don't believe in the basic tenets (for example that desires are the cause of all suffering) and I don't believe in enlightenment (same for Taosim).

by the way *coughs* *taps shoulder* ummmm *whisper silently* What exactly is Taoism, the 'religious' perspective of it, only religion on wikipedia that confused me out of all of them.

Tao Te Ching

 

[savethedreams]

Confucius propagated false ideals about civil duty and inherent responsibility.



The Tao Te Ching is ******* awesome, but there are small things that I don't agree with. After all.. it was just a Chinese guy writing a book.



Why would I use Humanist over Atheist? Humanism doesn't even address ontological questions.



Historically, Unitarianism was a denomination within Christianity. The term may refer to any belief about the nature of Jesus Christ that affirms God as a singular entity and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, but is usually distinguished from Arianism which was rejected by mainstream Christianity, a consensus of Christian bishops at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Unitarian Universalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Universalism broadly refers to a theological belief that all persons and creatures are related to God or the divine and will be reconciled to God (Universal Salvation).



I don't believe in God.



Although I agree with various Buddhist concepts, I don't believe in the basic tenets (for example that desires are the cause of all suffering) and I don't believe in enlightenment (same for Taosim).




Tao Te Ching

okay but, I said in another thread that you can not believe in those thing enlightment and concept of god and be still a toasist and buddhist. So you can be a Atheist buddhist who doesn't believe in reincarnation. SO, NOW i'm confused.