Forums → WEPR → Reasons to be an Atheist .
| 660 | 146845 |
Alright I have been researching theories talking with other Atheists and I have discovered some people who are Atheists but for the wrong reasons like...
1.Settling a score with God because they hate him for (whatever)reasons.
2.Just because.
Some good reasons...
1.There is no evidence.
2.A book written by primitive people is no proof for any God/Gods.
3.Nothing can be omniscient and omnipotent.
Any other reasons can be stated for I am interested in some of your reasons or reasons not to be.
- 660 Replies
I don't really think Atheism has much links to wars. Correct me if I'm wrong, but other than the participants of a war being atheist, I don't really see any reason why atheism itself would cause a war.
You're correct that Sens. Many people have illogically claimed that atheism is a major factor for wars because many leaders of our century have been atheist, or at least very lax in their religion to the point that it hardly matters, Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin, etc. Fact is, what motivates them is not their atheism, but a host of reasons, such as the search for Lebensraum by Hitler.
Or are we going to claim that since Saddam, Gaddafi and Assad all have facial hair, our beards cause wars too? Don't be daft or parochial.
I don't really think Atheism has much links to wars. Correct me if I'm wrong, but other than the participants of a war being atheist, I don't really see any reason why atheism itself would cause a war.
Uh... French Revolution anyone? That is the prime example of atheism causing a war... or at least genocide. After the rejection of the king and the sociological structure created from previously Catholic/Christian France, the entire country was shaped by the "religion of reason"- even the calender was changed because of its Christian roots (coupled with the desire to create a more 'logical' calender). Eventually, the movement got out of hand, and anyone who even looked like the cousin of a dissenter got beheaded during the Reign of Terror.
Atheism is not a cure for fanaticism. Is it less susceptible? Perhaps, perhaps not. But there have been fanatics that are atheist.
Uh... French Revolution anyone? That is the prime example of atheism causing a war... or at least genocide.
The main cause of the revolution was political in nature. Further fueled by a poor economy. The situation then isn't to far off from what we are seeing happening in America now. The lower class suffering while the upper class is getting a free ride.
This looks like the most relevant topic to put this in that's less than a month old. History lesson! Because I want to get this out of my head from a facebook discussion so I can get some more work done.
Atheist the word originated from the Greek word atheos-ist. This meant godless, abandoned by the gods, belief there was no god and was used as an insult. Often Christian and Hellenists would throw this insult back and forth at each other. It was thought at the time that one couldn't simply lack belief in a god.
The English word atheist was derived from the French word athee or atheiste which came about around the mid 16th century. This was also around the time the word theist and deist came into play, each holding their current definitions. This French word atheiste was still rooted in the Greek word atheosist. However around the mid 17th century thanks to French materialists we began to slowly break away from this idea that one couldn't simply lack belief in a god and the word that was used as an insult was taken on as a stance of belief. At the time it referred specifically to the disbelief in the Christian God but was later expanded upon to include all gods of every religion. The term atheist made a full transition from atheos-ist (belief there is no gods) to the more inclusive a-theist (without belief in god/gods) in the early 20th century where the new term was cemented.
This usage of atheist is also where we get the muddling of the word agnostic as a sense of belief. The modern usage of agnostic was coined by Thomas Huxley aka Darwin's Bulldog. Now he freely took on the accusation of being an atheist that Christians of his time would call him. however several years later he would come to say that he saw that atheism as well as theism held a certain "gnosis" to them. He held that he did not know for sure whether there was or was not a God. Given the likely hood that most of the world at the time still was under the idea that one couldn't simply lack belief in a god it's likely this left Huxley without a term for his views. So he instead of using a term for his belief of whether a god existed or not, he used a term denoting his knowledge of the existence of a god, agnostic. Huxley was wrong on two counts here. 1) that a term for lack of knowledge replaced a term for belief and 2) that atheist was exclusively an active disbelief, which for his time had no longer been the case.
Since atheist also includes a simple lack of belief one can further expand ones stance on god by using the terms in conjunction. agnostic atheist, gnostic atheist, agnostic theist, gnostic theist.
Im athiest, It allows me to be free as I wish, though I do respect other peoples views, being athiest for me is alot better, takes too much thought and caring to have a religion. I dont really think there is a 'god', but yes, there may be some spiritual entities out there.
Alright I have been researching theories talking with other Atheists and I have discovered some people who are Atheists but for the wrong reasons like...
1.Settling a score with God because they hate him for (whatever)reasons.
2.Just because.
Some good reasons...
1.There is no evidence.
2.A book written by primitive people is no proof for any God/Gods.
3.Nothing can be omniscient and omnipotent.
Any other reasons can be stated for I am interested in some of your reasons or reasons not to be.
Explain reason 1. If I wanted to settle a score with God, how exactly would I become and atheist if I believed God existed?
Explain reason 1. If I wanted to settle a score with God, how exactly would I become and atheist if I believed God existed?
You wouldn't. That post was made by someone who apparently didn't understand what atheism is entirely. If you truly think you're getting back at something by denying it, that means you do believe in its existence, which would mean you're not an atheist but a theist.
Explain reason 1. If I wanted to settle a score with God, how exactly would I become and atheist if I believed God existed?
Well, he did list it under "the wrong reasons", but this is still true.
Ok, thanks. I was thinking I misunderstood atheism entirely. That first post was confusing. I'm still not convinced to be an atheist, though.
I'm still not convinced to be an atheist, though.
For me and most others...it's not that you decide to be an atheist (If you're raised in a religious family as most are). It's that you look at what's being said, find it just really doesn't add up, or conflicts, or contradicts, or simply is untrue, and realize that you don't believe in it.
Alright I have been researching theories talking with other Atheists and I have discovered some people who are Atheists but for the wrong reasons like...
1.Settling a score with God because they hate him for (whatever)reasons.
2.Just because.
To add to your bad reasons list I would have to say "Because it's cool". With such reason often comes a misunderstanding of what atheism really is.
Ok, thanks. I was thinking I misunderstood atheism entirely. That first post was confusing. I'm still not convinced to be an atheist, though.
If your beginning to question what you believe that often is a start. Keep in mind belief isn't actually a pick and choose sort of thing, even though many theists treat it as such. You either believe in something or you don't.
If it is because your starting to ask question I hope you continue, regardless of the outcome. Don't stop just because you might be afraid of ending up an atheist and no longer believing what you currently do.
There really is no archeological evidence against the Bible.
Yeah there is. I need to feed my bird and put him to bed and get myself something to eat myself, so I don't have time to pwn you properly. So here is a video listing just a few of the many point archeology has disproven. Oh it also is the first part of four debunking your favorite fundi Lee Strobel. But considering you are likely parroting Lee I'm not surprised.
Strobel Under Fire - Part 1 of a Four-Part Series
Now I will say there are Biblical points that are also supported by archeological evidence but non of the miraculous parts are.
Trick question. There are none.
Uh...yes, there are?
Are there reasons to not have a belief in unicorns/fairys/bigfoot/the lock ness monster/green martian aliens?
The most simple reason is there's no verifiable proof.
If your beginning to question what you believe that often is a start. Keep in mind belief isn't actually a pick and choose sort of thing, even though many theists treat it as such. You either believe in something or you don't.
There comes a time when christians question what they believe in. Millions of christians sometimes question there own beliefs including me. You should listen to some of the testimonies from when the people began to doubt and then come back to Christ.
Theres no reason to be atheist. You will be realized in your last moment. Anyway, if you believe in God but theres nothing like any almighty, would nothing be mad about ya?
Theres no reason to be atheist.
There are, believe me.
You will be realized in your last moment.
Who will realize me?^^
Anyway, if you believe in God but theres nothing like any almighty, would nothing be mad about ya?
Statistically, no matter what you believe in, the chance to get punished is a few thousand times bigger than the chance to get rewarded. So basically, it doesn't matter what you believe in, so you are free to believe in what you want. I love statistics! (Actually I hate it, but eh...)
You must be logged in to post a reply!