Well, a few days ago, we were doing a project in my history class. It was about the middle ages, and the crusades between Muslims and Christians. When one of the group members started asking what each of our religions were, I said, 'I don't know'. I really do know, I'm Atheist. But, my other friend said Atheist outright. And the member that asked, said, 'Oh, I'm sorry for you.' Later on, it spread that my friend was an atheist, and my bestfriend said, 'I can't believe he's Atheist. That's so bad.' Of course, I automatically questioned this. He said not bad, but he couldn't explain it. I don't think I'm a bad person. I don't think my friend is a bad person.
So, now I ask all of you, is being Atheist considered bad, looking at it from a neutral standpoint.
No, being atheist is not bad. Christians have done more bad in this world than atheists. Just because you don't believe in a deity, doesn't mean you're a bad person, it means that you think more logically. Of course, it's not the case with everyone, but most atheists tend to think a lot more than Christians do
Before one of the more zealous atheist (oxymoron?) comes here, I'll just like to point out that there will always be bad atheists, good atheists, bad Christians, good Christians. Don't judge based on religion, because it makes you a narrowminded bigot on par with fundamentalists.
To Christians, or Muslims or most religions non-believers are ''bad'' since well they don't put their faith in whatever same Invisible Man/Woman/Being that lives in the sky as they do. But it's all a construct, religion is a construct made by humans placed onto humans. It is a perception that someone has ''somehow'' decided thousands of years ago to impose on others.
No it's not. Christians just love making statements that push the assumption of the god existing, it being the true good and that you will feel everlasting pain for not believing in said god. One way or another even if you do subscribe to the deity some other religious person will say it's bad and that, that deity is a false god and you will burn in hell or whatever special room they have set for you.
nope its not. just close minded people who think everybody should be like them. what i dont understand is why they wouldnt say that being anything but christian is bad. just shows even more how illogical those people usually are
Well I don't see anything wrong with being an atheist. All it means is that you don't belive in a god. So... That seems fine to me. I don't see how not beliving in god could make you a bad person. It seems more to me that the kids are pretty close minded or afraid of what they don't understand. So instead they just shun it instead of trying to understand it. Its stupid, but it happens.
It's not bad to be one, I would try to question anyone who says it is. The response will either be the one you got from your friend, in which case the person hasn't really though about the subject for even a second and just believes it's wrong because he was told so, or the person will start spouting religious nonsense assuming that he's the only person that could be right about the subject, in which case he's a bigot.
Despite how simple a definition that is, I've found that around 95% of people do not know what an Atheist is.
Most people think it is one of these things.
1) A religion of apathy. 2) A religion where you can do anything immoral you want. 3) A religion made to bash other religions. 4) A religion that involves criminal acts. 5) Satanism (They don't know what that is either btw.) 6) A religion which believes life is pointless.
There's probably a lot more which people think it is which leads to this mass misconception of what atheism is. That, and all religions consider anyone other than their own religion to -at least- be poor unenlightend unfortunates, ranging all the way to flaming blashphemers who must be exterminated (The latter is not common but a large problem)
When one of the group members started asking what each of our religions were, I said, 'I don't know'. I really do know, I'm Atheist. But, my other friend said Atheist outright.
Atheism isn't a religion. So that was a bad answer anyways. If he doesn't follow any religion, that's called, "Not having a religion." If he simply doesn't believe a god exists, but is say, buddhist, then he's buddhist. There's no "atheist" religion whatsoever, it's just a term that means in the most basic sense, "Has no belief in a god or gods."
If he simply doesn't believe a god exists, but is say, buddhist, then he's buddhist.
Buddhism isn't so straightforward Kasic. Most reject the idea of a Prime Mover or Creator. We might believe in the idea of higher beings (Devas), but they aren't angels or Gods of other religions.
Alternatively some believe that there are Gods, but they are also suffering in samsara, the ongoing cycle of death and subsequent rebirth.
Yet others believe in a Supreme God because of how Buddhism has inter mixed with various local religions as it spread throughout Asia. My family preaches a strain of Buddhism that worships a pantheon of Gods (I.e Those with more typical God-like powers. Creators essentially), because of Taoist thought. They (excluding me) believe in for example one God who's name trumps all else, The Heavenly Jade Emperor. Sounds more a Dynasty Warriors character than God.
Either way, it's not so simple as generalising Buddhism in retrospect.
Either way, it's not so simple as generalising Buddhism in retrospect.
Nothing is as simple as it's generalized to be. I was just using it for an example because it's one of the religions out there that more commonly does not have a belief in a god.
Atheism isn't bad unless you really, truely, and completely think otherwise. Atheism is just another thing out there. The only reason why people think Athiesm is bad is because it's not big. Those who say it's bad means (probably a little more than half the time) they could think that there's only one thing: Everything is created by their god(s) when it's really evoloution. I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense. Morning blues...
Yes there is. I was being subtly sarcastic actually or probably more like facecious. But it is sensible if they're attacking your country or somebody else's if you see the injustice in that and you actually give a ****, but recently there hasn't been any decent wars. Not since WWII
