It seems that nearly everyone in the WEPR forum loves to argue about why their views are superior and why everyone else who thinks otherwise is wrong. Through my experience in this forum, it has been "God can't exist because of this and that" or "Atheists don't have morals" or "I believe that everyone from the Middle East are terrorists" and a heap of other hurtful stereotypes and poorly/distastefully selected (and often flat out incorrect) evidence.
I have created this thread for users to acknowledge and come to terms with any negative stereotypes and criticisms of their religion/atheistic views and, hopefully, we as a community, will be able to learn and grow past the level of pointless bickering.
It's hard to really say that there's any problems with Atheism, though, it doesn't really assert anything that requires proof and could therefore be questioned - it's simply not having belief in deities.
i dont think there are anymore jews stereotypes that are about judaism as a religion. of course there are millions of those directed to the race but i havnt heard anything about the religios itself for ages
I have to admit neither have I, Jews as a group seem to get sandblasted quite bit, but Judaism is fairly anonymous, it is rather strange.
Atheists are also said to be immoral or at least amoral, due to the prevalent belief that morals can only come from religious texts or talking crickets.
On the other hand, I am of the opinion that morality comes not from an theological text, but the environment and society in which a child is raised.
Apart from not being pantheist, not really. Actually if I would believe in a christian deity I'd imagine its omnipresence as being something similar to pantheism.
Out of the three varieties of pantheism listed in wikipedia, which would describe your views better? (and I'm just assuming you are pantheist, since you asked, I dunno if that's correct?)
Mainly physicalist. The spiritual side will probably be explained through physical means when we have a better understanding of how stuff is connected in nature.
I consider myself to be a fairly reserved person who doesn't force my beliefs on others. Yet, people in this forum (the WEPR) often associate me as being one of those "Bible-thumping do-gooders" just because I am a Christian and stand by what I believe in. Personally, I try not to impose Christianity on other people (after all, I don't like it when other people tell me that what I believe is wrong) But, just because of my creed, some users think I am ignorant and don't believe in science. I'm kind of going in circles now, but it still bugs me a bit how despite being placed in Honors and advanced placement courses people who don't even know me define me as being "ignorant".
Does anyone have any problems with Pantheism?
Not really, honestly I don't think I have ever met a pantheist in person :P
Personally, the only thing I dislike about being an Atheist is that every time I tell someone/am asked about it, inevitably it leads to at least a small argument on why I should believe in -insert- and stupid questions like why am I a satanist. One of the more frequent responses is "What? You're an Atheist? I never would have guessed that." Now, at face value, this seems like a stupid pronouncement. No one looks like what they believe, although they may wear symbols or typical garments of their religion. Looking deeper however, the reason they say this is because in their mind good things come from religion, and someone who seems nice and considerate and isn't an aggressive guy fits their view of a "good -insert-" despite that not being the case at all.
So yeah, long story short, I get asked stupid questions and people assume I'm an amoral ******* whenever I say that I am an atheist.
Which is why I usually say I'm non-religious to people who don't seem all that...smart/understanding, because then they assume 99% of the time that non-religious = doesn't go to church but still thinks that God exists.
Not really, honestly I don't think I have ever met a pantheist in person :P
Hmmm... I wonder if MGW is really a pantheist. He seems to hold science, reason, and nature in high regard without believing in supernatural realms or beings.
So yeah, long story short, I get asked stupid questions and people assume I'm an amoral ******* whenever I say that I am an atheist.
See, that's really dumb. I have atheist friends and they're some of the best people I know. Besides, atheism is not even close to satanism, so these people clearly don't know what they're talking about.
Oh, I have another issue with my faith. I'm Catholic and priests can't marry... in my opinion, that is just asking for trouble. I mean, I personally wouldn't mind having a priest with a family (at least a family that (s)he was open about). If Priests could have families, I'm sure that all of those nasty stories (we all know what I'm getting at here) would come to a stop.
Hmmm... I wonder if MGW is really a pantheist. He seems to hold science, reason, and nature in high regard without believing in supernatural realms or beings.
Given the description on the wiki page not sure I would call myself a pantheist.
"Pantheism is the view that the Universe (or Nature) and God (or divinity) are identical."
To me this is comparable to if I was to call my screwdriver god. We already have a words to describe this, so no need to use the term. Also as I have said I use the term god to refer to a being with control over some aspect of reality. So I wouldn't use god as a synonym for nature or the universe.
"the pantheistic opinion of those who believe in no other eternal being but the universe" -Gottfried Leibniz
I'm not so sure of the eternalness of the universe.
Though given the types, if I were to relate myself as one I would best fit the monist physicalist pantheist as it falls best with my views.
If I were to call myself by what I am rather then what I am not I would say I am a naturalistic, secular humanistic, logical positivistic skeptic. Possibly also a bit of a pessimistic idealist as well. Since I live deep in the Bible belt and globally about 90% of the world holds to some form of theism, I tend to call myself an atheist. Just as I might call myself a non-Asian if I were to live in a place where I was surrounded by people who were Asian. Not to mention all that stuff I do call myself is a bit long winded.
Also as I have said I use the term god to refer to a being with control over some aspect of reality.
*supereme control over some aspect of reality.
Another word I was use to describe myself would be freethinker. Which is usually the term I use when I want to avoid the hassles from the use of atheist, described by Kasic. Mostly when I'm in ear shot of my grandmother.
(Merriam Websters) freethinking; one who forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially : one who doubts or denies religious dogma
If I were to call myself by what I am rather then what I am not I would say I am a naturalistic, secular humanistic, logical positivistic skeptic. Possibly also a bit of a pessimistic idealist as well. Since I live deep in the Bible belt and globally about 90% of the world holds to some form of theism, I tend to call myself an atheist. Just as I might call myself a non-Asian if I were to live in a place where I was surrounded by people who were Asian. Not to mention all that stuff I do call myself is a bit long winded.
I get what you mean. You just say you're an atheist so that you don't have to go through a long-winded explanation of your personal views every time someone asks you what religion you practice. That makes sense.
