Atheism

[MightyHorse]

is the easiest religion to Troll.

[Thunder]

How is it possible for you to be an Atheist?

[skyrick]

How is it possible for you to be an Atheist?

Logic and reasoning.

[Uncle Slayton]

I do not mean this as snidely as it's going to sound, but how is it possible *not* to be? I stopped believing in magical fairy tales before I was 10. Out of respect for my mother and (now ex) wife, I still remained part of the church until I moved out in 2005, but it never really stuck. I can go through all the motions and quote scripture better than 75 percent of them, but it never got inside.

[Thunder]

It was a directed question at him, not generally.

[mugofbeer]

I do not mean this as snidely as it's going to sound, but how is it possible *not* to be? I stopped believing in magical fairy tales before I was 10. Out of respect for my mother and (now ex) wife, I still remained part of the church until I moved out in 2005, but it never really stuck. I can go through all the motions and quote scripture better than 75 percent of them, but it never got inside.

To you it's a magic fairy tale but 3 or 4 billion people on this planet believe. Who are you to say your opinion is correct?

[MightyHorse]

It was a directed question at him, not generally.

lol, what?

I didn't say anything at all about being an athiest.

You obviously are in dire need of some basic reading comprehension skills.

ReadingFish and Merit Software have some solid reading comprehension programs that I suggest you look into.

[PennyQuilts]

No, he didn't say he was atheist.

I think people are hard wired to believe in a creator or something beyond themselves. Not everyone does, but that has been my observation.

[mugofbeer]

No, he didn't say he was atheist.

I think people are hard wired to believe in a creator or something beyond themselves. Not everyone does, but that has been my observation.

Its an inherent need for people to be able to explain their reason to be. There are explanations across the globe but they boil down to some sort of supernatural creator(s) because they can't explain it otherwise. For some reason, hoardes of people on this planet can't accept they are a part of evolution and not feel lost and that life is somehow pointless because of it. Some of us have absolutely no problem with it.

[PennyQuilts]

Its an inherent need for people to be able to explain their reason to be. There are explanations across the globe but they boil down to some sort of supernatural creator(s) because they can't explain it otherwise. For some reason, hoardes of people on this planet can't accept they are a part of evolution and not feel lost and that life is somehow pointless because of it. Some of us have absolutely no problem with it.

I am sure that is a huge part of it, but I believe there is also a definite yearning within most of us for something greater - it is more an emotional need than the need to intellectually understand how we got here. I think plenty of people would gladly accept the whole evolutionary theory if they believed a god, or whatever you want to call it, put that into place.

[fuzzytoad]

I think plenty of people would gladly accept the whole evolutionary theory if they believed a god, or whatever you want to call it, put that into place.

I've never understood why more Christians can't embrace this idea...

There's nothing in the bible that states that God created the world/universe/whatever in 6 consecutive days.. Who's to say that hundreds of millions of years didn't pass between the 5th day of creation and the 6th day of creation and that was the time it took for God's process of creating "beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind"?

[mugofbeer]

I've never understood why more Christians can't embrace this idea...

There's nothing in the bible that states that God created the world/universe/whatever in 6 consecutive days.. Who's to say that hundreds of millions of years didn't pass between the 5th day of creation and the 6th day of creation and that was the time it took for God's process of creating "beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind"?

IT's whether the reader can grasp the stories in the bible as moral lessons or whether the reader feels he/she has to take each word literally (literally, based on their favorite interpretation). It's like Jonah and the Whale. Are you going to be one who believes he really rode around in the belly of a whale or are you going to take it as an illustration of a lesson?

[HewenttoJared]

No, he didn't say he was atheist.

I think people are hard wired to believe in a creator or something beyond themselves. Not everyone does, but that has been my observation.

They probably are. I've always found the argument, specifically from Dawkins, that this in any way disproved or even damaged the idea of a God to be ridiculous. A world with a God could have people with this tendency, as could a world without one. I guess it weakens the argument from numbers a bit though.

[HewenttoJared]

I've never understood why more Christians can't embrace this idea...

Read some material by creationists like Darwin's Black Box or something similar. If you don't have a strong background in the topic they can be very convincing. Pseudosciences are powerful things in Western culture.

[Broncho]

is the easiest religion to Troll.

Atheism is not a religion; that many people mistakenly classify it as such does nothing to change its irreligious nature.

[RealJimbo]

Most atheists of which I am aware would call themselves pragmatists. That being the case, how can a pragmatist be an atheist? If believers are wrong, they have lost nothing. If atheists are wrong, they have eternity to lose.

[jmarkross]

Most atheists of which I am aware would call themselves pragmatists. That being the case, how can a pragmatist be an atheist? If believers are wrong, they have lost nothing. If atheists are wrong, they have eternity to lose.

Interesting point of view...

[PennyQuilts]

Atheism is not a religion; that many people mistakenly classify it as such does nothing to change its irreligious nature.

I think people can turn anything into a religion and plenty of people worship the belief that there is no god just as passionately as some believe in a God. When they start preaching and attacking the morals and beliefs of people because those people don't share their ideology, they've clearly crossed the line into religion, IMO.

[Stew]

We all come out of the womb atheist.

[PennyQuilts]

We all come out of the womb atheist.

No, we don't. We don't even have a concept or ideology so it would have to be neutral. And from that, there is rapidly an intense attachment to a godlike parental figure that is generally transfered to a religious figure, in time, for many if not most people. Much of the psychology involved in this is also an essential factor in developing a mature, ethical nature. Not saying it has to come from religion but it does come from parental figures that for most, are interchangable with religious figures when we are babies and young children.

Religious beliefs date back to primative people and I'd argue that believing in god of some sort is the default position. Most young people, regardless of whether they have been raised in a religious home, struggle far more to adopt the belief that there is no god than they do in accepting that there is a god of some sort. Children believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and fantasy figures that no one even suggested to them. It is not in their nature to believe nothing is there UNLESS, they are taught to specifically reject god or a god. And even then, their inclination will be to believe in some magical god until they are old enough to be given a scientific reason for why things are the way they are.

[Prunepicker]

Logic and reasoning.

No, really, how is it possible?

[Easy180]

We all come out of the womb atheist.

Agreed...that way until mommy and daddy tell us otherwise

[jmarkross]

I've never understood why more Christians can't embrace this idea...

There's nothing in the bible that states that God created the world/universe/whatever in 6 consecutive days.. Who's to say that hundreds of millions of years didn't pass between the 5th day of creation and the 6th day of creation and that was the time it took for God's process of creating "beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind"?

Whatever happened to Fuzzytoad?

[PennyQuilts]

Agreed...that way until mommy and daddy tell us otherwise

You don't have kids, do you?

Or do you think that they are born scientifically inclined, objective, analytical and demanding of proof before they believe anything - until, that is, someone warps their nerdy little brains by whispering that the scientific method is not the answer to all their questions? Seriously, do some research on developmental psychology with an emphasis of how the brains of young children develop concerning higher level thinking and morality.

[Easy180]

You don't have kids, do you?

Or do you think that they are born scientifically inclined, objective, analytical and demanding of proof before they believe anything - until, that is, someone warps their nerdy little brains by whispering that the scientific method is not the answer to all their questions? Seriously, do some research on developmental psychology with an emphasis of how the brains of young children develop concerning higher level thinking and morality.

Have a 2 yr old with a DVR full of Yo Gabba Gabba as evidence

Take it you disagree with me and feel the need to throw in some festive condescension as well...oh well