What Religion are you?

[Effluo]

lol well played. See you were an infidel for 2 seconds and you lived. How cool was that?

I kept waiting for it but it nev.....

[Cow_k]

I
You dont think atheists "take the information given and put it in their back pocket until they know the truth"? The problem come that there is NO evidence/information to put in your "back pocket" for any of these spiritual concepts.

For all intents and purposes, I go by the definition that an atheist is a person who believes they have enough proof in the other direction that they can make the statement "God or Gods don't exist". I won't lie and say that they wouldn't change their position if suddenly proved wrong, but to me and probably 90% of the world when they're talking about atheists, there is the connection that a statement has been made that there is no God. Again, from what I've seen here and elsewhere since the start of these definition arguments it looks like atheists themselves are trying to change that definition. Again, I'm not sure why the term agnostic wasn't good enough, all I can assume is that there's some sort of intentional distancing from religion that the word atheist provides. I still gaurantee that if any of you walk up to a random person in the street and ask them what atheist means, they're going to respond with "Someone who believes there's no God". I won't say an atheist won't put information into their back pockets, but they've already made a judgment on that information before ever putting it there.

As for all the people talking about facts and proof, one thing you have to realize is that to many religious people, proof has already been found in their eyes. Be it a vision, a certain physical feeling, or some sort of 'miracle' that they've witnessed. Non-religious people can easily claim that this isn't proof at all since it's not measurable in some way, (which again, there's a lot of study going on right now about brain readings of people during religious practice with attempts to reproduce these effects on the brain with drugs) but there's a million times over people who have claimed to share similar experiences. It's very easy for someone who has never experienced something like this to discount it as non-factual. However, there are any number of things that happen on a daily basis in our brains that we can't figure out yet. For instance, we can measure electronic registers in certain areas of the brain usually associated with different forms of thought, but we still can't pinpoint exactly what's happening there. Perhaps if we literally find a way to pry into someone's brain and see exactly what they see we might be able to debunk or prove these religious experiences, but we're not there yet. All we work on now are theories that the universe is stable and predictable, but again, we can only see what's directly around us.

We can say that right now there's no reason for a God to exist because everything works just fine on it's own, but that doesn't mean that things have always been this way. Again, we work with what we see and there's plenty of things we have not seen nor will we probably ever see (For instance, the state of the universe before it began, again assuming that there ever was a beginning.) I still don't see how anyone can claim that a true state of nothingness where suddenly there became room for something can be considered logical. At the same time, the idea of a universe that has always existed too is considered rather illogical. The best explanations I've ever seen for the universe hinge only on explaining our current state of existence, but that doesn't say anything about the bigger question, one that to me using our set of logic cannot explain.

And yes, I realize I'm saying the same thing over and over about things that are unknowable to us, but that's really the extent of my own set of beliefs. We just don't know as much about the universe (And when I use the term universe, I basically mean everything including multiple dimensions etc.) as people like to think we do.

[zoobernut]

What do you call it if you say "Gods or god might exist but I think they have no influence on life and don't give a crap what I do so it is fruitless to waste time worshiping them since they don't care."

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

What do you call it if you say "Gods or god might exist but I think they have no influence on life and don't give a crap what I do so it is fruitless to waste time worshiping them since they don't care."

Agnostifarian

[zoobernut]

I am so gonna grow my hair out and make them into dreads cause I am an agnostifarian brah!

[Kuya]

This thread, is a thread about something.

[zoobernut]

You can't prove its about something there is no evidence. I have faith that the thread is in fact about nothing and everyone else should believe that too because my life has been so much better since I started believing the thread was about nothing. I stopped drinking, I stopped partying and I saw the light that shown from the thread about nothing.

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

Are there any famous Atheist martyrs? People who died as testament that no God exists.? - Yahoo! Answers

[zoobernut]

What if every individuals view was the reality for them with respect to the after life and god? Only in the capacity where it did not effect anyone else. But say if you believe in heaven and god then when you die it comes true, whilst those who do not it does not.

The world is balanced and everyone is right!

[Cow_k]

Could happen bro.

[Elvis]

This thread, is a thread about something.

This is a thread about something that becomes nothing that becomes something that becomes nothing that becomes...

[Cow_k]

I've been asking many times for a solid answer: What good has religion done that would not have come to pass were we a faithless species?

I've actually answered this a few times. Asking if something were to come to pass with or without something is rather stupid. Could Lou Ferrigno have become a muscle man if he wasn't born nearly deaf? Sure, he might have, but he claims that if he had not been born deaf he probably wouldn't have. There's an innumerable number of possibilities that could very well include our current non-existence right now if you want to really stretch things. You're asking perhaps one of the most stupid questions that anyone has asked so far in this thread.

Edit: This thread on religion has given my post count the mark of the beast. Now I have to go to hell. This is what you were all planning all along isn't it.

[Jefe]

ITT: Going to accuse people of doing something but be vague about it. Now I announce my intellectual superiority over you.

Great logic there, "brah."

[Mizango]

Edit: This thread on religion has given my post count the mark of the beast. Now I have to go to hell. This is what you were all planning all along isn't it.

lol nice.

[Faris]

This thread on religion has given my post count the mark of the beast. Now I have to go to hell. This is what you were all planning all along isn't it.

cute ( ^ _ ^)

[Neosutra]

For all intents and purposes, I go by the definition that an atheist is a person who believes they have enough proof in the other direction that they can make the statement "God or Gods don't exist".

Ah, so this entire disagreement is around you using an incorrect definition for atheism.

Atheism is simply the absence of theism, or lack of belief in any god as defined by man (even the "lol you cant define god" ones). This is regardless of whether you think we may never know, or leave the options open, or whether you think it is impossible regardless.


I could go by the definition that a theist is a person who has brown hair and pink eyes, and then argue the down sides of being a pink eyed freak, but that would be irrelevant as my definition of said theist was incorrect.

[Max™]

I've actually answered this a few times. Asking if something were to come to pass with or without something is rather stupid. Could Lou Ferrigno have become a muscle man if he wasn't born nearly deaf? Sure, he might have, but he claims that if he had not been born deaf he probably wouldn't have. There's an innumerable number of possibilities that could very well include our current non-existence right now if you want to really stretch things. You're asking perhaps one of the most stupid questions that anyone has asked so far in this thread.

Edit: This thread on religion has given my post count the mark of the beast. Now I have to go to hell. This is what you were all planning all along isn't it.

FOR FUCKS SAKE...

Name me one thing which you can uniquely say Religion has done that has benefited the world, humanity, your sister, anything, or anyone.

ONE FUCKING THING, ONE TANGIBLE FUCKING GAIN CAUSED BY FAITH, IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?


No wishy washy "well, they had cancer, but faith helped them through it" cause that's a cop out and you know it.

What good has faith ever done?

All I can see is that it makes people easy to manipulate, and more willing to put up with bullshit by those in charge, "in the name of God".

I wouldn't call that good, exactly, but it's definitely something Religion enabled.

[Faris]

FOR FUCKS SAKE...

Name me one thing which you can uniquely say Religion has done that has benefited the world, humanity, your sister, anything, or anyone.

ONE FUCKING THING, ONE TANGIBLE FUCKING GAIN CAUSED BY FAITH, IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?


No wishy washy "well, they had cancer, but faith helped them through it" cause that's a cop out and you know it.

What good has faith ever done?

All I can see is that it makes people easy to manipulate, and more willing to put up with bullshit by those in charge, "in the name of God".

I wouldn't call that good, exactly, but it's definitely something Religion enabled.

a simple question shame on you thiests cant answer that.

a quick reply before i head to bed, before islam:

1- the arabian tribes used to bury their girls alive just because they were females, it was a sign of shame and burden.

2- Slavery..especially against blacks; in Mecca and all over.

3- the banking system; the Islamic/Sharia banking system is amazing; helps out alot of people, non-muslims choose to open accounts and all in that because its better (i dont know the details because i hate banks, i could research about it if you insist)

4- Islam eleminates class between the society. everyone is the same.

there are also so many sociological effects from Islam, so many.

[Kuya]

Islam eleminates class between the society. everyone is the same.

lol

[Max™]

Those are not things which uniquely came from faith, they happened to come packaged with it, but none of those quite ring out as "gifts from god".

Any reasonably advanced society would reach those conclusions sooner or later.

People are people, you shouldn't own them or discriminate against them. Agreeing on a central standard for goods and trade is better for everyone.

These are not benefits which would only arise from faith, try again?