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TITLE CHANGE: Ok it's... Questions to an Atheist - answered
B5C
Veteran
I am ready to answer any questions.
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God told me he exists and that he loves me... I know this is true because he said his word is the final proof because he is God.... and he said so. Refute this.
ok ok ...on a more serious note...
Theism ranges from the gronk-like world-view of Rick Santorum and Salifists of all stripes, to the truly sublime philosphical poetry found in the bhagavad gita , or the Upanishads. Painting both with the same brush is ignorant and simplistic.
The popular Athiests like Richard Dawkins are as oblivious to these distinctions as religious fundamentalists. Given that the "New Atheism" is a reaction to gronkish Theism... the new atheism is a mirror gronkish fundamentalist Atheism..
So my leading question is.... when will you guys take the pickle out and develop a subtle context-sensitive intelligence?. ....because it is getting lame.
As an atheist what’s your purpose in life?
In short: as an atheist what’s your excuse for being?
As an atheist do you have all the answers?
As an atheist where will you find any answers at all?
I’m beginning to like this.
When the op comes back, if he sees fit to re-open it, I'll do it.
Thanks to all who submitted something.
Consciousness is a very complicated concept that most people will have an hard time to agree. Personally, I believe consciousness starts when you are born and your brain starts accepting all this information. When you die or have brain damage. The date can be damaged or gone like a computer hard drive. This is why I believe when you and I die. We are just GONE. POOF! NOTHING!
Why are atheists often so defensive?
This is mainly due to our backgrounds. We lived in a mostly theistic world. For example, the United States is an Christian state due to population. We do have the "Establishment Clause" to prevent state and religion mixing, but in some parts in our government we get into a Grey area. For example the US government endorses deism due to "In God We Trust."
In America, we are considered lest trustworthy than RAPISTS. Yep, abortion bombers, Muslims, and rapists are most trust worthy than me.
This is due to American culture from the red scare and Christianity adapting it self to the modern world. The communists were supporters of state Atheism, so during the Red Scares the US government made it a policy to endorse an god. In Christianity, it developed from a hateful god to a loving god where people who love god as good people and the people who don't like or believe in god as evil people.
When atheist groups like "American Atheists" & "Freedom from Religion Foundation" go after cities, states, and the federal government for violating the Establishment clause. We are viewed as anti-religious bigots trying to remove god. We get attacked, death threats, or lively-hood destroyed for defending ourselves and the majority of theists would happy to see Atheists gone. We are trying to uphold the US Constitution and try to have the Untied States to keep it's secularism.
Why do atheists tend to me more fervent than evangelicals?
We are tired of being told to "Sit Down and Shut up." for a long time. How do you like being told that your an unmoral human being and your deserve eternal torture. You can't do anything about it because you are an minority. A lot of atheists lose friends, family, and jobs due to being an atheist. We are telling the world (Well mostly America.) we are Atheists and were not going anywhere.
What do you call a Buddhist who doesn't believe in a God?
An Buddhist Atheist!!
What do you call a Buddhist who does believe in God?
Buddhist Theist
As an atheist how can you tell right from wrong?
The same reason why an Christian, Animalist, Druids, Hindus, and etc can tell right from wrong. It is society who thinks right and wrong. Also a bit of evolution in human development that help us to tell right and wrong. Since Murder and steal from each other doesn't help us survive when we were in small social clans. We humans are an social animals. We love groups. We went from small family clans to big clans full of millions of people.
As an atheist what’s your purpose in life?
To lead a good, happy, and compassionate short life.
as an atheist what’s your excuse for being?
Should there be an excuse for being? That is the wrong question to ask. There is nothing wrong for being.
As an atheist do you have all the answers?
Nope
As an atheist where will you find any answers at all?
For some, but not all answers. Religion is has not filled any of my answers.
Why label yourself as an atheist?
For the same reason you may call yourself Buddhist. Also in America, it's better for more people to admit and come out of the closet and be an atheist. Maybe our stigma will go away.
What's the best way to make Baked Alaska?
I don't know. I never made a "Baked Alaska."
Do you agree the difference between "atheist" and "a theist" is not bigger than one space?
That space is pretty big in the quantum world.
Why do some Atheists make fun of people for believing in God?
Since sometimes, theists are so into their religion. They will ignore all facts. When I debate Christians I feel like I chatting to a brink wall. For example, on facebook a Christian told me that "my parents never knew her god." and yet I told her that my parents are Christians who believe in the same god and is she suggesting that my parents are not true Christians. She keeps ignoring my question and kept on saying that I must accept Christ as my savior to get my answer. I dug in and told her to answer my question and I still get the same response: "Just need FAITH! Jesus loves you and you know it."
Sometimes making fun of people is a reactionary tactic to get their attention on how silly their reasoning is since they will or can not debate us.
Especially when their belief in God helps them live their life?
I have no problem if they think that way. If they do trying push their religion onto me or through government. I do have an issue. If they are an young Earth creationist. Yes, it good to call them out even by making fun of them to show how silly their views is and even damaging it is to society.
He stole stuff, treated people like crap,etc. Then he got sent to jail and when he was in jail, he was "born again" and found Jesus and god. After that, he stopped stealing stuff, stopped treating people like crap. He became a nice guy. What's wrong with that?
Have no issue like that, but there are some people like for example General Butt Naked (Joshua Milton Blahyi). A warlord in Africa who killed thousands of people, sent children to slavery, and admitted to sacrifice children by taking their still beating heart before every battle. Years later he convert to Christianity and the evangelical community calls him an hero and a good person now.
Really, I do have an issue like that. A evil mass murder can get an accepted, but an good atheist is not accepted.
Was Jesus Divine, or just a prophet and healer?
There is still a debate, but I believe there was a radical rabbi who may or not be called Jesus who called himself a prophet of the Jews and the Romans killed him. That his story of the current form of Jesus came out of legend and exaggeration.
Did he survive the Crucifixion, and if so, where did he go afterward?
I believe he did died and never survived.
When does the next season of Doctor Who start? And what is the question???
This fall and did you forget the last episode. The question is: Doctor Who?
I've closed the other Atheist thread.
Bekenze and others may still refer to Q's and A's there.
And consciousness must start before we're born; just because we get squeezed out of our Mother's 'lady parts' isn't the cause of consciousness, surely?
Also, when our bodies die, our egoic personality goes with it, but consciousness isn't just our egoic personality and neither is it our material body; it can't be since not one cell in our body is conscious anyway.
Maybe you need another rethink?
Science would probably say that consciousness is an emergent property of biological life, or in Buddhist terminology consciousness arises in dependence on biological life.
It's a long winded title, but an interesting book.. In it he describes consciousness as not other than language... and talk of consciousness as other than language as meaningless. Consciousness is language, and language is not other than brain function... not reducible to brain function, just not other than brain function...
if it is open...
God.. in the more subtle sense of the term.. like Brahman.. or Self... or "The Unconditioned" ... is a natural conclusion arrived at when in practice the arrow of attention is experientially turned back on the seer.. knower, feeler, taster. etc. But this is just a phase that is dropped with further practice...
Seeker 242 just posted a great description of the process here..
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/15232/chan-master-sheng-yen039s-3-stages-of-truth-and-practice#Item_3
....This process is not going to happen for anyone locked into either atheism or theism! These views are two sides of one sticky ideological coin..
Unless it was @B5C, how would they have known?
:scratch:
A few reasons I wouldn't kill my own self: I value my life, I have a natural survival instinct, it would hurt the people I love emotionally and goes against my present conscience.
The same question could be posited to any belief though. You say consciousness is a THING. I would more accurately describe it as an EXPERIENCE. The matter interacting within our bodies and energy travelling the neural pathway creates an experience that we call consciousness. That is the best way for me to describe it in my understanding. However, there are a few theories in the neuroscience field about consciousness and what it is/where it comes from. My version is a very basic (mud and stone) understanding. I won't pretend that my answer is the absolute truth, but it works for me. I, an atheist, would call it "A universal consciousness in the process of self-realisation". But first, we must ascertain that this thing exists in the first place. Otherwise, we cannot study it or apply that understanding to our life in any common way. I am not atheist to be contrary. I am atheist because I do not know whether a deity exists or not. And if it does, it does not seem to affect the world about me; therefore, I am not interested in it because I am interested in the world about me. I prefer useful knowledge and beliefs.
As an atheist how can you tell right from wrong?
I reflect society's morals and also draw upon my own experience to determine good and bad. For instance, murder is wrong to me because it is not something I would like to have done to me. Living is nice, and I prefer to preserve life. Charity and giving are good because I like to receive things and receive support from my fellow man. Stealing is wrong because I would not want someone to take the things I created, or gave something up for, taken away. It gives me a sense of loss when I do not consent to give. I believe that adultery is wrong because I would not want my partner (who made a commitment to long-term mutual support) to hurt me emotionally. You could ask other specific questions regarding morals and how I, as an atheist, analyze right and wrong.
As an atheist what’s your purpose in life?
My purpose is self-created. My general purpose is to feel fulfillment in all aspects. Fulfillment meaning happiness (which explains why I like Buddhism... I like happiness). If you want to make your purpose to kill 10 people, so be it, but there will be consequences set by society that you will have to pay.
In short: as an atheist what’s your excuse for being?
My excuse? I suppose you mean what's my reason for choosing life over death. Refer to earlier in my post.
As an atheist where will you find any answers at all?
I suppose you mean ULTIMATE answers to life, death/afterlife, the universe. I am better off in the present for not needing to worry/fret/fear the future. Therefore, that is how I operate. My ultimate answer to life is that I like it. My ultimate to death is that it is a natural process all animals and life go through. It will be experience-less, just like pre-life. The universe is a big place and fascinates me. I'm honored to be a part of its vastness. Makes me feel like I belong to a larger picture.
I believe you are thinking of anti-theists and atheists. Anti-theists are a product of the recent "militant atheist" or "new atheist" movements. They are overly aggressive toward people of faith.
I am only militant in regards to secularity, free-thought, and humanistic endeavors. I am strongly anti-creationism in schools because the school is a public institution where one faith is not to be preferred. It would be very difficult to account for all faiths in all topics. There simply is not enough time; therefore, we should just teach the topics minus the faith-based interpretations. It is doubly silly to do so since these topics are already taught in places of worship (which, btw, get government tax-breaks). Soooo.... it's just really really silly.
I am also pro-gay marriage because I think all people deserve equal treatment. I don't care what they call it. But, legally, gay marriage should be allowed. Insurance has allowed "domestic partners" for quite a long time now; it's time that the justice system recognize it too.
You do realize that we are composed of a gazillion tiny creatures (creatures who are living beings).
Either way your assumption seem reasonable and i believe it is pretty safe to think of it as such, but so was the one that stated the earth was flat.
Honestly, I think those who have these unpleasant encounters with people from various denominations must go out looking for them.
Is there a real point for an atheist to also be a Buddhist?
In my view, we are not just products of the universe, we are the universe expressed through emptiness and form. The way of evolution seems to suggest a kind of instinct that leads to conscious individuals but those individuals are all interconnected to each other and the universe by way of causation at the very least. The universe is all inclusive.
I think the reason nobody can answer why or how life would come from non-life is that it suggests spontaneous arising which is just like positing a first cause. There has always been the potential for conscious beings.
The universe is alive even if it has no "self" of its own except for ours.
Just my two cents. I'm not trying to rag on you for being atheistic, just conversing.