The dreaded "A" word

[Slowvehicle]

Same can be said for people that believe in the religion of Atheism.

I'm my experience, Atheists are far more vocal and protective of their religion.

For the record, I'm a "couldn't give a **** less", Funny people respect me for this and don't care when I say "thank God" with no implied meaning.

...there is no "Religion of Atheism"...

 

[DGM]

...there is no "Religion of Atheism"...

You forgot the "smilie"

 

[MikeG]

Same can be said for people that believe in the religion of Atheism......

So, that'll be a grand total of.............erm.............



















..........roughly...........







.......Nil persons.


Other than you, of course. Here is a club that you have invented which has nil members. Congratulations!

Mike

 

[DGM]

So, that'll be a grand total of.............erm.............



















..........roughly...........







.......Nil persons.


Other than you, of course. Here is a club that you have invented which has nil members. Congratulations!

Mike

I get it......................Atheism is not a religion. Carry on.

re·li·gion [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
noun
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3.
the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4.
the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5.
the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

 

[Slowvehicle]

You forgot the "smilie"

You forgot to let my words stand for themselves, instead of pretending that you know better than I what I intended. If you are confused, ask.

There is no "religion of atheism".

 

[MikeG]

I get it......................Atheism is not a religion. Carry on.

re·li·gion [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
noun
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.3.
the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.4.
the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.5.
the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

My highlights are of all the things which don't apply to atheism.

So, guess what? Even by your own hand-picked definition, you were wrong.....Atheism isn't a religion.

 

[DGM]

My highlights are of all the things which don't apply to atheism.

So, guess what? Even by your own hand-picked definition, you were wrong.....Atheism isn't a religion.

So there is no "religion" because there is no consensus?

I understand.

 

[TimCallahan]

. . . (snip) . . .

It got something to do with a part of this thread. Everyone has figured that out except you.

That, of course, is an unsupported assertion. However, let's assume for the sake of argument that I am indeed the only one who doesn't get it. There are two ways you could respond to my failure to pick up on it. One is to simply explain it to me. The other is to make the snotty remark that I'm the only one who didn't get it. That you chose the latter is reveals a lot about your character.

I understand the reason behind your question in the OP, because the answer is supposedly hard to come by casually, as I learned in this thread. When not trashing religion, the atheists engage in a conversation that includes variety of topics including interior decorating, I guess. There is also a chance that some of them would be annoyed by your question during the time when they take a break from seeing through the devilish conspiracies designed by the theists in order to take over the world.

My question was what others had experienced when admitting that they no longer believed in God, i.e. whether or not that got a lot of flack from friends and family or were simply accepted without any big todo. Also, I was asking if they had experienced being censured for being blunt enough to use the word "atheist" in describing themselves. None of this really warranted any of the snotty responses you've contributed. So far, just about everything you've said has been gratuitously uncalled-for.

 

[Slowvehicle]

I get it......................Atheism is not a religion. Carry on.

re·li·gion [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
noun
1.a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe ,

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies,

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

usually involving devotional and ritual observances,

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Correct. There are as many different "atheist moral codes" as there are atheists.

2.a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects : the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices : a world council of religions.

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

4.the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion .

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

5.the practice of religious beliefs ;

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

ritual observance of faith.

Correct. This does not describe "not believing that a 'god', nor any 'gods', exist".

Thank you for your demonstration-by-definition that atheism is not a religion.

ETA: Ninja-ed by Mike G!

 

[Slowvehicle]

So there is no "religion" because there is no consensus?

I understand.

...evidently not...

 

[DGM]

I think I might need to start a new thread. It seems Atheist are somehow afraid of the word "religion".

How is a group with a common belief not a religion (the belief in a "god" is not in the definition of the word, although it is an example)?

 

[TimCallahan]

Hitler was dreaming of a perfect race that would make a perfect nation out of the Third Reich. That wouldn't be possible until the last drop of Cyclon B falls on the last Jew.

Aah, those perfection seekers. They never learn.

At the base of all totalitarian ideologies lies a plan to solve all of society's problems for all time, i.e. to seek perfection. Representative democracies, with all their messy haggling and limitations on the leaders power, are inherently imperfect - and dynamic. I'm quite sure that none of us here have bought into the illusion that human society can be made perfect, only better than it is at present.

Of course, your post is an attempt to imply that we're all Nazis, because they were atheists. However, if that were true, how do you explain the belt buckles on German uniforms in WWII that were inscribed with the words Gott mit uns, "God with us"?

 

[MikeG]

So there is no "religion" because there is no consensus?

I understand.

You're like one of those journalists who puts his own words in other people's mouths all the time. I don't recognise the sentence you ascribe to me, or agree with the conclusion you come to on my account.........although I am starting to recognise your habitual use of the rolley-eyes emoticon.

Your own definition of religion included dozens of things which don't occur in people who have no religion. If you really are struggling with this rather simple concept, maybe you should spend all of your time at answersingenesis.org, where the level of conversation may be more what you are used to.

Mike

 

[Slowvehicle]

I think I might need to start a new thread. It seems Atheist are somehow afraid of the word "religion".

How is a group with a common belief not a religion?

How is the lack of a belief a"common belief"?

By your definition, the DAR, the BSA, Greenpeace, , home brewers, and Man U. footbal fans all constitute religions...

 

[MikeG]

......How is a group with a common belief not a religion .....

We don't have a common belief.

I personally try hard not to have any beliefs at all.

 

[DGM]

How is the lack of a belief a"common belief"?

By your definition, the DAR, the BSA, Greenpeace, , home brewers, and Man U. footbal fans all constitute religions...

Yes. Is that scary to you?

 

[DGM]

We don't have a common belief.

I personally try hard not to have any beliefs at all.

So, why do you use the word "Atheist"?

Note: Bold

 

[MikeG]

Yes. Is that scaryfunny to you?

My bold, my strikethrough.

Yes, it is hilarious. And ridiculous. Are you here simply to see how many adjectives we know?

 

[TimCallahan]

(Responding directly to the O.P., not the current position in the thread)

Funny. I'm floating the other way around on it. I'm not particularly fond of the "A" word anymore, but I used to be fine with it. I generally just prefer to say that I don't follow any particular religion. It's become a label of sorts, and I don't really want to identify as part of some arbitrary grouping of people. I don't even call myself a "skeptic" per se, although I enjoy this forum and have contributed to JREF in the past.

Is my uber-individualist side showing? Sorry. I'll try to put some clothes back on.

That's fine with me. What I was dealing with was the negative connotation of the word "atheist". I'm quite happy, for example, with someone calling themselves an agnostic if that's their actual position, as opposed to them being wimpy about the fact that they really don't believe in God.

As to agnosticism being a wimpy position, I saw a bumper sticker sometime back that I would have class as militantly agnostic. It read: "I don't know, and neither do you!"

 

[MikeG]

So, why do you use the word "Atheist"?

Note: Bold

There's that rolley-eyed thing again, as predictable as the inanity of the question. But, let me humour you, and indeed help you.

I use the word atheist /atheism because it describes what I am......."a" (common prefix meaning "without" or "the absence of", as in asexual, aseptic, asymmetry etc), and theism (from Wiki

Theism,....... is the belief that at least one deity exists.

Deity: a deity (i/ˈdiː.ɨti/ or i/ˈdeɪ.ɨti/)[1] is a supernatural being, and who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred.

Wiki.

Now, because I am a helpful chap, and you are clearly struggling, I'll put that all together for you. Atheism = the absence of belief in a supernatural being.

Cue the rolley eyed response, in 5.......4............3.......