Obviously, this question is for those who consider themselves to be atheists (and agnostics), but God-believers are welcome to participate as well, but please keep it on topic (i.e. no recruiting )
So, since we all know atheism can be as narrowly defined or as broadly defined as we want it to, I always like to know what kind of an atheist someone is. Are you just a reactionary atheist, a rebel against organized religion? Or are you a true atheist with a scientific mind, body and soul, who cannot marry the physical world with anything spiritual (or supernatural, as youâd probably call it)? Or something else?
To me, born in a Catholic society and surrounded by Churchâs influence, the term atheism serves mostly as a way to make a clear distinction with respect to the predominantly religious society.
Also, I donât believe in a god, or gods, so thatâs puts me in that narrowest definition of atheism.
I do feel spiritual, though. Itâs very personal and internalized.
I tried real hard to believe, but just couldnât. and the older i got the less i could deny it. i tried everything, even thought of entering the seminary when i was still under the evil jesuit influence. but then i woke up.
Now, youâd probably call me a âhard atheistâ, but still capable of awe, and a sense of connectedness. I wouldnât call it âspiritualâ, though.
I see no reason to believe in a deity anymore than I see reason to believe in Santa Claus, Russelâs Teapot or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Any of these might exist, but the evidence for each is equally absent.
As a practical matter, the word âatheistâ has by now come to mean someone who disbelieves in religion. Otherwise, a bunch of Buddhists might qualify.
My wife doesnât believe in God. She does however believe in Grandfather Heaven (Lao Tien Ye) and all the heavenly host. She claims not to be religious, but I have caught her doing bai-bai to the family altar (an act which she judges not to be religious). Is she an atheist, then? Surely not. It seems that the word âatheistâ presupposes a certain concept of what âreligionâ is.
As for me, when the Mormons come to my door and ask me whether I believe in God, I tell them I think the word is vague. At least it is to meâMormons hold that God has a humanoid form, like the famous âold man with a beardâ. Other, more mainstream Christian theologians talk about a âspiritâ (also vague) who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent, and who is the creator of the universe (though some would consider abandoning one or another of these terms if that might solve the Problem of Evil etc.). At any rate, it seems clear that some sort of supernatural, invisible entity is meant.
On even-numbered days, I agree with the socio-biologists in poo-pooing the whole enterprise. On odd-numbered days I am partial to strange theories in which the universe turns out to be created by our own minds (perhaps with a substantial time-lag), in accordance with my idealist misunderstanding of Buddhist Cittamatra / Yogacara theory. This would suggest a universe in which strange âmagicalâ coincidences occur, and actually mean something rather than being mere projections. I suppose the word âGodâ might be applied to mind in this aspect, though that kind of talk might be even more confusing.
So am I a âtheist,â or just a superstitious atheist?
[quote=âScreaming Jesusâ]As a practical matter, the word âatheistâ has by now come to mean someone who disbelieves in religion. Otherwise, a bunch of Buddhists might qualify.
My wife doesnât believe in God. She does however believe in Grandfather Heaven (Lao Tien Ye) and all the heavenly host. She claims not to be religious, but I have caught her doing bai-bai to the family altar (an act which she judges not to be religious). Is she an atheist, then? Surely not. It seems that the word âatheistâ presupposes a certain concept of what âreligionâ is.
[/quote]
That sounds like my wife. Is she short, with black hair?
Why why wouldst Thou damn Thine own virgins? :loco:[/quote]
Verily thou knowest knot the kmysteries of the heavens, therefore thou knowest knot what I plannest to do unto them. Trust me. Theyâre goddamned.
Iâm so stoked to be hereâthe odds against it are astronomicalâand having such a good time, Iâm in no mood to start asking questions about why or how. Much less use any time on it. Time doesnât grow on trees, somebody wants some of mine they better come up with a pretty good reasonâhey look whatâs in this book doesnât do it for too long.
I was inclined to believe in a deistic âcreatorâ until someone smacked me with this some years agoââwho created the creator?â I donât expect to ever hear a good answer to that one. May as well just stick with what i said above as far as i can see.
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