Any atheists on this board?

[andrew@itmpl.com.au]

I'm an atheist thank god.

But seriously, like most Australian's I am an atheist.

Sorry.....

 

[NeoCortex]

The more I study science, the more I believe in God."
-- Albert Einstein

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
-- Albert Einstein

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
-- Albert Einstein

"The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired."
-- Stephen Hawking


I thought some quotes from men of science might help.

Ben

 

[riley]

What do you mean by atheist? That you believe there is no God, but believe in some higher power or guiding force, or that all things are an accident and we are to make our own meaning out of it? Or, none of the above? Just curious what the beliefs are - you can't really respond until you know where a person is coming from.

Its kind of like a veteran talking to a high school kid on why he should join the service. If the kid is only looking for a way to pay for college, talking about patriotism and honor isn't going to convince him, talking about the monetary benifits will.

Check out C.S. Lewis - he wrote a book called "Mere Christianity" - it is a perfect starting point for those that have questions. Lewis called himself the most "reluctant convert" to Christianity. It is a series of radio talks in England during WWII that were later published into a book.

(just a side note, Bertrand Russel's essay, "Why I am not a Christian" is sitting next to "Mere Christianity" on my bookshelf)

I'm interested in more discussions and arguments for against either belief - just as long as they are educated and do not attack a person (attacking an argument is fine - just have rational to back up your point).

I definitely have to agree with Neo's comment...

 

[Brooke]

A question for the athiests:

Are you athiest just to go against the grain? Not to over simplify anyone's beliefs, but I'm curious as to why you choose not to believe in anything. I think this has already been asked, but will someone explain the athiest philosophy? From what I understand, agnostics tend to have a "straddle the fence" approach and not believe one way or the other. I have a hard time understanding why someone would be drawn to ideologies such as these, so if anyone really wants to get this forum going maybe we can start now!!

 

[bch]

Once again, Low slow n dumb (just like in the micheal moore posts) proves his name should be low slow n have no idea what I am talking about.

 

[andrew@itmpl.com.au]

As an athiest I believe that there is no god and science is the cause of everything that happens.

Quite simply I feel that if you cannot see it, it is not there. (Don't say what I think you will)

 

[riley]

Andrew, I'm sure your second sentence was simplified to save space. Just a question - have you done research one way or the other - ever searched out for answers? Just curious - you have a lot of cards stacked against your beliefs - especially with Science.

 

[McNamara]

Wow, I didn't expect there to be this many replies already! I'll make a quick post for now since I've got to get back to class in a few minutes, but here's a little elaboration on my beliefs.

I started questioning the validity of my religious beliefs in high school (reading philosophy, studying science, exploring other religions, etc.), and gradually moved toward atheism. I was agnostic/atheist for most of the past five years, but maintained the hope that I was wrong and there really is a God, life after death, etc. I could still be wrong, but the lack of evidence for God strongly suggests that there isn't one (to me, at least - everyone's entitled to their own opinion). I'll go more in-depth after class this afternoon if anyone's interested.

BTW, the big difference between atheists and agnostics is that agnostics generally believe it's impossible for humans to ever know whether there is a God or not, and atheists are pretty sure there is no God. I'm not sure if this dislcaimer is necessary, but I just wanted to say I respect all the various religious beliefs out there even though I disagree with them. Sure, some of them seem ridiculous to me (like fundamentalism) but one of the great things about America and most of the free world is that people have the right to believe any religion they want to, or none at all.

Be back in a few hours.

 

[stevew]

Originally posted by Fly Navy
lowslow_n_dumb: This has nothing to do with religion what I'm about to say, and I will not state my own beliefs, it is not important. But the universe is not in perfect order...it just appears that way...it's quite chaotic The most reasonable idea of how life came about, counter to Creationism, that I've ever heard is that we are a statistical probability. In the BILLIONS of stars that are out there, there will be planets...millions if not billions...at some point the required ingredients for life would come together. Makes a bit of sense, eh?

That is like saying if you take canvas and some paint and just spill the paint onto the canvas enough times then you are bound to come out with a picture of a guy walking his dog in the park with the leaves falling all around them... Come on who are we kidding, some superior being must have created everything you see and it didn't just happen by chance.

I'm not directing this at anyone in particular but it is very easy to look the other way and not think about how everything around us got here. Especially if the consequences of believing are that we are indebted(sp?) to that superior being for what we have.

 

[andrew@itmpl.com.au]

Originally posted by riley mcconnell
Andrew, I'm sure your second sentence was simplified to save space.

Actually it was simplified becuase it's 2:00AM in Australia and I am having some serious trouble thinking straight.

I guess like most Australians I am not (and never was) big on religion.

 

[NuSnake]

low slow....i agree with bch, but dude you need to learn to put all your posts together in one thought rather than posting three messages 2 min apart right after one another...geez

 

[ben]

I'm not going to get into detail here, but it comes down to an issue of faith. For Christianity to work, you have to believe in things that you cannot use science to prove. During the course of your Christian life you will likely experience things that cannot be rationally (scientifically) explained. These experiences will help you reaffirm your faith and the belief that God is in fact real; it's just that you can't necessarily prove it with a scientific experiment.

BTW thanks for keeping this thread flame-free. It's a nice change.

 

[BigWorm]

Originally posted by McNamara
I started questioning the validity of my religious beliefs in high school (reading philosophy, studying science, exploring other religions, etc.), and gradually moved toward atheism.

Hey Bro, you pretty much summed up my beliefs. It starts out with mom making you go to church at a young age, but then once you start reading and questioning things with an open mind; religion seems to be merely a form of social control. Basically we’re all just carbon matter that goes back into the earth when we die and the cycle continues. If I ever see the man in the sky, I will believe it then, but the whole concept of faith is something I can’t grasp.
When it comes to the court cases you see on the T.V., I will side with the right wing vs. those who call themselves atheists (really they are antitheists). Most organized religions promote good values to live by while those who take the time and effort to try and abolish the pledge of allegiance don’t give me the impression to be moral people. If they were truly atheist as many claim, the words “under god” would mean nothing and it wouldn’t matter to them.
I’m not sure if that makes me atheist, agnostic, or what. In the military Christians seem to be the majority. As far as getting back to the original question I’ve met a few that have an overall lack of faith. Usually when people enter the prayer group, we just fade into the background and let them continue with their brainwashing.
The only quote on religion that has every truly made sense is Homer Simpson’s version of Pascal’s wager “Suppose we've chosen the wrong god. Every time we go to church we're just making him madder and madder”

 

[NeoCortex]

I have to believe that if there is a GOD, one big all powerful being, he wouldn't need, or care, about little humans getting down on their knees a praising him. I'm all for the thinking of, "Live a good Life".

 

[EA-6B1]

Originally posted by NeoCortex
I have to believe that if there is a GOD, one big all powerful being, he wouldn't need, or care, about little humans getting down on their knees a praising him. I'm all for the thinking of, "Live a good Life".

Those little humans are the reason He sent His son to die for. I agree that Christianity is all about faith. God blesses us with that faith when we seek Him.

I'm happy to see everyone keeping an open mind, and that we can have a intelligent conversation about all this. To him his own.