To make a long story short I found atheism and it just seems right.
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Careful - There is no "Atheism." There are only Atheists. If you treat atheists as if they have an 'ism', your thinking is as muddled as if you believed in some form of theism. Not believing is not the same thing as believing. There is no "ism" in Atheist.
Sorry.
Should I have said I converted to an atheist I didn't mean that.
Gawd no.
@Fievel
"Should I have said I converted to an atheist I didn't mean that."
Not having a good day are you---
Becoming an atheist is not something to which one may convert. I reckon I was atheist for a decade before I realised I simply no longer believed . That's al there is to it; a lack of belief.
@cranky47
Right, at least not for a few months now. I don't know how dropping all religious beliefs isn't being atheist. I don't believe in a god, you all got me wrong.
@Feivel
"I don't believe in a god, you all got me wrong."
I believe you, I obviously misunderstood.
@cranky47
Yeah I researched many religious beliefs, and realized none was the right direction.
@Fievel Re: "Should I have said I converted to an atheist"
Ummm.... Ahem!... Better not let Cog see that. Surprised he hasn't already reamed your ass. There is no "converting" to being an atheist. Did you convert to not believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny?... *chuckle*... Anyway, I'll be standing by to pick up the pieces of what is left of your ass when Cog reads that post... lol... My very first thread I ever made on here I was trying to be humorous when I made that same statement. Did not go well for me when Cog spotted it. Just a little heads-up for you... *chuckle*... *covering room in plastic sheeting*... *putting on face shield and biohazard suit*...
Fievel: Think about it. Being an atheist is simply being a person who no longer believes in God or gods. If Theism was a cup off coffee, all you did was set it down on the table and walk away from it. Nothing more. You simply put it down and left. Perhaps you no longer like the taste. Perhaps the smell became offensive. It might be that the coffee was staining your teeth. Perhaps you just thought it was unhealthy. The reason does not matter, you put it down and walked away. You did not exchange it for coke. You did not exchange it for tea.
Your thinking was not, "I like this other beverage better." The only thing we can possibly know about your actions is that you no longer drink coffee. We know nothing about your reasons and we know nothing about what you do believe. Confusing atheists for another kind of drink is a mistake. Simply walking away makes you an atheist. Can't you hear the coffee drinkers calling you names behind your back. "Heathen! Sinner! Apostate! ' and yes "Atheist." A term invented by the religious for people who no longer drink coffee. There is nothing to atheism but not drinking coffee. Everything else that goes on around here, whether you believe something someone has said or not, is just mind candy. Start eating it like you once drank coffee and you will get sick. You will begin pretending that Atheism is a substitute for coffee. NO! It is the absence of coffee. Find your substitutes in skeptical societies, humanism, or groups of "free thinkers" all spouting support for some set of beliefs. There is no implied belief in the concept of Atheist.
@Cognostic
Agreed.
But I still drink coffee.
Yes I walked away, I walked away from Christianity as I just can not find any proof that that religion is true.
Being an atheist seems the right direction, not believing in anything.
Well. I believe the universe will take care of us, at least until a rock flies into earth again. Then some new deity will be believed and Christianity will cease to exist. Until everyone finally grasps this idea, world peace will never be achieved.
There's over 3200 known religions and none are correct.
Atheism is not an ism, it is the lack or absence of an ism. If theists could understand that, they'd stop trying to broaden the lack or absence of a belief in any deity into something more, but yes I see what you're doing, kudos.
@Cognostic: There is no "Atheism."
That's because you're not doing it right. An atheism is the sudden surge of joy and freedom and the release of a powerful surge of mental energy that you get if you stimulate the god-spot into oblivion in just the right way. It's even better if you do it in church.
Algebe: Aw fuck! And I have not been to church in at least six months.
@Algebe Re: "An atheism is the sudden surge of joy and freedom and the release of a powerful surge of mental energy that you get if you stimulate the god-spot into oblivion in just the right way."
No, no, no... That is NOT atheism... That is an atheAsm. (Proper vowel usage is very important.)
Atheism is the worst religion, so bad in fact it doesn't rate as one. That's why its so good.
edited
@Grinseed
"Atheism is the worst religion, so bad in fact it doesn't rate as one. That's why its so good."
It is quite simply the non belief in a god.
Over 1,000,000 gods have been written since time began... or at least intelligent humans. Which it took us millions of years for a god which dates back only like 7,000 years. If Jesus ever really existed he was just a normal guy. They probably found his body. LOL
There's no God. I am not turning Christian.
Grinseed :-)
@Grinseed
"Atheism is. . .
@Fievel Mousekewitz . . . is quite simply the non belief in a god.
@Fievel Mousekewitz There's no God.
Those are two different levels of unbelief :-
(a) "non belief in a god" = I'm not convinced, (either way, yea or nay).
(b) "There's no God" = I am convinced, and it's that there is no god, anywhere, of any incarnation, existence, type or definition.
Of course, in either case, OTHER people may believe that a god or gods exist. As concepts in THEIR minds, such god or gods exist, but not necessarily in any other reality, than in the thought bubbles of those believers.
And by the way, I don't capitalise the word god. I don't give the word more kudos than I'm prepared to accept under my unbelief. If a specific god is referred to, I capitalise the word, but enclose it in scare quotes. For example: I don't believe in "God", where that god is the one supposedly described in the Bible. (I do capitalise book names - they exist).
@Mutorc S'yriah: "I don't capitalize the word god." I tend to capitalize it when I mean the Christian God specifically. I do not believe in God or gods. I do this for clarity. I don't want some Christian / Muslim / Jew / (Now that I think about it/) to misunderstand me. I am talking about your God as well as all other gods.
I want to be clear. God is a fucking asshole and the bible proves it.... now, bible is a word I rarely capitalize as is christian, theist, holy ghost or related terms. When I think about it, they remain uncapitalized.
I am confused, can you not just become an atheist? I am, I dropped religion.
How do you become something that isn't there. All you did was put the coffee down and walk away. There is nothing to become. What you did was "Stop Becoming." You stopped becoming a coffee drinker. You stopped becoming christian, buddhist, hindu, catholic, or whatever other brand of coffee you were drinking. (I should have used Kool Aid, now that I think about it.) YOU HAVE STOPPED DRINKING THE KOOL AID. That's it.
You can become a member of a skeptical society. Michael Shermer will be glad to have you. https://www.skeptic.com/ You can join a Free Thinker groups and adopt their beliefs. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Dan Barker Loves you.
https://ffrf.org/component/k2/item/18391-what-is-a-freethinker
Dawkins has a foundation of beliefs - https://www.richarddawkins.net/ and a lot of atheists find comfort believing "The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation is to promote scientific literacy and a secular worldview. Some might see this as two distinct missions: 1) Teaching the value of science, and 2) Advancing secularism."
Atheism has no goal and no mission statement. All you do to be an atheist is "REFUSE TO DRINK THE KOOL AID." (I like that so much better than coffee.)
Unlike religion that carries a lot of baggage with key words, atheism does not carry baggage. An atheist is one who is not convinced in a god or god. There is absolutely nothing else that is attached to being an atheist. No dogma, political stance, ethical position, whether you prefer dogs to cats, or you like your popcorn buttered.
Fievel Mousekewitz my story is vaguely similar to yours. At approximately at the age of twenty I rejected organized religion, but still clung to some hope, some form of something "out there", spiritual or metaphysical, something. But after over forty years of talking to many people and diligent research, I had to conclude I was an atheist because I could not be convinced that there was any evidence or proof of a "god".
I never intended to be an theist, I was just a searcher for the truth. In fact, if I was to define myself it is not an "atheist" but a "truth seeker".
The acceptance of valid evidence and the rejection of woo woo and unsubstantiated claims led me to conclude I was an atheist, a skin I wear easily and without discomfort.
David said “ An atheist is one who is not convinced in a god or god. There is absolutely nothing else that is attached to being an atheist. ”
It’s an old saying but true... all religious people are only one god away from being an atheist (well not counting the polytheism group...oh fuckers, and maybe some new-Agee’s... fuckin’ forget I wrote this...no wonder it’s old)
@Mutoc
I follow your usage of the words 'god' and "God".
But some days I am a hard atheist who knows he has no proof either way and on other days, out of politeness and looking for a fight, I pretend I am 99.99999% certain there is no god, which can be of little consequence to 'black and white' Christians whose god is recorded as insisting if you don't believe in him you are done. Most of the time I think of myself as a humanist.
It was a clever Christian move to take possession of the name 'God'. They copied the convention from the pagan Greek and Roman philosophers before they tried to murder them all or tried to convert them with 'cross and club'.
Why didn't they keep a name for it like Jehovah or Elohim, like the monotheistic Jews? Nearly every other god has a name and in most cases several names with a capitalised first letter. Ostensibly the capitalisation confers the sense of being something, an entity, even a personality and specifically the grand distinction of being understood to mean 'the god of all gods' after the claims of the latter and minor prophets of the Bible.
The Jedis do the same thing. Its not just a force, its "the Force", for which I also lack faith.
I'm pretty sure I am too big of an asshole to be a humanist. Some humans are not worth valuing. IMO
Given that, I do like the idea of morality from "well being." My understanding is that this is a basic tenant of humanist philosophy.
@Cog
I threw the disagree in there on your post because I don't think you could ever be too big an arsehole. Squawk!
@Grinseed: )(&_(*&_(*_)&)*&% You parrot loving _)&(_*&*_(*_+*)(... :-)
@cognostic
"I'm pretty sure I am too big of an asshole to be a humanist. Some humans are not worth valuing. IMO"
Nah, I think you're exactly a big enough arsehole to be a humanist. Wasn't aware humanism is a moral position.. I've always thought it's more of an observation, a case of stating the bleedin' obvious.
---I call myself a secular humanist from time-to-time, yet have never had the slightest problem also referring to myself as a misanthrope.
My sis has sign on her toilet door: ''Everyone who comes here brings joy. Some by arriving, some by leaving"
I don't know if I really fit the "true humanist" definition.
I am not a Christian, I know I cant love my fellow man unreservedly, because he can be immensely selfish inconsiderate and cruel.
Could there be such a thing as a misanthropic humanist?
Well I guess as long as your beliefs don’t hurt you or anyone else..
I mean love is still good I believe is must be sincere and true.
There’s things that people call “love” like pedophilia and love of other terrible things like murder and rape that I don’t believe in nor would I ever call these things love.
Im talking about pure love yourself and love others. Everyone needs kindness but it’s not always reciprocated.
So it can be made into a way of life for me.. I don’t believe in fairytales.. heck I even lived in the Christian one for a while, and let me tell you.. there was no princess in a castle locked away with hoards of demons guarding it.. it was me vs my conditioned mind. I was the light at the end of the tunnel, not god.
You have the freedom to believe in what you want to believe, where ever you are in the world it’s wonderful that you found your way out. I my self am somewhat of a seeker at times I get stuck in the habit of surfing he internet too much and I even dabbled a bit in the spiritual side of things. I even had a master. One thing I learned is that no matter what you read, you have the power to figure it out for yourself.. educate yourself.. don’t take others word for it without hunting down the answers and evidence yourself.
You’ll do good in this.
@Italianish: RE: I mean love is still good I believe is must be sincere and true.
There’s things that people call “love” like pedophilia and love of other terrible things like murder and rape that I don’t believe in nor would I ever call these things love.
THIS IS THE BIGGEST CROCK OF SHIT EVER SPEWED FROM THE MOUTH OF A SIMIAN.
1. Reference the knock knock joke.
2. It is not love when you are mandated to love by dogma. "Love your enemies"
3. It is not love when a gun is being held to your head. "Love me or burn in hell."
4. It is not love when it is delusional, mandated, dogmatic, or conditional.
"I just want to save you from the hell my god created for you." IS NOT A FUCKING MESSAGE OF LOVE.
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