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    #16
    Re: Atheists and anti-theists

    Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
    One of the truly wonderful things about PF is that people can express their ideas, which are based on their experience, and balance those experiences against the experiences of others, in order to create a more true picture of reality than can be provided through one individual's experience alon

    Don't apologize for having an opinion



    Here, hopefully, you will find that things are different. We're a bunch of smarty pants, and somewhat more open minded than you may be used to
    Absolutely no offense, but seeing how some people reacted to some other opinions of mine was not pretty. I insist, an apology is better made before I peeve someone off with my words. Making someone mad is not my goal xD Ever. Though I must admit this place is quite friendly compared to other forums.


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      #17
      Re: Atheists and anti-theists

      I think many people who eventually consider themselves an Atheist tend to typically come from a Christian background, and in that background many people are traumatized in some form or another. Thus they throw off religion altogether. This has been my experience at least.

      I personally know many people who grew up Christian, but definitely aren't Christian today. In fact, amongst my own siblings, ONE is Christian, and at the totally opposite end of the spectrum and a bit of an extremist in my own opinion. The rest of us in the family are not .

      They then tend to see anything involving any form of religion as, well... crap. (At least to them.)

      It falls under the category of unproven and unprovable. There are people who will believe things without proof, and that's perfectly fine. There are others who will not, and that's perfectly fine too.

      People just need to find something that works for them and that they can find enlightenment and solace with. That may be a religion, or it may be the absence of one. But all in all I think that folks should be judged by the content of their character on an individual level, and by what religion they do or do not ascribe to.

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        #18
        Re: Atheists and anti-theists

        Aeran, thanks for the articles.


        Jembru, thanks for the awesome video. I've also shared it with a couple of friends who agree (and one who is abstaining from agreeing while not disagreeing). I even made an account to respond to some of the other videos on their site, even though most of the games I play are on a SNES emulator or DOSBox and I hardly recognize any of the new games they're talking about.


        It's funny that some of you place anti-theists with religious fundamentalists. I've occasionally called individual anti-theists "mono-atheists" to illustrate their similarity to many of the very Christians they dislike.


        To the folks who were upset with each other: I prefer a no-censorship (or almost-no-censorship) environment. I think you have the right to say whatever you want - although, in this particular exchange, I'm not very interested. But I would like to point out that a quote was mis-attributed to me. Please look back over the original post and subsequent quotes if you're interested in who said what. If any of the confusion is because you see my text as grey on black, I apologize. I believe that's been fixed, but I don't know for sure because things have always looked ok to me; I didn't know there was a problem until someone sent me a private message about it.


        I don't think anyone needs to be (or believe they are) of any particular faith or non-faith to feel the kinds of things I feel and call "spiritual". I've found theists I found totally apathetic and disconnected from spirit. I've found atheists that are - to me - intensely spiritual in all but name. I think people sometimes worry too much about whether their inspiration comes from inside or outside or both.


        I do appreciate the conversation from everyone, though. It's nice to get some points of view on this topic outside the few atheists currently in my life who still tolerate me (who are, almost exclusively, Humanists or existentialists).
        OO

        Book of Spirals is my author site.
        The Sentient Hillside is my blog.
        Spiral Tree is an ezine for pagans I co-founded.

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          #19
          Re: Atheists and anti-theists

          Originally posted by Quetzal View Post
          In fact, her beliefs made sense, and she'd been so calm in responding to my cruel accusations, it made me feel small and childish in comparison. At that point, I decided to stop arguing against faith. It wasn't my place to rant against something so subjective. After that, I studied pagan beliefs in more depth and recently began calling myself a pagan.
          I can relate to this. I went through a horrid phase of really bad temperament and felt like a complete douche when I "woke up" and realized what I was saying to people and how it was, in a way, illogical. The anger and resentment that people have towards religion is strong and in some ways just as scary as a mob with pitchforks. People get militant with their views and they are not totally unjustified to do so.

          I still struggle with some of the things the people on this forum have experienced, experiences I can't imagine having myself, but I no longer believe that those experiences aren't real for those that experience them. I actually find myself resentful of my inability to feel what many of you feel. As I'm sure is the case with many (but not all) atheists, there's always been an emptiness inside of me where spirituality should be. If you try to understand that when speaking to atheists, maybe you'll get somewhere with it.
          I have this same problem. My inner skeptic makes it hard for me to experience things. (Also, it likes to point fingers and cry out "BS!" on people it doesn't believe, but we keep that to ourselves...) Fortunately for me, I have had those experiences before I went all gung-ho atheist/anti-theist. Which in reflection is really stupid on my part! I have these experiences that I knew were real and I just shoved them into a corner like they weren't evidence. Sometimes I'm not as smart as I would like to think I am...

          Anywho, I think I kinda "broke" my spiritual side. I'm still a weak atheist. I don't believe in deity like a lot of people do: as some all powerful being that exists outside of humanity as the creator, protector, etc. But I do have a spiritual life and I do feel connected to what I feel "binds us all". I haven't sorted it all out yet and I couldn't tell you if it fits one path or not, but I'm working on it and I hope you get to experience things in your own way.

          My tip: open yourself to experience without preconception. Experiment with whatever appeals to you and once something does happen, see what your intuition has to say ALONG with your inner skeptic. After these experiences stack up, evaluate them again and again. (Keep a journal and record everything!) Don't try to see what others have to say about before you've feel like you have got a solid idea and even then, keep an open mind about their opinions. All they can offer you is their own perspective on what you have experienced.

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            #20
            Re: Atheists and anti-theists

            I knew a guy who was a strong and outspoken atheist (And anti-theist) and he used to piss me off so much.

            He used to say things like "Religion is just for people who realize their life is so shitty they want to die to have a better one."

            "Religion is just to escape the reality that people fucked up for themselves."

            "Religion is most commonly practiced by people on welfare." (Um, sure.)

            "God isn't walking around on clouds blessing people and curing diseases, people are so dumb."

            So yeah we don't talk anymore.
            White and Red 'till I'm cold and dead.
            sigpic
            In Days of yore,
            From Britain's shore
            Wolfe the dauntless hero came
            And planted firm Britannia's flag
            On Canada's fair domain.
            Here may it wave,
            Our boast, our pride
            And joined in love together,
            The thistle, shamrock, rose entwined,
            The Maple Leaf Forever.

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              #21
              Re: Atheists and anti-theists

              Astrayus, I think - if I were being quite technical - I would technically be a pagan-agnostic or pagan existentialist; but try launching into that conversation when people ask what religion you are! So I keep it simple and call myself pagan or eclectic pagan.


              I will say, though I can't speak for others, that I don't experience the otherworld in the same way I experience the physical world. I "see" things in the otherworld with an analogue of vision or "hear" with an analogue of sound, etc. The act of evocation, for me, isn't unlike lending my willing suspension of disbelief to a theatre production. I'm not so much concerned with whether Ariel or Blanch DuBois or Dr. Dysart is real; my acceptance of them makes them real for me, and - so long as I don't try to impose these experiences on others or use them to interpret the physical world - I don't see a problem with that.


              Doc_Holiday, yep, those are some of the kinds of things I've been hearing from the anti-atheists I know (well, knew, as we're no longer in contact).
              OO

              Book of Spirals is my author site.
              The Sentient Hillside is my blog.
              Spiral Tree is an ezine for pagans I co-founded.

              Comment


                #22
                Re: Atheists and anti-theists

                here is a video recently shared with me by an atheist that explains what atheism is. Of course some will disagree, but I think it's worth watching.

                Portuguese subtitles: http://naphthalin.wordpress.com/Slovak subtitles: Peter ŠÄ¨igulinskýExplaining the concept and addressing misconceptions.Some have comme...


                My understanding is an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in gods.

                An anti-theist is one who is against any belief in gods, says there are NO gods and has a tendency to try to convince others of the same.

                An anti-religionist is against religion in any form, even non theistic ones.

                I participate in a non-theistic religion. I believe that other people have valid reasons to believe in their deities. I've had no experiences with a deity so I don't honor any, but I also have no reason to believe that others are all delusional.

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