I think atheists are extremely ignorant.

[RendHeaven]

8 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

And water is wet.

[Off topic] It was actually "cool" to debate this at one point, I remember back in high school there was a wave of people claiming that "water itself cannot be wet because it is that which makes other things wet." It was a mess

[TheSpiritualBunny]

5 minutes ago, AtheisticNonduality said:

Yeah, but feeling superior and smug as an atheist might make religious people become atheists?

No, this is exactly what turns people away from atheism.

5 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

I've been transitioning to a plant based diet myself, and agree with the aims of Vegetarianism, even if I'm not %100 Vegetarian yet at this point in my life. Being overly moralistic about it is counter productive; the aim should be to shift people's thinking towards more sustainable and more ethical diets, rather than an all or nothing affair.

I kind of look at Atheism the same way; the aim should be to help nudge people towards healthy secularism and away from the more malignant and harmful forms of religious belief. The idea that everyone in the world should be an Atheist is so counter productive and unrealistic that I have to laugh at the naivety of even attempting such a concept.

Yes, I just think that atheism might be the next step in for many people in their developement, I also was an atheist for 22 years of my life.

And that's exactly what I'm trying to do when talking with religious people. I actually have a muslim girl as a friend I met on OkCubid, I decided it would be pointless to date her because her believe, so we remained friends. I sometimes just try to encourage her to question her believes while still being respectful, which sometimes even worked. She told me that her ex was mocking her religion saying stuff like "uh, Muhammed was a pedophile" and she broke up with him because of that. Religion is a huge part of their identity and ego, and therefore mocking it just turns them away.

Same with atheism, I just wish people wouldn't so dogmatic about their believes, then we could learn a lot from each other.

[Rilles]

27 minutes ago, AtheisticNonduality said:

Yeah, but feeling superior and smug as an atheist might make religious people become atheists?

No, being open-minded, attentive and loving as an atheist gives you a better chance of "conversion."

[DocWatts]

17 minutes ago, TheSpiritualBunny said:

No, this is exactly what turns people away from atheism.

Yes, I just think that atheism might be the next step in for many people in their developement, I also was an atheist for 22 years of my life.

And that's exactly what I'm trying to do when talking with religious people. I actually have a muslim girl as a friend I met on OkCubid, I decided it would be pointless to date her because her believe, so we remained friends. I sometimes just try to encourage her to question her believes while still being respectful, which sometimes even worked. She told me that her ex was mocking her religion saying stuff like "uh, Muhammed was a pedophile" and she broke up with him because of that. Religion is a huge part of their identity and ego, and therefore mocking it just turns them away.

Same with atheism, I just wish people wouldn't so dogmatic about their believes, then we could learn a lot from each other.

I've found it can be helpful to think of Materialist Reductionism as occupying a similar space within Atheism as Scriptural Literalism does in the Religious Communities.

While I would never claim a false equivalency between the two (Scriptural Literalism being far more maladaptive in the modern context), it can be useful for demonstrating that there are more or less nuanced perspectives within each paradigm.

Just as religious belief doesn't necessarily have to conflict with Darwinian Evolution, Atheistic beliefs don't necessarily have to hinge upon crude Materialist or Reductionist metaphysics.

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by DocWatts

[Carl-Richard]

34 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

I've found it can be helpful to think of Materialist Reductionism as occupying a similar space within Atheism as Scriptural Literalism does in the Religious Communities.

I have an alternative way of describing the relationship between these two worlds: the materialist's arrogance stems from adopting the neopositivists' wish of eliminating metaphysics while simultaneously sneaking in the metaphysics of science-friendly philosophers (Popper etc.). It's similar to how philosophical theology (Scholasticism) were slowly bred out by dogmatic theology (Lutherianism etc.) during the middle ages. Essentially, what they both have in common is "don't question my metaphysics!" 

 

34 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

Just as religious belief doesn't necessarily have to conflict with Darwinian Evolution, Atheistic beliefs don't necessarily have to hinge upon crude Materialist or Reductionist metaphysics.

True, but unfortunately it most often does.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Carl-Richard

[DocWatts]

1 hour ago, Carl-Richard said:

I have an alternative way of describing the relationship between these two worlds: the materialist's arrogance stems from adopting the neopositivists' wish of eliminating metaphysics while simultaneously sneaking in the metaphysics of science-friendly philosophers (Popper etc.). It's similar to how philosophical theology (Scholasticism) were slowly bred out by dogmatic theology (Lutherianism etc.) during the middle ages. Essentially, what they both have in common is "don't question my metaphysics!" 

That's actually a great way of putting it.

1 hour ago, Carl-Richard said:

True, but unfortunately it most often does.

That's accurate, but at the same time my intuitive sense is that finding the shortcomings of Reductionist paradigms (from Above, rather than from Below) requires a much greater conceptual Leap than the one that's required for Religious people to come to the realization that the events chronicled in Holy Texts are allegorical stories meant to help them live thier lives, rather than a literal account of the past.

Or maybe not, as I'll fully grant that it's possible I lack the imagination to grasp how difficult of a conceptual leap that understanding Biblical stories as didactic fables may be for some people.

Edited March 20, 2021 by DocWatts

[Arcangelo]

Atheism is part of one's spiritual journey. I am a firm believer that you can not wake up unless you are an atheist. Then when you wake up you are no longer an atheist neither a believer because now you know.

Knowing is not believing.

Atheism is like having a clean slate: a good fertile ground for a spiritual awakening.

I am still at stage orange I rather having the atheist label on me, because I think believers are very stupid and very dishonest with themselves.

I don't believe in god. I know him.

From age 32 to 39 I was an atheist. Then in June 2019 I smoked Xanga-DMT which triggered my spiritual awakening. Now I know my true self:

I am an immortal, inter-dimensional spiritual being. I will never die. I have never lived. I just exist. I am not a human being.

 

 

Arc

[StarStruck]

Atheists are usually smart but they are arrogant and egoistic. 

[vladorion]

Quote

I am a firm believer that you can not wake up unless you are an atheist.

Do you believe that none of the hindus, sufis, christian mystics are awake?

[Arcangelo]

IDK I am not experiencing what they are experiencing. But if I had to guess I would say no. They got too much baggage, that baggage must be a hindrance for awakening.

They need to drop the idea that only through jesus christ you will be saved and go to heaven which is rubbish BS

[Egzoset]

>> I think atheists are extremely ignorant.

 

Hummm...  For a split second i thought the title said "I think atheists are extremely violent".

 

Appreciate the irony!

 

[Village]

[Carl-Richard]

@Village I can just imagine the long threads of denial under whichever place this was posted 

[Epikur]

 

[Gesundheit]

I find it quite strange that I've never been atheist in my entire life. The only time I was seriously considering it was when I was extremely frustrated with Islam as the one true religion. I was suffering from depression, OCDs, multiple neuroses, and even nearly suicidal at that point so I wanted to adopt anything that could give me relief. But strangely enough, I would always find my way back to Islam, even when I was at stage Orange. Can you imagine being able to believe in Allah and prove that Islam is the one true religion through logic? Even logic could not make me atheist.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Gesundheit

[Rilles]

4 hours ago, Village said:

Holy shit.