How many of you are "real" atheists ?

[Virtual ghost]

AO, which country do you live in to have 90% of all people be catholic? Ireland?

Croatia. But for only 30-40% you can say that they trully believe.

 

[Mole]

I think we should again consider that not everyone operates the same way. We are a type site, we need to remember that different personalities prioritize different things in life.

For types that instinctive collect information and then make internal judgments based on the essence of that data, changing one's religious beliefs is far simpler than for a personality type that is imprinted by the original worldview and then has values like loyalty, faithfulness, family unity, and similar things being prioritized with basically evaluate one's behavior in conformance with the original worldview.

The difference in priorities (from the perspective of the individual personality) helps to explain in part why some people grow up and end up leaving or rejecting the religion they were taught and why others end up remaining or even finding and clinging to it.

So in regards to the quote above, you might believe that adults are indeed "choosing" their worldview; I am proposing that, while I think that is at core the responsibility of every adult (and they are indeed "choosing" it), the anxiety they would face at rejecting it is FAR more than anxiety I might have felt or some other evaluative-style personality might have felt. Our personalities are geared to evaluate, then accept/reject based on data, our foundation is located within the evaluation process itself and not necessarily the outcome, we trust our PROCESS; but if you're a personality who only has one way of viewing the world and godliness is based on being faithful to it and you can't SEE another, it's nearly impossible to rise above the anxiety of casting it aside and not being able to trust your PERCEPTION. What would take its place?

They not only tell us MBTI is destiny but that VAKOG is also destiny.

But there is no empirical evidence supporting MBTI or VAKOG whatsoever.

MBTI means of course Myers Briggs Type Indicator. And VAKOG means visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory, otherwise known as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

But MBTI is relentlessly pushed here in spite of the lack of evidence because it is a cult. And the cult mavens use this site to recruit school girls and school boys.

 

[onemoretime]

They not only tell us MBTI is destiny but that VAKOG is also destiny.

But there is no empirical evidence supporting MBTI or VAKOG whatsoever.

MBTI means of course Myers Briggs Type Indicator. And VAKOG means visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory, otherwise known as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

But MBTI is relentlessly pushed here in spite of the lack of evidence because it is a cult. And the cult mavens use this site to recruit school girls and school boys.

Soooooo... why are you here, then? You've never been the most zealous promoter of empiricism.

When have we talked about destiny? It seems most of the discussion is about the differences in the way people think about things, combined with the regular message board chit-chat. The main subject is acceptance, not predestination.

So what makes you more correct than the rest of us?

 

[Mole]

You've never been the most zealous promoter of empiricism.

Belief and reason are two sides of the same revolutionary coin.

And as France and the United States are both revolutionary societies, it is no surprise to find that the United States believes and France reasons.

Of course belief and reason appear to be at loggerheads but they are only different sides to the same coin.

To find a different currency you need to look beyond revolutionary societies to a society created by the Enlightenment. And of course such a society is my own.

And whereas France and the United States are societies of belief and reason, my society is empirical.

In France they ask, what is the reason. And in the United States they ask, what do you believe. And in Oz we ask, does it work.

So the French are rational. The Americans are believers. And we are empiricists.

 

[statuesquechica]

I was baptized in the Catholic church, went through the whole process of indoctrination (confession, communion, taught catechism, etc). I am now agnostic due to personal experiences observing the hypocrisy and cruelty of the church, not to mention vast research into the tenets and history of the church. I continue to be mortified with the sexual abuse tragedy that was perpetrated and covered up by clergy, and their inhumane policies regarding birth control. I met a woman in South America who had 23 children (many obviously died in infancy) because birth control wasn't allowed--now that is insane.

Watch The Magdalene Sisters to get your fill of God's benevolence. I believe organized religions have been the source of so much pain and death, how could anyone with a conscience not question their value and question the foundation they are built on?

 

[Blank]

+1

 

[ilovetrannies]

I am an atheist and proud of it. I believe I always have been an atheist even as a kid. Plus, my parents: are really cool and never made us go to church and let us think for ourselves.

 

[Mole]

I believe organized religions have been the source of so much pain and death, how could anyone with a conscience not question their value and question the foundation they are built on?

You and Ayaan Hirsi Ali have questioned and left your religions.

And just yesterday in Melbourne Australia we arrested another large number of Islamists prepared and on the point of murdering a large number of their fellow Australians.

The Islamists, living amongst us, plan to murder us as part of the global jihad. They have been brought before our Criminal Courts with the best Defence available. And if convicted, will join the many other Islamic mass murderers in our jails.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, along with you, has rejected her religion. And Ayaan now publicly describes herself as an atheist.

Unfortunately her fellow muslims have declared her an apostate and a death sentence has been passed upon her. And Ayaan has been forced to leave her country, Holland, where she was an elected member of parliament, and seek refuge abroad. And even there Ayaan must live under constant strict security.

Both you and Ayaan have left your religions. But no catholics are trying to murder you while Ayaan lives in constant fear of her life from muslims.

 

[statuesquechica]

^That is terrible. Once again showing how irrational religion and its followers can be and perpetrate the most heinous crimes in the name of their god.

 

[statuesquechica]

And by perpetuating the lie of Moral Equivalence, you betray Ayaan Hirsi Ali to the Islamists.

Hmm, I in no way compared my situation to hers...there is no equivalence. I simply said it was terrible, and it is.

 

[alcea rosea]

I have noticed that there is alot of people on this forum that claim to be an atheists and agnostics.


So I am wondering how many of you are officially atheists and how many of you have decided to live as an atheists even if that is not what you are on the paper?
Basicly the only thing I am asking is "How many of you dont belong to any religion on paper ?"

Btw. why did you reject your religion ?

I'm lutheran but not really believing one. More like I have lutheran habits of this country. I'm not atheist either. I'm closest to agnostic but I'm not entirely that either. The thing with me and religion is that I don't know and i havent' decided yet. Maybe I'll be a buddhist in the future or maybe I just am.

 

[Llewellyn]

Individually I've never truly belonged to any religion. I have been baptized. My family is protestant. I'm not a 'real' atheist, I'm not averted to the idea of religion. I think it's fascinating and real. But I make sure I discover about it personally, and not to subscribe to anything outside of me (That's just for the framework, symbols etc). I wonder if that's basically the thing religion is about.

 

[Darkéy]

You can take the square root of a real atheist.

<3 Took the words right out my mouth!

X.

 

[Riva]

There is a reason why I have placed that "real" in quotation marks.
Basicly the only thing I am asking is "How many of you dont belong to any religion (on paper) ?"

That is not atheism.
Buddhism does not believe in God. But it is still a religion/philosophy.

 

[Virtual ghost]

That is not atheism.
Buddhism does not believe in God. But it is still a religion/philosophy.

Ok then.


Did you get what I am actually asking ?

 

[onemoretime]

That is not atheism.
Buddhism does not believe in God. But it is still a religion/philosophy.

I could be a Theravada Buddhist and still be atheist. In that context, "enlightenment" just means the highest peak of human understanding about our condition and the entrapment of our desires. The cycle of reincarnation is less about what happens after death than it is what happens during life (as you are born in some activity, hit your prime, then age and die in it, only to be reborn into some new activity).

No need for any God in that context, and a-theos means "without god"

 

[Colors]

Thanks Curzon and onemoretime, I was going to say (but forgot) that I was atheist, but also somewhat Buddhist (wasn't any initiation rituals I can think of). Does this mean I don't qualify as "true"?

 

[Riva]

I could be a Theravada Buddhist and still be atheist. In that context, "enlightenment" just means the highest peak of human understanding about our condition and the entrapment of our desires. The cycle of reincarnation is less about what happens after death than it is what happens during life (as you are born in some activity, hit your prime, then age and die in it, only to be reborn into some new activity).

No need for any God in that context, and a-theos means "without god"

True that what you say.

but it should be noted that Buddha himself had said that there are Gods/devas.
But they do not influence nor are they the ultimate judges of the universe.
And he has also told that Devas can't help you (send you to heaven.)
According to Buddhism there are worlds in which Devas live.

BUT THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ENLIGHTENMENT.

And according to Buddha knowing and worshiping them would not help you attain enlightenment (understand nirvana/enlightenment) or send you to heaven as mentioned above.

Ps - He has also told that there are other planets which are occupied by sentient being and higher intelligent beings (like humans.)

Which basically means that aliens exist.
Gooooooooooooooo Star Trek.

Thanks Curzon and onemoretime, I was going to say (but forgot) that I was atheist, but also somewhat Buddhist (wasn't any initiation rituals I can think of). Does this mean I don't qualify as "true"?

Believing in the existence of god/gods or non-belief does not disqualify you from being a Buddhist. If that is what you are trying to ask me. Not very clear.

There are no conversion rituals in Buddhism.

 

[Nihilen]

Usually an atheist doesn't worship a particular god.

So there are christian atheists, and hindu atheists and judaic atheists and muslim atheists. And there are atheists who don't worship Zeus or Poseidon.

So atheism is dependent on a particular god.

I mean which god don't you worship?

What kind of atheist are you?

I'm sure you think you sound deep and wise but nope, I'm only hoping you don't take this pretentious babble you spread around the place too seriously.

 

[Riva]

I'm sure you think you sound deep and wise but nope, I'm only hoping you don't take this pretentious babble you spread around the place too seriously.

What are you trying to say? He does have a point.
You become an atheist only if once upon a time you used to (forced to and threatened to and blackmailed) to believe in a God and when you stop believing in Him.
So yeah you become an Atheist once you stop worshiping.