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[W:658]The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

nqb7v5.jpg


I am AINO, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend

'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am AINO​
 
Personally, I do not care if this "god" exists or not.

Outside of believers stating their desires, there is little in support of it existence. Equally, stating there this entity does not exist is equally futile.


No proofs exist either way, so why worry about it?
 
Arjay81 said:
Personally, I do not care if this "god" exists or not.

Outside of believers stating their desires, there is little in support of it existence. Equally, stating there this entity does not exist is equally futile.


No proofs exist either way, so why worry about it?
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Why is it even considered something that needs to be considered? What is so special about the god concept?
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Angel said:
Read Kierkegaard for starters, although based on the shallowness of your posts I suspect it's too late for you at this stage of the game, and meanwhile turn your gas on another member, please; your posts are asphyxiations of understanding.
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Kierkegaard had no insights that change reality. Philosophy is a deadly dull dead end.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Angel said:
Don't blame Catholic education for your own innate shortcomings. I was thinking for myself before I went to grade school.
And by the by I went to Catholic schools too, for 12 years, privileged in the last four to have been taught by the Jesuits, and nothing in the eight years of secular university education that followed outshone the Catholic education that preceded them.

I make real atheism sound hard because it is, and should be hard. The easy sort of atheism you're describing is New Atheism, and New Atheism, Dawkins Atheism, Polemical Internet Atheism, is atheism for simpletons, Atheism In Name Only (AINO), Pseudo Atheism.
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Atheism is effortless. Why is lacking belief in gods hard? It clears the mind and dispenses with a delusion.
 
Angel said:
nqb7v5.jpg


This thread was inspired by recent post exchanges with Rich2018 and soylentgreen.

Disclaimer
This thread is about a particular brand of atheism, and a particular breed of atheist, and should not be taken as about atheism in general nor in particular about old-school atheism, the atheism of the 20th century or of the 19th century, which deserves the profoundest respect. This thread is about millennial atheism, Dawkins atheism, New Atheism, Know-nothing atheism. We all know the brand and breed.

Theses
1. Today's atheism has lost its way and is without a moral or semantic compass.
2. Today's atheist is an AINO
3. The AINO Creed is an incoherent manifesto

Happy New Year to all DP atheists and theists alike!


PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THE ENTIRE OP ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE THREAD.
CONSERVE DP BANDWIDTH.
THANK YOU.​
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Sorry I'm late for today's roll call.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
Atheism is effortless. Why is lacking belief in gods hard? It clears the mind and dispenses with a delusion.
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It's not hard...it's the easy way out...
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Elvira said:
It's not hard...it's the easy way out...
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Ain't it great? Life has enough problems, why bog it down with superstition and believing in make believe?
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
Ain't it great? Life has enough problems, why bog it down with superstition and believing in make believe?
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“If you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” ― Robert Fritz
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Elvira said:
“If you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” ― Robert Fritz
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What if what I truly want is possible or reasonable? It's called being realistic.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
What if what I truly want is possible or reasonable? It's called being realistic.
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And then there's this one...;)

Victory will never be found by taking the path of least resistance. - Winston Churchill
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
Atheism is effortless. Why is lacking belief in gods hard? It clears the mind and dispenses with a delusion.
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If your atheism is effortless, then you are a shallow atheist.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Elvira said:
And then there's this one...;)

Victory will never be found by taking the path of least resistance. - Winston Churchill
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I'm not looking for victory.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Elvira said:
It's not hard...it's the easy way out...
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That is untrue, especially in countries like the US where religion is totally and utterly so immersed in society that being an atheist is not that accepted. Atheism is still seen as very negative in the US. The only more negatively seen group in the US are muslims. With a positive view of 48% and atheists get 50% positivity.

Among evangelicals the atheists have a positive view of just 33%.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
Atheism is shallow.
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Atheism is not meant to be "deep". Atheism just means no gods, nothing more and nothing less. Atheists get their "deep views" from other things, not from their no-god views.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Peter King said:
Atheism is not meant to be "deep". Atheism just means no gods, nothing more and nothing less. Atheists get their "deep views" from other things, not from their no-god views.
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Something for all to consider on this thread. Who started it? He has his own definitions and will listen to no others.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

devildavid said:
Atheism is effortless. Why is lacking belief in gods hard? It clears the mind and dispenses with a delusion.
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How can you say this ?

There are many former Theists who struggled for years with the issue of god's existence and are now Atheists.

For them, the conversion to Atheism was anything but effortless.


I think you're just speaking for yourself.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Rich2018 said:
How can you say this ?

There are many former Theists who struggled for years with the issue of god's existence and are now Atheists.

For them, the conversion to Atheism was anything but effortless.


I think you're just speaking for yourself.
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Is not the struggle due to the society and upbringing of the person who has begun to question what they have been told their entire lives? Bart Ehrman has talked about his conversion from evangelical to atheist and how many years it took him to reach his present understanding of religious beliefs.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Somerville said:
Is not the struggle due to the society and upbringing of the person who has begun to question what they have been told their entire lives? Bart Ehrman has talked about his conversion from evangelical to atheist and how many years it took him to reach his present understanding of religious beliefs.
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I think many Atheists (like many homosexuals) have a fear of nonconforming and the potential consequences that might entail.

It might cost you your job to come out as an Atheist - there was a school teacher was was actually removed from his position because of that.

In some communities it might mean an individual is ostracized and shunned as a pariah. It might mean being shunned by your immediate family.


But even if those pressures aren't there, to a devout Christian, it must cause tremendous angst to slowly accept that the arguments for their god are less and less convincing.
I liken it to a man building a house, putting in years of effort but always running into setbacks...then finally having to admit that he's wasted 20 years of his life because the house he's trying to build lies on sand, not rock.
 
Rich2018 said:
How can you say this ?

There are many former Theists who struggled for years with the issue of god's existence and are now Atheists.

For them, the conversion to Atheism was anything but effortless.


I think you're just speaking for yourself.
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I am referring ro being an atheist, not changing from believer to atheist.
 
Rich2018 said:
I think many Atheists (like many homosexuals) have a fear of nonconforming and the potential consequences that might entail.

It might cost you your job to come out as an Atheist - there was a school teacher was was actually removed from his position because of that.

In some communities it might mean an individual is ostracized and shunned as a pariah. It might mean being shunned by your immediate family.


But even if those pressures aren't there, to a devout Christian, it must cause tremendous angst to slowly accept that the arguments for their god are less and less convincing.
I liken it to a man building a house, putting in years of effort but always running into setbacks...then finally having to admit that he's wasted 20 years of his life because the house he's trying to build lies on sand, not rock.
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I have not "come out" as you put it. I don't need to. Only those closest to me need to know.
 
Re: The Atheist-In-Name-Only

Rich2018 said:
I think many Atheists (like many homosexuals) have a fear of nonconforming and the potential consequences that might entail.
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Maybe... Those fears are true for anyone who doesn't 'fit in' though, so it goes both ways...

Rich2018 said:
It might cost you your job to come out as an Atheist - there was a school teacher was was actually removed from his position because of that.
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True... But again, same with a Christian... It goes both ways.

Rich2018 said:
In some communities it might mean an individual is ostracized and shunned as a pariah. It might mean being shunned by your immediate family.
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True, but again, same with any label one can come up with... It goes both ways...

Rich2018 said:
But even if those pressures aren't there, to a devout Christian, it must cause tremendous angst to slowly accept that the arguments for their god are less and less convincing.
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My faith is as strong as it has ever been. Atheists are not getting closer to proving anything...

Rich2018 said:
I liken it to a man building a house, putting in years of effort but always running into setbacks...then finally having to admit that he's wasted 20 years of his life because the house he's trying to build lies on sand, not rock.
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Christians could argue the same thing right back at you... In fact, The Bible records Jesus as claiming (as a conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount) that whoever hears his sayings and does them is likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock (and not doing them is likened to a foolish man who built his house upon sand).
 
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