My guide to understanding Atheists and Atheism Part 5

Common Misconceptions About Atheists

•Atheists hate god, so that’s why they became atheists.

            - This is simply not true. It is impossible to hate something that you don’t believe is real. It is possible to hate or dislike an idea, but this is besides the point. Most atheists don’t hate god. In fact, they couldn’t care less about any god/s because they are not real and have no relevance in their lives. Most of the hatred or dislike that atheists may have is toward man-made religions and their dogmas. We do hate the inhuman atrocities religions allow and protect as sacred. Moreover, some of us disapprove of religion because it imposes its views onto others and enslaves the minds of its followers. Many atheists became atheists because they read their bibles.  

 

•Atheists have no morals.

             - Time and time again this is brought up but never gets theists very far. Evolutionary Biology and Psychology show that morality is naturally occurring when consciousness of mind is present in a species. Meaning, we are all innately evolved moral conscious beings and we collect our morals from social acceptances. Morality is subjective and ever-changing, which is why absolute morality is a logical impossibility. Societies and laws, not a supreme being, will dictate what is moral. If we get our morals from a god, then which god? Which morals? And how do we determine their meanings?

 

•If atheists have no god and no heaven, then their life is meaningless and not worth living.

             - This is obviously false or there would be a lot less atheists out there and we would see a decrease and not an increase in atheism as we see happening now.  Being unique individuals, we as human beings create meaning in our own lives. I find the phrase “life is meaningless” to be absurd. We are lucky enough to be conscious and present in one of the most awe-inspiring times imaginable. If you can’t find meaning in life, then you're just not looking hard enough or you refuse to open your eyes. If you’re following a meaning that is not your own, then you, in turn, have less meaning or no meaning to your own life. In that case you are simply living to live-out someone else’s meaning of life and not your own.

 

My guide to understanding Atheists and Atheism Part 4

               Why Atheists organize

 

•-Even though Atheists are the second largest group, we are still a minority in the U.S. and other parts of the world. The U.S. is made up of 18-20% of non-believers and growing. 

 

•-To take a stand against oppression and bigotry by religious fundamentalists and apologists who force their views on us.

 

•-We organize to allow our voices to be heard by our government and state representatives.

 

•-To help reinforce the separation of church and state mandated by the federal Constitution of the United States.

 

•-We like to get together and do things with other like-minded individuals, even if we only have a single thing in common (like Atheism). 

 

•-To help make other Atheists feel comfortable with the assurance that they are not alone in the choosing to reject Religion and/or god/s. 

 

•-To help support and rehabilitate those damaged by religious atrocities. 

 

•-To express their feelings of outrage, hope, love, humor, interests, etc. 

 

•-To help others in need.

 

•-To help create a better world through altruistic means by the formation of secular charities with no ulterior motives or obligations. 

 

•-To promote the advancement of scientific discoveries though logic and reason.

 

My guide to understanding Atheists and Atheism Part 3

My guide to understanding Atheists and Atheism Part 2

 

Why Atheism is “Not” a Religion!

 

•My reasons why Atheism is not a Religion are because there are no dogmas associated with Atheism. No deities, tests, baptisms, rituals, leaders, codes, laws, special underwear, stone tablets, places of worship, and no doctrines. 

 

•The only thing Atheists have in common with each other is that they share a unique stance that they gain though their own independent studies with the help of deductive reasoning.

–The stance: There probably is no god/s due to a lack of evidence to support the theistic claims. Therefore, we will deny any existence of a god/s unless demonstrably proven otherwise. Namely, we assert “No” positive claim for the non-existence of any god/s and therefore find no reason to believe in any god/s. 

 

•Outside of the stance of Atheism, Atheists have many commonalities that appear to have religious connotations, but are not. We share many of the same view points, but no two Atheists share exactly the same views. 

   

Religion - a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

  Source for Religion: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion

My guide to understanding Atheists and Atheism Part 1

                                  The Basics 

 Lets start with the basics, Here are some key terms and definitions you will need to know: 

•Atheist - someone who “denies” the existence of god.

       -That’s it, that all an atheist is someone who denies the existence of a god, any god. That mean unless you accept the existence of every god you are in turn an atheist too. You’re probably atheistic towards many gods.

  

•

• Deny- to state that (something declared or believed to be true) is not true: to deny an accusation.

         -when the word deny is used it is not meant as an absolute. It is impractical and foolish to accept any absolutes without evidence.  

  

•

• Atheism- in a broad sense, is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. [1] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. [2] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. [3] Atheism is contrasted with theism, [4] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.

•

•God- a. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe,  the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.

         b. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.

        -2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality

 

-Source for Deny: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/deny

-Source for Atheism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

-Source for Atheist: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheist

-Source for God: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/god

My New Blog

I figured I would start my first blog post off explaing what my blog is about and why I am posting. First ill explain what my intentions are for the blog and what its about. I started this blog to allow myself an outlet, an outlet to express thoughts that I can no longer suppress. Thoughts that would normally make people cringe or want to change topics. I figure if I can express my thoughts then I can claim some sanity in my life. So If you read this blog and find you can relate or are interested in what I have to say, then this blog is for you.

I should tell you a little bit about myself so you can get a little glimpse into my background. I was raised catholic until I was about 6 or so after that my family stopped going to church. Why we stopped going I am not exactly sure but our family remained slightly religious in our own way. As I grew up I was socially indoctrinated (as I like to call it) in to more religious nonsense. I learned about religion from all the people I encountered in my life talking away from it only fear and hatred. As I got into my teens I found myself fascinated with how the world works and needed to know Exactly! how it works, down to the last nut and bolt. As a child I was always taking thing apart and putting things together in order to find out precisely how they work. So I inevitably tried to apply this skill to the world around me by learning as much science as I possibly could and will continue to do till the day I die. As my knowledge for how the world works expanded my religiosity decreased exponentially. I soon found myself asking the big questions about life and found that religion had only stories and fairy tales to offer, whereas science had evidence and proof to support its claims. Shortly there after I made my transitions form Skeptic, to Agnostic and now Atheist unless proven demonstrably otherwise(Unlikely but almost anything is possible).