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| Littered minds are troubled minds |
A great deal of my friends are atheist and some, but not all, are quite sure that being true to atheism means that you are smarter than the average Joe. I am not sure if I subscribe to that philosophy, although I am in favour of it whilst trying to understand why someone would expect the god hypothesis to be true and accurate.
Contrary to common belief, atheists are not dark, brooding souls who have been traumatised by life or religion in some way and therefore bitterly deny God. We are not temporarily deluding ourselves, only to jump back into Jesus', God's, or any other lap during a crisis.
Generally speaking, atheists are well-adjusted, intelligent people who are much like everybody else. We just can't find any reason to believe that God exists. Just like everybody else, we also like to have our notions reaffirmed from time to time.
Therefore, finally, there is a little chicken soup for the atheist soul (or whatever it is that we atheists have instead of a soul).
There are many definitions on the web that explain what atheism is. Here are a few of them:
- The doctrine or belief that there is no god and/or a lack of belief in the existence of god or gods.
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Atheism is commonly defined as the position that there are no deities. It can also mean the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. A broader definition is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism - Atheist - related to or characterised by or given to atheism; "atheist leanings".
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Atheistic - rejecting any belief in gods.
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Atheist - A person without a belief in, or one who lacks belief in the existence of a god or gods; A person who believes that no gods or deities exist.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atheist - This word comes from two Greek words, a the negator, and theos, God. Atheism teaches that there is no God of any kind, anywhere, anytime. Some atheists claim to "Excercise no belief in a god" the same way they would exercise no belief in pink unicorns.
www.spiritrestoration.org/Theological_Terms/A_Prior_%20to_Born_Again.htm
As the title link says, "If you are an adult and have an invisible friend, this may not be the appropriate place for you". Of course, if you are having doubts about the religion that you are entangled in, we welcome you to stay and to even debate the existence of god with us.
nice article.
Good show. I myself am sickened with the misconception that people have regarding us atheists. I respect the religious beliefs of others, but I can't help but take offence when one of them tries to tell me that I need to "save myself" from my "destructive path". My atheistic beliefs are not born from a sense of loss, or depression. It is not the equivalent of a drug addiction. Just because I am an atheist, it doesn't equate me to a devil worshiping, child killing psychopath. I am an atheist because I choose to be. And unlike what a surprisingly large number of people seem to believe, you do NOT need a religion to have a basic moral compass. Any person who's sense of morality is so frail that they require the threat of divine punishment/rewards to keep them in toe is likely not a very trustworthy chap to begin with anyway.