there seems to be some confusions here about the nature of being an atheist, let me defines it for those who dont know: " An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now – here on earth – for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment." there u go.
i think an Atheist is a person who does not believe in the existence of God and would rather believe in the theory of evolution or darwinism. some also seem to believe they themselves are a god. wheather they are good or bad by worldly standards is down to them. i accept that some have the qualities shown above but not all. maybe your describing yourself. but the bible says an evil man will do good for those he loves, were as a TRUE follower of Jesus should do good to those who love and hate him, so simply being able to do a little good here and there is nothing to boast about really. (i dont mean boast in a negative way) because of this, when a atheist dies, they are removed from the presence of God as you so desired on earth. and that place were God keeps his presence from is hel, the place you consciously chose. The bible says everybody will be rewarded at judgment, the saved and the unsaved. if you chose to live your tiny mortal life without God then your eternal life will be without God too.
how come u used HE only lol...there some feminist on this forum atheist don't believe in god this forum is getting more and more religious
well you can say those views, according to people who are religious of who they view the atheist are but to an atheist, they are a person who does not believe in religion
People may FOLLOW a particular religion but its not the religion you believe in, its God. with this in mind, an atheist is an atheist becuase he/she doesnt believe in God.
so master_g, let me ask you something. Correct me if I'm wrong here, Muslims believe Muhammad as the son of God as much as the Christians believe Jesus as the son of God. so, who's the real deal? I think that's what they have been fighting about for centuries in places like Israel. this is probably in the wrong thread. hehe ...
muslims believe mohamed is the prophet of God not the son of God. They have been fighting because the muslim scriptures command muslims to kill Jews and christians.
Well, I wouldn't so far as to say I "love" myself and my fellow man (and women). It's just that I do not give the name of God to the higher power I believe exists -- I do not prescribe to a religious view of the higher power -- since most "Gods", strangely enough, take form of human, is omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent. That in itself is very suspicious to me -- thus I don't believe in the religious scripture of the "God". I guess to me, an atheist is someone who is not a retreatist -- one who believes in the power and will of oneself, instead of seeking the reassurance of something less than concrete. It is far too easy to want to let the burden of responsibility be shifted to faith -- hey, afterall, if a challenge is a challenge from God, I need not succeed since He would know I tried my best -- thus justifying a less than perfect result. If anything went well, it's a reward for one's good deeds -- I personally believe it's just chance, life has its ups and downs regardless of one's belief and the good deeds. In short, I think an atheist is who doesn't prescribe to religions. One may believe in higher power, but there is no religious scripture which parallels one's conception of such higher power -- thus not prescribe to any religion -- one will still be an atheist.
Uhmm...i apologize if I'm wrong. If GOD says that we should love our fellow men/women as stated above, then why were they killing other people in the first place? if muslims and christians believe in god, then why do muslims have to kill christians and jews? and also, isn't jesus a jew? so christians are followers of a jewish man. can someone make it straight for me? If something good happens you praise God. If something bad happens, he works in a very mysterious way. how so? As for myself, religion is more of a philosophy. What's more to life then doing the right thing? give spare change to the poor, donate money to charity funds, holding the door for old people. that's my religion. with a god or without a god, god or gods, it really doesn't matter to me.
wow in what u say u give the definition of what is an atheist... but well, being an atheist is sometimes better than believe in god..because believe in god mean that we accept the fact it have someone who is here to say what we have to do or not and khnow everything we do..but how come is possible? how come is possible to have someone who can do that with all the ppl that count this earth?.. this is just a hard question that can't find an answer..but well i khnow that some of u will say that this is possible because god is the best of the best person in this world...and he get that power..but still if u take this problem and try to explain it with science.. it's just -noclue and then be an atheist doesn't mean that this person don't believe in nothing..it's just that this person is more independant and don't need to put all his conviction in something that can't be prove...
lol for reals.. HallelujaH!!! hahhahha.... I have reasons to believe God did not speak English.. why's it yah n not Jah!! ; I guess I'm not really Atheist... I'm jus non-religious... -lol
yeah the quaran says to kill christians (by religion) and jews (by nationality), islam and christianity/ judaism are 2 different religions. they have NOTHING in common. most muslims do not follow the quaran to that degree though, most of my friends and one of my best friends are muslim. but that is the main reason for the constant war in the middle east (excluding the so called war on terror thing). To be honest the whole conflict between christians/jews and muslims was fortold in the bible long before it started. also good things and bad things happen to us while on earth, its life. i give God thanks for everything that happens to me regardless of whether its good or bad cus every trial that comes my way will only make me stronger. If you want a good example of something good and something bad happening to a person and reasons behind it then read the book of Job (proving u aint read it already), u can even read it on the internet. that will cover what you asked conserning good and bad things hapening. if you have any more questions, ill be more than happy to anwer them.
i think i'm one of this person what descibed on the first post is it bad? i dont think so, i believe what my brain is believing
But if the "higher power" I believe in is not what religion(s) describe THEIR God, I am still an atheist. Since the name "God" comes with a string of attributes, not all of them my conception of "higher power" has. In short, not-"God" = atheist.
interesting...hmmm the definition, I posted, is from the "Atheist" organization of America. and can you all tell I am a boy, so I am pretty bias on HE/HIS/HIM...hehehe. for those who believe in God created everything read the following: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanId=sa003&articleId=000D4FEC-7D5B-1D07-8E49809EC588EEDF actually, it's good for everyone to read all 15 reasons for Godless-ness.
Wow, an article from SciAm, how did you dig that up from the archive? It is a lovely article, but it will not be fruitful in stopping the misleading arguments from creationists -- since those who will make the argument in the first place will not cite this article, and those who will be convinced (by creationist) had not read this article. My favourite part: "How does one disprove the existence of omnipotent intelligences?" -- one doesn't, it (the omnipotent intelligence) is there to be believed, not proved. <One ought not to insult Him in such ungratituous manner.> I added the middle part and the last quote is a live quote from an acquintance of mine
