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DragonQuestWes — Atheism is not an ideology
Published: 2011-12-21 02:18:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 2200; Favourites: 78; Downloads: 10
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I know there's hundreds of these similar stamps I usually prefer to make original ones that have pretty much never been said before, but I feel the need to slap the faces of pseudo-progressives, because they tend to treat Atheism like an ideology. Same thing can be said with religions as well. They are not ideologies either.Note: This is a stamp made for anyone, regardless of atheistic or religious belief that wants to ensure that "extreme" Atheists need to chill the fuck out. This stamp is not for anti-Atheists or religious fanatics, so go fuck yourselves if you are either.
Now let me begin by saying that I am an Atheist. I don't believe in god and I used to until I became 16. Then I started questioning the religion itself and decided that I would go to a different path. Did I think that I was automatically going to be considered "smart" by labeling myself as such? No. I had to work for that intelligence and you should too. Get your ass in line like everyone else and stop being lazy. I have no intention in converting to another religion but I do like to study other religions as well. I will not take you seriously if you try to convert me and you shouldn't have to convert because of what I say either. If you want to convert yourself to another religion or to Atheism, it's your decision alone. Whatever you want to believe is your choice and I'm fine with that.
They're just belief (or disbelief) systems. Not cults, not political organizations, nothing else.
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Comments: 70
I have seen a bunch of fundies comparing everything from atheism, evolution to the fight for homosexual rights as doctrines, my reaction was to burst into laughter and then a facepalm
Fundamentalism makes people beyond dumb.
As Einstein said stupidity is infinite
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Fundies are garbage.
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Fundamentalists, giving a bad name for their ideology since time immemorial.
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This is something I noticed: When an Atheist is asked what they're religion is, they say "Atheist", despite Atheists say that Atheism isn't a religion.
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It isn't a religion either.
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exactly.... thats why i treat my ideas as religions as a proud nongolfer
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yes i believe in nongolf because im not a golfer and like being an atheist i reject golf 
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fuk u teeist dont indoctrinat my kids
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golf cult man u golf u cultist teeist scum stop GOLF dont HURT children
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I'm fine with Atheism existing- after all, everyone has their personal tastes in what happens in the afterlife. However, it upsets me that Atheists try to prove Atheism is real by belittling others for having faith in a God or a religious leader. I tried becoming Atheist- I found myself being an asshole about my belief, bashing not only Christians/Catholics but to other religions. It turns out that I was as bad as those God-worshipping prick priests. After this, I became unreligious- following no belief. I wasn't Hindu, Christian, or Atheist. I just didn't want to face religion for a while until I found a new religion that I decided to check. Buddhism.
I'm only buddhist because I believe that I can walk in a path of peace, despite the on-going chaos around me. I'm learning to learn from my suffering- the past abuse from my parents, my shit self esteem, and bullying from my eight years in elementary to junior high. I also learned to tolerate other religions, even though I may not believe in them. Surprisingly, Hindus and Buddhists aren't known for bashing other religions because we are taught that everyone and everything is equal as well that there is always a middle path. There is no true or infinite happiness or suffering/sorrow. A middle path, a balance of the two, can possibly guarantee peace (in my own opinion, at least). Buddhism only explains the purpose in life: to live in peace along with morals (such as no drinking, no lying/criticism/stealing). Buddhism doesn't necessarily mean you have to follow a ritual. I mean, I still have my little sins like everyone else. I just believe that I can live with my own personal content and learning from my pain. But with Buddhism in my life, in my belief, I feel much happier and respecting to those around me. Buddha is said that he knows other religions exist but he teaches that we should respect them and just not care if people follow them. This teaches me and fellow Buddhists that no one should be an asshole for their religion. You can't fight against other believers with hate. We are taught to be positive to ourselves and others.
Because of this, many rude Atheists assume that all followers of any religion are considered 'ignorant, dumb, blinded, stupid, etc.' I was offended because I was belittled for simply believing a religion where pain can be healed. I don't believe in a Hell or Heaven/Valhalla since I believe in reincarnation (infinite lives, hooray!) yet Atheists immediately assume I'm a Christian or that God is up there. I believe in no God nor do I see Buddha as my God/religious leader. I simply see him as a fellow, wise brother who is helping me benefit from my past pains in this life.
Thank you, nice Atheist!
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I'm not an expert on Buddhism but I can say that it's one of the least US-centric/Eurocentric faiths out there.
Our understanding of religion/spirituality tends to have no geographical understanding nor is there any historical understanding of it.
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I'm gonna have to disagree with you. Agnosticism, not Atheism, is the rejection of beliefs.
Atheism is the (well justified) belief that there are no gods or other supernatural forces.
...And that's why I'm an Agnostic, leaning strongly toward Atheism.
If you disagree, then tell me what Agnostics are, and how Atheists can have a central belief yet ...not have beliefs.
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I know this is an old comment, but
Agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive. And many if not most atheists, if asked, would describe themselves as agnostic atheist.
I personally am an agnostic atheist towards most gods, explicitly atheist towards some gods, and ignostic about gods I haven't heard of yet.
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I agree that Agnostic is often asymptotic to Atheism, and vice versa. Really, when a person decides that s/he is not going to take it on faith that there's a talking snake, and an all-powerful invisible friend in the sky, then the claims of many, if not all, religions start to sound like faery take stuff.
Bertrand Russell said that he was an Atheist day-to-day, but if put in a room full of professors of philosophy he'd have to admit that he's agnostic.
The best label I've read for this Atheist/Agnostic fence-sitting is "Tooth Faery Agnostic". It means "sure, it's possible that there's an anthropomorphic invisible all-powerful super santa in the sky.... but it seems about as likely as the tooth faery being real."
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"Agnostic" means "There might be a god, there might not be."
Agnosticism doesn't really reject beliefs, it's just undecided meaning that you neither believe nor disbelieve and it's possible that there might or might not be a deity or supernatural force.
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I agree.
For me, I'm at the extreme end of the Agnostic spectrum next to Atheism, where Occam's Razor has put me. That is to say, sure there's a teeny tiny possibility that there's a man-shaped super secret invisible all powerful god, but it seems as unlikely as the flying spaghetti monster. I retain a grain of doubt toward atheism, and a bushel of doubt toward anthropomorphic religions.
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It makes me really sad that this conversation is over a year old, because I know enough on this subject to really add to the conversation. In any case, I'm going to respond and if you want to restart the conversation then I'll be waiting.
You seem to not have a clear definition of Atheism.
Atheism, at its BROADEST, is the lack of belief in a god or gods (Theism). It is not:
-The belief that there is no god.
-The claim that there is no god.
-The claim that the existence of god is impossible.
-The conscious rejection of theistic claims.
-The opposite of Theism (which is Imtheism/Strong Atheism).
A person who happens to hold any or all of these beliefs/claims is an atheist, because to hold any of these beliefs/claims requires that said person lack theistic belief. Lacking Theism is the only true requirement to be an atheist, by its' broadest definition.
If you want to look at it this way, it is a true dichotomy.
Theism = The belief in a god.
Atheism = The lack of belief in a god/the lack of Theism.
If Theism is X, then Atheism is Not-X. It is logically impossible for someone to be neither X nor Not-X. They are, by definition, one or the other.
Agnosticism: The belief, position, or acknowledgement that knowledge of the existence or non-existence of god or gods is currently unknown and possibly unknowable.
What agnosticism is not is the "lack of Theism and Atheism". It is not a middle ground, because such a middle ground is logically impossible. Agnosticism is a position regarding the uncertainty of any and all theistic claims of knowledge. It is the answer "I don't know" to the question "Is there a god?"
The important thing to realize is that "I'm an agnostic" is not a valid answer to the question "Do you believe in god?" In regard to questions of belief, atheist and theist are the only two options. If you are not a theist, then you are an atheist, regardless of how unsure you are concerning the existence of god, how rude atheists seem, or how you happen to define Atheism as something it is not.
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How is Atheism a rejection of beliefs if Atheism is a belief.
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It's absence...
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That's the thing, atheism isn't a belief.
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It's the disbelief in god but at the same time it's a belief that there is no god.
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Apparently, belief and disbelief are synonyms now.
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No, it's not.
Atheism is the rejection of a belief. It's not a belief itself.
What you describe would at most apply to hard atheism, also called "gnostic atheism", which is not very widely spread, because anyone who holds this position would have to believe that there is such a thing as absolute certainty, which is illogical and unscientific, not to mention just as intellectually dishonest as the position of a gnostic theist.
Any rational atheist would tell you that he does not know for absolute sure whether or not there is a god, but that he does not believe so because there is no conclusive evidence for such a being. Furthermore, the existence of such a being would create paradoxes because it is not compatible with reality as we know it. Therefore, any rational atheist rejects the belief in such a being.
It's the same with fairies and unicorns. You do not believe they do exist, do you? Does that mean you can be absolutely certain they don't?
You do not require a positive, affirmative belief that they don't exist to not believe that they do exist, do you?
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When it comes to being 'gnostic' and whatnot, that applies to pretty much all religions. Just because there is belief doesn't mean there is no doubt within said belief. It is shown that many Christians have doubts within their belief.
If someone wasn't sure whether God exists they would be considered Agnostic. If atheism is a rejection in the belief of God, they would be more sure 'he doesnt' rather than 'he does'. I never said anything about me believing in God either.
I agree that the idea of mythology is quite similar to this law I never said that these atheists were entirely sure 'there is no God' because everyone has doubt in something or everyone. What I said wasn't me saying that it is a "positive affirmative belief" because if that were the case than what i meant as the rejection of belief aka the opposite of belief would have to mean that word would mean that the statement travels as far as the other but in the other direction about the opposite topic. What I mean is for you to say a belief has to be positively affirmative must mean a rejection of belief is also positive and affirmative too.
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I never said there was no doubt among theists ... ^^
But they do have a fairly high percentage of gnostic theists, especially in the more radical groups in the US and such.
All well and good, but a rejection is not the same as positive, affirmative belief in the opposite. I can, for instance, simply dismiss a claim to the existence of a god, or a fairy, or whatever, out of hand if there is no sufficient evidence to support it.
If you told me you had an invisible friend, I could simply say that I think that's bullshit. I would not need to go as far as to say "I firmly believe that your invisible friend does not exist" - that's something that would require more introspection of me than I would be willing to grant the claim. Instead, I simply, quickly analyze the claim, see if there's any way there could be evidence for its truthfulness, then judge whether or not it's even a valid claim to make. If it lacks evidence, it's not, and my stance switches to "Bullshit".
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You are so right! I am an atheist too!
Atheism is simply the lack of belief in god/s,goddesses,angles,demons,spirits,heaven/hell.etc.......
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There's plenty of people who think the world works like The Amazing Atheist's videos (speaking of which, I used to be a huge fan of him, but I've really outgrown him and I no longer watch his videos, although I still maintain a little respect for him).
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... Actually it is, in a sense. It is saying a political orientation or belonging to a particular institution is an ideology that is the fallacy.
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The concern I have though is how it would be turned into some political movement the same way how Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism have been used for political points in the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Not that it will happen.
I'm aware that Atheism in general doesn't and won't have this crusades-esque shit, nor would it have this "Hey, let's kill a bunch of savages and convert them to our way of life" mentality, but frankly how much of a shit should we actually give as long as they aren't bothering us with it? I'm just for keeping it out of public life so we can focus on what we need to focus on.
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Ideology (n)
the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.
In other words, basically, an idea. The idea of rejecting religion is the ideology of Atheism. It is an ideology.
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Atheism is the lack of belief in God or Gods, so therefore atheism isn't the rejection of religion, since not all religions involve a God or Gods.
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The point is, that Atheism isn't a movement and yet many (Atheists and religious folk alike) tend to see it as one.
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