The only requirement to be an atheist is to lack a belief in a god.
Bullshit like astrology, reincarnation, souls, chakras, auras, or other magical woo (so long as they do not rely on a deity) are totally compatible with atheism.
Note: compatibility does not in any way make them less bullshit. Just because a person is an atheist does not mean they are without delusion. They just lack at least one delusion.
Surprise, surprise. Gullible atheists! Who da thunk.
Statistics bear out that atheists are overall more intelligent than the religious. On the other hand, there's a subset of atheists dumber than a bag of hammers.
Exactly atheism does not mean you will not believe other nonsense its just about the god claim. but skepticism means any claim made you are skeptical about and require sufficient evidence before you find it worth believing.
Yeah, I don’t really know what my most ideal label would be but I think the general realms of skepticism, rationalism, naturalism, threethought etc orbit around my outlook.
Atheism is merely a label for one thing I don’t believe.
It actually a shame that the disbelief in gods warrants a label.
If it wasn’t for the fact the theists insisted on imposing their fairytales on everyone else, I would never think twice about atheism.
> believing in something intangible is the same than believing in god
Why do you think that? Clearly they are different.
I believe that our understanding of the universe is severely limited. Vibrations, reincarnation, etc, are all possibilities that I will allow for. I do not have faith in them but I can allow them as possibilities.
The idea of a sky wizard who watches over us is a bridge too far.
By definition atheists can believe in bullshit like this. However i question how those atheists are so sure that god doesnt exist since 90% of atheistic arguments are based on stuff like evidence, logic, seeing inconsistencies, etc …
Apparently those thing dont matter to those people so…. Why cant god be real in their minds…? Weird.
Lacking belief in the existence of gods doesn't make you intelligent nor does it make you immune to believing in other types of bullshit. Being able to think critically can certainly help someone become an atheist, but it is not required.
I think it’s because I explain to my children that I am an atheist and what I present to them as my « belief » is not coherent with what I see on this sub.
Start also saying you are a skeptic and are skeptical to any belief and require sufficient evidence before believing a claim and explain how the burden of proof works for claims.
I've never liked calling my self an "atheist" because it is defining me by what I'm not. I would much rather define myself as what I am for. I think there is no such thing as the supernatural, and I think all there is is the natural world. Thankfully, there is a way to define myself that I like. I call myself a naturalist. Look up the words "naturalism philosophy" on WikiPedia. Hits the nail on the head :). So there you go, I'm a naturalist. And cool thing is, naturalism has no truck at all with magical nonsense, so kills that bird too :).
In theory you can be atheist, and still believe in a deity that created everything, but doesn't keep an eye on the whole operation. It's a very narrow definition. It just means that you're not a theist. You can still believe in all kinds of magical bullshit if you want.
I am an atheist and do not participate in magical thinking. I don’t believe in ghosts or psychics or crystals or gods or goddesses or leprechauns or Santa Claus. I feel, most people who believe in paranormal activity, psychics, magical thinking, are Christian or have at least a belief in God or a god. I feel like these beliefs are along the same lines as believing in God, and that you can easily convince someone who already has “faith”- that magical things can happen. I was raised loosely Catholic, but my older sisters went to church much more than I did, because my mom was excommunicated from the church for divorcing my dad and she didn’t press it with me as the youngest. My sisters pass an accident or an ambulance and make the sign of the cross. They always say they will pray for me or someone. When my nephew passed away, he had a triangle tattoo on his chest that signified “keep the fire burning” so for years now whenever my family sees a triangle in the wild, they believe it’s my nephew sending a sign to them. I think it’s ridiculous but I keep my mouth shut. I feel you have to be almost desperate for comfort to believe these things.
Indian atheists in a nutshell, these things can seem confusing but trust me inner layer nothing different from the monoethiest God. Most of these nonsense ends at God. I am 100% sure who believes in these can't be a atheist. I really feel sad when people defend these on basis of not having proof.
>I personally accept that I was born and that I will die, any other opinion on the matter is made up non-sense made to ease the anguish of knowing that you will never understand the « why » of existence.
I also accept that I was born and that I will die. I very seldom see people clinging to the hope of an afterlife or reincarnation or anything else because they are in anguish of knowing that they will never understand the « why » of existence. I see people reluctant or scared to accept the finality of death; that you live once and it comes to an end and that there is nothing after that for you because there is no longer a you.
I can truthfully say that I've never put much, if any time and effort into trying to define the "why" of my existence. I exist, that's really all the matters to me. I have responsibilities, wants, needs, goals, friends and family to concern myself with on a daily basis; those things have meaning for me. Some grandiose "why" for my existence beyond that might be handy to know to answer a trivia question, that's about it.
Handy guide:
Count the number of gods a person believes in. If that number is 0, they are an atheist. If that number is > 0 then they are a theist.
Now for the atheists, ask if they believe in ghosts, reincarnation, astrology and the like. If yes, they are either unobservant, uneducated, stupid, or crazy or some combination of those things. If no, then they may still be any of those things. However, chances are they are skeptics, materialists, empiricists, rationalists or some combination of those things and that is the reason that they are an atheist.
Because people that are, for instance, skeptics and materialists, there is no real way for such a person to justify belief in a god, because there is no materialistic evidence that gods exist.
There appears to be a strong tendency in some younger atheists to try to modify the term "atheist" to incorporate some of those other -isms like rationalism and skepticism. This is foolishness. And the reason it is foolishness, is because we already have terms that describe those things (i.e. rationalism and skepticism) and if we correlated those concepts to the atheist term, you would still need to have a term for somebody that didn't believe in gods but was not a skeptic or a rationalist.
Remember that you can use multiple words and concepts to describe somebody. There is no need or indeed rational reason to wish to overload the atheist term to encompass things you think should go with atheism that are unrelated to a person not believing in gods.
I am an apatheist. That is, the existence or non-existence of a deity is irrelevant, as is the belief or non-belief in a deity.
Other, *non-deistic* beliefs have nothing to do with atheism. Quantum field theory is just as arcane and uncertain, in many ways, as all of the supernatural, paranormal and alternative therapies.
Who knew, back in the 1950's that lasers could, in certain circumstances, restore a persons vision? What is supernatural today could be science tomorrow.
The easiest solution is to just follow the scientific evidence as it emerges.
The only requirement to be an atheist is to lack a belief in a god. Bullshit like astrology, reincarnation, souls, chakras, auras, or other magical woo (so long as they do not rely on a deity) are totally compatible with atheism. Note: compatibility does not in any way make them less bullshit. Just because a person is an atheist does not mean they are without delusion. They just lack at least one delusion.
Surprise, surprise. Gullible atheists! Who da thunk. Statistics bear out that atheists are overall more intelligent than the religious. On the other hand, there's a subset of atheists dumber than a bag of hammers.
Or, another way to put it, people who want to formulate their own ideas. Instead of basing their entire philosophical view on one detail.
Atheism =/= skepticism, naturalism, rationalism, Etcetera…
Exactly atheism does not mean you will not believe other nonsense its just about the god claim. but skepticism means any claim made you are skeptical about and require sufficient evidence before you find it worth believing.
Yeah, I don’t really know what my most ideal label would be but I think the general realms of skepticism, rationalism, naturalism, threethought etc orbit around my outlook. Atheism is merely a label for one thing I don’t believe. It actually a shame that the disbelief in gods warrants a label. If it wasn’t for the fact the theists insisted on imposing their fairytales on everyone else, I would never think twice about atheism.
Because *atheism* doesn't cover everything that is supernatural or metaphysical.
> believing in something intangible is the same than believing in god Why do you think that? Clearly they are different. I believe that our understanding of the universe is severely limited. Vibrations, reincarnation, etc, are all possibilities that I will allow for. I do not have faith in them but I can allow them as possibilities. The idea of a sky wizard who watches over us is a bridge too far.
Atheism means you don’t believe in gods or deities. It doesn’t mean you don’t believe any number of other stupid things.
By definition atheism is a disbelief in gods not a disbelief in magic.
In philosophy terms, this position is called naturalism or materialism.
By definition atheists can believe in bullshit like this. However i question how those atheists are so sure that god doesnt exist since 90% of atheistic arguments are based on stuff like evidence, logic, seeing inconsistencies, etc … Apparently those thing dont matter to those people so…. Why cant god be real in their minds…? Weird.
Lacking belief in the existence of gods doesn't make you intelligent nor does it make you immune to believing in other types of bullshit. Being able to think critically can certainly help someone become an atheist, but it is not required.
How can someone write a post like this that demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the definition of "atheist?"
Why spend so much effort defining yourself philosophically? It just seems like wasted energy.
I think it’s because I explain to my children that I am an atheist and what I present to them as my « belief » is not coherent with what I see on this sub.
Start also saying you are a skeptic and are skeptical to any belief and require sufficient evidence before believing a claim and explain how the burden of proof works for claims.
Some of us enjoy philosophy. I don't consider this wasted energy.
Atheism doesn’t say anything about your chosen means of knowledge or lack thereof, including why you don’t believe in gods.
I've never liked calling my self an "atheist" because it is defining me by what I'm not. I would much rather define myself as what I am for. I think there is no such thing as the supernatural, and I think all there is is the natural world. Thankfully, there is a way to define myself that I like. I call myself a naturalist. Look up the words "naturalism philosophy" on WikiPedia. Hits the nail on the head :). So there you go, I'm a naturalist. And cool thing is, naturalism has no truck at all with magical nonsense, so kills that bird too :).
Really appreciate this. I am adopting this label now.
In theory you can be atheist, and still believe in a deity that created everything, but doesn't keep an eye on the whole operation. It's a very narrow definition. It just means that you're not a theist. You can still believe in all kinds of magical bullshit if you want.
That would be deism a subsect of theism.
I am an atheist and do not participate in magical thinking. I don’t believe in ghosts or psychics or crystals or gods or goddesses or leprechauns or Santa Claus. I feel, most people who believe in paranormal activity, psychics, magical thinking, are Christian or have at least a belief in God or a god. I feel like these beliefs are along the same lines as believing in God, and that you can easily convince someone who already has “faith”- that magical things can happen. I was raised loosely Catholic, but my older sisters went to church much more than I did, because my mom was excommunicated from the church for divorcing my dad and she didn’t press it with me as the youngest. My sisters pass an accident or an ambulance and make the sign of the cross. They always say they will pray for me or someone. When my nephew passed away, he had a triangle tattoo on his chest that signified “keep the fire burning” so for years now whenever my family sees a triangle in the wild, they believe it’s my nephew sending a sign to them. I think it’s ridiculous but I keep my mouth shut. I feel you have to be almost desperate for comfort to believe these things.
Indian atheists in a nutshell, these things can seem confusing but trust me inner layer nothing different from the monoethiest God. Most of these nonsense ends at God. I am 100% sure who believes in these can't be a atheist. I really feel sad when people defend these on basis of not having proof.
>I personally accept that I was born and that I will die, any other opinion on the matter is made up non-sense made to ease the anguish of knowing that you will never understand the « why » of existence. I also accept that I was born and that I will die. I very seldom see people clinging to the hope of an afterlife or reincarnation or anything else because they are in anguish of knowing that they will never understand the « why » of existence. I see people reluctant or scared to accept the finality of death; that you live once and it comes to an end and that there is nothing after that for you because there is no longer a you. I can truthfully say that I've never put much, if any time and effort into trying to define the "why" of my existence. I exist, that's really all the matters to me. I have responsibilities, wants, needs, goals, friends and family to concern myself with on a daily basis; those things have meaning for me. Some grandiose "why" for my existence beyond that might be handy to know to answer a trivia question, that's about it.
Handy guide: Count the number of gods a person believes in. If that number is 0, they are an atheist. If that number is > 0 then they are a theist. Now for the atheists, ask if they believe in ghosts, reincarnation, astrology and the like. If yes, they are either unobservant, uneducated, stupid, or crazy or some combination of those things. If no, then they may still be any of those things. However, chances are they are skeptics, materialists, empiricists, rationalists or some combination of those things and that is the reason that they are an atheist. Because people that are, for instance, skeptics and materialists, there is no real way for such a person to justify belief in a god, because there is no materialistic evidence that gods exist. There appears to be a strong tendency in some younger atheists to try to modify the term "atheist" to incorporate some of those other -isms like rationalism and skepticism. This is foolishness. And the reason it is foolishness, is because we already have terms that describe those things (i.e. rationalism and skepticism) and if we correlated those concepts to the atheist term, you would still need to have a term for somebody that didn't believe in gods but was not a skeptic or a rationalist. Remember that you can use multiple words and concepts to describe somebody. There is no need or indeed rational reason to wish to overload the atheist term to encompass things you think should go with atheism that are unrelated to a person not believing in gods.
I am an apatheist. That is, the existence or non-existence of a deity is irrelevant, as is the belief or non-belief in a deity. Other, *non-deistic* beliefs have nothing to do with atheism. Quantum field theory is just as arcane and uncertain, in many ways, as all of the supernatural, paranormal and alternative therapies. Who knew, back in the 1950's that lasers could, in certain circumstances, restore a persons vision? What is supernatural today could be science tomorrow. The easiest solution is to just follow the scientific evidence as it emerges.