Why do atheists care about the beliefs of others?

Page 5 of 8 [ 118 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next

NAKnight
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 387
Location: Gitmo Nation Elvis

28 Dec 2012, 8:26 pm

MCalavera wrote:
For me, it's a matter of parsimony. So think of it as a philosophical thing.


I'm with you. Occam's Razor. That's fair.

Best Regards,

Jake


_________________
In The Morning to all Hams on the air, ships at sea, boots on the grounds, drones in the sky and all the Human Resources charged up and ready to go just the way the Government wants you to be..


Bezeone
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 24 Nov 2012
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Posts: 314
Location: NC, USA

28 Dec 2012, 8:41 pm

They're most likely tired of hearing religion-relevant things all the time, people trying to convert them, etc. Some much rather prefer for religion to be best kept at private. (But...TLC...) They may also feel the need to ''correct'' them, so they live a life independent from that religion. I'm not an atheist myself, but that's my guess. Though, theists also aim to ''correct'' others, which goes in an ongoing cycle of bickering.



shrox
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Aug 2011
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,295
Location: OK let's go.

28 Dec 2012, 9:12 pm

MCalavera wrote:
For me, it's a matter of parsimony. So think of it as a philosophical thing.


I had to look up "parsimony".



abacacus
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,380

28 Dec 2012, 9:37 pm

NAKnight wrote:
abacacus wrote:
Atheism is not a religion, it is the lack of religion.


Your logic is circular. Atheism is the belief that deities do not exist.

abacus wrote:
I firmly believe all organised religion to be a bad influence on society.


Produce the names of Atheist who have made a positive impact on society.
By "Positive" I mean charitable, self-less and communal impact that benefits everyone, even the less fortunate, can you do that for me?

Best Regards,

Jake


Uh... that's not circular. Circular would be saying "Atheism is not a religion, therefore Atheism is not a religion." I'm not sure how much more simply I can put it than "Atheism is the lack of religion", and I can't understand why you're having trouble grasping such a simple concept. Atheism involves no beliefs, it involves the lack of beliefs in things that are not proven to be true. I will assume something is false until proven true in some way, even if it's just a proof of logic (like often happens in science before testing happens).

Read away here about Atheist charities...


_________________
A shot gun blast into the face of deceit
You'll gain your just reward.
We'll not rest until the purge is complete
You will reap what you've sown.


ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 87
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

28 Dec 2012, 9:39 pm

Keniichi wrote:
Isnt a lack of belief somehow a belief in and of itself?


No.

ruveyn



ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 87
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

28 Dec 2012, 9:42 pm

BlueAbyss wrote:

I didn't call Atheism a belief system, I called it a belief.


Atheism is the withholding or denial of belief in the existence of the gods, for lack of evidence that the gods exist.

Why should anyone believe X is there is no evidences to support X?

ruveyn



NAKnight
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 387
Location: Gitmo Nation Elvis

28 Dec 2012, 9:50 pm

abacacus wrote:
I can put it than "Atheism is the lack of religion", and I can't understand why you're having trouble grasping such a simple concept.


Why are you sounding so condescending? Atheism is the lack of belief in any deities

Merriam-Webster Dictionary wrote:
The theory or belief that God does not exist.


Atheism is a belief, therefore, it is a religion. A religion in and of itself. A religion of non-belief.

Good job on finding those charities. I thought it was Atheist code to do only what benefits you . I learned something new today.

My only downside I can say is those Charities have a political agenda. They only benefit the non-religious. They do not include everybody.


Best Regards,

Jake


_________________
In The Morning to all Hams on the air, ships at sea, boots on the grounds, drones in the sky and all the Human Resources charged up and ready to go just the way the Government wants you to be..


Tequila
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,897
Location: Lancashire, UK

28 Dec 2012, 9:55 pm

It's an absence of a belief rather than a belief in itself.

If I didn't believe in nationalism, would that make me a believer in anti-nationalism? Not necessarily.



abacacus
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,380

28 Dec 2012, 10:01 pm

NAKnight wrote:
abacacus wrote:
I can put it than "Atheism is the lack of religion", and I can't understand why you're having trouble grasping such a simple concept.


Why are you sounding so condescending? Atheism is the lack of belief in any deities

Merriam-Webster Dictionary wrote:
The theory or belief that God does not exist.


Atheism is a belief, therefore, it is a religion. A religion in and of itself. A religion of non-belief.

Good job on finding those charities. I thought it was Atheist code to do only what benefits you . I learned something new today.

My only downside I can say is those Charities have a political agenda. They only benefit the non-religious. They do not include everybody.


Best Regards,

Jake


I sound condescending because I've had this debate so many hundreds of times that I'm quite tired of it. Religious folk seem so keen to tell me I'm religious too, just in a different way, when they're incorrect.

Here's a tip bud, beliefs do not equal religions. Never have, never will. If I believe that it will snow tomorrow, that is not a religion. Your argument is based on something completely false.

Atheist code? What Atheist code? We don't have one. There is no Atheist Code of Conduct, Ten Commandments of Atheism, or any such thing. We just do our own individual thing. There are some organized groups of Atheists, but you'll find that the vast majority of those are political groups or, in some regions, support groups.

Um, may I ask where there it says that those charities only aid Atheists? Did you even read any of the paragraphs describing the charities? Here's the first one:

"Atheist Centre of India supports intercaste marriages and actively works to end child marriages and caste separation. The also provide aid to women in distress such as single mothers and prostitutes and promote equality of the sexes. Their education campaigns are designed to fight dangerous superstitions and practices such as witch hunts which can result in harm to innocent people.

Atheist Centre provides many services such as a Working Women's Hostel and a home for women with social problems. One of their programs, Vasavya Centre for Social Development, provides outreach services for more than 50 villages. The outreach program includes education, health care, advanced medical care including eye banks and corneal transplants, social programs, training for women, counseling and career guidance, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, sanitation facilities, drinking water facilities, sex education and contraception education, youth programs, and crèches for children along with many other humanitarian services."

Where in there does it say that only Atheists qualify for their aid?


_________________
A shot gun blast into the face of deceit
You'll gain your just reward.
We'll not rest until the purge is complete
You will reap what you've sown.


Tequila
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,897
Location: Lancashire, UK

28 Dec 2012, 10:03 pm

Here, NAKnight - have a read of this. The article nicely debunks the atheism = religion myth by setting out how atheists have only one opinion in common. Atheism has no clearly defined rules, no belief about the end of the world, no philosophy of how the correct adherent should live their lives, no orthodoxy (mainstream or otherwise), no beliefs on sexuality, how to treat people or how to pray. It has nothing. It just means a disbelief in gods. You could be an ultra-conservative atheist, or a massively hedonistic atheist, or a bored of life atheist, or a spiritual atheist, or whatever you like.

Many atheists are also secularists (as am I), but also some of the world's most influential people who were religious were in fact secularists too.



NAKnight
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 387
Location: Gitmo Nation Elvis

28 Dec 2012, 10:24 pm

@Abascus

Thank you. You've made your point.

@Tequilla

I looked over the article. Thanks for sharing.

Best Regards,

Jake


_________________
In The Morning to all Hams on the air, ships at sea, boots on the grounds, drones in the sky and all the Human Resources charged up and ready to go just the way the Government wants you to be..


NAKnight
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 387
Location: Gitmo Nation Elvis

28 Dec 2012, 10:40 pm

Well, it's been an interesting discussion. Learned something new tonight.

Best Regards,

Jake


_________________
In The Morning to all Hams on the air, ships at sea, boots on the grounds, drones in the sky and all the Human Resources charged up and ready to go just the way the Government wants you to be..


Tequila
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 28,897
Location: Lancashire, UK

28 Dec 2012, 10:57 pm

NAKnight wrote:
Well, it's been an interesting discussion. Learned something new tonight.

Best Regards,

Jake


That's why atheists often laugh at and ridicule the idea of an "atheist orthodoxy" - because it reminds them of... religion!



Cei
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2011
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Posts: 155
Location: USA

29 Dec 2012, 2:28 am

aspi-rant wrote:
Quote:
Why do atheists care about the beliefs of others?


because religious people obviously can't keep their beliefs for them selves. it is all around you, all the time, loud and clear.

churches, mosques, synagogs, temples and what have you.

symbols like crosses, crescents etc. are everywhere too.

citations from holy books in the media, etc.

wars and conflicts. terrorism in the name of religion.

and the list goes on…

so why do you think atheist care?? they are just sick and tired of being confronted with this religious nonsense day and night…

it is in our face 24/7.


If people were annoyed by being confronted with atheism, though, you'd think that was intolerant, wouldn't you?

I'm sure you suffer greatly from the existence of synagogues. /sarcasm

MCalavera wrote:
No, it is a lack of belief.

If I lack a bicycle, it means I don't have a bicycle.

Of course, the word "belief" will come with various meanings and you will have to check the context to figure out what meaning is being considered.


Apples to oranges. You can suspect there are mice in your cupboard, you can suspect there are no mice in your cupboard, you could not care or think about it either way. The latter two are different.

NAKnight wrote:
I thought it was Atheist code to do only what benefits you .

My only downside I can say is those Charities have a political agenda. They only benefit the non-religious. They do not include everybody.


Is that supposed to be a joke of some sort? There are plenty of atheists who act altruistically.

Well, to be fair, probably if they had no agenda, atheism wouldn't have anything to do with it. Atheists could just make their contributions to society without stating their particular beliefs/lack thereof, and people just wouldn't notice. Besides, they could have been using the reasoning that religious charities would benefit adherents of those religions enough, so it would even out.

abacacus wrote:
Here's a tip bud, beliefs do not equal religions. Never have, never will. If I believe that it will snow tomorrow, that is not a religion. Your argument is based on something completely false.


It is quite definitely a belief, at least.



MCalavera
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Dec 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,442

29 Dec 2012, 3:09 am

Cei wrote:
MCalavera wrote:
No, it is a lack of belief.

If I lack a bicycle, it means I don't have a bicycle.

Of course, the word "belief" will come with various meanings and you will have to check the context to figure out what meaning is being considered.


Apples to oranges. You can suspect there are mice in your cupboard, you can suspect there are no mice in your cupboard, you could not care or think about it either way. The latter two are different.


I won't believe there are mice in the cupboard if there's no reason to.

And whether or not I would care or think about it is dependent upon whether or not there's someone out there who insists that there are mice inside when I had just looked inside the cupboard and seen nothing.



you_are_what_you_is
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Mar 2010
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 755
Location: Cornwall, UK

29 Dec 2012, 4:18 am

-- I care about the beliefs of others because I'm interested in other people.

-- I'm not interested in convincing people to be irreligious. There's nothing wrong with being religious.

-- Almost all - possibly all - the religious people I know don't believe that others will go to hell for not sharing their beliefs. This isn't the Dark Ages.


_________________
"There is no idea, however ancient and absurd, that is not capable of improving our knowledge."