Causes of Atheism

[Pennywise]

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

 

[Disir]

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

 

[Pennywise]

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

I'm agnostic.

You freak!!

 

[Machaut]

It's a faux ideology based on a work of fiction. There is no historical jesus.

Note: Peter Pan- I do believe in fairies! I do! I do!! - YouTube

It doesn't make them any more real. Faux ideology. No historical Jesus. Faux ideology.

You understand exactly what I am saying.

I understand exactly what you are trying to say, that you believe that assertions made in Christianity are untrue. However, when you call Christianity a faux ideology, you are actually saying that Christianity is like Pastafarianism or the Jedi religion, i.e. something that no one truly believes in. I thought my previous explanation was enough to properly distinguish "Christian beliefs are not correct" from "Christianity is not a real ideology," but apparently it was not.

Given that news articles are frequently posted here, you must be familiar with The Onion, correct? The Onion is a faux news source. It is not meant to be believed, nor does it try to represent the facts. Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, BBC, etc. are all real (non-faux) news sources. Obviously, a liberal watching Fox News might object to the particular slant put on a news story by Fox, and perhaps may even object to the facts asserted in the story; however, this does not take away from the fact that Fox is an actual news source. Likewise, a conservative watching MSNBC might object to the liberal slant on the news, and may also object to the facts they assert; this also does not take away from the fact that MSNBC is an actual news source. No matter your political opinions, both Fox and MSNBC are actual news sources, while The Onion is not. The Onion is a faux news source.

Do you understand the proper use of the word "faux" now?

faux [foh] Show IPA
adjective
artificial or imitation; fake: a brooch with faux pearls.
Origin:
1670–80; < French; Old French fals < Latin falsus false

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
Cite This Source | Link To faux
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

faux
from Fr. faux "false" (see false). Used with English words at least since 1676 (Etheredge). Used by itself, with French pronunciation, from 1980s to mean "fake."

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

To refer back to an earlier post of mine in this thread, simply because the definition for faux includes the word "false" does not mean that faux is a synonym for "untrue." The term "false" in this context does not mean untrue, it means counterfeit or imitation.

It's sad that there are people on this website that are so ignorant that we can't even have a discussion on issues or philosophies, but must remain bogged down in the most trivial lessons of what words mean.

 

[Machaut]

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

1. Do you consider atheism to be a religious affiliation?

2. Did you even read the entire OP? Were you able to digest its contents?

The issue is not "why does atheism exist at all," but rather "why do fully-functioning adults with free will make a conscious decision to become atheists after having been something other than an atheist for some period of time". I am asking why people, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, turn away from one belief system, such as Islam, and towards atheism, and why so many of the causes for said conversion seem to be incredibly minor. There are very few people of any religion (and yes, that includes atheism) that have made an informed, rational choice to come to that religion. More commonly, the reasons are similar to "I'm a Baptist because I was raised that way," or "I'm an atheist because nuns were mean to me as a kid." I focus on atheism in this thread rather than other religions because the reasons for many people (including the three celebrities in the OP) coming to atheism seem to be so insignificant.

In Ayaan Hirsi Ali's case, she said she drank some wine and decided God didn't exist because she felt Islam's prohibition on alcohol was unfair. I have yet to read an account of someone converting to Islam who said, "So I drank some wine one day and it tasted horrible, that's when I realized that God exists and the Qur'an is the literal word of God" etc. Or in Hugh Laurie's case, his "I'm an atheist because God is probably really mean and spiteful" is not mirrored by a non-Christian suddenly coming to the realization one day that "God is probably a pretty nice guy, so the King James Version of the Bible is completely 100% truth and God is real".

If you, in your supreme butthurt, would like to start a thread asking what causes theism, you are certainly welcome to do so.

 

[Disir]

So you're saying that atheists do not have faith in their own ability to reason and discern truth? You believe that atheists do not have faith in their own senses, research, experiments, or conclusions? That is a very unscientific view for an atheist to have.

The word that you are searching for is not faith but reason.

Again, you are showcasing your lack of understanding in basic vocabulary.

Faith - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary


Reason, on the other hand:
Reason - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary


So, in the context of this thread, belief or trust can be substituted for faith, while rationale or explanation can be substituted for reason.

Going back to my post:

Now, if we were to substitute your preferred words:

So you're saying that atheists do not have rationale in their own ability to reason and discern truth? You believe that atheists do not explain their own senses, research, experiments, or conclusions? That is a very unscientific view for an atheist to have.

This makes absolutely no sense. However, substituting with my terms:

So you're saying that atheists do not believe in their own ability to reason and discern truth? You believe that atheists do not have trust in their own senses, research, experiments, or conclusions? That is a very unscientific view for an atheist to have.

This, as you can see, does make sense, and it still holds the same meaning as the original.

It would appear that we have learned two things about babies from you today: They are born believing in the Holocaust, and, if you are any indication, born without a basic vocabulary.

You are attempting to be clever and your not. Faith and reason are not interchangeable.

Theists encounter contrary or no evidence and then have faith. This is the difference.

It appears that nonbelief is equated with belief. I vehemently disagree.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

 

[GISMYS]

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

WHY do believers care about you??? WE ARE TOLD BY JESUS that we should care,He cared enough to go to the cross in your place to pay the price for your sins, SO we care enough to tell you the gospel=the good news that you can confess and repent and be forgiven and not go to hell!!!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I would like for the "christians" to quote the bible verses where god told them that being rude and nasty and abrasive and insulting is the way to get converts.

 

[Disir]

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

1. Do you consider atheism to be a religious affiliation?

2. Did you even read the entire OP? Were you able to digest its contents?

The issue is not "why does atheism exist at all," but rather "why do fully-functioning adults with free will make a conscious decision to become atheists after having been something other than an atheist for some period of time". I am asking why people, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, turn away from one belief system, such as Islam, and towards atheism, and why so many of the causes for said conversion seem to be incredibly minor. There are very few people of any religion (and yes, that includes atheism) that have made an informed, rational choice to come to that religion. More commonly, the reasons are similar to "I'm a Baptist because I was raised that way," or "I'm an atheist because nuns were mean to me as a kid." I focus on atheism in this thread rather than other religions because the reasons for many people (including the three celebrities in the OP) coming to atheism seem to be so insignificant.

In Ayaan Hirsi Ali's case, she said she drank some wine and decided God didn't exist because she felt Islam's prohibition on alcohol was unfair. I have yet to read an account of someone converting to Islam who said, "So I drank some wine one day and it tasted horrible, that's when I realized that God exists and the Qur'an is the literal word of God" etc. Or in Hugh Laurie's case, his "I'm an atheist because God is probably really mean and spiteful" is not mirrored by a non-Christian suddenly coming to the realization one day that "God is probably a pretty nice guy, so the King James Version of the Bible is completely 100% truth and God is real".

If you, in your supreme butthurt, would like to start a thread asking what causes theism, you are certainly welcome to do so.

Did you read the link? It couldn't possibly have occurred as a process. No? Genital mutilation had zip to do with it.

A small clip on an entertainment article that mentions a snippet denotes petty?

A Howard Stern quote?

How bloody shallow. Then as these people that do tell their stories the OP can attempt to dissect them with his supreme knowledge of deciding whose reason is good one.

Heaven forbid if one should question that.

The only butthurt here is yours.

 

[GISMYS]

I would like for the "christians" to quote the bible verses where god told them that being rude and nasty and abrasive and insulting is the way to get converts.

ROFLMAO!!! Does truth really hurt that much?????????????

 

[amrchaos]

It occurred to me recently that many celebrities who are atheist have pathetic, petty reasons for being so.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Freedom From Religion Foundation

Ali considered herself a Muslim until May 28, 2002, when she said she became an atheist while sitting in an Italian restaurant drinking a glass of wine: ". . . I asked myself: Why should I burn in hell just because I'm drinking this? But what prompted me even more was the fact that the killers of 9/11 all believed in the same God I believed in"

Hugh Laurie:
No Cookies | thetelegraph.com.au

"I don't believe in God, but I have this idea that if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted he'd take it away.
"So he'll be like: 'You think this is going pretty well?' Then he'll go and send down some big disaster.''

Howard Stern:
27 Celebrities You Probably Didn?t Know Are Atheists - Think Atheist

"I’m sickened by all religions. Religion has divided people. I don’t think there’s any difference between the pope wearing a large hat and parading around with a smoking purse and an African painting his face white and praying to a rock."

To summarize, Ali thinks that God doesn't exist because it's not fair that wine isn't allowed in Islam and she doesn't want to be associated with a handful of terrorists; Laurie thinks that God would be mean and spiteful to him; and Stern thinks that people disagreeing is sickening, but also that there is no difference between religious rituals and customs.

When I was younger, I had a fairly low opinion of my fellow Christians, but only until I started meeting atheists. While standard atheist talking points focus on claims that they're smarter than everyone else because they don't worship "a magical sky wizard" or that they "think for themselves," most of the actual reasons for atheists becoming atheists are usually along the lines of "My parents made me go to church every Sunday when I was a kid and it was boring, so God doesn't exist," or "Individuals of a certain religion have done something to displease me, therefore absolutely every religion ever is completely false and God doesn't exist."

Atheists: What do you think of your fellow atheists being so petty? What are your personal reasons for turning to atheism?

Theists: Are atheists just a bunch of butthurt kids trying to be edgy and rebellious? What are your personal reasons for turning to your particular religion?

Agnostics: How do you feel about not being particularly hated by anybody?

First, I don't think those reasons are petty. In fact I think you missed the point because they did not outline why these celebrities think that these ideas are reasons not to believe in the god they taught.

Second, I tend to follow the Howard Stern's reason for why is not an actual physical being but merely an abstract concept. The fact that others have created similar constructs(such as religion) and gotten similar good results on one hand (ordered societies,grouped identity) and similar bad results on the hand (false models of reality, dualistic moral standards when dealing with outsiders, displacement of power from the hands of the individual and into the few religious leaders(which they may distribute amongst their supporters), and the notion of free will with coercion enforced by the practitioner and not left to the deities) tend to suggest, to me at least, that the whole notion of religion is made up. That gods are an abstract construct given life by those that believe in him.

Do you know the characteristic difference between an actual truth and a lie?

A truth does not require believers. Its existence is independent of mans beliefs about it or even if anyone knows of it. A truth may never be known. Physical truths may not need evidence to be examined, but can become conceptualize into an abstract model.

Our concept of a truth can be false. That is, how we conceptualize a truth can incorporate imperfections that are not characteristics of the actual truth.


A lie, on the other hand, need believers to exist. If all those that believe in that lie dies off and no record is kept of it, the lie, too, shall die. A lie must be created before it can be believed. Lies are strictly conceptual construct, in other words abstractions, with false evidence needed to give it physical form.

To me, religion has the characteristics of lies. If the religion loses all its believers and all records of it is destroyed, that religion dies. All these religions were created to benefit man, I do agree, but it does not mean that the deities of these religions are any more than abstractions. Constructs that were given physical presence by the efforts of the believers through idol building, 'confessions', or other evidence that has no connection to them except for those we have created in our minds..

Those are not petty excuses. Those are excuses you decided to call 'petty' due to the fact you did not investigate why these excuses would lead to the conclusion that their ideas of a god(as they understand God) would not exist.

It would be like my calling your belief in god "petty" despite what excuse you give me while at the same time not investigating your concept of god and how your excuse is evidence.

This is simply a form of name calling based on ignorance. Let us try to avoid this by questioning the subject matter deeper.

 

[Disir]

Nor you. What a blowhard arrogant ass you present.

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

I'm agnostic.

You freak!!

I was talking about the OP and his following posts. But, I mean...........sure you might qualify.

 

[Disir]

I understand exactly what you are trying to say, that you believe that assertions made in Christianity are untrue. However, when you call Christianity a faux ideology, you are actually saying that Christianity is like Pastafarianism or the Jedi religion, i.e. something that no one truly believes in. I thought my previous explanation was enough to properly distinguish "Christian beliefs are not correct" from "Christianity is not a real ideology," but apparently it was not.

Given that news articles are frequently posted here, you must be familiar with The Onion, correct? The Onion is a faux news source. It is not meant to be believed, nor does it try to represent the facts. Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, BBC, etc. are all real (non-faux) news sources. Obviously, a liberal watching Fox News might object to the particular slant put on a news story by Fox, and perhaps may even object to the facts asserted in the story; however, this does not take away from the fact that Fox is an actual news source. Likewise, a conservative watching MSNBC might object to the liberal slant on the news, and may also object to the facts they assert; this also does not take away from the fact that MSNBC is an actual news source. No matter your political opinions, both Fox and MSNBC are actual news sources, while The Onion is not. The Onion is a faux news source.

Do you understand the proper use of the word "faux" now?

faux [foh] Show IPA
adjective
artificial or imitation; fake: a brooch with faux pearls.
Origin:
1670–80; < French; Old French fals < Latin falsus false

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
Cite This Source | Link To faux
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

faux
from Fr. faux "false" (see false). Used with English words at least since 1676 (Etheredge). Used by itself, with French pronunciation, from 1980s to mean "fake."

Merely repeating that you believe in it does not make it any truer.

To refer back to an earlier post of mine in this thread, simply because the definition for faux includes the word "false" does not mean that faux is a synonym for "untrue." The term "false" in this context does not mean untrue, it means counterfeit or imitation.

It's sad that there are people on this website that are so ignorant that we can't even have a discussion on issues or philosophies, but must remain bogged down in the most trivial lessons of what words mean.

It is untrue. It is faux. If we wanted to we could call it a faux imitation of a prior set of mythos. Would that make you feel better?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I would like for the "christians" to quote the bible verses where god told them that being rude and nasty and abrasive and insulting is the way to get converts.

ROFLMAO!!! Does truth really hurt that much?????????????

Where does your god say to be rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting?

 

[GISMYS]

I would like for the "christians" to quote the bible verses where god told them that being rude and nasty and abrasive and insulting is the way to get converts.

ROFLMAO!!! Does truth really hurt that much?????????????

Where does your god say to be rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting?

IF YOU ARE rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting THEN cionfess and repent!!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

WHY do believers care about you??? WE ARE TOLD BY JESUS that we should care,He cared enough to go to the cross in your place to pay the price for your sins, SO we care enough to tell you the gospel=the good news that you can confess and repent and be forgiven and not go to hell!!!

gismo, all you "care" about is yelling the loudest.

Answer the question:

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

ROFLMAO!!! Does truth really hurt that much?????????????

Where does your god say to be rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting?

IF YOU ARE rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting THEN cionfess and repent!!

Where does your god say to be rude, nasty, abrasive and insulting?

 

[GISMYS]

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

WHY do believers care about you??? WE ARE TOLD BY JESUS that we should care,He cared enough to go to the cross in your place to pay the price for your sins, SO we care enough to tell you the gospel=the good news that you can confess and repent and be forgiven and not go to hell!!!

gismo, all you "care" about is yelling the loudest.

Answer the question:

Why are christians always wanting a fight about this?

I have no investment in what they believe, don't care, never think about it except when I read stuff like this thread.

Why are they constantly trying to get others to believe as they do?

Just quit the yammering and preaching and bible thumping and accept that not everyone believes as you do.

JESUS sends out believers to all the world with the good news= THE GOSPEL=HIS WORD. why??? to keep you from eternal hell!!!

 

[Pennywise]

Yes, I can see how responding to a jack ass that decided that atheism is caused without taking into consideration that one is taught religion would scare the crap out of you.

I'm agnostic.

You freak!!

I was talking about the OP and his following posts. But, I mean...........sure you might qualify.

Yeah.

Or maybe you're just an arrogant moron hypocrite who thinks they have all the answers and tells the other guy he's wrong because he thinks he has the answers.

You're a joke.