Ask an Atheist.

[Imaginarynumber1]

1 minute ago, Eon said:

It's like saying newborns have a default language

So.yoh think newbir s have a default religious belief?

[fabsx]

1 minute ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

You are cleary in a side. There are no "atheist theories". Atheism is a state of non'belief. You are likely an atheist when it comes to the Greek pantheon, or the Roman. Perhaps yoi worship Odin. But more likely, you are an ATHIEST when it comes to Nordic beliefs. 

I don't believe in a existence of a God but at the same time I don't care

[fabsx]

1 minute ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

So.yoh think newbir s have a default religious belief?

no, that's why I said default is agnostic but I think it's very subjective and there's no concrete answer anyway

[Jodie.Lynne]

3 minutes ago, Will Do said:

 

When you started to question things, was there something in particular that drew your attention?

 

 

If I might respond.....

Yes, there was something particular.  The fact that the tales told made NO SENSE!

In the OT, 'God' creates all the animals 'male and female he made them', yet when he created MAN, he "forgot" to create WOMAN?

Esau & Jacob...if 'god' wanted Jacob to gain the birthright, why didn't 'he' make Jacob be born first?  Why condone a deception?

'God' not speaking out against slavery.

In the NT, why did 'god' change his Modus Operandum?  From 'fire & brimstone' to 'turn the other cheek'.

Jesus, not knowing that fig trees don't bear fruit out of season.

Jesus not speaking out against slavery.

Jesus not displaying his alleged 'power' in front of Pilate.  

 

[onlookerofmayhem]

1 minute ago, Eon said:

I don't believe in a existence of a God but at the same time I don't care

That makes you an atheist. 

[Imaginarynumber1]

Just now, Eon said:

no, that's why I said default is agnostic but I think it's very subjective and there's no concrete answer anyway

You don't understand what agnostic/atheist mean

[Will Due]

10 minutes ago, onlookerofmayhem said:

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Regarding what?

 

While it was all accepted before, was it something in particular that needed to be questioned or was it all suddenly needing to be questioned?

 

 

[fabsx]

8 minutes ago, onlookerofmayhem said:

Atheists don't have theories, in general. 

They lack belief in a god. That's it.

An atheist can believe in ghosts, or astrology or bigfoot. Some do and some don't. 

None of that has to do with atheism though.

well I meant like religious people will think you're delusional for not seeing their "truth"

[Will Due]

6 minutes ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

You're better off not talking to me

 

Ok. You're right.

 

 

[onlookerofmayhem]

Just now, Will Do said:

 

While it was all accepted before, was it something in particular that needed to be questioned or was it all suddenly needing to be questioned?

 

 

The flood story. Virgin birth. Bringing the dead back to life. All the things @Jodie.Lynne mentioned.

Too many aspects that didn't make any sense to me. 

[fabsx]

4 minutes ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

You don't understand what agnostic/atheist mean

no proof to either side to either existence or non-existence, it's unknown, the agnostic mindset

Edited December 6, 2020 by Eon

[Imaginarynumber1]

1 minute ago, Eon said:

no proof to either side to either existence or non-existence, it's unknown, the agnostic mindset

Cool story, bro

[fabsx]

1 minute ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

Cool story, bro

what does agnostic mean then?

[Will Due]

9 minutes ago, Jodie.Lynne said:

If I might respond.....

Yes, there was something particular.  The fact that the tales told made NO SENSE!

In the OT, 'God' creates all the animals 'male and female he made them', yet when he created MAN, he "forgot" to create WOMAN?

Esau & Jacob...if 'god' wanted Jacob to gain the birthright, why didn't 'he' make Jacob be born first?  Why condone a deception?

'God' not speaking out against slavery.

In the NT, why did 'god' change his Modus Operandum?  From 'fire & brimstone' to 'turn the other cheek'.

Jesus, not knowing that fig trees don't bear fruit out of season.

Jesus not speaking out against slavery.

Jesus not displaying his alleged 'power' in front of Pilate.  

 

 

4 minutes ago, onlookerofmayhem said:

The flood story. Virgin birth. Bringing the dead back to life. All the things @Jodie.Lynne mentioned.

Too many aspects that didn't make any sense to me. 

 

Yes I can understand your viewpoints. It makes sense to go there with "wait a minute" that can't be true. I get that.

As a child I had the same experience too, but in reverse. From unbelief to belief. It's a long story.

 

 

[Imaginarynumber1]

10 minutes ago, Eon said:

what does agnostic mean then?

An agnostic is someone who believes there is not enough evidence one way or another to make a judgement on the belief of a god(s).

People are not born with the concept of a god(s). It is taught. 

. 

[fabsx]

1 minute ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

An agnostic is someone who believes there is not enough evidence one way or another to make a judgement on the belief of a god(s).

People are not born with the concept of a god(s). It is taught. 

. 

That's what I just said in a shorter sentence.

[Imaginarynumber1]

1 minute ago, Eon said:

That's what I just said in a shorter sentence.

So we agree that the default position is atheism 

[Orphalesion]

Do you think there was ever a time in the last 2000+ years when the majority of people sincerely held unquestioning religious faith, or do you think people are just more outspoken about religious scepticism these days because the social stigma (let alone any sort of persecution or inquisition) associated with atheism is rapidly disappearing? 

[onlookerofmayhem]

1 minute ago, Orphalesion said:

Do you think there was ever a time in the last 2000+ years when the majority of people sincerely held unquestioning religious faith, or do you think people are just more outspoken about religious scepticism these days because the social stigma (let alone any sort of persecution or inquisition) associated with atheism is rapidly disappearing? 

I'd go with the latter. 

A big factor is also the amount of information currently available.

For most of history people were more inclined to believe what they were told and to not question for fear of persecution, familial or societal. 

[Will Due]

1 minute ago, onlookerofmayhem said:

I'd go with the latter. 

A big factor is also the amount of information currently available.

For most of history people were more inclined to believe what they were told and to not question for fear of persecution, familial or societal. 

 

What if anything would have to occur for you to go back to being a believer?

 

 

[onlookerofmayhem]

Just now, Will Do said:

 

What if anything would have to occur for you to go back to being a believer?

 

 

That's a good question. 

But the simplest answer is, I don't know. 

It would have to be something extremely profound.

The claim of a deity existing is a very extraordinary one.

In the 20+ years I've questioned the claim, none of the arguements or evidence has been very compelling at all.

[Indiogene]

I'm agnostic who isn't sure there is (or isn't) a god or deity in charge of the universe. The Big Bang theory is a better explanation of the creation of everything in the last 15-some billion years of recorded natural history. However, there was something else present before the Big Bang in order for the universe to exist in the first place. Do you believe it's feasible and possible for the universe to start by itself, going by the laws of physics? And how do you feel about scientists are trying to proof a cosmic force "could" or "might" exist to made the Big Bang happen at the first place? 

[onlookerofmayhem]

@Solipsi Rai

Thanks for the questions.

17 minutes ago, Solipsi Rai said:

Do you believe it's feasible and possible for the universe to start by itself, going by the laws of physics?

I'm not a physicist, so I'm afraid my answer might be lacking. 

As far as I can tell that is a simpler answer than attributing the cause of the beginning to a deity. 

There is the issue of infinite regression. 

Did the universe actually start or has there always been something, in one form or another?

22 minutes ago, Solipsi Rai said:

And how do you feel about scientists are trying to proof a cosmic force "could" or "might" exist to made the Big Bang happen at the first place? 

I'm open to anything that can be evidenced by science/scientists. Though I'm not sure how they would go about proving the causing force to be an outside entity. 

[eight bits]

2 hours ago, Imaginarynumber1 said:

You don't understand what agnostic/atheist mean

Probably not. Those words are notoriously contentious. Seeing that their referent is personal religious belief, and personal religious belief is important to many people (for some the most important value they hold, and for others, the necessary consequence of the most important values they hold), you can expect push-back against attempts to impose adherence to a specific religious belief-system by word lawyering.

An additional  complication is that both terms, however artfully defined, apply to people whose actual views differ from one another's. That leads to a situatuation like the quadruple point out in the western US where four states meet at a single point, at the fringes of each state. Except for a helpful marker and the availability of GPS, if you were anywhere near the quad point, you'd have no idea which state you were in. Atheism, agnosticism, deism and pantheism (at least, maybe more) meet in such a point.

It is further unhelpful that the terms have wildly different etymologies.

Atheism is the English cognate of a concept that was ancient when English hadn't yet been born. Over that span, the term and its predecessors have meant subtly different things at various times (but including, even in ancient times, people who believed there were no gods).

Agnosticism is a coined word, no earlier than the 19th Century. Unfortunately, the person who coined it was (to all appearances) unaware that a homonym already exsited, the "name" of a philosophical position with no known adherents. Plus, it currently suffers from two attested folk etymologies: one that it is the name for the universal human condition of "not knowing" whether or not there are gods in any strong sense of knowing and the other that it is the opposite of Gnosticism (which is hilarious - Pope Francis is thereby an agnostic).

If the OP wants to fuzz-up the line, then so be it. For all I know, he resides near the quad point, and there is no visible difference in his neighborhood between agnosticism and atheism (just as out there at the real quad point, Utah looks a lot like Colorado - although Denver and Salt Lake City are rarely confused).

Personally, I am agnostic and not an atheist. I have as much as common with mainstream theists as I do with mainstream atheists. I am flattered that atheists are so keen that I should counted among them, but no thanks.

Edited December 6, 2020 by eight bits

[onlookerofmayhem]

19 minutes ago, eight bits said:

If the OP wants to fuzz-up the line, then so be it.

OP as in me? Or whom @Imaginarynumber1 was talking to?

I'd like to be as clear and unfuzzy as possible. So if you are referring to me, is there anything I can do to clarify myself?