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What Type of Atheist are You?


Hammerclaw

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Overwhelmed by abortive, often distasteful Theist threads lately, let's flip the coin and check out the other end of the spectrum and talk about what is usually called Atheism. What is Atheism? What can the unique personal perspectives of individual Atheists tell us to shed light on this belief/disbelief and/or world view? Exploring the topic, I've found it much more convoluted and complicated than Theists might suspect, disserving consideration and respect.

 

Edited by Hammerclaw
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Agnostic Atheist: I do not believe in any of the gods presented to me so far; I do not feel the evidence provided is sufficient.

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99.999% Athiest, I only believe in one God out of the h7ndreds humans have.

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I don't know if I am an atheist because I do believe in a spiritual realm, but not a religious one. I don't believe in God as an idol.

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Richard Dawkins came up with a believability list in the god delusion. I find it to be a helpful list personally. I personally fit at 6 with strong leanings towards 7.

1 Strong theist. 100% probability of God. In the words of Carl Jung: "I do not believe, I know."

2 De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100%. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there."

3 Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50% but not very high. "I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God."

4 Completely impartial. Exactly 50%. "God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable."

5 Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50% but not very low. "I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be skeptical."

6 De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."

7 Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

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1 hour ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

For you foreign fellas, that means “drunk”. 

TIL that i am an "Aussie Atheiest" 

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1 hour ago, eight bits said:

That he likes to call himself a "de facto atheist" adds nothing to my understanding of his views.

Dawkins always impressed me as more of an anti-theist than merely atheist, that is, someone actively opposed to theism.

Edited by Hammerclaw
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I live life without any God belief.

I listen/watch to some atheistic content, and conduct anti-theism at times.  

I just refer to myself as an Atheist.

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Its not so much that one feels that GOD is real, (although I do) its more that ones feelings may lead to THAT.

Thoughts are basically from the ego, running through what one might call the dream illusion, and even if ones thoughts are high-minded, with a good character, they are still an illusion.

But, good, high-minded thoughts, intentions, and actions, may lead one to the "Kingdom of GOD". And yet its a lack of thoughts that allow one to abide there.

Any desire arsing from thought runs the risk of being only an ego desire, but if one can silence the mind, and allow feelings, desires, and inspiration to arise naturally, then you begin to strengthen this relationship with GOD. And only then you will find the absolute evidence for GOD.

So instead of relying upon thoughts to move oneself around the world, community, household, ones starts to rely more and more upon ones feelings.

At least this is my experience thus far.

Edit, this was supposed to be a reply to @zep73

 

Edited by Crazy Horse
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3 hours ago, Occupational Hubris said:

TIL that i am an "Aussie Atheiest" 

Can you be an Aussie Atheist if you aren't an Australian?  Just asking for a friend?:whistle:

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30 minutes ago, Alchopwn said:

Can you be an Aussie Atheist if you aren't an Australian?  Just asking for a friend?:whistle:t

Absolutely...never been there but have been called one from time to time 

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What @zep73 said is close to my lack of belief in a deity.   And I don't bring it up except when asked or someone decides to "save" me.   Though on this forum I have participated in some threads stating my opinion (usually of someone's need to prethelesize or insist everyone who disagrees with them is wrong).

Edited by Desertrat56
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7 hours ago, Alchopwn said:

As an atheist with a great interest in anthropology, and as someone who has actively translated so-called holy scripture, I have always taken a great interest in religions and done my professional best to render religious information presented to me for translation in the very most accurate light.  That being said, I find the monotheist faiths to be deeply and irrevocably flawed on a moral level, as well as utterly irreconcilable with reality.  I am more forgiving of religions that actively promote personal cultivation and mystical experience like Buddhism and Taoism.  Having also intensely studied the mystical experiences of Christian saints and their cultivation, their experiences are often simply horrifying.  These experiences seem to be either the product of a damaged psyche, or damaging to one's psyche.  I have also investigated the Satanists, in a spirit of fairness to get the other side of the story, but found them to be indistinguishable from Libertarians (which I consider a philosophy that is as divorced from reality as Communism, and potentially as dangerous in the hands of ignorant ideologues).  

In short, I don't trust any ideologies, and all religions are ideologies.  I have found many religions to be hotbeds of chicanery and/or mental illness.

For me however, my "Road to Damascus" moment was during a road trip in Yemen, when we stopped to refuel and get something cold to drink in a small town, only to witness a young man being stoned to death for allegedly being an atheist, with the local police watching on.   This horrible scene, and my powerlessness to intervene without being killed myself led me to conclude that Religion is at its core an irrational and narcissistic reaction against reality and its discontents.  These psychic forces unleash human fanaticism, and fanaticism drives the worst behavior of humans.

I am an atheist but not a fanatical one.  I think everyone who is a moderate in their beliefs is fine.  I view human fanatics as the enemies of our species, whatever their ideology.

Fanatics cannot be persuaded that they are wrong.  Fanatics want an excuse to be violent.  Fanatics eschew compassion in favor of their "vision of a better world".  Fanatics have no love for the world as it is. 

Does that make me a Extremist Moderate?

I think that makes you educated, attentive and rational.

Edited by Desertrat56
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9 hours ago, Ell said:

I am the God-cannot-be-found-in-a-book atheist/theist.

So where do you think that GOD can be found?

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