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October 16th, 2013
03:20 PM ET
What Oprah gets wrong about atheism
(CNN) - To some, Oprah Winfrey appears to have an almost godlike status. Her talents are well recognized, and her endorsement can turn almost any product into an overnight bestseller. This godlike perception is fitting, since in recent years Winfrey’s work has increasingly emphasized spirituality, including programs like her own "Super Soul Sunday." But what happens when an atheist enters the mix? A few days ago Winfrey interviewed long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad on Super Soul Sunday. Nyad identified herself as an atheist who experiences awe and wonder at the natural world and humanity. Nyad, 64, who swam from Cuba to Key West last month, said “I can stand at the beach’s edge with the most devout Christian, Jew, Buddhist, go on down the line, and weep with the beauty of this universe and be moved by all of humanity — all the billions of people who have lived before us, who have loved and hurt.” Winfrey responded, “Well I don’t call you an atheist then.” Winfrey went on, “I think if you believe in the awe and the wonder and the mystery then that is what God is… It’s not a bearded guy in the sky.” Nyad clarified that she doesn’t use the word God because it implies a “presence… a creator or an overseer.” Winfrey’s response may have been well intended, but it erased Nyad’s atheist identity and suggested something entirely untrue and, to many atheists like me, offensive: that atheists don’t experience awe and wonder. MORE ON CNN: Diana Nyad completes historic Cuba-to-Florida swim The exchange between Winfrey and Nyad reminds me of a conversation I once had with a Catholic scholar. The professor once asked me: “When I talk about God, I mean love and justice and reconciliation, not a man in the sky. You talk about love and justice and reconciliation. Why can’t you just call that God?” I replied: “Why must you call that God? Why not just call it what it is: love and justice and reconciliation?” Though we started off with this disagreement, we came to better understand one another’s points of view through patient, honest dialogue. Conversations like that are greatly needed today, as atheists are broadly misunderstood. MORE ON CNN: Behold, the six types of atheists When I visit college and university campuses around the United States, I frequently ask students what words are commonly associated with atheists. Their responses nearly always include words like “negative,” “selfish,” “nihilistic” and “closed-minded.” When I ask how many of them actually have a relationship with an atheist, few raise their hands. Relationships can be transformative. The Pew Research Center found that among the 14% of Americans who changed their mind from opposing same-sex marriage to supporting it in the last decade, the top reason given was having “friends, family, acquaintances who are gay/lesbian.” Knowing someone of a different identity can increase understanding. This has been true for me as a queer person and as an atheist. I have met people who initially think I can’t actually be an atheist when they learn that I experience awe and am committed to service and social justice. But when I explain that atheism is central to my worldview — that I am in awe of the natural world and that I believe it is up to human beings, instead of a divine force, to strive to address our problems — they often better understand my views, even if we don’t agree. While theists can learn by listening to atheists more, atheists themselves can foster greater understanding by not just emphasizing the “no” of atheism — our disagreement over the existence of any gods — but also the “yes” of atheism and secular humanism, which recognizes the amazing potential within human beings. Carl Sagan, the agnostic astronomer and author, would have agreed with Nyad’s claim that you can be an atheist, agnostic or nonreligious person and consider yourself “spiritual.” As Sagan wrote in "The Demon-Haunted World,": "When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual.” Nyad told Winfrey that she feels a similar sense of awe: “I think you can be an atheist who doesn’t believe in an overarching being who created all of this and sees over it,” she said. “But there’s spirituality because we human beings, and we animals, and maybe even we plants, but certainly the ocean and the moon and the stars, we all live with something that is cherished and we feel the treasure of it.” MORE ON CNN: 'Atheist' isn’t a dirty word, congresswoman I experience that same awe when I see people of different beliefs coming together across lines of religious difference to recognize that we are all human — that we all love and hurt. Perhaps Winfrey, who could use her influence to shatter stereotypes about atheists rather than reinforce them, would have benefited from listening to Nyad just a bit more closely and from talking to more atheists about awe and wonder. I know many who would be up to the task. Chris Stedman is the assistant humanist chaplain at Harvard University, coordinator of humanist life for the Yale Humanist Community and author of Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious. soundoff (4,964 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Next »
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How many killings do you know of that were done in the name of atheism? Or in the name of the flying spaghetti monster? What about in the name of some religion?
And Oprah is not known for her great intellect or knowedge of science. She is, however, the undisputed queen of yo-yo diets. And she's clearly a financial success and a poster girl for rising above her origin, which is admirable.
Is Janet your real name?
Janet
"How many killings do you know of that were done in the name of atheism?"
Millions if not billions.
"Or in the name of the flying spaghetti monster?"
None. Though it does belong to atheism.
"What about in the name of some religion?"
Depends on the religion.
Oh Oh... prepare for another Topher lie: 1... 2... 3... GO!
Must we continue to beat the horse? It's dead already.
Millions if not billions?
Which leaders waved a flag of atheism to rally the people?
Which army's battle cry was "FOR NO GOD!"
Don't conflate atheism with those leaders who built cults of personality with themselves in the godhead position.
How many killings were done for "science"?
DR Josef Mengele performed many murders in the name of science in concentration camps.
Murder is committed by those who profess and embrace certainty of their beliefs(a human fetus is not human life, a Jew is not a human being), over knowledge(the fetus cells are alive, and the DNA is human: living human.; Jews are human: common sense).
Leaders who did not truly believe in God had ordered and ordained the killings of tens of millions in human history.
Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pol Pot, Chariman Mao, Che Cevera, Napolean Bonaparte, and the names won't stop there.
God = Santa Claus for Grown Ups.
If you're good and you do what I tell you, then you will get XYZ...
Man created "God" - not the other way around.
In a 100 years, God fearers will be in the same category as flat earthers.
Thank God I'm an atheist!
Righteousness is NOT based on good works...only on BELIEF. That is why SALVATION is a GIFT. No one earns it by their works.
That's how Good and Loving our heavenly Abba is.
"God = Santa Claus for Grown Ups."
So you don't believe that Nickolaus of Myra actually existed?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Myra
The modern day Santa Claus is just a distortion of a real life person from history.
"Man created "God" – not the other way around. "
How did you come to that conclusion?
"In a 100 years, God fearers will be in the same category as flat earthers."
Yet another atheist that either hasn't heard or refuses to accept the flat earth myth. That lie was started by 2 college professors who cited a fictional book as fact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_myth
"If there were no god, there would be no atheists."
– G. K. Chesterton
Atheists actually confirm the existence of God.
I give you credit for having such a strong conviction in your delusion...
I am NOT deluded. I have been enlightened and set free. I pray you come away from your evil. Must be a joyless, dark life to have!
Patty
delusion:an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.
Belief in gods where no rational evidence can be found....sure sounds like delusion.
Very failed logic. Atheism confirms the existance of theism, not of god. Quoting someone doesn't make it valid.
Atheists are just like the flat earthers because neither believe the Bible. Unfortunately, the flat earthers didn't believe Isaiah 40:22.
The bible makes refernces that would indicate the world is flat...in a few places. More bible lies.
In the book of Job, Job clearly described a round earth hanging on nothing. Job lived on earth at least 3500 years ago. Isaiah also speaks of a circular or spherical earth.
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (Job 26:7)
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: (Is 40:22)
Circles are flat, and that is the word they used. They had a word for sphere but didn't use it which means they thought the world was flat.
Oh, great...then perhaps you can explain to me, as other atheists have not been able to, how something came from nothing?
I'll sit back and listen........
Huh? Perhaps you can explain where everything came from? Thought not.
Try this on for size. Can you explain why a leaf on a bush outside your door is the color, size, shape, etc., that it is? You can't? Then if you have no desire to understand the little things in life that you DO have exposure to in this world, what business do you have expecting to know the ultimate question, that being, where everything came from?
Wait a minute! SANTA CLAUS ISN'T REAL!?!?!?!?!?
I agree with what the Bible says about atheists: they are fools. Oprah is a new age jezebel who believes Jesus Christ is a liar because she believes there are many ways to Heaven.
"What's the bible?"
– signed, your human equal who God placed in an area of the world where christianity doesn't exist.
Nice...call all atheists fools, then call Oprah a Jezebel and a liar.
Nice christian att!tude you have...what happened to love your neighbor?
Do you have anything of value to say or would you like to call other people names as well?
Just judging correctly like Jesus told us to do in John 7:24. I didn't call her a liar; she believes Jesus is a liar. Jesus called people snakes and hypocrites because He told the truth.
"When a Christian reaches for their book to reference a quote... you know they are about to lie their ass off..." ~LET
The Bible is the Truth; there are no lies in there. Why would a Christian have to reach for the Bible when many of the verses are memorized?
Mathew
Noah's ark is a lie. There has never been a worldwide flood since life began on the planet. We know this is a fact. Your bible is wrong. There are many more instances.
The ark was found on Mt. Ararat in Turkey; believe in the 80's. Archaeologists used to laugh at the Bible. Since the 1920's when they found evidence of the repercussions of Sodom and Gomorrah: they have used it as GUIDEBOOK!!!
Patty
What they found was a hoax...turned out it was railroad ties. Try again.
Most christians wouldn't know "love thy neighbor" if it bit them on the butt.
LET's Religiosity Law #5 – Circular "holy" book reasoning + sweaty fervor = mental retardation.
LET's Religiosity Law #7 – If you think the bible is historical fact of the creation of the Universe, Earth or Mankind and believe without a doubt that some Jewish zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat of his flesh, drink of his blood, and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master; so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a sinful woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree! Then you are an award-winning retard.
Actually, you are the fool. To believe in an invisible man in the sky that controls all things, created hell and manned it with his fallen angel, stacked the deck so that the people can be thrown in to hell to burn for all eternity for stealing a pencil and not being sorry for it, yet doing NOTHING to make peoples lives better and still being called "loving" and "kind". YOU are the fool.
To Melissa:
I'm sorry that you are angry and bitter because of wrong information/teaching. From what you've written, you clearly do not know the Christ Jesus of the Bible.
Christ came and fulfilled the Law (10 Commandments) 2000 years ago... He was the only person who was able to do so.
Christ became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. He was crucified- judged and punished for all the sins that you or I will ever commit. All our sins are already forgiven...this includes past, present and future sins. Christ bore it all at the tree.... your health/healing, salvation, provisions etc. are already provided for. It's all a finished work...that's why after going through all the punishment at the cross, Jesus cried... "Finished"....Everything has already been paid for... so there's no need to live in fear or condemnation that God is out to get you...to punish you... to send you to hell for stealing a pencil.
Only believe that Christ Jesus died for you.... confess him as savior of your life, and you are hopelessly and irreversibly saved.
That's how good, great, and merciful our God is.
God Bless.
Woohoo! Love this! Jesus Christ is so EASY to love. I feel His presence each and every day, amen!
I know it very well. Better than you do apparently. Your god is a horrible, cruel selfish god. Nothing about your god is kind and caring until you twist it until it doesn't resemble the truth anymore. Deal with it.
Oprah, if I enjoy life and earth then I'm not an athiest?
Hmmmm .... I thought 'athiest' had something to do with what some call 'god'.
That's ok, I don't know nuttin' bout religion, and I'm quite happy keeping it that way.
Therese Stellato, You are the one who is "lost dude." You are the weakling who needs "hope, a purpose, you need God in your life." We strong atheists do not rely upon some "Cosmic Jew in the sky" who takes us by the hand like a child through the pains of living. We depend on ourselves and other strong humans–doctors, scientists, nurses and other helpers when we need them and each other. Stop transferring your own inabilities to cope with reality onto the rest of us who don't need a fairy tale to face life and death.
Great article. Couldn't agree more!
Proof of God or not, we exist. How do we exist? What are the ramifications of the Universe's existence? At every turn science discovers a new abnormality never before imagined. What lies beyond the physical aspects of nature? What about string theory, a cosmological theory based on the existence of cosmic strings and other dimensions we cannot see. Why do accept that theory, but resist the Creation possibility? Because no one likes to be told how to live. If that component of religion did not exist, no one would bother with it. So, it is not the thought that something we don't understand could have created us we fight, it is the act of behavior expectations we deplore. Just like little children.
I think you made your point to only one person that could decipher your post Liony Lamb.
Let me dumb it down for you. People resist the Creation possibilities because it is all too much to take in. Instead of increasing our intelligence with the advent of the Internet, it only made life that much more confusing for the uneducated mass. It is so much easier for those like you to throw your hands in the air and give up than to try to understand it all. I see people, especially children do that everyday with all sorts of things other than religion. "It's too hard to make sense of. I give up!!"
Well thank you George for your erudite comment. Although I am not a physicist one of my favorite web sites is CERN and I am quite aware of string theory and the theory of everything and of course the confirmation of the existence Higgs boson. As far as the very many creation myths that ancient man thought up, they are just that myths.
George
Short quiz..When you have two up quarks and one down quark combined what elementary particle do you have, what is its symbol, what is the electric charge, what is the spin? You can find the answers on the internet, cool isn't it?
@ OKfine I agree with you, there are many creation myths. I have also studied them and have found that simple logic dismisses most of them, including Islam. Whether any of them are true, such as Judaism and Christianity will only be answered by death or what they refer to as 'end times' because that is the only way for most to test the presumption.
I disagree with your conclusion. Not like little children. Like someone who has moved on beyond early collective attempts on morality.
Morals don't come from religion. I have many non-religious friends with great morals. Morals are depicted by self and society.
George, you ignore the fact that many atheistic belief systems have as strict or stricter ethical codes than Christianity. Traditional Marxism demanded a lot of its followers and utilitarianism demand complex attention to human suffering and actions that are counter personal good. I think you want to believe that non-believers are spoiled children who just want to be allowed to party because that makes you feel superior in your choice.
This is not true at all. My feeling about the spoil children incompasses the mass, not just a sector of it. This my own thought process, not some religious dierected belief. I don't deny that ethical codes come from many places including Marxism, yet they still come down to the same source: us. They change when many 'us' get together and push their own set of codes, but even then, behind closed doors we all make our own that we live by.
I'm not sure what you mean about all making our own rules that we live by. Most people live by the ethical rules of their community with minor modifications and infringements, but the vast majority adhere to the norms of their birth or acquired ethical system and community.
Maybe I've got it wrong, but the reports on Atheists always seem to focus on what they are against as opposed to what they stand for. And the.focus on what they are agiainst always appears to be the same – Chritianity, "the Cross", Jesus Christ. Funny how they never seem to be against anything Islam. Wouldn't want to offend Muslims now would we?
For the most part, in this country, Muslims aren't the ones attempting to legislate what they believe into law, therefore there is no need for the Atheist to be vocally opposed to that lack of action.
Most Atheists I know are happy to let others believe what they want, up until that belief interferes with them living their lives. And yes, they don't believe in Islam just as much as they don't believe in Christianity and would defend themselves against any attempt to make laws based on their beliefs. Same with Jewish beliefs and Pagan beliefs (though to be fair, Pagans would be against making their beliefs into laws to, so.....)
It works both ways. Religious people don't want to be pushed around by atheists either.
Where do you see atheists trying to make laws based on their belief that there is no god?
Why don't you understand that a belief in no gods means all gods and cults? But of course, you are christian so you think you are special and always the sole target of persecution.
When someone is labelled an atheist, it is an inherently negative statement becuase the term describes only what one does NOT believe.
Please bear in mind that the United States is predominantly Christian. It is the Puritan ethic that runs deep in the American sub-conscious, not Islam and is therefore the worldview most often debated in North American discussions about religion.
The list of gods in which you do not believe is just as long as that of an atheist, save for one.
> Funny how they never seem to be against anything Islam.
If most of the articles you are reading are in the American media, then most likely the media would pit atheism against Christianity, since it is the dominant religion in the US. But is this the fault of atheists or the media that writes this stuff? (In fact, atheism is, obviously, contrary to all theism, including Islam.)
geez how do I address that drivel....let me try.
Well first of all Atheist aren't against anything. Why is that so hard for you religious folk to understand. We simply don't believe there is sufficient evidence to support a God like figure overseeing our lives.
We aren't against Christians/Muslims or any other relgion. We think they're all folly so burn down that Atheist vs Christian strawman
You appear to conflate atheist with anti-theists. The anti-theists do want to attack religion. They are a minority of a minority.
Most atheists are much more inclined to live and let live. I agree with you that atheists do want to stand up for what they think. This is because it appears to be very difficult for believers to understand what it is like to not-believe.
Most believers do what you did in this post – assume that anyone who doesn't believe in God automatically hates everything about religion, which simply isn't true for most of us.
I'm an atheist that looks forward to the end of religion, so some would call me an anti-theist. That being said, I fully support everyone's right to believe whatever they like and to practice their beliefs in the privacy of their home and their cult's clubhouse. Bring your claptrap into the public domain and I reserve the right to react publicly, but non-violently of course.
Sorry, "your" above was not aimed at anyone specifically.
Where's your proof? Links? You make a lot of blanket statements about people you don't know squat about, so I'd like you to give supporting docs or links or shut the fuck up. You don't speak for everyone and I doubt you even studied any polls or whatnot. Well?
@Toxic.
Oh but I love polls and data. You can start with this one. It's even at the top of this page.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/15/the-six-types-of-atheists/
http://www.atheismresearch.com/
Anti-theists are a minority of atheists. (I will agree that there are a lot of them here, but that's not surprising.) The poll above estimates them to be about 14.8% of atheists.
I have a feeling that, instead of, for example, Christians trying to have the Our Father said before the local high school football game, Muslems were trying to have everyone face Mecca, kneel and pray before the high school football game, atheists would have the same reaction. And you would have two different reactions.
That's because atheists aren't "for" anything any more than you are "for" anything by being an a-unicornist. Ask an atheist what their ethical system or ideology or goal is and you will get a different answer. Atheists are Unitarians and utilitarians and Buddhists and secular humanists. But you have to ask usually, because most of these ethical systems don't proselytize too much.
You are mistaken. Atheists are against irrationality in all forms. Islam absolutely is included.
You got it very wrong. Prominent atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins routinely spoke out against Islam. Us atheists equally dislike christianity and islam.
As an agnostic I disagree with use of the word "spiritual" to explain my feelings of awe at the universe, because "spiritual," to me, implies the supernatural. And I neither believe nor disbelieve in the supernatural - I am undecided. Is there not a better word? "Philosophical" is not quite it, and it's a rather dry word in this context.
As a Pagan, I don't believe in the "supernatural" either, because that implies that something exists outside of nature. I may believe in spiritual things....but I don't think they're "supernatural" at all.
As a deist I feel the same, lets make up our own word, how about wonderment?
How about you take your wonderment and get the fuck out of politics? Go on, we don't need more crazy idiots here.
This question came up in the first page of posts on this topic.
I agree with you. The word "spiritual" is overloaded with supernatural connotations. "Philosophical" doesn't cut it either. "Philosopy", while a neutral term, is about the search for "truth".
I haven't seen anyone present a better alternative yet.
Wonderment is nice.
Being an atheist, you may notice the natural world and its beauty and that is great. However, you miss out on everything else that is great about a belief in God. I am not here to try and change your way of thinking but in the end you will know the real truth and so will I.
Please provide a list of what is great about a belief in god.
List? Couldn't begin to start. There would be so many books, earth could not contain them.
Fruit loop.
Your Top 10 will be fine. As the good Doc said, I doubt you can list anything factual or that can't be gained without any alleged god(s).
A belief in God provides –
Wisdom... Truth..Peace... Rest...Knowledge.
Because you believe there is a God, and he sent his Son to die for the sins of those who choose to make Him the Lord of their life.
There is Peace in knowing that all your sins (past, present, and future) are already forgiven.
There is Wisdom... Godly Spiritual Binah Wisdom.... not Hakam, wordly knowledge.
The main benefit of believing in Christ Jesus, is that He is our high priest, it is Him who God judges in our place. So it's important to know whether or not your High Priest is acceptable before God. So someone who believes in Christ, is at peace knowing that Christ is acceptable before the Father...and as a result so is the believer.
Unlike what's been told...you do not become acceptable by your good works... only by believing.
God Bless.
What can one get from belief in the supernatural that is otherwise inacsessible?
A religion is sometimes a source of happiness, and I would not deprive anyone of happiness. But it is a comfort appropriate for the weak, not for the strong. The great trouble with religion – any religion – is that a religionist, having accepted certain propositions by faith, cannot thereafter judge those propositions by evidence. One may bask at the warm fire of faith or choose to live in the bleak certainty of reason- but one cannot have both.
Which god, be specific and provide a list for all gods, please.
Being a theist, you miss out on a TON of the beauty and amazing things about this world by attributing them to god. When you look at the world without it being a magic wave of the magic wand, it is even more precious and amazing and inspiring.
Well said Susan. Cosmology, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Physics, Mathematics...are candy for the mind! Science is the pursuit of a true understanding of nature by an established methodology. A methodology that all humanity agrees upon regardless of personal belief. Science builds bridges and ignites the imagination, religion builds walls and discourages free thought.
I also find it interesting that atheist talk as much or more about God than most Christians I know. I think that is Jesus knocking at the door of their hearts. All you have to do is open the door and invite Him in.
False. It's a common mistake. You think that we (atheists) long for what you believe...incorrect.
Also I tried for decades...knocked and knocked. Either there is no god, or god ignored me entirely. Either way, I have no use for your gods.
Keep trying. A couple decades is not long enough. We are talking about your immortal soul after all.
Pascal's wager is a poor argument.
How do you know that the Christian afterlife is the true one?
There are many, many ideas of what comes after death.
The aftorementioned anglo-saxon culture believed that ithe way to the best afterlife was to die gloriously in battle.
JCF
No...that was sufficient time to find where the stories came from that your jesus came from and the other philosopies that were used to create the character and the stories. It was sufficient time to see that ALL religions were created by men, along with the thousands of gods. I see the direct links between men and the gods they created.
There is nothing showing any god interacting with men...nothing.
How do I know it is the truth? Because Jesus said it and because His Holy Spirit which dwells within me confirms it to be true.
"Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man."
I talk read and talk about about manner of gods.
A culture's myths reveal more about the mindset of its people than do government decrees or even archaeological artifiacts.
It is becuase of Beowulf that we can get a glimpse into the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideal, for example.
Why does JC have to knock on the door of my heart? Why can't JC just knock on my front door of my house and tell me what I should do with my life? Why do I have to listen to a thousand different interpretations of the Bible and take their word for it when none of the people in this world have actually seen JC with their own eyes or physically talked with him?
Atheists only talk about god a lot when they are either first generation new atheists figuring stuff out, or when they are surrounded by believers. When I lived in China almost no one ever mentioned "god". Ditto for living in most of the US northeast, coastal northwest and the UK and most places I've lived or travelled in continental Europe. Now, in China people went on about qi, which was every bit as annoying...but that's the big supersti tion there.
Let me guess, you're basing that on forums?
Thing is – you don't know, on other forums, who the atheists are. We don't have the scarlet A on our chests when we're at the football game, discussing art, enjoying a concert, etc. So the only place you see us as atheists, the only place you know we are atheists is when we discuss an article like this, and you only see those who post.
Your biases are creating your reality – you just assume the rest of these people you see not discussing atheism are not atheists. But many are.
"Thou art God. I am God. All that groks is God."
– Robert Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land)
Sound strange? It made enough sense to some people that they built a religion around that 1960's Sci-Fi novel (a religion from which the author made a point to distance himself).
The Church of All Worlds exists, despite the fact the in the novel, it is predicated on learning to think the Martian language...
Pantheism makes just as much sense as any other theology...
Atheists, you're a bunch of cry-babies!
Grow up and go do something with your lives. After all, this is it. This is ALL you get. Better make it good!
like a name-stealer...
"Atheists, you're a bunch of cry-babies!
Grow up and go do something with your lives. After all, this is it. This is ALL you get. Better make it good!"
I wonder if you actually realize how stupid your statements are. Somehow I doubt it. However....very CHRISTIAN OF YOU TO JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE.
Yeah, super clever aren't you? Not a christian...look at the username derp.
But on the other side of things. You're insecure aren't you?
Best to leave GodFreeNow alone.
No, they are NOT stupid!!! I was also not judging. Even as a believer; I am asked to judge all things; not people. God only knows your heart.
Precisely...this IS all I want! I would never want to exist forever, and certainly not amongst those such as yourself who think they have all the answers.
Wow, this article is collecting a lot of evil people! Very sad!!!
How does not wanting to be in the company of those who judge make one "evil"?
I'll surround myself with my dogs every day of the week and twice on Sundays before people. My dogs don't judge. Thus, if your happy place does exist, I'll enter with all animals, UNLESS humans are there...then I'll just turn around and walk away. 🙂
So "growing up" means believing in fairy tales?
Only in theirs. Everyone else's fairy tales are still fairy tales to them.
Ridiculous article misses the obvious.
Religion = Sentient power
In the article's example "When I talk about God, I mean love and justice and reconciliation, not a man in the sky"; that person still views these things as a sentient force.
I love this article, but it's a shame that you need it in the US. It goes without saying in most of the rest of the Western world.
What a waste of digital space (which is a saying a lot). This article is so full of contradictions that it doesn't make a lot of sense.
More sense than any religion.
There MAY be a god, but regardless of whether or not one exists, NO religions have any basis in reality.
Religion is man reaching out to God, Christianity is God reaching out to man, through His Son, Jesus Christ...
Of course the author is full of contradictions. He is so focused on 'social justice' and his other pet projects that he cant see the inherent flaws in pursuing such a course. In order to 'guarantee' a good social outcome for one group one must necessarily ensure a worse social outcome for another. He is so focused on the taking of rights to 'even the scales' that he can't see that he is slowly but surely removing 'freedom' from everyone including himself.
I disagree completely. Our best chance for social equality is have the government be "blind" to ALL religious viewpoints. Otherwise it is overly subject to the tyranny of the majority. Protecting religous freedoms now, while christianity is the majority, is the best way to ensure that they won't lose their freedoms when they aren't.
Chris, I think that you're spot-on when you write that, "...atheists themselves can foster greater understanding by not just emphasizing the “no” of atheism — our disagreement over the existence of any gods — but also the “yes” of atheism and secular humanism, which recognizes the amazing potential within human beings." Part of why atheists struggle in a largely theistic world is because the label "atheist" itself is inherently negative. It focuses on what one does not believe. In conversation, I prefer to describe myself as a secular humanist, which usually prompts a request for more info, and then I describe what I DO believe. God and the after-life don't enter into it, unless somebody specifically asks.
I agree with that. That's why I don't like Darwinfish – I'm going to put an Atheist Atom symbol on my car – it's a positive symbol discussing what we do believe, and it fits my beliefs, rather than a negative defining us as an offshoot or parody of religion. The darwinfish is a cute little parody and point – but it's limited to that.
Sounds like your lost dude. You need hope, a purpose, you need God in your life
Why do you believe that hope and purpose must come from a supernatural source?
If you are an atheist and a realist. You know that you may feel purposeful, but at the end of the day you have to fall back to an existential view... None of it matters. You purpose amounts to nothing more that the evolved chemical components in your mind giving you the will to live on and pro-create. Thats it there is nothing else. And If you are like Diana the soul lives on you can's say that you're an Atheist, you can only say your agnostic because if I was to ask who created or controls or directs the soul you would say you don't know.
Atheist want to feel good about life and say their is purpose, but don't want to admit there is one that difines and gives purpose to life.
"The soul" is nothing more than wishful thinking conceived by those who cling to the hope of life after death.
That our lives are all too short doesn't detract from the quest for purpose while we're here – quite the opposite, in fact.
Step outside on a moonless and cloudless night, go somewhere that does not suffer optical pollution ... and look up. Once you understand that you're seeing across thosands if not millions of light years ... how magnificently HUGE the universe is, you'll understand how truly insignificant you are ... and how pointless it is to get your panties in a wad over each and every tribulation in your life. You Exist. Period. Make the best of it. There was nothing before and there will be nothing after. If you want to lean on religion, then do the right thing by making other people's lives better, like Paul said in his second letter to the church. If you want to follow Christianity, that is your choice ... just follw the examples instead of giving it all lip service.
you're, not your
oh thanks grammer police. I love how whenever there is a religious article.....THE CHRISTIANS COME IN A SAY NASTY HATEFULL THINGS. Ya know the CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE A MORAL COMPASS THAT WE ATHEISTS DONT'....
Religious people constantly like to tell you how much better they are than you but the comments in this article proves they aren't
NO ONE knows what happens when we die and ANYONE claiming such knowledge is a LIAR who probably wants your MONEY.
Thank you! I have said exactly the same thing time and again. Anyone claiming to know for sure what happens after we die is a complete and utter liar and is usually looking for a hand out. Humans are so afraid of our own demise that we have elected to believe a fairy tale and utter delusion that included Heaven and angels just to calm our fears. Ridiculous to the 100th degree! The only real truth is that no one knows and the evidence point to there being nothing after we die (since all we see is the body, without any movement or life, slowly decay till it is just base elements such and dirt)!
Or you could say that given enough time, a person will quantum resurrect into a universe.
So "you' are pretty much the ultimate amnesiac... dying, forgetting, and being reborn over and over and over.....
So yeah, people shouldn't be afraid that dying is oblivion, they should be afraid that they are trapped in an unending cycle that they can never remember or escape from, forever.
Imagine that. Oprah got it wrong. The problem here being that we thought she should be right because shes a celeb. We place celebs on a pedestal here and we should not.