Does atheism discourage values?

[Nimue]

I have tremendous respect for Atheists. Imagine the strength of resolve to believe in nothing but yourself. Me, i am weak. I need to believe in God/dess, in fairies and unicorns and fate and destiny. I need the promise of the eternal ice cream after veggies... Wish i had that kind of strength really. I know many non believers and am amazed at how they get through the tough times without having to call on gods, angels or guardians.

Originally Posted by livingkarma

I answered the topic question & evaluated the OP's opinions as being one sided & in need of a proper definition of atheism which now I see as obviously ignored ...
I just didn't think it was necessary to continue feeding into ignorance ...
I agree religion has it's place outside of politics & schools ...
And should not be abused by using it as a justifcation for condescending others or warmongering & vice versa ...
Sorry Robert, I misunderstood your purpose ...

I didn't realize that disagreeing with atheists was considered ignorant. You see, I have a problem with singularities just popping into existence as if by magic. I have a problem with physicist's inability to account for the stability of some particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) and the instability of other particles. I have a problem with atheists not explaining why the physics constants are what they are. I think some intelligence was necessary to plan the universe, and a godlike amount of power was needed to manifest it. You can criticize me for being one-sided if you like, but I think the atheist explanation is weak.

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by Mazulu

I didn't realize that disagreeing with atheists was considered ignorant. You see, I have a problem with singularities just popping into existence as if by magic. I have a problem with physicist's inability to account for the stability of some particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) and the instability of other particles. I have a problem with atheists not explaining why the physics constants are what they are. I think some intelligence was necessary to plan the universe, and a godlike amount of power was needed to manifest it. You can criticize me for being one-sided if you like, but I think the atheist explanation is weak.

Its not disagreeing with atheist, its the silly evidence that is usually brought up, such as the belief in creationism and a god in the sky.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Its not disagreeing with atheist, its the silly evidence that is usually brought up, such as the belief in creationism and a god in the sky.

It is silly that a universe just pops into existence with fixed constants for no reason.

Originally Posted by Nimue

I have tremendous respect for Atheists. Imagine the strength of resolve to believe in nothing but yourself. Me, i am weak. I need to believe in God/dess, in fairies and unicorns and fate and destiny. I need the promise of the eternal ice cream after veggies... Wish i had that kind of strength really. I know many non believers and am amazed at how they get through the tough times without having to call on gods, angels or guardians.

It's like having respect for someone who endures the pain of a flame under there arm (G. Gordon Liddy). Sure, I can't sit there while I roast my arm. On the other hand, why should I have to? By the evidence of cosmology, the universe just popped into existence for no reason. Since the universe is such an elegant and complex machine, there has to be a back-story, something beyond the natural world that accounts for it.

You can admire atheists all you like, but they're avoiding the facts. Atheists are avoiding reality.

The fine-tuned universe is probably the biggest problem for atheism. There simply is no experimental evidence for all of the universes that didn't work.

[Seawolf]

Atheism is simply the belief in zero gods. That's one less than monotheists. Buddhists are atheists. It has nothing to do with morals, unless you believe the number of gods a person believes in is related to morals.

All groups and individuals with spiritual beliefs are 'religious' and are no better or worse than one another. New Age is not 'better' than Christianity or vice versa.

When you put down others beliefs, you're basically putting down yourself.

Just because you don't agree with beliefs that aren't yours, it doesn't make them inferior. You are religious if you have spiritual beliefs, so you shouldn't put yourself down like that by saying religion is bad.

We put down other groups to make us feel better about ourselves, but when you do that, you show that you are actually the one at fault, not the 'religions'.

Let go of the hate against religion! It's hating yourself. If we want depth to our spirituality, hate will have to leave.

[Nimue]

Originally Posted by Mazulu

You can admire atheists all you like, but they're avoiding the facts. Atheists are avoiding reality.

I admire the Christian Woman who works two jobs to support her kids because her husband is in jail.

I admire the Tribal Man who opens a door for a lady when she enters the room.

I admire the Buddhist Monk who sits in Isolation

I admire the Which who decorates her garden, for all to see who and what she is

I admire the Atheist who has been diagnosed with Cancer, yet manages to get up everyday and fight the battle with optimism and cheer - who does not ask "why me" or say "God save Me"

But what I admire most... is that MY reality has room for people from all walks of life, and we learn from one another every day.

I think the fact that Atheist are being labelled here as 'without values' is quite harsh... I wonder what you would say about the Priest serving Jail Time for touching little girls... Is he more worthy of breathing the same air we do, because he is a man of the Cloth, and he believes that His God has forgiven him?

Originally Posted by Mazulu

I didn't realize that disagreeing with atheists was considered ignorant. You see, I have a problem with singularities just popping into existence as if by magic. I have a problem with physicist's inability to account for the stability of some particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) and the instability of other particles. I have a problem with atheists not explaining why the physics constants are what they are. I think some intelligence was necessary to plan the universe, and a godlike amount of power was needed to manifest it. You can criticize me for being one-sided if you like, but I think the atheist explanation is weak.

This brings me around to the question I asked earlier in the thread (that you never answered): which god is the real god? It's not enough to just say "well, obviously God did it." What is God? From your posts, it seems you have a god-of-the-gaps deity; "science can't explain it, therefore it must be god. Checkmate". When, in the history of science, that position has nearly always been eventually shown to be false.

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Atheism is simply the belief in zero gods. That's one less than monotheists. Buddhists are atheists. It has nothing to do with morals, unless you believe the number of gods a person believes in is related to morals.

All groups and individuals with spiritual beliefs are 'religious' and are no better or worse than one another. New Age is not 'better' than Christianity or vice versa.

When you put down others beliefs, you're basically putting down yourself.

Just because you don't agree with beliefs that aren't yours, it doesn't make them inferior. You are religious if you have spiritual beliefs, so you shouldn't put yourself down like that by saying religion is bad.

We put down other groups to make us feel better about ourselves, but when you do that, you show that you are actually the one at fault, not the 'religions'.

Let go of the hate against religion! It's hating yourself. If we want depth to our spirituality, hate will have to leave.

Where have you been? Atheists put down Christians, religious people and mystics (those who see things) all the time. Atheists think that religious people are stupid and weak-minded. You should wake up to the reality around you.