Is Atheism just an excuse to be selfish?

[Lightspirit]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Actually, I wasn't wondering. I don't see anything wrong with a Christian having LightWorker as a moniker, not being entrenched in dogma means I can take a different perspective in all of this - vive la difference! Yes, I'm an Athiest but I can also work with other people's belief systems as well. Taking it from a religious perspective, isn't being a LightWorker God's work? Perhaps something for the fundamentalist Christians to ponder.

whats a fundamentalist christian? it sounds booring and closed minded. lightworker is just a nice name dont you get bored trying to make up names on these things you try your name 10 different ways, then try something else you like 5 different ways.. you know how it is.... where was i last?...lightworker website.....yeah that works that will do who cares!. I like some of their ideas.

This might make you smile i found it today:)

[Lightspirit]

^ *busts up laughing*

Thanks for the smile, LightWorker. Much needed on this thread I think.

It's all too simple. Unless I've missed it, not once have I seen anything like "So you're an Athiest, what do you believe and why?" Are people so Enlightened they don't need to, or want to?

[Lightspirit]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Thanks for the smile, LightWorker. Much needed on this thread I think.

It's all too simple. Unless I've missed it, not once have I seen anything like "So you're an Athiest, what do you believe and why?" Are people so Enlightened they don't need to, or want to?

to tell you the truth mate i am not sure why, maybe this thread, it was followed by more atheists and they already know.
it might make a new thread so you can gauge what people assume to know about it.

I always thought an atheist was one who rejects the notion of a divine god etc

[002 Cents]

Originally Posted by pre-dawn

Search for 'humanist charity'
337,000 results.

Like

[002 Cents]

Originally Posted by lightworkerAu

to tell you the truth mate i am not sure why, maybe this thread, it was followed by more atheists and they already know.
it might make a new thread so you can gauge what people assume to know about it.

I always thought an atheist was one who rejects the notion of a divine god etc

My husband considered himself atheist until he took this quiz http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

Which said he was in fact Secular Humanist.

Secular Humanism shares the belief of no supreme being with added emphasis on the fact that you need not be in an organized religion to be a moral person.

@ lightworkers comic



and on a side note.. DO NOT GOOGLE "ROTFL", EVEN WITH YOUR PARENTAL CONTROLS ON, AND VIEW IMAGES WHEN YOUR KID IS STANDING NEXT TO YOU!!!!

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by lightworkerAu

I was thinking today about atheism and the belief you are your own god

It got me wondering how many Atheist charities there must be.They must be hiding them well because I couldn't find any easy. However on the other hand christian charity Search showed up more than I was willing to count.

This made me wonder is this Atheism thing just an excuse to do nothing to help fellow people and justify it somehow?

With this question, I am sure there probably is some really nice atheist charity workers, but this is about the philosophy of Atheism and how its beliefs reflect on/ benefit their fellow man.

Hello

Taking this thread back to ONE the first post. I feel this is a valid question that is asked her. Having gone the Atheist path in life for a time I had NO HOME to address it with.

Start with frist what is Atheism and what is an Athiest. When one takes the view of how I saw it I rejected all beleifs in the existance of any form of "dieties" . Now when I say "diety" this i what I mean - a supernatural being, whom was thought of as being a HIGHER power or force thought to be hioly as in God or devine as being something or someone to be worshiped.

I did not beleive in anything or one higer than self. I did not beleive in God. Thouh I still atteneded Church ( with family) for a time. It was thought to be something very dark and even negative. To have no faith was to be on a path downwards to another place I did not buy into.

This Athiest movment can be traced back a long time. THought it has never become a mass beleif. Where do Athiests attend to have some understandings.....many follow a Metaphysical Path where NO Dogma is attached to the meeting place.

I so feel that no matter what faith path one walks along one does good work if one CHOOSES that path. I have known many higer up in the Church structures that I can honestly say I DID NOT see do much but deligate it out of say it was the WORK of God. The act of giving back does not need one to wear a name tag saying I follow this spiritual path or that one. We do good work if that is in our HEART to give back.

Some even give back here in many ways and might WELL not see they are giving something back with the words tyeped here.

How does he Athiest view reflect on or benifit fellow man.....its not the faith I feel that one walks with that defines whom one is and what good or bad one does, its the person that individual that does.

I do not walk the path of God but I have come to understandings that I can not prove or disprove the extistance of God or Gods or Devine Beings so I embrace that path fit to some. Now not all feel the same back towards me so be it. We are all one....but we fail to see what man is.....

Lynn

I hate people that think they have to change who they are...how they dress...what music they listen to in order to attempt to fit in........HELLO NEWSFLASH!!!!…. your never going fit in ... we are all different...and for a good reason...why don’t you make out your own path and follow that because if you follow others all your life you will not achieve anything yourself.....I guess some people are so afraid to show there true self at fear of being judged...well I say if they don’t like me .... then **** them that’s there problem....people are afraid to go at it alone.. they don't want to be out cast from others....let me tell you something................ If you do what YOU want to do you will be much happier...don’t listen to others...learn from your own mistakes.....being alone is everybody’s fear and its not nice but you need to be alone to become your own person and then make true friends in life that like you for exactly who YOU are.

Ghandi said, "I am dedicated to truth not consistency." Sometimes you just have to determine what the person's motives are. Actions and words are one thing, but they can be just as easily misunderstood when you are not in tuned with the person's motives. Some people are like water, put them in any container and they take on that shape. If you care, then look deeper into the person's essence and don't get hung up on roles and names.

Peace and Love

Storm xxxxx

p.s loves shepherd xx u da man mate xx

Have to agree...... and I dislike 'labels'. OK, so I had nothing much to do today! AND I am very interested in the power of semantics and origins of words. So when you have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do, you might like to read this 'overview' from Wikapedia.

My only point is that it can be misleading to assume your 'label' for something/ someone, fits with everyone elses, so defining your position/understanding, leads to clarity in a discussion. Hohum.... am I rambling again!

Atheism, in a broad sense, is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[2] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[3] Atheism is contrasted with theism,[4] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.[5][6]

The term atheism originated from the Greek ἄθεος (atheos), meaning "without god", which was applied with a negative connotation to those thought to reject the gods worshipped by the larger society. With the spread of freethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of religion, application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to identify themselves as "atheist" appeared in the 18th century.[7]

Today, about 2.3% of the world's population describes itself as atheist, while a further 11.9% is described as nonreligious.[8] Between 64% and 65% of Japanese are atheists, agnostics, or do not believe in God.[9] In Europe, the estimated percentage of atheists, agnostics and other nonbelievers in a personal god ranges as low as single digits in Poland, Romania, Cyprus, and some other countries,[10] and up to 85% in Sweden (where 17% identify themselves as atheists), 80% in Denmark, 72% in Norway, and 60% in Finland.[9]

Atheists tend to lean toward skepticism regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence. Atheists have offered several rationales for not believing in any deity. These include the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Other arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. Although some atheists have adopted secular philosophies,[11][12] there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.[13]

In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be exclusively irreligious or unspiritual.[14] However, atheism also figures in certain religious and spiritual belief systems, such as Jainism, and some forms of Buddhism that do not advocate belief in gods.[15] Hinduism also holds atheism to be valid, but difficult to follow spiritually.

ETYMOLOGICALLY SPEAKING - (the origin of the term)
In early ancient Greek, the adjective atheos (ἄθεος, from the privative ἀ- + θεός "god") meant "godless". It was first used as a term of censure roughly meaning "ungodly" or "impious". In the 5th century BCE, the word began to indicate more-intentional, active godlessness in the sense of "severing relations with the gods" or "denying the gods", instead of the earlier meaning of "impious".

The term ἀσεβής (asebēs) then came to be applied against those who impiously denied or disrespected the local gods, even if they believed in other gods. Modern translations of classical texts sometimes render atheos as "atheistic". As an abstract noun, there was also ἀθεότης (atheotēs), "atheism". Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin atheos. The term found frequent use in the debate between early Christians and Hellenists, with each side attributing it, in the pejorative sense, to the other.[18]

In English, the term atheism was derived from the French athéisme in about 1587.[19] The term atheist (from Fr. athée), in the sense of "one who denies or disbelieves the existence of God",[20] predates atheism in English, being first attested in about 1571.[21] Atheist as a label of practical godlessness was used at least as early as 1577.[22] Related words emerged later: deist in 1621,[23] theist in 1662;[24] theism in 1678;[25] and deism in 1682.[26] Deism and theism changed meanings slightly around 1700, due to the influence of atheism; deism was originally used as a synonym for today's theism, but came to denote a separate philosophical doctrine.[27]

Karen Armstrong writes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist' was still reserved exclusively for polemic ... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling himself an atheist."[7] Atheism was first used to describe a self-avowed belief in late 18th-century Europe, specifically denoting disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god.[28] In the 20th century, globalization contributed to the expansion of the term to refer to disbelief in all deities, though it remains common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in God".[29]
Some atheists have doubted the very nature of the term "atheism". Sam Harris said:
In fact, "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs

Kind regards, JEN