Is Atheism Becoming a Religion?

[hybrid]

atheism is not a religion.
they don't have a definite set doctrines and dogmas to speak of,
they are not organize in a way that they have hierarchy of leaderships
and tithe their members with money and favors.
neither do they have sacred traditions and rituals.

atheism is more like a movement.
an idea that spreads itself.
so more of a philosophy than a religion.


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[SeaZen]

Originally Posted by hybrid

atheism is not a religion.
they don't have a definite set doctrines and dogmas to speak of,
they are not organize in a way that they have hierarchy of leaderships
and tithe their members with money and favors.
neither do they have sacred traditions and rituals.

atheism is more like a movement.
an idea that spreads itself.
so more of a philosophy than a religion.


.

As one has already posted, organization and hierarchy does not make a religion. Unyielding beliefs however do and the atheists definitely have those. Note, the keywords here are unyielding beliefs
For example:

1) When you die you forever cease to exist

2) There is no God or higher power or creative force in the universe

3) The only dimension is the 3D world

etc. etc. etc.

Agnostics have an open mind and are highly more evolved than atheists. Atheists close theirs the same way religionists do by subscribing to a set of unyielding beliefs. Though I feel atheists are far more evolved than most religionists, they are nevertheless the opposite side of the same coin. Many have a smug sense of superiority and ridicule religionists. Just go to an atheist forum and you will see what I mean. "Reason" and "physical science" is their god.

Nothing wrong with that. To each his own. But to say that atheists are some kind of objective, neutral movement is folly. It is a belief system like any other. Agnostics on the other hand are the ones who are truly objective, open minded and neutral.

[SeaZen]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Not my Atheism, but I could say the same about some Christians. Do you actually understand Atheism and what are you basing your beliefs on
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Yes, I have seen documentaries on atheism and read their online material and it is very "belief based" (see my previous post). Explain to me the difference between an atheist and an agnostic and you will see what I mean

How many have actually sat down and talked to an Atheist before commenting? Or do you feel you are enlightened enough not to? Being honest, if you don't then you can't call yourself any kind of Enlightened and it's little wonder that religion gets a bad name. I really don't see anything here that would persuade me otherwise. It's not the religion or the lack of it that's the problem here but the people. So by all means hang onto something that has little Truth in it, because Christ wasn't born on Christmas day and almost everything you do (apart from going to your Christian church) is based on Paganism, a religion that Christians have tried to systematically wipe out.

Like it or not, Christmas and Christianity is Pagan-based. If you want to get away from the Paganism, don't celebrate Christ's birthday on the 25th of December because that is not when he was born. Christmas trees, holly and ivy, 25th of December, Santa Claus are all Paganistic

Yes, I have spoken with many atheists online and have read their message boards. Everything I have posted about it is accurate according to my observations. Why are you automatically bringing up christianity and its foibles? Do you assume that you are addressing "christians"? If you do you are wrong. I found that it is very typical of atheists such as the guy who wrote the "god delusion" to assume that anyone who has an open mind about dimensions other than 3D and spirituality in general are some kind of 12th century religionists or religious fanatic. Most here have dropped affiliation with religious dogma and doctrines of any kind and have an open mind about things such as enlightenment and tolerance of others and their beliefs.

Atheists have even come up with labels that separate themselves from others. They now refer to themselves as "brights" and to everyone else as "supers". Supers being short for "supernaturalists". As if supernaturalists are not "bright". This kind of labeling encourages separateness and a subtle superiority which does not seem "enlightened" to me.

[002 Cents]

I actually like the points being brought up here.

Because, it is very true. I have heard many arguments be made from an atheist perspective referring to faith as supernatural even fairytale. And I have to say that is a very self important perspective to have. To deem another person's belief system as supernatural is to suggest that they are out of touch with reality and you are more so.

In the case of making an argument that the stories circulating about the birth of Jesus are a Myth... again, It is drawing a conclusion without knowing all the facts. The tale as it is may not make sense to us but it is entirely possible we don't have all the information. This makes certain elements of the story Questionable but not necessarily Myth.

No matter what side of the fence you stand on, where your belief system is involved, you should not to work in absolutes. It is best to remain objective and recognize when something is neither here nor there.

So, Questionable? Yes

Fact or Myth? Can not be determined without more information.

That is where faith comes in for people who chose one side over the other.

Yes Faith, Either Faith in that the stories are fact or faith that in light of current scientific knowledge there is no possible way it could have happened. Either way you are filling in blanks with your faith to draw a conclusion where the only possible conclusion is an unknown.

[inspirit]

Atheists will strongly argue that atheism is not a belief system at all or anything of the sort. But it seems obvious to me that it is. They have their gurus and their points of contentions. They even have their own mock deities which they use to make fun of those who believe in something that cannot be seen.

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by SeaZen

1) When you die you forever cease to exist
3) The only dimension is the 3D world

An atheist may say that, but if you make those statements you are a materialist.
An atheist just doesn't believe in deities. And in that sense, we are all atheists, because we can't believe in every deity out there.

[hybrid]

Originally Posted by SeaZen

For example:

1) When you die you forever cease to exist

atheist would say there is no proof that when one dies he will go to heaven.
so there is no compelling need to believe it.

2) There is no God or higher power or creative force in the universe

atheist would say there is no proof of the existence of god,
so there is no need to believe it.

3) The only dimension is the 3D world

atheist would say there is no proof of a world other than this
so there is no need to believe in a spiritual world.


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[hybrid]

so it is wrong to say - atheist believe there is no god.
it's not even fair to attribute this to atheists.
since no god means non existent.
no one can believe in something that doesn't exist.
belief to be a belief must have an object of faith.

,

[SeaZen]

Originally Posted by hybrid

atheist would say there is no proof that when one dies he will go to heaven.
so there is no compelling need to believe it.
.

Thats not what I heard on the documentary I saw on TV. They showed an atheist summer camp for kids and they showed the female camp counselor teaching the kids that we only have this one life and when its over, thats it, you cease to exist.

[inspirit]

Teaching kids there is no God is a little like teaching them that there is no Love and that "it's all just chemicals in the brain." It just feels wrong to me.