Jump to content

Aven's Atheists: When/How Did You Come to that Conclusion?


Næt.

Recommended Posts

But my question is why does it matter if an asexual is an atheist? Of course asking out of curiosity is fine, but is the question itself important?

Many of the questions on AVEN aren't "important" to all of us (or even many of us) but they're interesting to talk about.

Link to post
Share on other sites
But my question is why does it matter if an asexual is an atheist? Of course asking out of curiosity is fine, but is the question itself important?

Many of the questions on AVEN aren't "important" to all of us (or even many of us) but they're interesting to talk about.

Agreed, they are fun to discuss :D.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I never really believed. I remember I was 4 the first time I asked my mom "if God created the universe, who created God?"

She never gave me an answer. ;)

I asked myself the same question too. I figured, if matter/atoms can be eternal and uncreated then why not god? Sounds like picking and choosing to me.

Not quite. Implying that matter has always been, is a lot different than implying that some complex God character has always been.

In fact, a lot of people believe there must be a God because everything that there is now is too complex to have formed on it's own, but is the idea of an all-powerful magic sky-daddy not complex?

I'm saying that I believe the universe has probably always existed in some form, not the same one we know now, but it has grown, and developed, on itself, with no magical ruler designing it.

That's what nature does.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I never really believed. I remember I was 4 the first time I asked my mom "if God created the universe, who created God?"

She never gave me an answer. ;)

I asked myself the same question too. I figured, if matter/atoms can be eternal and uncreated then why not god? Sounds like picking and choosing to me.

Not quite. Implying that matter has always been, is a lot different than implying that some complex God character has always been.

In fact, a lot of people believe there must be a God because everything that there is now is too complex to have formed on it's own, but is the idea of an all-powerful magic sky-daddy not complex?

I'm saying that I believe the universe has probably always existed in some form, not the same one we know now, but it has grown, and developed, on itself, with no magical ruler designing it.

That's what nature does.

An omniscient, omnipotent deity would be more complex than the whole universe itself. Omniscience means having information about the whole universe, not only in the present, but also in the past and future, and Omnipotence means having information about all the possible acts the deity can perform - and they are nearly infinite.

All in all, I think the non-existance of god is a working assumption.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A god needn't be omniscient/omnipresent. A god needn't be perfect. Just a little better than humans.

Link to post
Share on other sites
A god needn't be omniscient/omnipresent. A god needn't be perfect. Just a little better than humans.

Stephen Fry more than qualifies, then.

Link to post
Share on other sites
A god needn't be omniscient/omnipresent. A god needn't be perfect. Just a little better than humans.

Stephen Fry more than qualifies, then.

As do a lot of cats. (And unlike Stephen Fry, they totally know it. So cats are more omniscient than Stephen Fry!)

Link to post
Share on other sites

.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Yes, I'm convinced that cats exist.

They are such fuzzy, snuggly, kitty cuddly little sweetie-pies. They must be divine.

I mean, they have such beautiful eyes, and ears. And fuzzy little paws. And they have such cute little chins. And they are so smart, and loving. If they aren't gods and goddesses, they are at least angels.

Sometimes Luna, especially, likes to perch on my shoulder and purr into my ear. She's always telling me nice things. And gives me kisses.

Or like when Colette lies on my chest and licks my nose. That seems pretty holy to me. She's the queen of the castle.

Yes she is.

Yes she is.

:D prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Link to post
Share on other sites

Though I'm not an atheist, I'm an agnostic, but a few months ago I would definitely have been considered a devout christian. The thing is my christian friend crowd was so very small we all were very similar in terms of background, culture etc. It wasn't until I started interacting with other christians that I quickly started stepping back away from it. It's funny because as I've been preparing my exit, one of my other friends is getting baptized.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I usually like to joke and say "I may not be an atheist, but I am an aseuxal" lol. I am more of a Deist, Confucian, Unitarian/Universalist Christian. But personally, who cares what someone believes religious or spiritually. I mean all gay and bisexuals are not atheists or agnostics so all asexuals are not atheist or agnostics. Why does it even matter what we believe?

Hmmm... I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here. Did anybody say or imply that all gay/bi/asexual people were atheist? I'm a little cofused as to why you brought that up. :unsure:

I am just simply stating Moderator that we all know that a person can be of any sexuality and belief. But my question is why does it matter if an asexual is an atheist? Of course asking out of curiosity is fine, but is the question itself important?

If I may step in, I think Lone meant that atheism and asexuality are not at all connected. The phrase "I may not be an atheist, but I am an aseuxal" implies that there is a connection between the two, that since you're one, it would be surprising if you weren't also the other. But... it's not surprising, since there's no link between the two characteristics. I was a little confused by that joke as well, to be honest. 8)

Link to post
Share on other sites
If I may step in, I think Lone meant that atheism and asexuality are not at all connected. The phrase "I may not be an atheist, but I am an aseuxal" implies that there is a connection between the two, that since you're one, it would be surprising if you weren't also the other. But... it's not surprising, since there's no link between the two characteristics. I was a little confused by that joke as well, to be honest. 8)

A cursory look at various AVEN religion/atheist threads would confirm that there is NO consensus among asexuals about religous beliefs or lack thereof. :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites
If I may step in, I think Lone meant that atheism and asexuality are not at all connected. The phrase "I may not be an atheist, but I am an aseuxal" implies that there is a connection between the two, that since you're one, it would be surprising if you weren't also the other. But... it's not surprising, since there's no link between the two characteristics. I was a little confused by that joke as well, to be honest. 8)

A cursory look at various AVEN religion/atheist threads would confirm that there is NO consensus among asexuals about religous beliefs or lack thereof. :lol:

Yeah, Myron - I just got the feeling from your post that you had sensed some implied correlation between religious belief and sexuality. As Snap-Dragon and Sally pointed out there's no connection whatsoever! (And I must admit I totally missed the joke. Still not quite sure if I get it :unsure: )

This website may be oriented toward asexuality, but that certainly doesn't mean each and every post, thread and topic must relate to it! :)

Oh, and just for the record I was posting as a member, not a moderator. My posts as moderator rarely go beyond "moving this thread to such-and-such forum" or "stop arguing guys! Don't make me lock the thread!" :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I grew up with a deep belief in God until 18 when I dared to read atheist websites. But before that everytime I isolated myself with in a dark room or in the woods for example I would in my mind, without any way to explain in words the feelings I had, had this sensation that all creation was some sort of "nothingness". I also wondered about God after watching a Timon & Pumbaa cartoon where Timon wishes for a monster he cannot destroy and I applies this same ideas to God. That would mean he is not all powerful or omniscent.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Tabula Rasa

I stopped believing in god when I realised how many rationalizations religious people, and christians in particular go through to try to prove a doctrine. I was raised in the church of christ and we were taught that people who play musical instruments are going to hell. :huh:

However, I've always had musical talent. So what am I supposed to do with it? hmm...

I hated it when people in church excluded me just to be mean, then told me, "well, god is your friend." I knew then that if god was my only friend, then life was pointless. I wanted corporeal friends!

When I left religion, I began to make a few good friends, and that's when I realised how full life is without the god bullshit.

That said, I have my own spiritual method, but I don't force it on others. I don't believe in a god per se, but in a possible force that is beyond my comprehension.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I stopped believing in god when I realised how many rationalizations religious people, and christians in particular go through to try to prove a doctrine. I was raised in the church of christ and we were taught that people who play musical instruments are going to hell. :huh:

However, I've always had musical talent. So what am I supposed to do with it? hmm...

I hated it when people in church excluded me just to be mean, then told me, "well, god is your friend." I knew then that if god was my only friend, then life was pointless. I wanted corporeal friends!

When I left religion, I began to make a few good friends, and that's when I realised how full life is without the god bullshit.

That said, I have my own spiritual method, but I don't force it on others. I don't believe in a god per se, but in a possible force that is beyond my comprehension.

Gee, my church wasn't that strict. Speaking of the hell thing, I always found the idea of heaven a bit of a turn off. I'm very much altruistic. So I always loathed the idea of being good and doing good (following and obeying god as how my church taught it) for the chance to go to heaven. So I sort of grew into associating god and all that with selfishness.

Link to post
Share on other sites
However, I've always had musical talent. So what am I supposed to do with it? hmm...

Isn't it obvious? Jam with Hendrix!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Tabula Rasa
However, I've always had musical talent. So what am I supposed to do with it? hmm...

Isn't it obvious? Jam with Hendrix!

Nah, I'd rather jam with Yoko Kanno, but thanks anyway. :P

Link to post
Share on other sites

My family was Bahai,

but they didn't force it on me.

I've never looked at religion as religion.

Or maybe It would be more correct to say that religion around where I live (Sitting in a church on sunday)

never seemed like religion to me.

I look at religion like philosophy, which usually bothers religious people.

Anyways, I'm a nihilist, a very neutrally centered nihilist.

If there *was* a god, I doubt there would be just one, as nothing is unique...

And if there are *gods* I really doubt they care about me.

Anyways, I guess I've never really believed, even when I was very young listening to my family talk about religion..

I was always more interested the people's philosophies...

Link to post
Share on other sites

I always was an atheist. Like everyone else I was born one, and unlike most I wasn't raised with religion. My mom came from a Christian family and one of her brothers is fairly Christian but I only met him as a teenager. But she was kind of Christian Agnostic and remains generally agnostic to this day. My dad was an atheist and his parents weren't religious either and apparently their parents weren't all that religious either - though this is the British side so no real surprises.

But I wasn't raised with a religion, dad could have taken me out of the religious things at school but he didin't, and he always took the view that if I wanted to join a religion that was my own choice. I just never did. No one ever gave me any decent reason to join, I'm a bit too logically minded and a bit too fond of science to just convert without proof that God exists beyond some old books and hallucinations that aren't verified to actually not be a hallucination in a scientific manner. Or even actual proof, proper proof, that the human soul exists as anything other than the human mind inside the brain and is able to 'live' separate from that when we die.

That said, if there ever is any proper proof of these things then.... maybe I'll join up. Though being the SF geek I am I'm more likely to think it's something like Q from Star Trek or the Ancients from SG-1.

Link to post
Share on other sites
redpandacyborg

I call myself an agnostic atheist because i don't personally think god's exist but as someone of science I can't rule one way absolutely. I was always like this pretty much.

Link to post
Share on other sites

When people asked me what religion I was raised up as, I reply Roman Catholic, and I get the response, "No wonder you're an atheist." I then have to proceed to explain that's not why. However, my mother's extreme religious views did oppress me quite a bit. In middle school I took to a more so agnostic stance while I researched different faiths and ideologies. The problem that I then ran into was teasing apart religion and moral values--though they can give rise to one another, people often take for granted that a person of one faith has a particular set of morals or lack thereof. I gravitated toward atheism based on my lack of religious views: I do not believe nor desire a higher power, I do not believe in nor despite an afterlife, I felt a need to be the roots for my reason for discourse and action (rather than doing something in the name of God, for instance).

Morally, I'm more comparable to the Buddhist's search for a middle-way. I seek contentment and not happiness. I strive to seperate myself from excess and negativity. I'm extremely balance oriented. (Though the question wasn't toward this part, it was important to my search.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

My parents sent me to Catholic primary and secondary schools, but they were never gung-ho religious, and I never found myself very interested in the practices of it anyway. As a kid I was charmed by the rituals of Easter and Christmas, same as most kids are charmed by "magical" things. But early in my teens when we sat in church, I started to wonder how sane it all was. All these bizarre symbols, "body of Christ" and such, I couldn't draw the line between this, and the other superstitions we looked down on and dismissed.

For most of my later teens, I half-believed in god. I thought it was comforting to imagine someone bigger than me, looking out for me and all. And I didn't see any harm in believing, anyway. It was kind of nice. But at my core, when I wasn't consciously thinking about it, I really KNEW that there was nothing out there, and that when I was dead, I'd be dead and that's it. No soul, no afterlife.

It's only in the last year or so that I've come to terms with my atheism, though. I've really put some thought into the whole religion question, and I read the most enlightening book of this year (so far), the Cambridge Companion to Atheism, and it spelt everything out for me. It basically destroyed religion (and not nastily, just logically) from every angle. It pushed any concept of god (and there were a variety!) into such a corner that to me, it's no longer even worth arguing against his/its existence, because it's so blatantly obvious that it's a sham.

Now I'm not a militant atheist. I do believe that religion has caused us much more harm than good, but I also acknowledge that Christianity, for example, played a role in getting Western civilisation (loose term, I know) where it is today. But I most definitely hold that life would be better off without religion. Because, for all of the positives of religion, I reckon it's held back the progress of humanity.

And I'm a positive atheist, in the sense that I believe there is no god (as opposed to negative atheists, who do not believe there is a god).

/end rant.

Link to post
Share on other sites
And I'm a positive atheist, in the sense that I believe there is no god (as opposed to negative atheists, who do not believe there is a god).

Unrelated musing: why do us default atheists always get the negative-sounding names? We get the bad rap on "positive" vs "negative" atheism, "strong" vs "weak" atheism and "gnostic" vs "agnostic" atheism. :( (Actually I prefer agnostic to gnostic atheism as far as the labels go, but it confuses people more.)

Link to post
Share on other sites
And I'm a positive atheist, in the sense that I believe there is no god (as opposed to negative atheists, who do not believe there is a god).

Unrelated musing: why do us default atheists always get the negative-sounding names? We get the bad rap on "positive" vs "negative" atheism, "strong" vs "weak" atheism and "gnostic" vs "agnostic" atheism. :( (Actually I prefer agnostic to gnostic atheism as far as the labels go, but it confuses people more.)

Hmm. Well. I shall respond with an unrelated musing myself..

Medically speaking, a positive diagnosis is bad. So negative isn't always.. so negative. :unsure::blush:

Link to post
Share on other sites
And I'm a positive atheist, in the sense that I believe there is no god (as opposed to negative atheists, who do not believe there is a god).

Unrelated musing: why do us default atheists always get the negative-sounding names? We get the bad rap on "positive" vs "negative" atheism, "strong" vs "weak" atheism and "gnostic" vs "agnostic" atheism. :( (Actually I prefer agnostic to gnostic atheism as far as the labels go, but it confuses people more.)

Hmm. Well. I shall respond with an unrelated musing myself..

Medically speaking, a positive diagnosis is bad. So negative isn't always.. so negative. :unsure::blush:

Your atheism test results came back positive; we have to operate immediately.

Hello to you too.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...