Why did atheism only develop and become widespread in the Christian world? Does this fact undermine the credibility of Christianity?
>>1416262
It didn't.
Atheism was present in Indian and East Asian religious thinking. Especially the Latter since to the Chinese, the """""""Gods""""" were accepted as aloof of mortal concerns and that man must carry things in his own end (i,e, justice, morality, propriety etc.)
>>1416262
>Does this fact undermine the credibility of Christianity?
It goes to Christianity's credit for making people reasonable and stepping aside
>>1416262
Because Islam still lives in the middle ages. They kill everybody that claims to be an atheist.
Besides only atheists in USA are absolute edgy retards. Every atheist i met in Europe is just a normalfag and doesn't force his choice on religious people.
The prime minister of my country is atheist. Nobody gives a shit.
>>1416269
They still believed in the supernatural though, or different spirits that they didn't call gods. By atheism, I mean the complete rejection of the supernatural, including spirits, souls or afterlife. Some buddhists for example don't believe in gods, but still believe in reincartnation and such, and we don't call them atheists.
>>1416262
You're thinking of the scared and insanely butthurt logical positivists who revived a nasty, virulent form of atheism no different from the """"""""""""""""""""christians"""""""""""""""""""" who form the Tea Party in 2001 after September 11.
Atheism, however, has been around since the ancient Greeks.
>>1416271
It does, if you are an atheist. That's why Dawkins calls himself a cultural christian and sees Christianity as a lesser evil compared to Islam. But if we assume there is a god and one religion is right, it's probably a bad sign that so many people who grew up in a christian culture eventually come to the conclusion that their religion is false, and there is no God.
It's called Cuckstianity for a reason OP.
>>1416273
That's because the USA is religiously more zealous than western Europe. I've met middle eastern atheists and they're pretty edgy about religion too, they just can't express it in public.
>>1416286
Or, you can pull a Calvin and say the unbelievers are reprobates, and it's all part of God's plan.
>>1416300
Well, it must suck to be atheist in the muslim world.
>>1416262
>atheism has existed for millennia
>some famous greek philosophers were atheists and parts of their work has survived
BUT Y ARE ATHIESTS ONLY IN CHRISTAN WORLD REEEEE
>>1416286
That just makes the people who believe in God more worthy.
If there is no other choice but to believe, are you really a believer?
>>1416262
Notice how Protestants are becoming Athiests on a larger scale than Catholics
What caused that?
>>1416364
Because protestant churches are fucking boring as shit, they really fucking are
>>1416262
Atheism has always existed as long as there have been religions, so no. The East is also more atheist than the Christian West, so the "credibility" of Christianity isn't really relevant. If the West was Buddhist and the east Christian you'd be complaining about Buddhism "lacking credibility" compared to Christianity.
You only see atheism in more developed countries, like Germany or Japan, because of the material conditions that allowed them to become successful. These conditions by consequence allowed people more personal leisure, which in turn allowed them the time and facilities to re-assess and discard values no longer essential to their survival. Religiosity is *generally* stronger in people who are subject to harsh conditions and need spirituality to truck on through the day - Afghanistan, for instance. When you're well-fed, healthy and safe, God can kind of fade into the background of your life.
>>1416389
...however, this is not to say that religion has become outmoded and irrelevant in the west, like an old sock you throw out once it becomes threadbare. What functions do religions serve, in general?
>explanatory power for natural phenomena
>order and stability for society
>meaning and guidance
The first two roles are, of course, largely fulfilled by modern society and the modern scientific method, but the secondary purpose of religion as guidance and meaning still exists and are often malnourished needs in former Christian (and Buddhist, Shinto...) dominions. When you take our traditional religious spirituality, SOMETHING has to fill the gap in the individual, social consciousness. The power vacuum permits disreputable orders to rush in, like anarchy after a revolution seeing to the rise of a rotten-hearted strongman or despot. When people push out religion and hastily push in something else to quell the void before it howls too loudly, you get Robspierre's "Cult of the Supreme Being", Bolshevik zealotry, or the cringeworthy Technology-worshipping dispositions of capital A Atheists.
>>1416359
>If there is no other choice but to believe, are you really a believer?
A believer in irresistible grace and the bondage of the will.
>>1416432
Pretty much any scholar of comparative mythology has recognized the "spiritual need" but none have succeeded in fabricating a one-size-fits-all, glossy-edged Religion 2.0(tm) to effectively slake it. These things must develop organically, or else they'll fall flat and fail like a forced meme on one of the boards here.
I live in Turkey, there are quite many atheists here actually.
Even met with a fellow discordian once.
Not everyone is muslim in islamic countries. It's just showed that way.
>>1416262
Christians are tolerant people, so they tolerate atheism when other cultures/religions would not. It could also be that because the most developed countries are Europe christian nations which promote the sciences, debating issues is always common, and the Internet provides the perfect platform and source of opinions.
>>1416353
I think he means that atheism has become remarkably common in modern christian countries
>>1416364
My guess would be that being Catholic is more culturally binding. Protestant churches are architecturally plain with few or no rituals and no central guidance. Also people who may not believe in God would still call themselves Catholic because it's part of their cultural identity.
>>1416262
Because the western trade routes made Europe unimaginably rich for those times which made society suddenly notice materiality and focus on it. This translated to a rejecton of anything that cannot be effeciently measured to create valid predictions.
>>1416281
Why would you say logical positivists revived atheism?
The fact philosophy and religion became separate in the west.
>>1416445
This woman understands it.
>>topic
I think it was the book "Big Gods" that the poor tend to be more religious.
>>1416262
Except Japan, Korea and China have atheists all over the place. Especially in China since atheism is basically state-endorsed.
>>1416463
How many people are openly atheist in Turkey? It's punishable by death and while Turkey isn't Iraq, it has it's share of religious nutcases.
>>1416262
Atheism is the norm for Buddhists, and many Chinese schools of thought are atheistic.
>>1417248
From what I hear Islam in Turkey is much the same as Christianity in America. There's more than a few fundamentalists but for the most part it's not very important to most people.
>>1416262
Christianity, in spite of terrible maymay from fedoras, is the thing that desacralized everything.
>>1417248
>How many people are openly atheist in Turkey? It's punishable by death
Where do people get these ill-informed opinions from?
Turkey does not have the death penalty for being an atheist.
>>1417318
I was killed for being an atheist in Turkey.
P.S. hell exists.
>>1416277
Reincarnation is not supernatural in Buddhism. It shouldn't even be called reincarnation, since this has Hindu overtones that are certainly supernatural. It's simply rebirth.
There is no 'soul' or essence that transmigrates. It is simply the illusion of awareness and consciousness that arises in humans.
Idiot.
>>1416364
Most Catholics - even in the developed world - are merely culturally Catholic. They aren't particularly devout or observant or invested in the beliefs of the religion, merely practicing because it's a cultural tradition: going to Church on Christmas and saying the credo is as much part of the tradition as giving presents and having a gathering. There is no real conviction.
Hardly classifies as 'faithful'.
Notice how anti-clericalism arises in mostly Catholic countries. Italy, France (formerly), Mexico and Brazil, Spain...
>>1416262
Because christians are educated people living in alright or rich countries,while muslims are dumb shithole dwellers
>>1416328
Psalm 14:1 says unbelievers are reprobates
>>1416364
Satan doesn't need to attack his own
>>1417364
It most definitely is, karma is a spiritual force, and it can be effected through ritual.
And while the soul is impermanent your actions directly effect the karma which in tern influences the next life down the line
>>1418189
Kharma in the Buddhist tradition is a natural process of cause and effect. It is not some supernatural agency or determinant.
There is no 'self' that is reborn, because the self is an illusion. Karma and rebirth simply mean awareness - and thus, suffering - will continue to arise in beings.
>>1417213
Because the BIG 4 Logical Positivists of this chunk of history put out a series of similar books that became popular with a group of younger people that had been exposed to religiously-motivated terrorism, aka 9/11, which also shook their comfy little echo chambers.
The publication of The God Delusion, Dennet's books, Sam Harris' anti-religion books and Christopher Hitchen's chickenscratchings basically laid the groundwork for a new wave of atheism, whom we call 'fedoras'.
>>1418199
karma is cause and effect but its not a materialistic cause and effect. circa ambulation of relics can be used to accrue good karma
While the soul is impermanent as is any sense of self, that does not mean elements are not passed on. If you drop a cup of water into the ocean, and scoop out anther cup, parts of the first are in the second.
And that is not even getting into some of the more esoteric traditions
