When did you stop believing in God and why?
What do you think about the word atheist, and the fact that there is an atheist community centred around their disbelief in a few gods among many other things they disbelieve?
Personally, Dawkins is the only 'atheist celeb/figure' that I can listen to, mostly because he isn't just an atheist but a biologist too. And I don't even agree with him all the time
Christians are also welcome to the discussion
>>27438014
Being an atheist is stupid desu, agnostic and or deist is where its at a lot of people say shit like
>Agnostics are indecisive retards
But really until you yourself die you can't say there is a 100% chance of god existing nor can you say there is a 100% chance of him not existing.
Don't think there are any christians on this board.
Bastard child reporting. Sin in the eyes of the almighty. Therefore Atheist. Why believe in something that doesn't want me around in the first place?
First thing I think of when I hear "Atheist" is fedoras. The memes consume me. Atheists, like every other subculture, is fine until you find the vocal minority. Let the sheep believe in their sky daddy. If it helps them, so be it.
>>27438067
I don't think you know much about atheism. As far as I know every atheist I've met (myself included) is a de facto atheist. As in "I can't tell you whether or not god is real but given all of the evidence provided to me the probability of a God is very very low."
>>27438256
Well if they admit its a possibility even a small one then they are by definition agnostic.
>>27438284
I don't think you know how this works. Agnostocism isn't a position in and of itself. If you do not actively believe in a god, regardless of whether or not you think a god could exist, you are an atheist.
It's a common misconception that all atheists claim no god exists. Instead, atheists just reject the claim that god exists.
i.e.
Accepting not A =/= not accepting A
If there is a god then why did all the girls in highschool reject me? checkmate
>>27438284
Not everything is black and white. No one can say definitively whether or not God is real, however I can say that all of the evidence I've been given leads me to believe he is in fact not real. To say I am an agnostic would be misleading - because it's implying that I am on the fence about whether or not God exists. Instead, I'm saying the possibility of God being real is very small, so much so that I live my life as if God didn't exist.
>>27438014
>When did you stop believing in God and why?
When I realized any "major" "religion of peace" was never peaceful.
Any religion whos goal is to purposefully and willfully convert people, can never claim to be peaceful
>>27438014
Once you study all the world religious you realize how little evidence, if any, there is for their existence
No one's ever talked to god, or seen god, it's literally a trick played by your brain. it's your own Freudian superego that most people see as god
How does one even pick the right one? They're mutually exclusive
If I were to be chrisitan it would be for cultural reasons only
>>27438562
This is what it really comes down to. Religious people on 4chan act so aggrieved, as if atheists are making them jump through all these hoops just to keep their religion, when in reality it's them who seem to want me to completely rearrange my life to fit whatever they think God wants. If God is really the ultimate authority in the whole fucking universe I don't think he needs you to snoop into my shit and tell me that the way I live my life is wrong.
>>27438014
When I was 10 or so yo or so I started to think "hm what if there wasn't a god?" "the idea of a god sounds kind of magical and bullshit I think" and other such impure thoughts
it wasnt until later that I realized I had become an atheist
the idea of a god just sounded too ridiculous for me
>>27438067
>atheist=not believing
>agnostic=not knowing
you can be both an atheist and agnostic: "I dont believe in gods but I can't really know for sure if they exist or not"
this is my position
>>27438014
>Dawkins is the only 'atheist celeb/figure' that I can listen to
Same for me, also Thunderf00t since he can be funny at times and he's a man of science, just like Dawkins.
There's a huge misconceptions that the fedora neckbeards with "debate me" t-shirts are what atheism is all about, but it couldn't be further from the truth.
>>27438014
>Christians are also welcome to the discussion
oh wow, so generous of you.
but thanks, no thanks.
call me, if Dawkins stops yapping and trying to plunge everybody into an existential crisis by trying to take away their faith which is a very important matter that always benefitted them,
actually, this guy should be in fucking jail for doing so.
>>27438844
>trying to plunge everybody into an existential crisis by trying to take away their faith
>this guy should be in fucking jail
I didnt know people could reach this level of christcuckoldry
>>27438844
>trying to plunge everybody into an existential crisis by trying to take away their faith which is a very important matter that always benefited them,
If entertaining anything outside your worldview triggers an existential crisis, you must be very weak-willed indeed
>>27438844
>having an existential crisis because you have no god to hold your hand
Seriously, how little mental fortitude do you have? Do you think atheists are constantly having an existential crisis?
>>27438956
>Do you think atheists are constantly having an existential crisis?
he's probably one of those people that argue "lmao if there is no god, why not go on a murdering spree? checkmate atheists!"
>>27438014
Because all religions in essence are the same. They have always been used as a means of controlling people. They give an excuse to madmen to do horrible things (like the brainwashing that happens in western countries as well).
Also the more I study and the higher I climb, the less religious people I meet and the more ludicrous the claims for "god" seem.
Religion is a drug for the masses. Nothing more.
Religion is a system of control. The morals and laws it purports to being the pillar of modern society are the measure by which it keeps its followers in check.
By receiving tithes, a religious establishment maintains both its financial stability and the reign it holds over people's lives.
Fear and/or love for a god-being not proven to exist aside from anecdotal, second- and third-hand evidence holds people under the sway of constant terror of being punished for all eternity in a purgatory-realm, or receiving some unexplained ultimate reward in a paradise-realm.
The above are ways religions and religious figures control the masses. If you resist or revolt, you are at best cast out and made a pariah, or at worst tortured and put to death. Both are the actions of a barbarous, unnecessarily superstitious society, and will ultimately keep humanity in the dark ages for want of not wanting to touch and then remold the face of god-hood.
>>27438612
>When I realized any "major" "religion of peace" was never peaceful.
But humans by nature are not peaceful. What exactly are you asking from religion? That they tell you to deny human nature?
>>27438067
most agnostics are atheists in practice.
When did you start believing in God and why?
>>27439044
>Religion is a system of control.
All societies require control. A group of people, no matter how small or large, need some form of control in order to function. If it's not religious that lay down laws, it's something else.
>If you resist or revolt, you are at best cast out and made a pariah, or at worst tortured and put to death
That's how all states function. Without the ability to project violence no state could survive.
When all the cool kids at school started saying they were Atheist and I wanted to fit in.
>>27439065
>But humans by nature are not peaceful. What exactly are you asking from religion? That they tell you to deny human nature?
They have no problem asking me to deny my urges for food, sex, and material wealth, and yet petty tribal violence against people who think differently is why God created guns, right?
>>27438774
>There are no christians, as far as I know, blowing up buildings.
US army does that a plenty.
>>27439116
>They have no problem asking me to deny my urges for food, sex, and material wealth,
The major religions do not do that. Regulate does not mean deny.
>>27439098
You're talking about an actual judicial system, not a theocracy.
>person breaks law
>punished by due process and court of law
>person breaks law
>put on capital trial and executed
See the difference?
>>27438014
I guess I am atheistic? Probably more agnostic
Buddha said that the world wasn't created by a god nor is it ruled by one, but he also didn't rule out the existence of one or many gods
It just doesn't matter if they exist or not
>>27438774
>>27438014
Richard Dawkins blows dick, if you want to debate the merits of atheism come up with better arguments than false equivalencies about tea pots.
>>27439192
>See the difference?
You're putting up a flawed dichotomy whereby you must choose between secularism or not having a judicial system, which is a ridiculous notion.
I never believed in god in my life. My parents aren't religious and the only contact with religion was at school were we had to go to chapel a few times a year
I looked into the major world religions and really there's no evidence at all. I only take proper first person evidence to be valid in the case of god. I've never experienced god. But I can see how one would because I've taken a lot of drugs. And I've lived with schiozs who claim to have seen (and been) god
I also extremely look down upon people who take god to exist on faith. I find it embarrassing and pathetic.
I don't claim to *know* what happens when you die, and I suppose I don't claim to know that no gods exist. But I believe that there is no afterlife, and no gods exist
I also am a solipsist, so nothing exists independent of myself, which would include god(s)
the only 'religion' I have any real interest in is buddhism, due to the promise of an end to suffergin
>>27439214
have you read the god delusion?
>>27438014
I was raised as Christian, but growing up, realised how narrow-minded most religions are (exceptions being peaceful shit like Buddhism and Shinto). I feel like religion gives you an excuse to not think too much about your life. A convenient lie of a sort, telling you to rely on some invisible greater being with their greater sense of morals and greater knowledge instead of actively using your own reasoning/mind to make sense of life. I mean sure, life without a set meaning is p shit, but it's appealing to me that you have the freedom to make your own meaning. Also fuck religion and all the shit like wars, terrorism, cults (which sucker weakminded individuals), and preach dogmatic small-mindedness.
>>27438014
>When did you stop believing in God and why?
When she betrayed me and broke my heart.
There is no such thing as love.
I used to lean towards Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley, Meister Eckhart, mysticism, and the poems of Rumi.
There is no God.
There are parasitic wasps that sting a cockroach in the brain, which blocks its octopamine receptors (equivalent to adrenaline in humans). The cockroach doesn't try to escape, and instead starts grooming itself excessively. The cockroach becomes docile. The wasp then stings the cockroach again, and its front legs fall limp. The wasp chews off some of its antenna, then drags the cockroach to a den. The wasp then lays larvae on the cockroach's belly, and buries it in dirt. The cockroach is alive during all of this. Eventually the larvae hatches, then eats the cockroach alive from inside, eating organs in a certain order so it stays alive for as many days as possible. Eventually, the larvae leaves the cockroach's empty husk.
That is the world we live in.
There is only pain and suffering and the horrors of life and death.
>"It would be better if there were nothing. Since there is more pain than pleasure on earth, every satisfaction is only transitory, creating new desires and new distresses, and the agony of the devoured animal is always far greater than the pleasure of the devourer" - Arthur Schopenhauer
>>27439189
The point still stands. If I can "regulate" my urge to masturbate harmlessly in private they can "regulate" their urge to murder innocent people for believing the wrong things.
>>27439044
>if you resist and revolt you are made a pariah
>or put to death
Where do you live nigger?
Because it sure as hell isn't America or Europe if you truly believe that drivel you just spouted.
>muh social control
>I'm so enlightened
Glib arguments that you hear from any left wing leaning parasite in high school.
>>27439245
>using your own reasoning/mind to make sense of life
>implying this is possible
>implying life isn't fundamentally absurd
>>27438014
>around 10 years old
>have been praying every single night for a while now
>parents start fighting
>I now not only pray for world peace, but also to ask god for help regarding my parents
>their relationship deteriorates more and more as years pass, father beats mother on an almost daily basis
>god doesn't do shit
>start hating god and cursing his name
>nothing bad happens to me
>sudden realization that god doesn't exist/doesn't care
Whether god exists or not doesn't matter to me anymore. If he does exist, then I'll deal with the consequences when the time comes, but for now, he has absolutely no relevance in my life.
I'm so tired of trying to convince the religious that there is no god of any kind. I hope every retard who believes in a man in the sky one day comes the the realization that they've been talking to themselves the whole time.
>>27439247
Secularism isn't about pain and suffering it's about respecting science and freethinking.
>>27438774
Dawkins should realize that new atheists like himself have led to the decline of Christianity and the rise of Islam.
They spent all their life attacking the devil they knew, only to see the devil they didn't know take its place.
>>27438956
>Do you think atheists are constantly having an existential crisis?
No, because atheists don't care about anyone or anything. They are amoral hedonists.
>>27439441
Bullshit, Dawkins criticizes islam as well as christianity
he called out le clock kid and had a massive backlash
>>27439044
Yes, religion is a means of control, as a way to control women's innate biological hypergamy.
If women's hypergamy is not kept in check, society becomes unstable.
>>27439230
Why do you think so many schizos claim to be God?
Also, one person argues that 3,000 years ago, all humans were schizo.
>>27439460
>They are amoral hedonists.
In my experience many chrisitans are amoral hedonists. they don't practice what they preach
You cannot generalize
>>27439354
In pantheism, where God is the only thing that exists, every person who prays is talking to themself.
Even atheists insists that God is something else, somewhere else.
>>27438067
You can't be 100% certain that anything outside your own mind exists. 100% certainty is a red herring dangled before idiots by sophists.
Even if we knew with 100% certainty that a god of some kind actually did exist, that wouldn't actually tell us anything. If tomorrow it was proven beyond any possible doubt that some kind of god existed, that alone would be no reason for anyone to act any differently.
The so-called agnostic position isn't actually tenable in practice. On sunday you either go to church, or not. Replace the ritual as necessary for the religion in question. You either act as if a god exists, or not. There is no in between. I can't know with 100% certainty that there aren't invisible monsters waiting to eat me right outside my house. I still leave my house.
"Agnostics" make creationists sound reasonable by comparison.
>>27439385
A lot of theists respect science and a lot of scientists, now and throughout history, have been theists.
Europe has grown more and more secular. By attacking Christianity and promoting tolerance (usually for gays), atheists have allowed Islam to invade. And these people *actually* discriminate against gays, by throwing them off buildings.
>>27439482
Sure. Sam Harris really criticizes Islam. But atheists don't realize that atheism is no antidote to Islam, Christianity is.
>Zizek prescribes a dose of Christianity to an anemic and largely impotent Left he diagnoses as suffering from a debilitating malady - postmodern ethical relativism.
>>27439537
Suppose many Christians are amoral hedonists.
An atheist could not argue that how they live is wrong.
Even if an atheist accused a Christian of hypocrisy, an atheist has no foundation to say hypocrisy is wrong.
In most cases, the biggest "sins" to atheists and liberals seem to be hypocrisy, and being "bored." Like when Sam Harris debated a Muslim and refused to release it because he later deemed the conversation "boring."
>>27438067
obvious troll or obviously rutarded
>>27439682
>i don't believe in god, therefore I have no morals
>hurr durr hurr durr hurr durr
>>27439725
Why do you have morals?
A cockroach is atheist. Does a cockroach have morals? A shark is atheist. Does a shark have morals?
>>27438014
Christianity is wrong but I really do hope that there are gods, souls, higher planes and all manner of other celestial stuff.
>>27439682
What? You do understand you can have morals without having religion right? If you were an amoral hedonist I'd call you and think of you as an annoying cunt. The only difference is that when we both die nothing happens after. You're gone forever and so am I. If you chose to spend that life being a fucking cunt or a hedonist that accomplishes little and contributes nothing then I guess you fucked it up and you don't get another shot, good try mate but you failed at life.
>biggest sins to atheists and liberals seem to be hypocrisy and being bored
lol do you just make stuff up?
>>27439756
A cockroach and a shark aren't atheist, i honestly doubt they ever asked themselves if god exists or not or that they're even capable of forming that kind of opinion.
Also do you really not know what ethics are?
>>27439780
There are many things I hope are true, but I acknowledge that they probably aren't
>>27439756
how do you know that those animals are atheists? do you have special access to their thoughts that the rest of us don't?
>>27438014
Parents weren't religious, so I was never exposed to it. I don't make a big deal about it, it's just never been part of my life.
All these nu-atheists who spout there enlightened bullshit and I'm just here like 'yeah, isn't that obvious?'.
>>27439756
Great apes and other inteligent animals can create codes of conduct, does that mean they believe in god too?
>>27438014
when i was in middle school
>inb4 fedora
>how can the earth be created in 7 days when we have scientific proof that debunks that
>how could moses possibly fit all species of land animals in a boat
>etc
>>27439805
Why have morals?
Even if someone is an annoying cunt, how can you say that's wrong? Why should anyone be cared about what annoys you?
By what standard can you say that people who spend their life being fucking cunts or hedonists "fucked it up" and "failed at life"?
Take corporations for example. Corporations are basically atheist entities that have only one goal: making more money. And many people on Wall Street basically live like fucking cunts and hedonists.
An atheist claiming anything is "wrong" has no moral standing, except their own hominid brain. But why should anyone give a fuck what the chemicals in your brain are doing?
>lol do you just make stuff up?
Sam Harris:
>We spoke for nearly four hours and it was a terrible conversation. Unfortunately, it was terrible in a way that wasn't at all interesting. So rather than inflict this boredom on you, I decided to cut my losses and move on...In the end I just couldn't bear to put out a three-hour podcast, which I knew would bore people to death...Being boring is the one unforgivable sin in this space, and boy, were we both boring.
It makes sense that hedonists would see boredom as a sin.
>>27439872
That's the saddest part, isn't it. Reality can't match up to human imagination, no matter what the normies say. Nothing you ever see will be better than what you could have imagined.
But things can be worse than what you imagined. Which is doubly sad.
Religion is really just another form of culture when it's not taken to extremes. Many people use church as a place to meet good people and participate in a community. Traditionally religious was also used to control people. Personally I don't believe a god exists but I'll defend a normal person who believes in god over somebody who thinks they're so much smarter for being atheists, it's very anoying and unecessary.
>>27439805
>qhen did you stop?
Never started fampai. Family's not religious. Country atheist. No problem acknowledging my own insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe and no need to validate my own existence with organised religion tbqh
>>27439850
Atheism is a lack of belief in God. That's how atheists define atheism.
Cockroaches don't believe in God. All cockroaches are atheist.
Sharkes don't believe in God. All sharks are atheist.
Humans are the only animals that believe in God, based on all available evidence. There is no evidence that any non-human believes in God, making all non-humans atheist. For all we know, the entire universe, except for some people on Earth, is atheist.
Being an atheist, doesn't require asking about God, it's merely lack of belief in God. Making cancer atheist, and viruses, and bullets, etc.
It takes no effort to be atheist. Every rock is an atheist. The bolide that killed the dinosaurs were atheist. Every dinosaur was atheist.
And I know what ethics are, but nobody cares about those.
For example, scientists are always talking about ethics, like concerncing CRISP gene editing or whatever, but science doesn't really care, technology doesn't care. Technology is atheist, and is only concerned with what is possible, not what is ethical. People can argue that it's unethical to use a bullet to murder someone, but technology is only about what is now possible due to its invention. People can argue that it's unethical to use explosives to blow up an airport terminal, but once humans invented explosives, the genie was let out of the bottle, and ethics become irrelevant.
>>27439883
There is no evidence that any non-human animals believe in God. Isn't that why atheists reject God? The lack of evidence?
>>27439938
>"why have morals?"
>Not knowing what categorical imperative and utilitarianism are
>Citing Sam Harris as the voice of all atheists
howdoiholdallofthesekeks.jpeg
Call me fedora if you want but it all comes down to the fact that the vast majority of people really do need a religion to be decent human beings. Most countries have a 2 digit average IQ.
I'm all for christianity as long as it makes apes act in a semi-civilized manner. It's either this or islam.
>>27439921
A lot of animals have norms, patterns of behavior. That's merely evidence of conformity and herd mentality, not evidence of belief in God.
The difference is that humans use God as an authority to settle disputes about behavior.
If a man says "murder is wrong because I say so", he can be murdered by others. But if a man says "murder is wrong because a higher authority says so", suddenly all humans are subject to a higher authority, not just another man's opinion. The law functions the same way as a "higher power" that all humans are subject to. But if there is no God, morality is merely a matter of popular opinion (which can change) and a fantasy of mortal primate hominids.
>>27440028
Correct me if i'm wrong but as far as i know sharks, cockroaches, bullets, circuits or rocks don't have the amount of sentience a human has. It's a lack of opinion, not a lack of belief.
Also what you stated about ethics is completely irrelevant, you were arguing that people who don't believe in a god can't have moral codes. You're probably trying to move the goalposts.
>>27438014
I never really believed in god, I only went to church when I was young for my mother's sake
>>27440059
What about them?
>Kant argued, hypothetical moral systems cannot persuade moral action or be regarded as bases for moral judgments against others, because the imperatives on which they are based rely too heavily on subjective considerations.
>a utilitarian says that murder is wrong because it does not maximize good for those involved, but this is irrelevant to people who are concerned only with maximizing the positive outcome for themselves.
Does life require morals? Life has existed for 4 billion years on this planet. Do you think cells have morals?
>When did you stop believing in God
probably when I was 12
>why?
my mom worked at a church, I went to a private Christian school, and had to spend most of my time around Christian folk and their snotty kids. I slowly started noticing all he hypocrisy and hate that came from it, plus that a lot of the things they said just flat out didn't make sense. as I grew up this feeling intensified and I became the black sheep of the family, and my school at the time. that didn't really help
>What do you think about the word atheist, and the fact that there is an atheist community centred around their disbelief in a few gods among many other things they disbelieve?
I don't call myself an atheist because honestly, I don't fucking care. I don't care what other people are arguing over, I don't care what other people worship, I don't care. I just want them to leave me alone
>>27440131
Atheism is lack of belief in God, it doesn't require sentience at all, because it's LACK of belief. So by definition, everything that lacks sentience (or can't believe anything) is also atheist, because it would be impossible for it to BELIEVE in God.
I didn't say that atheists can't have moral codes. I asked why have them? Any moral code an atheist personally invents is as much a fantasy as any God (except usually more than one person believes in a deity).
You could argue that a rock, which is atheist because it physically CANNOT believe in God, is different than a human atheist, who has perhaps considered God and doesn't believe in it, but wondering about God is not a requirement to be atheist, lack of belief in God is.
>>27439585
Hate this.
Every time i think of anything philosophy, no matter how much research i have done.
No matter how many hours spent thinking about it.
>I still live in the phaneron
>I will never know anything.
>>27440195
>still not knowing what categorical imperative is
Lel
>>27440387
Did dinosaurs have a "categorical imperative"?
>>27438219
>The memes consume me.
>>27439065
>What exactly are you asking from religion?
To not claim to be peaceful, when it's a lie
