I think where we are missing each other defining atheism , is that from what I read here, it is as absolute in its disbelief as its theism counterpart is in its belief.

I dont see anyone on here saying "I dont know" ... it is all "there is NO WAY A GOD COULD EXIST, because it cant be proven?

And while I dont believe any of the current theories .... I open myself to the thought that man once KNEW the earth was flat, and he KNEW the earth was the center of the universe .... he was eventually proven wrong!

I just want to be open to the possibility that we are all wrong about it all !!! is that too much to ask ?? its been the case before you ???

I will not lump the words "God or afterlife" in with "spirit or soul", and the point is to eliminate the metaphors !

Soo, Let me ask a direct question, not only to you , but to "the entire atheist community" .... WITHOUT leading back to any theism known thus far .....

What animates the body ... until it doesn't?

Doc

I'm out of my my meme generator quota so I'll have to wait till tomorrow to do an "atheism has no opinion on whether it's cool or not" one :p

Being cool is something I've never had to worry about.

---

(February 20, 2015 at 8:25 am)Wychdoctyr Wrote: I think where we are missing each other defining atheism , is that from what I read here, it is as absolute in its disbelief as its theism counterpart is in its belief.

I dont see anyone on here saying "I dont know" ... it is all "there is NO WAY A GOD COULD EXIST, because it cant be proven?

And while I dont believe any of the current theories .... I open myself to the thought that man once KNEW the earth was flat, and he KNEW the earth was the center of the universe .... he was eventually proven wrong!

I just want to be open to the possibility that we are all wrong about it all !!! is that too much to ask ?? its been the case before you ???

I will not lump the words "God or afterlife" in with "spirit or soul", and the point is to eliminate the metaphors !

Soo, Let me ask a direct question, not only to you , but to "the entire atheist community" .... WITHOUT leading back to any theism known thus far .....

What animates the body ... until it doesn't?

Doc

Perhaps my article isn't clear enough, atheism and theism respond to the question of belief. Do you believe there is a god. It doesn't ask about what you know, at all. By default neither a theist nor atheist is claiming any knowledge at all.

If you use a different definition for atheist, then I would no longer be one!

Unfortunately, if you go to dictionaries and other sources, various versions get thrown around and gnostic atheism gets confused with atheism.

Theism is a belief in god. A-theism is lacking a belief in god. It doesn't even mean you believe there isn't a god, let alone claim to know there isn't.

(February 20, 2015 at 8:25 am)Wychdoctyr Wrote: [...]
Soo, Let me ask a direct question, not only to you , but to "the entire atheist community" .... WITHOUT leading back to any theism known thus far .....

What animates the body ... until it doesn't?

Doc

A complex, multi-level system of chemical reactions and electrical impulses, shaped and fine-tuned by environment, through evolution, in accordance with laws of physics.
Is there an actual, rather than metaphorical "soul"? I don't know. But there doesn't seem to be a "mechanical" need for it, or any evidence of its existence so far.

(February 20, 2015 at 8:25 am)Wychdoctyr Wrote: What animates the body ... until it doesn't?

ok , so if this is the atheist forum ....

and being a atheist is by definition "not believing a god exist" ...

there sure is a shit load of typing on here about what atheist "believe" ....

so let me try again from a purely inquisitive angle ....

what does an atheist believe animates the body .... until it doesn't ?

certainly someone claiming to represent the entire community could offer an opinion (is that a better word) ?

p.s, maybe now you can see why ive been experienced difficulty discussing these things everywhere else, I feel like I'm just asking a question or making a point and I just cant seem to do it without landing in a confrontation or at least just giving up and throwing up my hands

Doc

---

(February 20, 2015 at 8:41 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote:

(February 20, 2015 at 8:25 am)Wychdoctyr Wrote: [...]
Soo, Let me ask a direct question, not only to you , but to "the entire atheist community" .... WITHOUT leading back to any theism known thus far .....

What animates the body ... until it doesn't?

Doc

A complex, multi-level system of chemical reactions and electrical impulses, shaped and fine-tuned by environment, through evolution, in accordance with laws of physics.
Is there an actual, rather than metaphorical "soul"? I don't know. But there doesn't seem to be a "mechanical" need for it, or any evidence of its existence so far.

the evidence is that you could think that sentence and type it ... and thank you !!!!! for the I don't know !! Doc

Well, there is no atheist stance, that's the thing. There's no agreement, it's down to the individual. So no one can speak for the community. Atheism is simply the response to one question about belief, everything else is down to the individual basis.

I believe nothing animates the body further than the chemical/physical processes involved.

Do I know this? No.

sure seems like those chemical process fight like hell to stay in that piece of dirt .... aware if they are trapped in a burning car ...

But I guess I'll keep reading .....

Thanks for your patience

Doc

No problem! To be honest, I'm not sure what you're driving at. I would say this is a question no one has a definitive answer to yet.

It seems electrical impulses send signals around the body and it keeps on jiving. Once something happens to stop all these signals, activity stops.

(February 20, 2015 at 9:23 am)robvalue Wrote: No problem! To be honest, I'm not sure what you're driving at. I would say this is a question no one has a definitive answer to yet.

It seems electrical impulses send signals around the body and it keeps on jiving. Once something happens to stop all these signals, activity stops.

It was understandable in antiquity tha that humans gap filled with all sorts of polytheistic and monotheistic god claims, the Egyptians had claims of afterlife and judgment too.

But now that evolution and DNA and science says life is finite, it would be just as absurd to think your computer could still function as if it were fully in tact if you smashed it to bits with a sledge hammer.

Life after I die will be exactly like it was before I was born. Humans are as finite as trees, and cockroaches and dinosaurs. We are as finite as the planet and sun. "All this" is a blip in a giant uncaring ride that will have no record of our existence after the sun dies. Yea, not comforting to think about, but that does not make one fatalistic to accept it and deal with the time we have now.

Right, in my opinion, life is nothing special. Some stuff moves around more than other stuff, but it's all just physics and chemistry. We're built from the same stuff as non-life, just in different configurations.

The mystery to me is consciousness, it seems paradoxical and impossible to get round because it seems to separate "me" (consciousness) from "my body" (brain). But scientifically I see no basis for them to be separate. It's some sort of product of the way the brain works, is my best guess. "Where" it is, is the question... but the question probably doesn't even make sense.