Thanks for creating a forum with real debate!

[Gilgamesh]

Nice, a thread where we all get to pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves how great we all are!

Religious - or lack there of - specified forums, in a nutshell.

[Aractus]

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I appreciate what you guys are doing on this forum, how you have real debate and let Christians voice their views. It shows that you are committed to our common goal of understanding the world. I have been on other atheist boards where I was banned just for presenting a Christian perspective, also, IRC channels. Thanks for being true to atheist principles.

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You need to create yourself an avatar bro!

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

Atheism is not at all a mere absence of belief in Gods. Of course people are free to create their own definition of words, but this definition is intentionally vague and leaves out the extremely political undertones of the atheist movement. Atheism is a carefully planned out plan to unseat the power of the Christian church in Western civilization and replace it with secular authority. It has succeed in Russia and throughout the world in the form of Communism, which Marxist's like Stephen J Gould and Christopher Hitchens have denounced (but still are sympathetic to Marxist views).

I had no idea I was a member of a large, organized, planned attempt to subvert a single, specific religion.

We meet Friday nights at Hooters. You didn't get your invite?

[KichigaiNeko]

Atheism is not at all a mere absence of belief in Gods. Of course people are free to create their own definition of words, but this definition is intentionally vague and leaves out the extremely political undertones of the atheist movement. Atheism is a carefully planned out plan to unseat the power of the Christian church in Western civilization and replace it with secular authority. It has succeed in Russia and throughout the world in the form of Communism, which Marxist's like Stephen J Gould and Christopher Hitchens have denounced (but still are sympathetic to Marxist views).

I had no idea I was a member of a large, organized, planned attempt to subvert a single, specific religion.

We're WHAT? Fuck I never get any of the memos anymore!

[Ryantology]

You have a picture of Bertrand Russell as your avatar. Give me a break. Did you post in the ecstasy thread too about how Christians are fools because they think atheists are drug users?

The last time I attended my Atheist church supper, I don't remember Bert laying out an agenda or issuing directions. In fact, I don't remember him at all because he died long before I was born. I use his likeness as my avatar foremost because he was a brilliant and awesome guy. That he was non-religious is beside the point.

I don't know if I posted in that thread or not, but there are many more fundamental reasons Christians are fools outside of any belief that atheism and drug use have any causal link.

[Ben Davis]

No I'm not. You are intentionally defining a term to obscure the fact that those two movements come out of the same people, with the same funding, and the same culture. You are creating a definition of a term to make atheism appear like it has come out of thin air.

Ahhh, so it's deliberate intellectual dishonesty then.

The definition of atheism is very easy to demonstrate. The question is 'Do you believe in any theistic propositions?'. If your answer is 'Yes', you're a theist. If your answer is not 'Yes' (i.e. anything else other than 'Yes'), you're an atheist. Consequently, the umbrella of atheists is so large and consists of so many other beliefs, some fundamentally contradictory, that there can be no 'atheist' group identity extrapolated and any attempt to do so is fundamentally flawed. Further, your attempt to draw connections between atheism & action is laughable because people's actions are informed by their beliefs (amongst other things) and not their lack of one particular belief.

Your central piece of evidence is a dictionary definition. Don't you realize that people write dictionaries and have their own motivations for doing so?

What has that got to do with the fact that the etymologically accurate definition of 'atheism' is clear & well understood? Your attempt to divert attention is poor, obvious and I'll not fall for it.

Why can't you see that what you are doing is extremely political and is intentionally avoiding a real appreciation of the nature of the atheist movement?

Because it's not and it isn't. If you think that it is then your perceptions are awry due to your continued conflation of issues. To put it another way, when your input data is so confused, your analysis will likely be flawed and your conclusions will likely be wrong. Crap in, crap out.

[Brian37]

I appreciate what you guys are doing on this forum, how you have real debate and let Christians voice their views. It shows that you are committed to our common goal of understanding the world. I have been on other atheist boards where I was banned just for presenting a Christian perspective, also, IRC channels. Thanks for being true to atheist principles.

Ok good that you can handle the heat, but please and I have seen this before, people say nice things like this but when they get hit with the heat, sometimes run away from it. Just separate your claims from you, the individual and understand when we attack your claims we are not saying you are a bad person, we are merely saying you got it wrong.

But like others have said, there are no "atheist principles". We are all individuals as a species, no mater our labels. Atheists are as much a range of thoughts and politics and personalities as any other label.

Once you spend enough time here you will find out there are atheists you like and atheists you don't like. You will find us disagreeing as much as we disagree with you.

Atheism is not a religion or gang or political worldview. It is merely the "off position" on claims of god/s.

[Mister Agenda]

Ever change the word 'atheism' in a post about what atheism is about to 'theism' and observe that it still doesn't make sense?

[Lion IRC]

...But like others have said, there are no "atheist principles".

I think there are atheist principles. Fundamental, dogmatic atheist principles.

Note my post #12.
Rationalism and enlightenment principles are not uniquely atheistTM principles because atheists can be deliberately ignorant, irrational and unenlightened about their own atheism. Atheism is attended by dogmatic a priori assumptions and illogical assertions. It can certainly be shown to be every bit as much of a faith-based worldview as those which atheism condemns as irrational.

...Atheism is not a religion or gang or political worldview. It is merely the "off position" on claims of god/s.

The ''off-position'' is the diametrical OPPOSITE of the ''on-position''. It's not a neutral agnostic position.

I think your personal view of what atheism is and is not, (like my personal view) is an individual view not a collective view held by all/most atheists.

You can speak for yourself. And there might be tons of individuals who happen to agree with you. But you cant speak on behalf of all atheists in this respect.

The ''off position'' does not write books full of atheist counter-apologetics. The ''off-position'' does not stage global conventions to talk about the atheist world view.

[CleanShavenJesus]

^ That isn't a representation of all atheists, just like the WBC doesn't represent all Christians.

I find that the majority of atheists (such as myself) don't subscribe to any sort of movement or perspective or whatnot that in any way is in relation with their atheism. I find that many just have a lack of belief in a god, and that's that. And that's what atheism should be. Just that. IMO.