RE: Christians and Their Homework!
March 1, 2018 at 3:20 pm
(This post was last modified: March 1, 2018 at 4:10 pm by stretch3172.)
(March 1, 2018 at 12:59 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote:(March 1, 2018 at 12:50 pm)stretch3172 Wrote: I am majoring in theological studies at an evangelical seminary. Also, the assumption that there is no god or spiritual existence will influence how you respond to a number of other philosophical questions, just as the assumption that there is a god does.
Most don't assume there is no god, we just go with what the evidence tells us.
Since nothing supernatural has ever been proven to exist then anything that requires the supernatural to be a thing is a t best unproven but more likely complete hogwash.
That's a fair point. But consider this: our five senses are obviously quite limited compared to those of other animals. Similarly, all quantitative, empirical measurements must be based on a limited number of significant figures because our scientific instruments are only accurate to a certain mathematical degree. There's no problem with going in favor of evidence, but our "evidence" is based on our extremely limited means of perceiving reality. To believe in spiritual reality is simply to believe that something exists that transcends our ability to perceive it by natural means. Sure, that's not a proof in itself, but you could argue that it's likely.
(March 1, 2018 at 12:51 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote:stretch3172 Wrote:It's simply the final paper of a course I am taking called "Understanding Cultures and Worldviews." The goal is to accurately understand the worldviews of atheists and agnostics in terms of social structures, ontology, epistemology, and axiology (ethics) and describe said worldviews in their own words. My undergraduate degree is in philosophy (with an anthropology minor) from the University of South Carolina. My master's paper will be an exegetical project on the book of Hebrews.
Thank you for engaging, stretch, that goes a long way with me. It's not helping people with their homework that bugs me so much as them running off without engaging in any dialogue with us.
I went to USC as well!
I understand that. And nice! It's a great school once you get around the terrible parking lol.
(March 1, 2018 at 1:15 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote:stretch3172 Wrote:Yep. Fortunately, my prof gave us permission to study ideological groups as well as ethnic ones.
It's not an ideology, either. It a single opinion on a single topic. So is theism. One opinion does not a belief system, ideology, or religion make. It might help to think of the 'ism' in atheism and theism to be like the 'ism' in albinism or metabolism: a condition or state of being. Atheism is the condition of not holding a belief in a deity and theism is the condition of holding such a belief. If all you know about someone is that they're a theist, do you know what their culture, ideology, or religion is? They could be a Buddhist (not all of them), a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a deist, or a 'mere theist' who does not practice any religion, just believes there is some sort of God and so on.
An atheist could be a Buddhist, communist, a humanist, a rational skeptic, a 'cultural Christian', a Unitarian, etc.
Atheism and theism can be features of a culture, ideology, or religion, but they are not any those things in themselves. The only thing all atheists have in common is that they don't believe in any God or gods, and the only thing all theists have in common is that they all believe at least one god or God is real.
However, there is a social movement, sometimes called the 'atheist movement' that encompasses several things, but you don't have to be an atheist to be in it or support it. It's an umbrella term for a group of ideas and activism that typically includes the idea that atheists should be treated equally in the eyes of the law and not be discriminated against, barred from public office, bullied, or harassed. It naturally goes hand in hand with the idea that separation of government and religion (political secularism) is a good idea. A lot (but not all) of people who could be described as 'supporting the movement' also promote reasonable skepticism, avoidance of conspiracy theories and quack medical practices, and social justice for minorities and women. You can be a devout Christian, Hindu, or Muslim and support all of that; but atheists are definitely the majority. That might be the 'atheist culture' you're thinking of, but the majority of atheists are not part of it, though the majority of atheists on this forum might be considered part of it. Most atheists don't even hang out on sites like this, or really do anything but live their lives like anyone else except for not going to church, and some of us even do that. Like many others I was an atheist without reference to Dawkin's 'The God Delusion'.
You see much less of this kind of 'atheist movement' in the UK because atheists face much less judgmentalism and resistance there. Atheist groups on Meetup would be much less common if American culture didn't treat atheists in such a way that they are often 'in the closet'.
Maybe some of this information will be useful for your assignment. Full disclosure: I consider myself an atheistic humanist rational skeptic Unitarian who thinks there is merit in Buddhism and some of the teachings attributed to Jesus.
stretch3172 Wrote:I am majoring in theological studies at an evangelical seminary. Also, the assumption that there is no god or spiritual existence will influence how you respond to a number of other philosophical questions, just as the assumption that there is a god does.
It's more of a conclusion than an assumption, for those of us who used to be theists, at least.
I know atheists who believe in ghosts, atheists who believe in reincarnation, and atheists who believe in astrology. Could you be more specific on what philosophical questions in which merely not believing in God (or gods) influences one's response? Clearly being an atheist doesn't require metaphysical naturalism, for instance. Besides the philosophical question 'is there a God', or philosophical questions that presume God, what do you mean?
As I said, I understand that there will be many drastic contextual differences between each individual atheist, and these differences will be numerous and complex. That said, I am attempting to focus primarily on the worldviews themselves, and I will simply have to address those specific differences in religion, culture, background, etc. as I come to them. Also, I am also including agnostics (both theistic and atheistic) in my project, and I am also looking at their different epistemological standards as well.
Concerning your question: I believe the most obvious philosophical area in which atheism is relevant is axiology (ethics). To the Christian, ethical concepts such as right and wrong, just an unjust, good and evil, etc. are objective categories established by God according to universal principles (not unlike the concept of Plato's "Forms"). For the atheist, there must be some other way of understanding these, since there are no such objective standards. Most atheists would say that these concepts simply evolved with each particular culture, which obviously suggests that even the most barbaric acts against fellow humans can be "good," "just," or "moral", provided that the relevant culture says so. Therefore, all philosophical questions related to the origin/nature of any form of ethical standard(s) present fairly complicated challenges for atheists of any stripe, which is why many extremely complicated theories have developed in moral philosophy over the centuries.