(March 2, 2013 at 9:45 pm)jstrodel Wrote:Quote:The term "atheist" simply means that you lack belief in a god/gods. There is no connection with personality. Some are nice, some are well-accomplished, some are fuck-ups. It doesn't matter.[/b]
You may define the term "atheist" as "simply lacking belief in a god/gods", but if you studied the lives of you and all the atheists you know, you would see that atheism is a distinct culture with its own norms, values and beliefs that go way beyond simply believing there are no Gods.
Peoples beliefs about the world determine their values. That is the source of values: beliefs. Your culture that you see as just being incidental, Pink Floyd, marijuana, etc, is to a very large degree an outgrowth of peoples theological beliefs. You can hide behind a definition of atheism that is designed to obscure this, but you cannot do it and be honest at the same time.
Ok, I first have to say, seriously, Pink Floyd? You couldn't have come up with a better representative of atheism like, I dunno, Bad Religion?
But, on the more pressing note, are you seriously suggesting that because people belong to a group they all share exactly the same beliefs, values and morals? Every single one of them? It's painfully obvious that isn't true. A crhistian can commit murder, showing they don't value human life which, by you theory, goes against the very order of the universe. I imagine that in your "studies" of atheists, there were approximately two participants, because that's the only way I can fathom your ideas would show to be true. Maybe if we "studied" atheists like you do we'd find them all the same, but if you were an atheist like most of us, or even someone remotely open-minded, you'd see that people are indivuals, even if they happen to share ONE belief with someone else.
