What can we do to promote Atheism? How can we unite?

[downbeatplumb]

And the puddle says "look how well I fit this hole, it must have been designed just for me"

Say the puddle was an exact mathematically perfect utterly complex geometric design. And the puddle says "I bet this formed by blind natural chance of some kind". Come on though lets get real here.

Woosh said the point as it whistled above Swords head.
The point is that the water fitting the hole was not at all unlikely.

When you take this into account then the chances of getting a universe suitable for life is...drum roll...... 50/50.

Alter anything to any extent at all and there will be no life, planets or stars, galaxies, anything at least not stable ones. This can all be simulated.

If you only alter one thing.
BUT that is not how things work. if you twiddle with one thing other things also change as a result and the answer you get when you take this into account is a stable universe suitable for life has a 50/50 chance of existing. This has all been worked out in simulations dontchaknow.

The Disc World is fictional though, I hate to break to you.

Yes.
But.
The science of the disc world books are an amusing way to present the latest findings of cutting edge science relevant to this universe.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Science-Disc...0091949793

The fourth book in the Science of Discworld series, and this time around dealing with THE REALLY BIG QUESTIONS, Terry Pratchett's brilliant new Discworld story Judgement Day is annotated with very big footnotes (the interleaving chapters) by mathematician Ian Stewart and biologist Jack Cohen, to bring you a mind-mangling combination of fiction, cutting-edge science and philosophy.

They are really good and informative.

Saying something "could" exist and saying that it is "does" are two very different things.

Well you're saying a purely naturalistic universe that exists entirely independently in itself without any outside cause or supernatural force or creative supreme consciousness "does" exist. Though I'd argue that's only something that in fact "could" exist. We both know the universe "does " exist but it's the rest of the details of it that we disagree upon. Seeing as you're already believing in something that is possible then why not believe something else that is also possible? As in aliens with advanced technology? You can do that and remain true to your atheist heritage.

I can believe in the possibility but not that it is fact without evidence.
Why is this hard to get through to you.

You would have us base our "church" on a lie just to get some organised structure! I'm sorry but I don't roll that way. I require evidence for my beliefs.

You may as well say atheism is based on the lie that God doesn't exist. It isn't a lie though just something you believe. So all you have to do is believe this guy had extraterrestrial contact. Or you could forget about him and come to Christ! Now there's a proper religion, no aliens there.

There is no positive evidence for god so I don't believe in it, therefore I am an atheist.
You did forget that I require at least a shred of evidence for my beliefs and don't believe things because I would kinda like them to be true.

Not believing in god does not pre-suppose belief in Raelian bullshit.

You may as well if you already believe in some bullshit. Perhaps we all believe something that is bullshit to someone.

But I don't believe in bullshit. i can back up my beliefs with evidence. can you?

There may well be aliens in the universe. I think it is very likely. I will hold off belief in aliens until such time as there is evidence that they exist. You see I don't blindly believe things even if there is a good chance that it is true because I demand evidence for what I believe.

You're blindly believing in atheism/naturalism though so why not blindly believe in some aliens? Whats the problem here?

I am not blindly believing anything.
None of the existing evidence gives any support to anything other than a natural explanation.

By the way atheism is a rejection of theism it is not a belief in itself.

Even aliens were proven to exist I think the chances that the Raelians got it right is minimal

You're wrong without the aliens and you're wrong with the aliens as far as I'm concerned. You may as well just have the aliens.

That is because you are starting to show signs of being a blinkered idiot.

Just because people go to churches it does not mean that people like going to churches.

They like having structure and a community. You lack that with atheism. But you could have with Raelianism. To me this seems like the perfect solution to the issue of getting people converted to atheism.

They call it being "god fearing" for a reason.

It means "deeply religious; pious; devout" which I guess you could be as Raelian, though that would be toward the aliens I suppose. Alien fearing.

No its called god fearing because god was fearsome.

God-fear·ing [god-feer-ing]
adjective
1.
deeply respectful or fearful of God.
2.
( sometimes lowercase ) deeply religious; pious; devout.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/god-fearing