Well that post was accepted so I decided to post on an existing thread titled "Why are you an atheist?"
This was my response:
I'm surprised that my own thread was approved but no one has responded. I wonder if it hasn't become a ghost site. Banning everyone right and left doesn't seem any way to build a community. Maybe it has changed. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
This was my response:
Quote:For myself I accept the label "atheist" because I don't consciously hold any belief in gods. I also find no indication of unconscious belief in gods. So fine, I am an atheist.
Of course the term "gods" is pretty sketchily and inconsistently described by those who profess to believe in them. So to form a belief about something one hardly understands is a little hard anyway. So I also accept the label "ignostic".
But if I am an atheist, I must be an agnostic atheist since I can scarcely claim to know anything at all about 'gods', including whether or not they exist. This isn't a question of relative certainty. I simply do not endorse the statement "I believe gods do not exist". It really does depend on what people mean by gods.
So what is this phenomenon of god-belief about? I don't think it is merely about being mistaken or motivated to deceive. I think that which gives rise to our sense of identity is also capable of giving rise to a sense of a 'god' within. Essentially it just seems to be a sense of 'another' within, another with some abilities/insights that surpass what we are capable of consciously, perhaps.
When I was a child, my parents were Christians and they -especially my father- tried to raise me to believe the same. For whatever reason, it didn't take. By ten or eleven I recognized that I didn't believe in them. I didn't try to de-convert my parents. It was pretty apparent to me that this wasn't something they'd welcome. All in all, I don't really look to foist onto others what they don't desire.
So I'm not a big advocate of anti-theism. I doubt it can do much good. My sense is more would be accomplished by simply encouraging theists to move toward better theology, away from literal interpretations and toward the allegorical. Recognizing that they can maintain their beliefs while also recognizing critically that this isn't knowledge is a step forward.
I'm surprised that my own thread was approved but no one has responded. I wonder if it hasn't become a ghost site. Banning everyone right and left doesn't seem any way to build a community. Maybe it has changed. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
