ghosts, dimensions and buckets

[jackman]

i'm noticing that there are a lot of elitist atheists, as well as minimalist ones. what in your opinion, describes atheism? this is why i refer to myself as just non-religious, because the thought of putting my beliefs into a bucket that someone says makes me an atheist, is exactly the reason that i don't believe in a deity. nor do i call myself democrat or republican - hate labels.

i don't believe in a god in the way that there's some omni-present guy in the sky who's morals and values we must follow and they'll decide if we live to hump virgins or live a utopian afterlife. however, "i don't know" if there's another dimension in the universe which, to us, would fall under the supernatural (being that 3 dimensions are *natural* to us). personally, i've seen a ghost 3 times in my life. sure, it could be a mindphuk and i really didn't see anything. sure also, the term could be other than ghost - let's not do semantics. nothing tells me that there couldn't be another dimension passing thru ours and i got to witness it for a minute or so before it left (ours).

i've read and i can't find a post directly related to this, so i'm asking outright. do any of you believe in ghosts/spirits/unnatural anything and still consider yourself atheist or agnostic?

[Phil]

i'm noticing that there are a lot of elitist atheists, as well as minimalist ones. what in your opinion, describes atheism? this is why i refer to myself as just non-religious, because the thought of putting my beliefs into a bucket that someone says makes me an atheist, is exactly the reason that i don't believe in a deity. nor do i call myself democrat or republican - hate labels.

i don't believe in a god in the way that there's some omni-present guy in the sky who's morals and values we must follow and they'll decide if we live to hump virgins or live a utopian afterlife. however, "i don't know" if there's another dimension in the universe which, to us, would fall under the supernatural (being that 3 dimensions are *natural* to us). personally, i've seen a ghost 3 times in my life. sure, it could be a mindphuk and i really didn't see anything. sure also, the term could be other than ghost - let's not do semantics. nothing tells me that there couldn't be another dimension passing thru ours and i got to witness it for a minute or so before it left (ours).

i've read and i can't find a post directly related to this, so i'm asking outright. do any of you believe in ghosts/spirits/unnatural anything and still consider yourself atheist or agnostic?

Being an atheist just means you do not have a belief in god. What in that definition precludes any other belief?

[NoMoreFaith]

Agnostic Atheist to be precise, I don't assert the non-existence of God, just his incredible improbability of existing.

Atheist simply means you do not believe in a God, or Gods. I guess I'm minimalist.

I am also a strong empiricist, so evidence or GTFO So no, I don't believe in ghosts or supernatural anything, but just because you can conceive of a supernatural explanation is not the same as being evidence of it.

In most cases, occams razor applies. In terms of viewing another dimension, it is more likely that you are a victim of a mild delusion or hallucination, than a physical or non-physical incarnation, which leads us into a discussion of what is reality.
A whole minute, and you didn't think to take a photo... always the case. I'm not attacking you btw, I'm simply explaining why I would be skeptical about your claim there, so don't take offence.

[Faith No More]

Atheist simply means 'lack of belief in god,' nothing more or less is implied.

[Napoléon]

do any of you believe in ghosts/spirits/unnatural anything and still consider yourself atheist or agnostic?

Not believing in something is not the same as saying something is not possible.

As it happens I am atheist and agnostic simultaneously.

[jackman]

Being an atheist just means you do not have a belief in god. What in that definition precludes any other belief?

thanks phil. that's what i think, either you believe in god or you don't. that's all that should determine it.

[Phil]

Being an atheist just means you do not have a belief in god. What in that definition precludes any other belief?

thanks phil. that's what i think, either you believe in god or you don't. that's all that should determine it.

I did omit a word by accident though. Before god I should have put the word any.

[jackman]

Agnostic Atheist to be precise, I don't assert the non-existence of God, just his incredible improbability of existing.

Atheist simply means you do not believe in a God, or Gods. I guess I'm minimalist.

I am also a strong empiricist, so evidence or GTFO So no, I don't believe in ghosts or supernatural anything, but just because you can conceive of a supernatural explanation is not the same as being evidence of it.

In most cases, occams razor applies. In terms of viewing another dimension, it is more likely that you are a victim of a mild delusion or hallucination, than a physical or non-physical incarnation, which leads us into a discussion of what is reality.
A whole minute, and you didn't think to take a photo... always the case. I'm not attacking you btw, I'm simply explaining why I would be skeptical about your claim there, so don't take offence.

@FaithNoMore and @Napoléon - i agree totally. thanks.

@NoMoreFaith, lol, no offense taken man. it could well have been a delusion or a dream, since two of the occurrences happened after a family member and friend's death. also, awaken from my sleep to see, so yeah, no camera on me at the time. haha. not saying it was true, per se, but being honest, it was truer to me than god, which i certainly haven't "seen".

[The Grand Nudger]

Last I checked, that is all that determines whether or not one is an atheist.....

[Cinjin]

I'm kinda on the fence with the whole ghost thing.

I personally have seen a couple strange things and there is some well-documented bizarre occurrences that can't seem to be explained on any level.

That being said, I try to stay away from the words believe in ghosts... specifically the believe part. Belief implies that what you're seeing isn't real and that you're simply choosing to play out some kind of fantasy in your head. I have found that many people who believe in ghosts, simply want ghosts to be real and so they choose to believe in them. That's not me. I don't give a shit if ghosts are real or not ... I'm simply not ruling it out.


I think it best for people to stay grounded in reality. Becoming a ghost hunter for a living is just idiotic in my humble opinion.