Beginner's Guide to Atheism.

[Huggy Bear]

Once upon a time, in the beginning, there almost certainly wasn't a god, and it didn't speak, as non existent beings cannot talk.  it didn't look around and say everything was good, because this would imply the being existed, and we've already said that it likely did not.

and it didn't rest because it didn't do anything.

And for all these non-achievements, billions of people around the world worship it and talk to themselves.

Making claims without evidence?

[The Valkyrie]

Where?

[Huggy Bear]

I see threads, here and elsewhere, that are started by people who have come to the realization that they are atheistic. They usually begin with "what now?" My contributions are usually along the lines of "be safe!" when they ask if they should "come out" to family, friends, work-place people, etc. I've seen really good suggestions and really stupid suggestions. 


To wander around to a point-like object, I think we should have a thread with a list of resources for the newly-freed minds to consult at what is sometimes a very trying and confusing time. I would hope the staff would keep such a thread on topic, removing/relocating troll posts, etc. 

Thoughts?

I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god, if that's the case then why would one need a guide? Do you need a guide for your non- belief in Bigfoot? Do you feel the need to come out about various other non-beliefs? There's a lot of atheist hand wringing when it comes to God though, interesting.

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Making claims without evidence?

Where?

Once upon a time, in the beginning, there almost certainly wasn't a god, and it didn't speak, as non existent beings cannot talk.

[LadyForCamus]

Sick Rik AND Huggy?! Jesus...they just couldn’t stop themselves from coming in and taking a stinky dump all over, could they?

[The Valkyrie]

I see threads, here and elsewhere, that are started by people who have come to the realization that they are atheistic. They usually begin with "what now?" My contributions are usually along the lines of "be safe!" when they ask if they should "come out" to family, friends, work-place people, etc. I've seen really good suggestions and really stupid suggestions. 


To wander around to a point-like object, I think we should have a thread with a list of resources for the newly-freed minds to consult at what is sometimes a very trying and confusing time. I would hope the staff would keep such a thread on topic, removing/relocating troll posts, etc. 

Thoughts?

I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god, if that's the case then why would one need a guide? Do you need a guide for your non- belief in Bigfoot? Do you feel the need to come out about various other non-beliefs? There's a lot of atheist hand wringing when it comes to God though, interesting.

---

Where?

Once upon a time, in the beginning, there almost certainly wasn't a god, and it didn't speak, as non existent beings cannot talk.

"There almost certainly wasn't a god" isn't a claim.

And I think we can all agree that non existent beings can't speak.

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

I see threads, here and elsewhere, that are started by people who have come to the realization that they are atheistic. They usually begin with "what now?" My contributions are usually along the lines of "be safe!" when they ask if they should "come out" to family, friends, work-place people, etc. I've seen really good suggestions and really stupid suggestions. 


To wander around to a point-like object, I think we should have a thread with a list of resources for the newly-freed minds to consult at what is sometimes a very trying and confusing time. I would hope the staff would keep such a thread on topic, removing/relocating troll posts, etc. 

Thoughts?

(1) I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god,  (2) if that's the case then why would one need a guide?

Regarding (1), IMO, it is a fair description of atheism.  Regarding your inquiry in (2), IMO,  it can be very useful to have a guide and/or support. For example,  if an individual wants to go about expressing his or her individuality (views on theism, atheism, politics, philosophy, etc.) in a civil and rational manner to others, especially if the majority of these people disagree with this individual's thinking, then a guide/support could be a useful tool for accomplishing that goal: it can equip that individual with  a better understanding of his or her positions and give him or her the    confidence to speak up and remind others that people are different (provided that it is safe to do so), rather than staying silent due to ignorance of one's positions and/or a lack of experience in engaging conflicting views .

[Fireball]

(1) I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god,  (2) if that's the case then why would one need a guide?

Regarding (1), IMO, it is a fair description of atheism.  Regarding your inquiry in (2), IMO,  it can be very useful to have a guide and/or support. For example,  if an individual wants to go about expressing his or her individuality (views on theism, atheism, politics, philosophy, etc.) in a civil and rational manner to others, especially if the majority of these people disagree with this individual's thinking, then a guide/support could be a useful tool for accomplishing that goal: it can equip that individual with  a better understanding of his or her positions and give him or her the    confidence to speak up and remind others that people are different (provided that it is safe to do so), rather than staying silent due to ignorance of one's positions and/or a lack of experience in engaging conflicting views .

Well said! The proviso (provided that it is safe to do so) is a serious issue that xtians need to understand. There are so many places on this earth where it isn't safe to do so, and not just for atheists.

Where do you go for support, Huggy? You can get it anywhere, in a xtian majority society, right? And people wonder why there are so many "angry atheists"; when everywhere one of them turns, they get xtianity of many varying stripes shoved in their faces. SMH

[DLJ]

...
I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god, if that's the case then why would one need a guide? Do you need a guide for your non- belief in Bigfoot? Do you feel the need to come out about various other non-beliefs? There's a lot of atheist hand wringing when it comes to God though, interesting.
...

Any god, gods or goddesses.  Don't be sexist.

Perhaps you haven't noticed that there are two questions at play... the existential question and the ethics question.

Someone could reject the claims of a deity's existence but still hold to Divinity Ethics (sanctity and sin, purity and pollution, elevation and degradation) or vice versa, they can reject the ethics of religions and still hold to notions of some omni-x thingy out there somewhere (or in truth 'in there' given that Personal Jesus*/Allah = externalised ego).

Declaring non-belief to someone who holds to both positions (divine existence and divinity ethics) and for whom both those positions are inseparable can trigger the whole cognitive dissonance thing i.e. causes pain.

A guide is someone who knows the path.  It's only someone for the whom the path is yet untrodden would seek guidance.

It's not that complicated.

 

*

[Fireball]

...
I thought atheism was simply not having beliefs in any god, if that's the case then why would one need a guide? Do you need a guide for your non- belief in Bigfoot? Do you feel the need to come out about various other non-beliefs? There's a lot of atheist hand wringing when it comes to God though, interesting.
...

Any god, gods or goddesses.  Don't be sexist.

Perhaps you haven't noticed that there are two questions at play... the existential question and the ethics question.

Someone could reject the claims of a deity's existence but still hold to Divinity Ethics (sanctity and sin, purity and pollution, elevation and degradation) or vice versa, they can reject the ethics of religions and still hold to notions of some omni-x thingy out there somewhere (or in truth 'in there' given that Personal Jesus*/Allah = externalised ego).

Declaring non-belief to someone who holds to both positions (divine existence and divinity ethics) and for whom both those positions are inseparable can trigger the whole cognitive dissonance thing i.e. causes pain.

A guide is someone who knows the path.  It's only someone for the whom the path is yet untrodden would seek guidance.

It's not that complicated.

 

*

DLJ, sometimes I am reminded that I could have studied things like you have studied, in order to make cogent responses like this.   But I went another track and went into a technical field (physics) where these questions don't even get asked. I'm learning a lot on the www while being an atheist, I can assure you. Especially about questions I never even thought to ask.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Some people need help unlearning the utter bullshit that has been drummed into them for decades.