Athiest sign

[Squeek]

Re: Athiest sign

Chaz and I are discussing this on AIM, but there's one thing I wanted to post in general so people don't misunderstand.

The nativity scene is under the giant decorated pine tree they have in this building. The sign is far enough away to be in another room. There are other religious symbols in the room as well.

[All_That_Chaz]

Re: Athiest sign

I'd also like to wish everyone a Reason's Greetings.

rofl

[Izzy]

Re: Athiest sign

My family is jewish and they celebrate christmas. It isn't even a religious holiday anymore.

[Reach]

Re: Athiest sign

And there are plenty of people who believe in God, but do not affiliate with any religion. Would you say that they can't claim their religion as "Christian" if they don't affiliate with any denomination? After all, if a person isn't affiliated with a church and responds merely "Christian", all you know about them is that they believe in God and that Jesus Christ is the son of God.

I didn't talk about this for a reason. It gets wishy washy. It's not exactly a clear cut case for everyone. However, all of this was irrelevant given the point was that atheism isn't a religion, given it is the lack of belief and does not meet any of the criteria.

Atheism is used as a categorization, though I don't like the term myself. I never refer to myself as an atheist, and I think people like Sam Harris bring up good reasons as to why it probably isn't a great term to use, given that through categorization it fosters the idea that atheism is somehow a belief system.

[emochick2009]

Re: Athiest sign

Alot of the symbols you guys are talking about have different meanings than what you probably know. For instance the swastika is a hindu symbol meaning luck and prosperity. the meaning has been dramatically misinterpreted in modern cultures.

[pokelda]

Re: Athiest sign

Alot of the symbols you guys are talking about have different meanings than what you probably know. For instance the swastika is a hindu symbol meaning luck and prosperity. the meaning has been dramatically misinterpreted in modern cultures.

yeah obviously that sign which states religion enslaves minds actually means everyone gets free guac on tuesdays. we just totally misinterpreted it.

ps ur very dum

[sakura080789]

Re: Athiest sign

hmmm i love this thread

[tha Guardians]

Re: Athiest sign

...Atheism is a federally-recognized religion.

It is?
Haha. Atheism = non-theism = non-religion = not religion.

You means it's federally respected and recognized in the same way religion is?

Anyway, this entire issue is nothing but ignorance.

"I know God exists!"
"I know He doesn't!"

Either statement is completely idiotic. Having faith in something doesn't mean you're positive of it. In fact, it means the opposite, but you believe it because you hope it's true and it makes sense to you.

I can side with theists better than atheists, because they have hope in a higher power, a heaven or some holy sanctuary. At least their optimistic, and whether they're right or wrong in their belief, it's important to have that faith and hope. It's what keeps people going.

[Necros140606]

Re: Athiest sign

lmfao religious debate

on a serious note, i like the idea. those who believe have filled our world with mental schemes, images, references, symbols that remember us every fukin second who's the "boss". finally the time has come, people are starting to rebel to this kind of stuff and trolling it. the funny thing is the reaction they've got was absurd, since religions always imposed their symbols as hard as they could, and now they complain at a sarcastic symbol made to laugh on this social tragedy. i'm happy things are turning this way, hopefully the humanity will be freed from the cancer of the religion before long.

[Afrobean]

Re: Athiest sign

It is?
Haha. Atheism = non-theism = non-religion = not religion.

The logic train breaks down on the fact that atheism is not "non-religion". It is a set of specific beliefs just the same as any theistic religion.

You means it's federally respected and recognized in the same way religion is?

For the purposes of censuses and things, how would you like people who do not believe in any sort of god to answer?

"What religion are you?"
"Atheist"
"Sorry, that's not a religion, please say Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim."

**** that. What about Wicca? Taoism? Shinto? Scientology? What would these people answer to the question of their religion? Just because a group is a minority and has a drastically different belief regarding the possibility of metaphysical existence does not mean that their beliefs are not as valid as the majority's.

Anyway, this entire issue is nothing but ignorance.

"I know God exists!"
"I know He doesn't!"

Either statement is completely idiotic. Having faith in something doesn't mean you're positive of it. In fact, it means the opposite, but you believe it because you hope it's true and it makes sense to you.

I don't think you understand how highly religious people value their "faith". For them, it is not merely believing it to be true. They actively "know" it to be true. They don't "hope" that they're right; they don't believe that there is any way they could be wrong.

And even me. I KNOW that there is not a God as defined by the Bible. If such a entity truly existed, there would be empirical proof of it. The only way such a thing COULD be is on ANOTHER plane of reality, and in such a way that his actions are not OBSERVABLE IN ANY WAY in our own plane of reality. So if this entity does not exist within our Universe and we cannot measure any sort of effect from him, he is not real and does not exist. I know this to be true.

I can side with theists better than atheists, because they have hope in a higher power, a heaven or some holy sanctuary. At least their optimistic, and whether they're right or wrong in their belief, it's important to have that faith and hope. It's what keeps people going.

Get the **** out of here.

Yeah, my faith that god is just a fictional character in a 2000+ year old folk tale is what drives me to keep going. It's not that I value my life. No, this character in a collection of ancient stories makes me live my life. Christ, it's **** like that that makes me hate what religion does to some people. They act like life without religion isn't life at all. They act like morality without religion is impossible. They paint reality with their crooked views on ancient stories and never really see what humanity truly is.

[dore]

Re: Athiest sign

And even me. I KNOW that there is not a God as defined by the Bible. If such a entity truly existed, there would be empirical proof of it. The only way such a thing COULD be is on ANOTHER plane of reality, and in such a way that his actions are not OBSERVABLE IN ANY WAY in our own plane of reality. So if this entity does not exist within our Universe and we cannot measure any sort of effect from him, he is not real and does not exist. I know this to be true.

See, you can't assert that unless there was a universally accepted model for truth, and you're falling into the Coherence Theory which works for more down-to-earth questions but you can't use it for the metaphysical. Take for example, there is a supreme being out there who is a giant octopus who has a green beard and enjoys drinking Budweiser. Just because we have no way of proving his existence and that it's completely useless for use to have any way to prove his existence, doesn't mean he doesn't exist.

If you're going to make such strong statements of truth make sure that it can stand up to all the models of truth before expecting people to take it as a true statement.

[Squeek]

Re: Athiest sign

It is?
Haha. Atheism = non-theism = non-religion = not religion.

You means it's federally respected and recognized in the same way religion is?

Anyway, this entire issue is nothing but ignorance.

"I know God exists!"
"I know He doesn't!"

Either statement is completely idiotic. Having faith in something doesn't mean you're positive of it. In fact, it means the opposite, but you believe it because you hope it's true and it makes sense to you.

I can side with theists better than atheists, because they have hope in a higher power, a heaven or some holy sanctuary. At least their optimistic, and whether they're right or wrong in their belief, it's important to have that faith and hope. It's what keeps people going.

The burden of proof lies with the initial accuser.

Also, lol:

But whether atheism is a “religion” for First Amendment purposes is a somewhat different question than whether its adherents believe in a supreme being, or attend regular devotional services, or have a sacred Scripture. The Supreme Court has said that a religion, for purposes of the First Amendment, is distinct from a “way of life,” even if that way of life is inspired by philosophical beliefs or other secular concerns. A religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being (or beings, for polytheistic faiths).

Without venturing too far into the realm of the philosophical, we have suggested in the past that when a person sincerely holds beliefs dealing with issues of “ultimate concern” that for her occupy a “place parallel to that filled by . . . God in traditionally religious persons,” those beliefs represent her religion. ... We have already indicated that atheism may be considered, in this specialized sense, a religion. ... Kaufman claims that his atheist beliefs play a central role in his life, and the defendants do not dispute that his beliefs are deeply and sincerely held. The Supreme Court has recognized atheism as equivalent to a “religion” for purposes of the First Amendment on numerous occasions.

Read up on law before you assume you know what you're talking about.

[Tater Tot]

Re: Athiest sign

Doesn't this count as talk of religion? And wasn't religious talk banned from the forums except for in the (Garbage Bin I think it was)?

[Squeek]

Re: Athiest sign

This is more of a legal / ethical argument that just happens to have religions connotations.

[sakura080789]

Re: Athiest sign

This is more of a legal / ethical argument that just happens to have religions connotations.

Yeah i agree with Squeek