Notes & Conversations on Atheism

Originally post from LiveJournal.com by gonzo_md. Post has been edited for context



(Written by someone named Dorothy Oosterman on Facebook, original context unknown:


10. You vigorously deny the existence of God, yet you frequently blame Him for all the "evils" in the world, all the natural disasters, and everything else under the sun that is wrong in modern society.

9. You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when creationists say that people were created in the image and likeness of God, but you have no problem with the evolutionist claim that we all evolved from slime by a cosmic accident.

8. You criticize fundamental Christians who believe the Bible, and say that it can't possibly be true because it's just a book written by mere men, yet you never question any of Darwin's writings or Richard Dawkins' books.

7. You can't seem to understand the primary differences between fundamental Muslims and fundamental Christians (hint: strap-on TNT. Plus - Muhammad says, “kill innocent people and yourself if you love me.” Jesus Christ said, “I’ll die for you because I love you”).

6. You say the Bible is full of fairytales and fables, yet you believe all life forms including plants, trees, insects, birds, fish, reptiles and mammals evolved from one species into another - As if evolution isn’t the biggest fairytale of them all.

5. You laugh at the Supernatural, even though scientists have calculated the odds of life forming by natural processes to be estimated less than 1 chance in 10 to the 40,ooo power – But you find nothing wrong with believing that billions of years full of random mutations would result in the impossible.

4. You accuse fundamental Christians of being intolerant, judgmental and hateful, while you foam at the mouth calling them freaking lunatics, ignorant, weak-minded, stupid fundies, and hateful bigots.

3. You ignore scientific concepts like cause and effect, and you don't realize that a closed system can be defined however the observer wants, so you throw out technological phrases to try to ignore the implications of thermodynamics by saying the laws of physics are not set in stone.

2. While all evidence, logic and reasoning point to a Creator and absolute truth, you prefer to hide behind relativism and a theory of evolution which does not, in fact, describe the creation of the universe at all, or why concepts of good and evil or morality exist.

1. *Atheism fails to adequately explain the existence of eternal, unchanging truths, for it rejects the existence of an eternal unchanging mind. Atheism cannot offer man any eternal significance whatsoever. Temporary meaning in life is insufficient, for our accomplishments die with the death of the universe -- there is no ultimate purpose in a universe void of God. *

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gonzo_md:
If you know me, you'll also know that I really don't have a problem with anyone believing whatever the hell they want to, but people like Oosterman are why I absolutely resent this "holier than thou" attitude some fundamentalists seem to project.

When I read number 7, my mouth actually dropped wide open in total shock.

I know there's still people out there like this, but it's always a particularly disturbing wake-up call to actually have a written reminder of it.

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A reply by wesaturtle in response to my statement that atheism is a religion:

I disagree.

Religion:
1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

I do not believe in a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and govenor of the universe. My set of beliefs, values and practices are not base don the teaching of a spiritual leader.

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My response:

1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.


I find the word "supernatural" meaningless in this context. The only requirement is for some consciousness of the "powers of creation," be they Bearded White Sky Daddies or complex mathematical equations or pure chance. The simple fact remains that SOMETHING obviously created "all this," and therefore there is some "power of creation," spirit of Jesus or electrical current or whatever. Religion, at its most basic level, is simply the conscious awareness of the existence of this "creative energy" or "creative power".

In this sense, atheism is indeed a form of religion. It just isn't a theistic one. I would argue that animist religions are atheistic in a similar way.

I realize fully that using terms like "creative energy" are cheesy in a sense. Much of this is inherent to this particular "mystical" type of religious idiom. I also believe that science is a religion, and I would use those words if I were a scientist.