You have a set of beliefs, strong ones, that there is no God, and thus that he/she/it had no hand in creation, and has no relevance to the purpose of the universe. You have debased all religions and anyone who believes in them, and have basically said that anyone who disagrees with you on that matter is an idiot. You have been just as passionate in your set of beliefs (wouldn't want to 'label' you as having a religion now would we?) and have behaved just about as rudely as Neheima did. And while I doubt Atheists have killed in the name of God, there's likely a few who have killed on behalf of the idea that there is a lack of one.
I used the word "belief" in the sentense "a belief that a deity does not exist" in an ironic matter. It wasn't ment to be interpreted in a strictly denotative sense, which is what you tend to do seeing that you use a dictionary to define words.
For crying out loud... A "belief" that a god does not exist is not what you think it is. In this case, "belief" means the opposite of how it is denoted; it is meant to be sarcastic. For example, an atheist may deny the existance of a deity through scientific methods which is not a belief by the strict sense of the word. Josh, you need to understand that the function of a dictionary is to provide a general denotative meaning of a word in order to give the user the ability to apply it in a proper context. A dictionary doesn't actually "define" words (again, look at how I am using the word "define").
just another bible basher trying to twist the facts to fit his cause, so he can claim his place in heaven
Well, the first part of number one is somewhat accurate, as atheists by definition reject supernatural explanations for the origin of the universe. The second part of this definition is where I have my beef, since the last time I checked atheists didn't have ritual observances, nor were all united by a single moral code. Different atheists derive morals and ethics from different things, and multiple explanations for the origin of the universe are accepted by different atheists (though some, like big bang theory, are more accepted than others). I'm not sure that atheism can be lumped in under religions since it is a single belief, not something like Christianity that has multiple principles employed by all of its followers. Edit: I'm not really sure why it matters in the first place, though.
Sorry. I understand sarcasm. I was addressing Pia with my previous comment that you were quoting in this post. I will try to quote exactly what I was replying to at this point to avoid any lack of clarity on my part. However, to reply to the above. The purpose of a dictionary is to give the generally agreed upon meanings of a word. The way it is then often used is to allow someone to understand a word they might not have encountered before. However often enough, when people start arguing over what a word -means- someone hauls out a dictionary. Words are often miss-used as well, for example, some people ad 'istic' to the end of most adjectives, making something that is "simple" seem "simplistic". So another common use of a dictionary is to give grounding to a discussion about definitions and terms, which is how I was trying to use it here. This is the first time I have seen someone object to a person using a dictionary definition on this forum, when the meaning of a word has been called into question. At what point have I 'bashed' the bible, or 'bashed' someone using the bible in this thread? And different branches of Christianity have different ceremonies, different beliefs, different interpretations of what binds them together as a truth, and allows the religion to share a common name. I'll agree that there is far less commonality in Atheism, but there is a single common thread that ties it all together. They believe the following statement to be true. "There is no supreme being." However after looking things over, I'm forced to agree with you. There are far to many Atheist religions to group together as a single religion. In it's purest meaning, Atheism is the belief that there are no supreme beings. However there are religions which people recognize as religions that hold to that tenant. Some religions believe in spirits that live after death, or that have always been spirits, but some of them do not have any being or beings that is supreme over all of the others.
This is very true. I guess from the most general definition possible (sharing a common belief), Atheism would be a religion. Essentially, the question comes down to what we use to divide philosophy from religion, because under the broad definition being presented here Marxism is a religion as well, along with pretty much any other philosophy. I've heard arguments for the dividing line being belief in the supernatural, but I'm not entirely sure that this is correct.
it is not a religion, we do not have meeting and worship, and stop calling it a religion, Christianity is a cult
Well I am a Christian and am not involved in any cult. I know Jesus and He is my Lord. It is a personal relationship that can't be bred by any cult thank goodness. I could see how some groups of christians could be called a cult some call them mormons or jw's.
relax i was just pointing out that it can be called a cult, if he wants to call me a religious person. his dumbass logic is floored.
I believe in the perfect religion. Ignore everyone and all hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster! /sarcasm
Or Nietzschism, which has actually become a tribal religion of a sub-set of genetically engineered humans in a Sci-Fi show called Starship Andromeda (they call themselves Nietzschians). The question becomes at what point does the belief that the absence of the supernatural as a fact or truth become a belief about the origin and nature and purpose of the universe or, for more personal religions, the origin, nature, and purpose of one's self, and one's species. If someone believes that there is no divine or supernatural presence, and has no evidence or proof towards it, is that not as much 'knowledge based on belief' as belief that there -is- the presence of the divine?
Yes. According to certain definitions, Christianity is a cult. cult /kʌlt/ –noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies. 2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult. 3. the object of such devotion. 4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. 5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols. I'd agree with any of those definitions holding to different sub-sects of Christianity, or Christianity as a whole.
I have no religion what so ever, yet I find Atheist and Agnostic religions to be an embarrassment. I don't know why people find the need to call themselves anything at all. "PERSON: Hey, what's your religion?" "ME: I don't have one" Whats so bad about that? Why do you have to create a new group or religion just to show how much hate religion? They are both made up of slimey liberals and global warming freaks, guess those two kind of go hand in hand, but still... I would become Christian or Jewish before I became either of those religions. Hell, I would even join the religion of peace before either of them, believe it or not.