Atheist Religion

[Anatta]

Didn't say I "know". Said I "believe". Two different things. "Know" is certainty. "Believe" is making your best judgment based what you do know.

Kia Ora A,

Sorry my mistake...I was responding to this "I don't 'know' and you don't either !"

Which lead me to 'believe' you were saying that you 'knew' that others didn't know either...

Metta Zenda

[Seras]

Well actually it is arguable that it is possible to know that nobody knows.
From a philosophical standpoint on the concept of knowledge and the value of subjective "knowledge" versus the objective.

Since there is no way of expressing or experiencing objective knowledge of God, and that the only experience people can have of God is personal religious experience which is highly subjective. It is quite arguable that there can be, philosophically, no "true knowledge" on such matters and that it is therefore impossible for anyone to "know".

Some atheists also argue that in this world of science that you can also know God does not exist. However anyone supporting this idea needs to learn more about the scientific method. Which in no way supports such a baseless claim. And baseless is what it is.

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I would also make the point that given religion is based on faith, the whole point is that they do not "know". Being a religious person and arguing that you do in fact "know" of God's existence would defeat the point of having faith would it not?

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No offense intended if given to anyone. I know people can be touchy on this stuff. I just have a philosophical interest on this subject, being a proud hard sceptic agnostic. I made a topic once on these very forums about my views on atheism... Got messy!

[Kevin Peña]

Here's a thought: who cares? If god made Earth, who made god? Who made the thing that made god? So on and so forth. No matter what, if you look back far enough, there would have to be nothing. Therefore, we should come up with a religion on nothingness. 

[Anatta]

Here's a thought: who cares? If god made Earth, who made god? Who made the thing that made god? So on and so forth. No matter what, if you look back far enough, there would have to be nothing. Therefore, we should come up with a religion on nothingness. 

Kia Ora Diana,

"Buddhism" !

"Form is Emptiness-Emptiness is Form !"

Metta Zenda

[blue.ocean.girl]

Kia Ora Diana,

"Buddhism" !

"Form is Emptiness-Emptiness is Form !"

Metta Zenda

That's what I like about Buddhism. It is actually more of a philosophy than a religion. And it doesn't necessitate belief in a God or gods. An amazing friend of mine is actually a Buddhist atheist. Worshiping the Buddhas as gods came later in the religion's history. It didn't begin that way.  The founder, the original Buddha, didn't tell anyone to worship him or pray to him. For him, teaching the philosophy to others was a kindness--it was about helping others to bring the individual mind to enlightenment--becoming a Buddha yourself.

Anyways, that is a great analogy. Something from nothing. That is Buddism-one of the first real atheist philosophies from what I've read.

[Alex_K]

Therefore, we should come up with a religion on nothingness. 

Nah, we should abandon religion altogether ;-)

[Anatta]

That's what I like about Buddhism. It is actually more of a philosophy than a religion. And it doesn't necessitate belief in a God or gods. An amazing friend of mine is actually a Buddhist atheist. Worshiping the Buddhas as gods came later in the religion's history. It didn't begin that way.  The founder, the original Buddha, didn't tell anyone to worship him or pray to him. For him, teaching the philosophy to others was a kindness--it was about helping others to bring the individual mind to enlightenment--becoming a Buddha yourself.

Anyways, that is a great analogy. Something from nothing. That is Buddism-one of the first real atheist philosophies from what I've read.

Kia Ora B O G,

I see my'self' as an agnostic atheist,[or atheistic agnostic] and thrown Buddhist into the mix, because  Siddhartha Gautama's [The Buddha] teachings are for the most part scientific, where one systematically takes the mind apart to explore the working [inner science] to find out how one ticks...

From an old thread on Buddhism :

A good example of this is in the essay "Buddhism Meets Western Science", where Gay Watson explains:

" Buddhism has always been concerned with feelings, emotions, sensations, and cognition. The Buddha points both to cognitive and emotional causes of suffering. The emotional cause is desire and its negative opposite, aversion. The cognitive cause is ignorance of the way things truly occur, or of three marks of existence: that all things are unsatisfactory, impermanent, and without essential self.

The noble eightfold path is, from this psychological viewpoint, an attempt to change patterns of thought and behavior. It is for this reason that the first element of the path is right understanding (sammā-diṭṭhi), which is how one's mind views the world. Under the wisdom (paññā) subdivision of the noble eightfold path, this worldview is intimately connected with the second element, right thought (sammā-saṅkappa), which concerns the patterns of thought and intention that controls one's actions. These elements can be seen at work, for example, in the opening verses of the Dhammapada: The noble eightfold path is also the fourth noble truth.

"All experience is preceded by mind/perception,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind,
And suffering follows
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox!
All experience is preceded by mind/perception,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never-departing shadow!"

Thus, by altering one's distorted worldview, bringing out "tranquil perception" in the place of "perception polluted", one is able to ease suffering. Watson points this out from a psychological standpoint:

Research has shown that repeated action, learning, and memory can actually change the nervous system physically, altering both synaptic strength and connections. Such changes may be brought about by cultivated change in emotion and action; they will, in turn, change subsequent experience !"



" I'm an agnostic atheist till the day I die...    Then I'm open to offers !"


Metta Zenda

[Jenna Stannis]

Google "New Atheists." It is a movement and belief system--basically a religion in my opinion. Read the first sentence on their website.

"Tolerance of pervasive myth and superstition in modern society is not a virtue" (http://newatheists.org/)

I don't see a problem with that sentence. What's wrong with it?