[lorryuncori]

Hi. Don't be afraid (unless you really want to). I know I'm a bit new here, but I have been reading some of the Instead of Religion threads, and I've found them interesting and extensive. They often have references to how atheists think or feel, or what atheism is or isn't, and although there seem to be a few other atheists lingering about, the conversations are reasonably limited to the topic of the thread. I feel that if this is meant to be a sharing and learning opportunity - that I wish it is - then it couldn't hurt to have some direct question and answer with an atheist.

Disclaimer: I'm not here to proselytize, to preach, to convert, to deconvert, or to change anyone's mind in any way, shape, or form. I'm not going to slip into mega-quote regurgitations, and I'm not going to yell and scream or (at least in this thread) get into "arguments" about whether something is right or wrong. I'm not speaking here on behalf of all atheists, a portion of atheists, or any sampling of anyone else. I'm just me, speaking about me. That might be such a narrow scope that you won't want to bother, but I think that we can all learn something from everyone if we pursue with the right kind of inquiry.

So, feel free to ask me anything you like, about anything you like, but at least try to relate it somehow to atheism, morality, rationalism, religion, etc. (i.e., I probably won't answer too many questions about how my cat is doing). And I reserve the right to not answer a question for any reason, although I will try my darndest to answer them all.

Thanks!

[Heaneisismich]

Okay. Let's give this a shot.

I will assume that you consider yourself an Atheist. Is that a fair assumption?

How's your cat doing? (Sorry. You already know me, don't you?)

Have you always considered yourself an Atheist or did you convert out of a religion you were brought up into?

If you previously held to a religion what caused you to abandon it?

Do you hold to any spiritual concepts or do you feel that what you see is what you get?

Peace & Love!

[gugqgbyzlp]

I will assume that you consider yourself an Atheist. Is that a fair assumption?

Yes.


How's your cat doing? (Sorry. You already know me, don't you?)

I was anticipating that question, and I would probably have won some money if I had to bet on who would have asked it first.


Have you always considered yourself an Atheist or did you convert out of a religion you were brought up into?

I haven't always considered myself an atheist. I was brought up loosely in the Methodist church of the southern United States, and my concepts of religion and a deity have changed significantly since I was very young.


If you previously held to a religion what caused you to abandon it?

I honestly don't view it as abandonment. I think religion is akin to reading a particular author. If you like reading (I do), then you will probably recognize that feeling -- when you've read an author for a while, and, at the beginning, you were enamored with the writing, the depth, the clarity, etc., but eventually you grow out of it. Either because you've found other books (which may be other religions, other forms of spirituality, or just other points of view that don't quite coincide with that first author). For instance, I used to love to read Stephen King. Some of the first longer books I read were his writing, and I really enjoyed them. But I eventually started reading books by other authors, and I could feel my mind expanding with the writing styles and depth of those authors. After a while, I just never went back to Stephen King (not that his stuff is bad), but it's just not appealing to me any more.

I think that's similar to how I grew apart from religion. My exploration of other topics, the mere thought that I was allowed to think outside of the framework that others preferred me to think, and, ultimately, the support my mother gave me to think and believe whatever I wanted with the promise of her unconditional love... all added up to me just preferring godlessness. I know that many atheists say they converted to atheism specifically because they were appalled by their various religious tenets and writings, but my knowledge of the bible and other scripture didn't mature until much later in life, when I began reading more obscure passages just to see what religious people were using as the basis for their arguments for their god and for their religion.

Also, in a sense, when I was religious, it was more ritual than anything. But I think that is different from belief. I didn't attend church all that much, but I do remember a time when I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that there was a God and a Jesus, and everything was just like what I had been told. One of the catalysts for me was when my mother married a Jewish man, and he and I had a brief conversation about Jesus. I had said something about Jesus being Son of God, and he replied that he didn't believe that. I was shocked. This was the first person I had ever spoken with who had ever admitted not believing in Jesus as I had learned it. And this man was effectively my father. If he could do it.... After that, and after many years of depression based on a few parental divorces and other issues, my perceived connection with religion and a deity faded while I expanded my mind with other things. There was no definitive moment when I was not an atheist and then suddenly atheist. It was a gradual realization.


Do you hold to any spiritual concepts or do you feel that what you see is what you get?

I think that there are unexplained things, and, from the point of view of humans, unexplainable things, and I think many of us associate such things with spirituality. Even long after I became an atheist, I wanted to believe in something more powerful -- magic, spirits, clairvoyance, premonition. I even convinced myself multiple times that I had such abilities, and the uncanny repetition of self-inflicted experiments supported some of those notions. I still have a longing for the fantastical, and, as far as I know, that longing has superimposed itself on this world so that I even still occasionally see things not as they are (or might be), but as I would like to see them. Despite that, however, I would never rely on such visions. I'd never risk my actual life on them, or the lives of others, and considering that most people are rational enough to head to the hospital when there's a danger, and not rely on spiritual assistance, I think they all, deep down, probably live in the same world where what you see is what you get. Difference is, I'll admit it.


Thanks for the questions. Hope I answered to your satisfaction, and feel free to hit me with more.

[Aizutox]

Very nice response Shorisha. Thanks.

Yes, spirituality is an elusive bird. I, personally, hold to the concept of spirituality although I do not attempt to deify the power (energy).

Had I not encountered philosophical Taoism I would probably be a follower of Nietzschian philosophy. Most people consider Nietzsche to have been an Atheist although I enjoy arguing that point.

I will hold any further questions for now and let others, if they are willing, to submit questions to you.

Thanks again.

Peace & Love!

[Nppracph]

Practice and tradition do seem to give comfort when everything else seems out of control.

[Keyblctt]

Practice and tradition do seem to give comfort when everything else seems out of control.

Now that says more than just the few words it took to say it!!! Hey! You could write a book based solely on that idea.

Peace & Love!

[spineeupsenry]

Good thread idea and welcome!

Please define this term: God

What, according to your beliefs, is consciousness?

Where did you find (and what is) the evidence for you, that there is no God?

[NETvoyne]

Good thread idea and welcome! Thanks!

Please define this term: God No.

Of course, what I mean is that everyone has a different definition of "God." Regardless of whether a religion attempts to define its god or gods, followers of those religions interpret such definitions subjectively. I don't believe in any sort of religious god, which is why there's a "theism" in my atheism. But some people try to argue that if God is "everything," then I must believe in God, because, obviously, I believe in everything (as in, I believe everything that exists exists). But that's just playing with words. Carl Sagan says it well:

The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous. But if by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity.

What, according to your beliefs, is consciousness? For humans, synaptic firings in a pattern that allows for subjective perception and analysis.

Where did you find (and what is) the evidence for you, that there is no God? For me, it wasn't finding evidence. It was finding the lack of evidence. I think atheism is the neutral state, and all I did was shed what I consider mistaken belief.