Junkhead Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I don't think I have another place to ask this. It's also more comfterble asking here, since I frequent SF. I don't have a religion and neither do I believe in "God". However, I am sort of open to the possibility of God existing. I also happen to be rather superstitious, believing in ghosts/spirits/spiritual entities/etc, aliens and things like that. At last, I must say I also have this "Magical Thinking", somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) no. if you believe in ghosts or any other supernatural thing, you're definitely not an atheist. If you didn't believe in those things, you still wouldn't be an atheist since you're open to the possibility of god existing. You'd be an agnostic. Edited December 30, 2013 by Nobody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiki Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 no. if you believe in ghosts or any other supernatural thing, you're definitely not an atheist. If you didn't believe in those things, you still wouldn't be an atheist since you're open to the possibility of god existing. You'd be an agnostic. Wrong. Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randa Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 This is from an online dictionary. Aetheist a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being. Does this sound like you? Do you believe that the highest form of knowledge and power are obtainable only through natural means? Do you believe that there is nothing otherworldly or all powerful about the "supernatural'? If you said yes to all of these your probably an aethiest. If you said no to even one of these I'd say your agnostic. Also from a dictionary. Agnostic : a person who does not have a definite belief about whether God exists or not : a person who does not believe or is unsure of something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shauni Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 you still wouldn't be an atheist since you're open to the possibility of god existing. You'd be an agnostic. nope.jpg The definition of atheist is: disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods. The definition of agnostic is: a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God. You don't have to have a disbelief in gods to be an atheist, although that can be one of the reasons you are one. You can be an atheist while still being open to the exist of gods. Agnostic is more of an umbrella term than a clear label. You can be an agnostic atheist, an agnostic christian, an agnostic muslim, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) wow, I was really ignorant in that subject. Still, i find it so weird that someone that believes in ghosts and that kind of stuff can be considered an atheist. Edited December 30, 2013 by Nobody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkhead Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) What are these labels called, anyway? Being an Athiest isn't a religion, right? So what is...it? (since we're talking about this thing I am or not) Edited December 30, 2013 by The Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shauni Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Some people try claim atheism is a religion but in reality it's the lack of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randa Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Atheism is not a religion. There is no central being that aethiest worship. Rather it is a philosophy about the universe. Or at least that's how I view it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) Wrong. Wait, so someone that doesn't believe in gods, but believe in reincarnation and post-life is actually an atheist? That seems a bit odd. Would a buddhist person be considered atheist, since they don't believe in deities, even though they have a whole set of traditions centered around their beliefs? Edited December 30, 2013 by Nobody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randa Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Wait, so someone that doesn't believe in gods, but believe in reincarnation and post-life is actually an atheist? That seems a bit odd. Would a buddhist person be considered atheist, since they don't believe in deities, even though they have a whole set of traditions centered around their beliefs?They can believe in "reincarnation" and not believe in a deity.( For the record deity would be a more appropriate word because its not talkingn about an all powerful being who just rules over us. It talks about a creature with powers that exceeds ours.) It depends on how you define reincarnation. Is it simply the revival of our "soul" into another creature? Or is it the belief that at some point in time our consciousness will reappear in another vassal. If its the former than there is almost always a deity to go along with it. Whether it be a god or cows(either Buddhism or Hinduism worships cows). Of its the later than you believe that at some point in time there will be an electromagnetic surge in some form of thinking mass that allows our consciousness to resume thought or continue life. Very different ideas of reincarnation. Very different views on the universe.And I'm pretty sure Buddhist worship other earthly beings. Or deify them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondon151 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) by definition, OP is an atheist, though superstition is irrational. but rational thinking is not a prerequisite to atheism, nor is gnosticism. Edited December 30, 2013 by dondon151 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcerzak Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Some people try claim atheism is a religion but in reality it's the lack of one.That's not exactly true either, given the existence of atheistic religions. I can name two off the top of my head (Buddhism and LaVeyan Satanism). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uguu Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 "Theist" means "believes in god". "a" is a Greek prefix that means "not". That is literally it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleted35362 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 That's not exactly true either, given the existence of atheistic religions. I can name two off the top of my head (Buddhism and LaVeyan Satanism). "not exactly", yes. but...followers of those religions you listed qualify as atheists. atheism is technically the lack of belief in the gods and not exactly the lack of religious following. i...think that's what you were trying to say already, but eh just in case. anyway, soul in op...you're an atheist, yes. you currently don't have the belief in the existence of any gods. being open to the possibility just means...well, you have the common sense to realize that no one is completely sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiki Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Atheism is a belief, or lack thereof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJWalker Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 No. Athiest do not exist. Not do any gods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau of Isaac Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Wait, so someone that doesn't believe in gods, but believe in reincarnation and post-life is actually an atheist? That seems a bit odd. Would a buddhist person be considered atheist, since they don't believe in deities, even though they have a whole set of traditions centered around their beliefs? Yes, they would be. Atheism is itself not a religion in the grandest sense, as religion is generally associated with observance of ritual worship in regards to the spirit. Following that, agnosticism is not a position in religion so much as an observation of the nature of evidence. Agnosticism is just the belief that the supernatural is either by its nature or presently unverifiable. Some agnostics may go so far as to say that the existence of many such things, even those more mundane, are by their nature impossible to verify as true or false. In other words, it is possible to be an agnostic atheist (this would be an accurate description of most self-described atheists today) who lacks any belief in a higher power but reserves their judgment as to whether they exist, or an agnostic theist, who believes that their God is impossible to prove but worships Him anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I don't think I have another place to ask this. It's also more comfterble asking here, since I frequent SF. I don't have a religion and neither do I believe in "God". However, I am sort of open to the possibility of God existing. I also happen to be rather superstitious, believing in ghosts/spirits/spiritual entities/etc, aliens and things like that. At last, I must say I also have this "Magical Thinking", somewhat. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like agnostic atheism to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionordeQuester Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) From Wikipedia... Agnostic atheism, also called atheistic agnosticism, is a philosophical position that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not hold a belief in the existence of any deity and agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact. The agnostic atheist may be contrasted with the agnostic theist, who believes that one or more deities exist but claims that the existence or nonexistence of such is unknown or cannot be known. So, I believe Eclipse is right! Edited December 30, 2013 by FionordeQuester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapier Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I don't have a religion and neither do I believe in "God". However, I am sort of open to the possibility of God existing. Then you fall into the agnostic classification, because you don't believe in deities but at the same time you do not discard the possibility that they do exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizenberg Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) i don't understand this whole labelling thing. why do you want to know what you are? Edited December 30, 2013 by Aizenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euklyd Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 i don't understand this whole labelling thing. why do you want to know what you are? It's useful when somebody asks you what your religion is or similar questions to just be able to give them a short answer. And yeah, Soul, your belief sounds like agnostic atheism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) I don't think I have another place to ask this. It's also more comfterble asking here, since I frequent SF. I don't have a religion and neither do I believe in "God". However, I am sort of open to the possibility of God existing. I also happen to be rather superstitious, believing in ghosts/spirits/spiritual entities/etc, aliens and things like that. At last, I must say I also have this "Magical Thinking", somewhat. The question has been answered already so I'll add my two cents concerning something else. It is completely rational to believe that aliens exist. I'd look into the Drake equation (which, in reality, is a bunch of numbers [some more scientifically verifiable than others] multiplied together), which is the amount of possible planets in our galaxy (or Universe, can't remember) containing intelligent civilizations. Edited December 31, 2013 by Phoenix Wright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondon151 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) there's no way to possibly estimate some of the parameters of the drake equation to any degree of accuracy. the rational position is to not believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life (but also to have a degree of optimism for its existence) until there is evidence to the contrary. Edited December 31, 2013 by dondon151 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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