How to become an atheist in ten easy lessons

[iouae]

"Studies on the demographics of atheism have concluded that self-identified atheists comprise anywhere from 2% to 11% of the world's population, whereas irreligious individuals comprise anywhere from 10% to 22% of the world's population.[1][2][3][4] Several comprehensive global polls on the subject have been conducted by Gallup International: their 2012 poll found that 13% of respondents were "convinced atheists" and their 2015 poll indicated that 11% were "convinced atheists".[4][5] In Scandinavia and East Asia, and particularly in China, atheists and the nonreligious are the majority.[5] Of the global atheist and nonreligious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).[3] In Africa and South America, atheists are typically in the single digits.[5]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

It appears to me that man comes predisposed to be religious/superstitious, just from the statistics.

And even the "atheists" I have known are superstitious or believe in "karma" meaning that the Cosmos makes you reap what you sow. Or they believe in aliens, or extraterrestrial life (that's a faith is it not?).
So is there a true atheist in the world? Maybe not if one includes belief in Santa, or the Tooth Fairy or mythology or evolution. Children are very inclined to believe whatever story you tell them (the stork brought baby) and adults just continue that trend with better (intellectual) explaining of their nonsensical (to others) beliefs. Even conspiracy theories or Doomsday Prepping is a type of superstition.

 

[Bluecheese]

You weren't converted and what you call faith was not that gift through which a man is saved. I'm pleased to hear you made an escape, but what you are doing on here is beyond my comprehension.....go fly fishing for trout.

Sez you!

 

[The Horn]

No one is born either believing or disbelieving in God , or whatever kind of deity . People are taught the concept of God by parents and going to church, synagogue, mosque, or whatever from childhood .
Some accept it blindly, others reject it , and others are simply agnostics .
God is a very vague concept ; different people have different ideas of what a deity may or may not be . The traditional Christian concept of God as a creator who made the earth , Adam and Eve, a garden of Eden, Noah and his ark etc is very different from the deities of other religions, or of the Native Americans , Hindus, etc .
The Muslim Allah is God, and Allah means God in Arabic . But not a trinity, which to Muslims is blasphemous . TO them, the concept of a trinity smacks of polytheism, which they abhor .

 

[Ben Masada]

How to become an atheist in ten easy lessons.

How to become an atheist in ten easy lessons.

Here are the lessons:

1 - Learn about the concept of Causality;

2 - Learn how to connect the concept of Causality to Logic;

3 - Learn about the theory of the big bang;

4 - ...and try to understand that the main purpose of the BB was to confirm the beginning of the universe.

5 - First logical step: Every beginning implies a cause by something that preceded what began, to happen.

6 - Now, try to understand that the universe could not have caused itself to exist. Hence, the concept of Causality.

7 - The Logic of the concept of Causality resides on the fact that it does not extend back ad infinitum.

8 - If the universe had a beginning, it is only obvious that it was caused to exist by something that preceded it.

9 - That the universe is composed of matter that could not have caused itself to exist.

10 - Conclusion, we must not forget that, to cause itself to exist, something must exist first. If it already exists, there is no need to further cause itself to exist.

Footnote: If the above 10 lessons fail to make of you an atheist, please, share with us why not. Perhaps you don't have what it takes to be one.

 

[Ben Masada]

I was born into a religious family who force fed me the 'born again' dogma. I even converted as a child, but fortunately realised by the time I left home at nineteen that I didn't believe any of it to have credibility. I lost my faith and all these years later have not missed it.

Now, Bluecheese, I hope, you can teach us what caused the universe to exist since it could not have caused itself to exist. Can you take that challenge and share with us what has made you so elated that you don't miss today what you thought you had in the beginning?

 

[dialm]

It is a bit silly to bring in Christian theology and Bible "proofs" in a discussion like this. It is completely irrelevant to atheists.

Fair enough.

 

[badp]

Everyone recognizes what is good for them, and what is bad for them; even newborns.

Everything you say indicates you don't know much about kids. Kids do stupid, self-harming stuff all the time. They run into walls, fall down stairs, stand perilously close to ledges, roll off beds, fall out of chairs, touch sharp objects, stick their hands into electrical sockets, etc. They do not always know what's bad for them until they experience otherwise.

Which is the basis for what you are calling morality.

Using the examples I gave above, that makes no sense. No religion I know of teaches it's morally wrong to accidentally fall down the stairs.

And we humans probably do have some capacity for empathy programmed into us, genetically, as we are a social species. But this is not a religious or ideological phenomena, in children. It is a biological phenomena.

What's your evidence that it's biological? Is there a gene for empathy? And don't tell me it has to do with brain structure or chemicals.

It only becomes a religious/ideological paradigm as humans become adults, and begin to conceptualize their experience of existence in more complex and abstract ways.

Which leaves you to explain how this happens. Where do these abstract thoughts come from? You just finished saying the way children think is biological, so are you now saying the way young adults think is not biological? Either adults conceive of God on some biological basis (and so could children), or the source of such conception is not biological at all.

You seem to be arguing with yourself again.

 

[dialm]

"Studies on the demographics of atheism have concluded that self-identified atheists comprise anywhere from 2% to 11% of the world's population, whereas irreligious individuals comprise anywhere from 10% to 22% of the world's population.[1][2][3][4] Several comprehensive global polls on the subject have been conducted by Gallup International: their 2012 poll found that 13% of respondents were "convinced atheists" and their 2015 poll indicated that 11% were "convinced atheists".[4][5] In Scandinavia and East Asia, and particularly in China, atheists and the nonreligious are the majority.[5] Of the global atheist and nonreligious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).[3] In Africa and South America, atheists are typically in the single digits.[5]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

It appears to me that man comes predisposed to be religious/superstitious, just from the statistics.

And even the "atheists" I have known are superstitious or believe in "karma" meaning that the Cosmos makes you reap what you sow. Or they believe in aliens, or extraterrestrial life (that's a faith is it not?).
So is there a true atheist in the world? Maybe not if one includes belief in Santa, or the Tooth Fairy or mythology or evolution. Children are very inclined to believe whatever story you tell them (the stork brought baby) and adults just continue that trend with better (intellectual) explaining of their nonsensical (to others) beliefs. Even conspiracy theories or Doomsday Prepping is a type of superstition.

How many of us reckon that men are whirled and twisted by blind luck rather then governed by the providence of God?

 

[badp]

How to become an atheist:

1. Pretend to love science. Talk about how "science rulez" and "I [expletive] love science!!"

2. Remain wondrously ignorant of scientific discoveries and advancements.

3. Listen to and quote famous philosophers who pretend to be scientists (Dawkins, Nye, de Grasse, etc.).

4. Regularly engage in cognitive dissonance. Exclaim that you don't believe in God, then immediately talk about how "mean" God was in the Old Testament.

5. Fail to engage in logical thought. Instead, claim that you possess a "non-belief" in God and insist that it is logically nonequivalent to a belief that God does not exist

6. React emotionally to any attempts to correct you. Do not consider that you may be wrong, but dig in your heels and wallow in intense anger. Let diatribes flow from your highly evolved Broca's area.

7. Never draw distinctions among religions. There is only religion and science. All religions are the same, and science is fact.

8. Do not learn the history of science. It's vital that you do not concede that early scientists like Newton and Galileo were Creationists. Science is not based on truth, but the consensus of atheist philosophers.

9. Stay reactive. If you see a pile of sticks that roughly resemble the letter "T", take action. This religious symbol is called a "cross" and is highly offensive to atheists. Reorganize the pile of sticks into a less offensive letter (like "A") or report it to the ACLU.

10. You have rights. You have the right to act like a jerk to religious folks, and to complain when they call you a fool. You're a victim of thousands of years of superstition and myth. Exercise your rights to practice your nonbelief in any way you like.

 

[dialm]

(As an aside, it has never been properly explained to me how atheism allows for human dignity. If man has no intrinsic value attach to him then what does the word

Insult

actually mean? How can you insult someone who has no value?)

 

[Truster]

It is a bit silly to bring in Christian theology and Bible "proofs" in a discussion like this. It is completely irrelevant to atheists.

It's not irrelevant because to you the word is the killing letter. It will harden you unto destruction and so the Eternal Almighty will be glorified in His judgement and His Justice.

 

[rstrats]

badp,
re: "4. Regularly engage in cognitive dissonance. Exclaim that you don't believe in God, then immediately talk about how 'mean' God was in the Old Testament."

How is that cognitive dissonance?

 

[iouae]

How many of us reckon that men are whirled and twisted by blind luck rather then governed by the providence of God?

For Christians, 99.9% of the time things go well, and we assume that is how it OUGHT to be.

Then 0.1% of the time, the brown stuff hits the twirly thing and we are all "WHY O WHY ME LORD!!"??

Christians have a world-view on life that this world OUGHT to be perfect and stay that way, no matter how we mistreat it.

Where in the rule book is it written that this world OUGHT to be peachy at all?

And the moment the world turns 0.1%, everyone, Christians and Atheists trot out that tired phrase "How can a Good God allow this evil to happen?"

The answer is that if God were to rid this earth of evil, all humans and even us Christians would be the first to go.

 

[rstrats]

Crucible,
re: "Nobody is born an atheist..."

So you're saying that a new born baby is born with a conviction (is convinced without any doubt) that a deity/deities actually exist?

 

[patrick jane]

Crucible,
re: "Nobody is born an atheist..."

So you're saying that a new born baby is born with a conviction (is convinced without any doubt) that a deity/deities actually exist?

Yes :devil:

 

[Bluecheese]

Crucible,
re: "Nobody is born an atheist..."

So you're saying that a new born baby is born with a conviction (is convinced without any doubt) that a deity/deities actually exist?

A crazy thought!

My grandson, now 13, a highly intelligent lad whose mother is a Christian, questioned her belief in Jesus when he was only two. He asked her how she could believe in someone she couldn't see, hear or feel! He is an atheist.

 

[Truster]

Everyone is born atheist....the Bible says so.

 

[patrick jane]

A crazy thought!

My grandson, now 13, a highly intelligent lad whose mother is a Christian, questioned her belief in Jesus when he was only two. He asked her how she could believe in someone she couldn't see, hear or feel! He is an atheist.

And you're proud no doubt. Another baby genius

 

[PureX]

For Christians, 99.9% of the time things go well, and we assume that is how it OUGHT to be.

Then 0.1% of the time, the brown stuff hits the twirly thing and we are all "WHY O WHY ME LORD!!"??

Christians have a world-view on life that this world OUGHT to be perfect and stay that way, no matter how we mistreat it.

Where in the rule book is it written that this world OUGHT to be peachy at all?

And the moment the world turns 0.1%, everyone, Christians and Atheists trot out that tired phrase "How can a Good God allow this evil to happen?"

The answer is that if God were to rid this earth of evil, all humans and even us Christians would be the first to go.

Actually, most of the Christians on TOL have a world view that the world and it's people are hopelessly flawed, are hopelessly doomed to hell (except themselves, of course) and deserve every misfortune that happens to them. They do not question why evil is allowed to happen to us because they believe in evil as much as they believe in God. The evil of the world is what makes them feel righteous. So they do not doubt, as you are implying. Because all this needless suffering makes sense, to them.

 

[PureX]

(As an aside, it has never been properly explained to me how atheism allows for human dignity. If man has no intrinsic value attach to him then what does the word

Insult

actually mean? How can you insult someone who has no value?)

Atheists can ascribe value to the people, places and things just as any theist can. And they do ascribe value to humanity, often more-so than religious Christians do.

All human beings ascribe value as they see fit. Including Christians and other theists. The difference is that an atheist does not assume the value exists apart from their own attributions. Whereas most theists believe the value they are ascribing, is intrinsic: ascribed by God, rather than themselves.