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Hm, so "atheist" obviously denotes a person who does not believe in a deity. The terms does not specifically address souls. Being a believer in a deity does not constitute the only demographic that believes that humans have a soul.
That said, I don't think the vast majority of atheists would mind being labelled a "soul," especially since there is a bit of tradition with using the term for passengers of any vessel. Even more so since the terms are not mutually exclusive.
Finally, if there was a near crash, I also doubt that atheists would be offended if anyone claimed "Thank God" afterwards.
So you are a non-believer? I ask this because you failed to use the upper case G in God. Most who are in that situation make sure they don't use that form of spelling.
And you spell out the entire name, which would lead us Jews to believe you're not very respectful of Him... but we try not to judge, or condemn other people for having different beliefs from our own.
Now to hypothetically answer your original question, I wouldn't care WHAT the pilot called me - as long as he got us on the ground in one piece.
When the airline captain told the tower at the airport he needed to make an unscheduled landing at because of the bird that had entered one of his engines said what that one said today I had to wonder what atheists would think about what he said. Of course, I am talking about him reporting that he had 170+ souls on bird. Do you people accept being called souls since you don't believe in God?
I'm not interested in what he calls me in an emergency situation.
GOOD QUESTION ROY. I was interested, yet skeptical (as I am wed to science) about religion for a number of years despite being married to a devout Catholic. Two of my physics professors in undergrad (one of which was a Nobel Prize winner) were devout Catholics. They both told me that the more I understood about advanced physics and mathematics, the closer I would understand God. It took me 25 years and a very close brush with death, but I am a true believer. Being close to death really clears up alot of issues for you fairly quickly. If one emerges from these situations alive, it is probably the best thing to ever happen to anyone. However, I would not wish it upon anyone.
Math, science, and religion are VERY CLOSELY LINKED. However, to those who have a marginal understanding of physics and math, who feel "enlightened", you will get the exact opposite response. Perhaps one should ask them specific questions about Maxwell's equations, the union of Enstein's perception of physics and quantum physics via different dimensions, and the mathematical probability of such events being "random".
Modestly intelligent "idiots" dismiss religion, as they lack the intelectual background and capability to understand VERY complex math and physics which actually unite concepts of religion and science. Such fools are "proud" of their rejection of religion as a reflection of their "elevated intellect" above those who embrace superstition. Oddly, their perception is a clumsy exposure of true ignorance (witness Bill Maher, who is a obviously just an above normal IQ guy who perceives himself as a genius. It is embarrassing and sad to hear him talk, as he actually believes he is intelligent).
Those folks can come back to me when you REALLY understand physics and math. Sadly, they never will. If they did, they would find themselves on their knees more and in front of more advanced physics texts. Until then, I dismiss the "liberal marching orders" of blind atheism to embrace the intellect of an ant. I find it hard to debate with an ant and find it irrelevant and uninteresting, much like discussions with liberals in other matters.
PS- Liberals will dismiss this, of course. Perhaps they should take an objective measurement of their IQ before dismissing such thoughts. If it is below 150 and they have not taken advanced physics and math, perhaps they should reconsider their position. This will never occur, as liberalism confers absolute arrogance, despite minimal intellectual and academic credentials to support their positions.
There are plenty of physicists and scientists at or above your apparently exalted intellectual level who have poured over the same advanced physics and mathematics without coming to the conclusion that there has to be a God (otherwise known as the clockmaker God argument) -Stephen Hawking comes to mind.
Also, in light of your obvious disdain for liberals its strange and a bit disappointing that you've adopted one of their most infamous tactics in addressing your foes as idiots and fools endowed with the meager intellects of ants. I've got to agree with you on a couple of points though: Bill Maher is an over-confidant fool, and I also find conversations with most liberals somewhat less than stimulating.
However, I get the same feeling when talking to the average conservative which is why I pitch my tent in the moderate/centrist camp (I have voted both republican and democrat in the past). With their intuitive grasp on the excesses, foils, and follies of wing-nuts on either side, I find political moderates to be very thoughtful as well as refreshingly humble. I can't emphasize this last point enough. Most people who proudly identify as either liberal or conservative are completely caught up in their own hubris.
To get back to the subject at hand I identify as an atheist, but when pressed I have to admit that there is no way to know for sure and that it is simply my suspicion that there is no God. If there is any conception of God that I could be induced to believe in it would be the Deist concept adopted by many of the Founding Fathers of our great nation. The Deists believed that God was unknowable and simply laid down the mathematical rules that govern the natural laws of the universe and then stepped back to let it run on its own without the slightest divine interference. The all too human angry, vengeful, and meddling Judeo-Christian God doesn't do it for me.
Its also worth noting that not all atheists/agnostics identify as liberal. I've met quite a few right-wing atheists/agnostics in my travels. There are even a few here on City-Data. To answer Roy's question: no, being called a soul doesn't bother me.
Do you people accept being called souls since you don't believe in God?
I could care less whether somebody -- religious or not -- believes that I have something called a "soul"
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