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I'm an atheist, or rather I find the belief in god unimportant and rather irrelevant. I concede there could be a god, but on the long road to consciousness and enlightenment whether one believes in a deity or doesn't believe in a deity matters little if any. I believe there may be a life force...or an energy within all living beings, but that would be as far as any "god" belief goes for me.
I have studied numerous world religions and try to derive wisdom from a broad spectrum of philosophical and religious teachers and teachings. Most of my ethical beliefs and practices are derived from Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism. I have also read "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and find some inspiration in his teachings.
I have made a conscious decision to not identify myself with any one religion because I believe that feeds into humanity's collective dysfunction. One needs to just take a cursory glance at what identification with organized religions has wrought on humanity to see my point.
Granted those that follow superstition need practice for they have screwed it up for thousands of years, and have made no progress in centuries. Ritualistic observance of superstition while trying to convince themselves they are right is such an absurd undertaking, yet many go to practice weekly or even more often.
I am an Atheist, it is not a religion, it is a clear knowledge that gods and after-lifes are the desperate self-inflicted fantasies for those that can't or won't rationally view their existence for what it is, and when we all die, we are just another dead animal that needs to be disposed of. You should also note that evolution and nature can deal with the dead body every efficiently.
Since this poll classifies atheism as a religion, I shall abstain from voting, for it is not a religion, it is a freedom from ancient and absurd superstitions.
neither is theism. but it was up there too. and "Catholic" is a type of Christian. in plain English their name would mean "Universal Christian"
and by proxy the "Christian" bar should be called "Protestant Christian"
My religion is kindness.
I practice Vajrayana which is also known as Tibetan Buddhism. There are four main traditions [Nyingma,Kagyu,Sakya,Gelug]. I practice in the Gelug tradition. I was raised Christian, but after I became an adult and was able to think for myself I decided to study philosophy. Buddhism made the most sense to me and it is cohesive with science. It was the best decision that I ever made.
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"Because of the great differences in our ways of thinking, it is inevitable that we have different religions and faiths. Each has its own beauty. And it is much better that we live together on the basis of mutual respect and mutual admiration."-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Last edited by Kerby W-R; 06-20-2011 at 03:13 AM..
what sort of Buddhist cultures produce scientific scholars. Buddhism is a hollow philosophy that accepts it's subservience to science yet in no way works to better it. Buddhism might be adhesive with science, but it is not cohesive. It is more of a parasitic relationship than a mutual one. Buddhism feeds off the gaps in science and does little to help it and infact might do more to stagnate it. untill Buddhism makes scientific inquiry one of its sacred tenents, it will not be cohesive with science.
I believe you've high jacked the thread, but I'll give a response. Please excuse, everyone.
1. According to the Vinaya in Daily Use, monks and nuns have to chant the mantra before drinking, "There are 84,000 living organisms in this bowl of water that the Buddha sees, if I do not chant, it is just like I am eating them alive." The organisms mentioned here are what we now call germs. Humans only knew the existence of germs
after the microscope was invented in the 17th century but the Buddha observed with his supernatural eye, and already knew about them, is the Buddha not the pioneer of science?
2. The Sutra of the Heart of Prajna Paramita says that "there is no difference between the phenomena and emptiness; they are one and the same" and "the true voidness transcendentally exists; the transcendental existence is truly void." Their are the unchanging principles behind form and appearance but difficult to understand before the invention of computers. I shall use the computer to explain them clearly. The data which appear on the computer screen is the phenomenon but it is only an image, which is emptiness; the images do not leave the screen and vice versa. This means that they are one and the same. Since they are one and the same, there is no difference between them. The hardware of the computer stores a lot of data which cannot be seen physically, this is "the true voidness transcendentally exists; the transcendental existence is truly void."
3. The Surangama-sutra says that "a hair tip can contain the world". This is the principle of the co-existence of the big and the small. The chip in the computer is now getting smaller but it can contain more and more data. This is the principle of the co-existence of the big in the small.
4. The ten philosophic ideas in the Avatamsake-sutra state that:
I.One and many are the same but they do not interfere with one another." For example, there are a thousand lighted candles in a room, their rays intersect but do not cause interference to one another.
II."Small things can be contained together and yet stay distinct." For example, putting atoms into a bottle and yet they do not get mixed up and can be seen clearly from outside.
5. ".These non-interference principles are difficult to understand. However, looking at the internet, there are many people surfing on it and all are using one network simultaneously. It is all contained in one but there is no confusion. This is a good example of "one and many are the same but they do not interfere with one another" and "small things can be contained together
and yet stay distinct."
6. In this advanced technological age, not only the birth, stay, change and death of the inner self are constantly changing, so is the external environment. Even the principle of the never changed sexual reproduction may be challenged by the progress in genetics. This shows that there are no permanent laws in this world and proves that the Buddha's teaching of "all things are impermanent" is an unchanging truth.
7. The use of genetics to clone animals has overturned the myth that God created the world, but cannot transcend the Buddhist teachings that everything arises and disappears from conditions, and has no separate and independent nature. There are seven ways to give birth in the Vibhasa
(philosophies or doctrines taught in the Dharma); therefore, cloning is just another method to produce sentient beings. Cloning also proves that each cell is an individual life form and the human body is made up of countless life forms, no one form is dominant. This proves that the Buddha is correct to say that no permanent ego exists.
From the above examples, we can see that the Dharma is truth which "remains unchanged through the times and correct when seen from any direction". Not only is this truth unchallenged by the times, it can be the leader of the times. Directing humans into the bright and happy realm.
Stop trying to make atheism more than it is - it is nothing more or less than believing that there is no god(s) or deities. It has no other position. It does not offer a view of how one should live one's life
Then why are so many atheists trying to dictate what people ought to think and believe? Why is there so much atheist evangelism in the world today?
I'd appreciate it if you didn't weasel out of my questions.
As a Pagan I chose the "spiritual" category. Paganism is the umbrella under which groups like Wiccans, Druids, ect. fall. We tend to have common beliefs such as a reverance/respect for the natural world, Anamisim(sp?), and acknowledgement of the practice of magick.
This!
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Why is there so much atheist evangelism in the world today? 
