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Do you believe that atheists still believe in God deep down but are simply choosing to deny him and "the Truth"?
Do you believe that atheists simply hate God?
Do you believe that atheists have their own religion, worshipping earthly things or people?
Do you believe that it is possible for some people to not believe in anything and to view your God the same as the Loch Ness monster, unicorns, and magic?
I ask this question because I've heard some religious people in real life and on this forum say that they went through an atheist phase of many years when they apparently still "prayed to God". I'm not sure how one can consider themselves an atheist in any sense if they pray to God.
I am Christian. I think an atheist is a person who does not believe in any deity. That's pretty much the definition of the word.
Yes, there was a time when I thought that atheists really just didn't want to acknowledge the existence of God, but that turned out to be me projecting my personal confusion on them. I wanted to be an atheist and not believe in God, and I couldn't. That doesn't mean my experience is that of others.
Now that I'm older and have known quite a few real live atheists, I know that there are many people who really don't believe in God. They aren't just pretending.
Do you believe that atheists still believe in God deep down but are simply choosing to deny him and "the Truth"?
No. They have not found any reason to believe in God(swt)
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Do you believe that atheists simply hate God?
No, one can not hate what they don't believe exists
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Do you believe that atheists have their own religion, worshipping earthly things or people?
Yes, but it requires a somewhat non-Traditional definition. I believe people are capable of worshiping anything. In the sense the of worship being a form of attachment
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Do you believe that it is possible for some people to not believe in anything and to view your God the same as the Loch Ness monster, unicorns, and magic?
I assume some do that
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I ask this question because I've heard some religious people in real life and on this forum say that they went through an atheist phase of many years when they apparently still "prayed to God". I'm not sure how one can consider themselves an atheist in any sense if they pray to God.
During my Atheist years I did sometimes participate in prayers as a part of social acceptability.
Do you believe that atheists still believe in God deep down but are simply choosing to deny him and "the Truth"?
Do you believe that atheists simply hate God?
Do you believe that atheists have their own religion, worshipping earthly things or people?
Do you believe that it is possible for some people to not believe in anything and to view your God the same as the Loch Ness monster, unicorns, and magic?
I ask this question because I've heard some religious people in real life and on this forum say that they went through an atheist phase of many years when they apparently still "prayed to God". I'm not sure how one can consider themselves an atheist in any sense if they pray to God.
I don't see how much of this makes any sense. By definition, an atheist is a person who does not believe in any God or gods. Period. That's it. There is nothing more to the definition, and therefore nothing more that atheists have in common. Many of them will tell you that you can't hate something that doesn't exist. Many will tell you there is nothing to worship, but last night CNN had a program about the "Sunday Assembly" gathering for atheists. Some atheists have made posts here about God or gods being similar to Bigfoot or unicorns. I don't recall any atheists making posts about "praying to God," but maybe some do. Other that not believing in God, atheists have nothing more in common than any other random collection of people. You could gather up a collection of people with red hair, or people with tattoos, or people who wear glasses, and have as much luck trying to apply generalities to the groups as you would trying to apply generalities to atheists.
Atheism is a religion with a belief system that states there is no God. Some say it cannot be a belief system assuming there is nothing is more or less the same as assuming there is something.
The more correct position is to be an agnostic. Paradoxically fundamentalists and and some atheists sometimes have a lot in common because they are firmly entrenched in what they believe.
Do you believe that atheists still believe in God deep down but are simply choosing to deny him and "the Truth"?
Atheists generally want proof of God's existence.
Do you believe that atheists simply hate God? No
Do you believe that atheists have their own religion, worshipping earthly things or people? Some do---------many enjoy the church for atheists.
Do you believe that it is possible for some people to not believe in anything and to view your God the same as the Loch Ness monster, unicorns, and magic? Yes, it is quite possible if they are level I (or newbie) atheists. A mature atheist is often more philosophical and may even learn that the existence or non existence of God is a moot point.
Atheism is a religion with a belief system that states there is no God. Some say it cannot be a belief system assuming there is nothing is more or less the same as assuming there is something.
You keep making this mistake. If there is assumed a "something", something requires evidence
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The more correct position is to be an agnostic.
Rubbish, the term agnostic is one recently coined and refers to knowledge. The idiocy of this argument is that believers should themselves be agnostic b/c as far as knowledge goes, neither side can prove either way. Atheism is not a belief system, other than the common non-belief in deities and a plethora of other woo.
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Paradoxically fundamentalists and and some atheists sometimes have a lot in common because they are firmly entrenched in what they believe.
No argument here, the difference is that we heathen do not have to prove a negative.
The idea of agnosticism, IMO, suggests to a theist, an agnostic just has not seen any compelling evidence and perhaps the door is open to coercion/evangelism. Conversely, an atheist cannot really deconvert anyone, that is a personal choice and/or road of discovery, we are limited to highlighting the idiosyncrasies of theism, IOW making people think about what they believe and why they believe as they do. We do not have the proverbial carrot of an afterlife or damnation stick to enforce our stance, that is fully within the theist's domain.
The idea of agnosticism, IMO, suggests to a theist, an agnostic just has not seen any compelling evidence and perhaps the door is open to coercion/evangelism.
Not really; most conventional religion requires belief in magic and mythology. Not all agnostics would fall for that.
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Conversely, an atheist cannot really deconvert anyone, that is a personal choice and/or road of discovery, we are limited to highlighting the idiosyncrasies of theism, IOW making people think about what they believe and why they believe as they do. We do not have the proverbial carrot of an afterlife or damnation stick to enforce our stance, that is fully within the theist's domain.
You confuse religion with the existence or non-existence of God. It is rather simple to demolish religion because religion is full of magic and mythology.
There is also the issue of a class I atheist and a class III more mature atheist. At some point it is possible to enjoy some religion without any concerns with the existence or non-existence of God.
You will find that newbie atheists are very similar to fundamentalists. They are very entrenched in their views.
I ask this question because I've heard some religious people in real life and on this forum say that they went through an atheist phase of many years when they apparently still "prayed to God". I'm not sure how one can consider themselves an atheist in any sense if they pray to God.
Did you possibly misinterpret it as not wanting to be part of certain sect within an organized religion? Maybe their belief is structured on not wanting to belong to any religion but in their own version do believe in some sort of a higher power.
Keep in mind there is no one version. They are as fragmented as people who are theists.
You will find that newbie atheists are very similar to fundamentalists. They are very entrenched in their views.
Some. Not all. This term "newbie atheists" is interesting. I think most atheists have gradually moved to that position after a long time of being expected to be religious. Not all, but I am one.
Since I was a teen I thought the idea of a god didn't make sense, yet I respected my Christian parents a lot (and I still do). It just didn't fit my way of thinking.
Some. Not all. This term "newbie atheists" is interesting. I think most atheists have gradually moved to that position after a long time of being expected to be religious. Not all, but I am one.
Since I was a teen I thought the idea of a god didn't make sense, yet I respected my Christian parents a lot (and I still do). It just didn't fit my way of thinking.
Anyone that tries to find logic in religion ends up an atheist.
However, if you take religion as cultural heritage then it is not a big deal. Very similar to "May the Force be with you!"
Many atheists have spent a lifetime searching when in reality there is no need to search. The existence or non-existence of God is moot. That is why the more matured atheist enjoy the Christmas Holidays so much.
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