Atheism, what is it.

[ForwardRetreat]

Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings. The word Atheism comes from a, meaning without, and theism meaning belief in god or gods.

Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe.
Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods or scriptures.
Reasons for non-belief
People are atheist for many reasons, among them:

They find insufficient evidence to support any religion.
They think that religion is nonsensical.
They once had a religion and have lost faith in it.
They live in a non-religious culture.
Religion doesn't interest them.
Religion doesn't seem relevant to their lives.
Religions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world.
The world is such a bad place that there can't be a God.
Many atheists are also secularist, and are hostile to any special treatment given to organised religion.

It is possible to be both atheist and religious. Virtually all Buddhists manage it, as do some adherents of other religions,such as Judaism and Christianity.

Atheists and morality
Atheists are as moral (or immoral) as religious people.

In practical terms atheists often follow the same moral code as religious people, but they arrive at the decision of what is good or bad without any help from the idea of God.

What does it mean to be human?
Atheists find their own answers to the question of what it means to be human. This discussion looks at the question from both theological and ethical viewpoints.

 

[ForwardRetreat]

another side of the story.

为何无神论终将取代宗教？
为何无神论发展比宗教快的多？

无神论者在经济发达国家高度集中，尤其是在欧洲民主制国家。而在发展中国家，基本上不存在无神论者。因此无神论是一种现代化的现象。为什么现代化的现状造就了无神论呢？



首先，根据世界无神论的分布，我们就可以清晰的勾勒出一副图样。在撒哈拉以南的非洲基本不存在无神论(Zuckerman,2007). 而在大多发达国家，对上帝的信仰逐渐衰弱，尤其在欧洲的一些国家，像瑞典（64%的人没有信仰），丹麦（48%），法国（44%），德国（42%），相反，无神论的比率在撒哈拉以南的国家里只有不到1%。



为什么经济发达国家会更倾向于无神论？这个问题已经被人类学家广泛讨论了80年。人类学家James Fraster提出，作为控制我们生活中未知事物的一种手段，科学的预测和对自然的掌控逐渐取代了宗教。这个论调已经被数据所证实，数据显示大多受过良好教育的国家拥有更高的无神论水平，而且无神论和智慧之间无疑存在强烈的联系。



在城市居住并且受过大学教育的人更加有可能成为无神论者，他们高度集中在欧洲民主国家。看起来无神论更容易在--人们感觉到经济安稳的 – 富裕地区开花结果。但这是为什么呢？



当人们无法解释生命中的不确定性因素和艰难坎坷时，他们似乎会试图在宗教中找到慰藉。然而在社会民主制国家里，对未来的恐惧和不确定性都比较少，因为各项福利项目给人们提供了一个安全网和更好的卫生保健，这就意味着很少再有人会英年早逝。同时面对天灾，人们也不再那么脆弱，并能更好的掌控他们的生命，所以对宗教的需要就越来越小。



另外，根据Sanderson（2008）的大量数据显示，作为人类的鸦片（马克思曾如此蔑视的措辞），宗教还很有可能通过鼓动婚姻来促进生育。农业国家更倾向于建立庞大的家庭作为生产力来源。而在发达的无神论国家，女性的家庭异常的简单，而并不需要宗教来养活一个大家庭。



在今天，宗教的心理学功能甚至也面临着强大的竞争。在现代社会里，当人们心理出现了问题，他们就会去看医生，寻求心理学家或者精神病医生的帮助。他们更想要一个科学的确诊，更需要医生开的药房，而不是宗教所提供的模棱两可，不知所云的“鸦片治疗”。



此外，运动心理学家指出，观看体育运动比赛可以提供跟参加教会一样的社交和心灵上的益处。在以前的文章中，我曾举过运动正在取代宗教的例子。同样，这个观点也可以用于其他可以使观众为之痴迷的娱乐项目。事实上，宗教也正在使用现代媒体负隅顽抗，比如电视福音传道、基督摇滚和在教堂里举办直播的教会娱乐活动等。



教堂在发达国家“节节败退”的原因可以用市场条件来总结。首先，由于拥有了更先进的科学水平，政府的安全网，更加精细的家庭，人们对日常生活的不确定性和恐惧就大大减低，所以宗教的市场就越来越小。同时许多其他的产品可以提供给人们，比如精神病药物和不需要珠串的电子娱乐，更不需要像奴隶一般的盲目跟从不科学的宗教信条。



参考文献：
References
Sanderson, S. K. (2008). Adaptation, evolution, and religion. Religion, 38, 141-156.
Zuckerman, P. (2007). Atheism: Contemporary numbers and patterns. In M. Martin (ed.), The Cambridge companion to atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This book is not held by any U.S. Library.

 

[ForwardRetreat]

shxt happens - ( for a laugh)

Taoism Shit happens.
Buddhism If shit happens, it's not really shit.
Islam If shit happens, it's the will of Allah.
Protestantism Shit happens because you don't work hard enough.
Judaism Why does this shit always happen to us?
Hinduism This shit happened before.
Catholicism Shit happens because you're bad.
Hare Krishna Shit happens rama rama.
T.V. Evangelism Send more shit.
Atheism No shit.
Jehova's Witness Knock knock, shit happens.
Hedonism There's nothing like a good shit happening.
Christian Science Shit happens in your mind.
Agnosticism Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn't.
Rastafarianism Let's smoke this shit.
Existentialism What is shit anyway?
Stoicism This shit doesn't bother me.

 

[ForwardRetreat]

a heretic

The heretic

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well, are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? He said, Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.

 

[ForwardRetreat]

hell cold or hot? ( for a laugh)

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, which is why we have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
Bonus Question:
Is Hell exothermic (gives of heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law, (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some varient.
One student however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving.
I think we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to hell.
With birth and death rates as they are we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume of Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase untill all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop untill Hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms.Banyan during my freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you" and we take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then #2 cannot be true.
Thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze.

 

[CHRIS88]

老兄热情可嘉。

不过在短期内发这麽多帖子，也没有注明出处，有点洗版的味道了（不是说你洗版啊），还是放一起吧。转帖请注明出处。

 

[ForwardRetreat]

okay,will follow the rules.

 

[CHRIS88]

okay,will follow the rules.

Thanks.

 

[CHRIS88]

Atheists and morality
Atheists are as moral (or immoral) as religious people.

In practical terms atheists often follow the same moral code as religious people, but they arrive at the decision of what is good or bad without any help from the idea of God.

老兄是不是有意就这个话题深入讨论？

 

[心如风]

...
Buddhism If shit happens, it's not really shit.
...

Not right. No shit happens at all.

 

[CHRIS88]

老兄是不是有意就这个话题深入讨论？

老兄不愿就这个问题接战，其实可以选择任何与基督教有关的话题。

我给老兄的挑战是：1）在无神论的世界观基础上推导不出普世价值；2）在除基督教以外的任何其他宗教信仰和哲学的世界观的基础之上也不可能推导出普世价值；3）基督教世界观是普世价值的基础。

我这是把自己置于绝地了，老兄愿不愿意应战？:blowzy:

 

[ForwardRetreat]

老兄不愿就这个问题接战，其实可以选择任何与基督教有关的话题。

我给老兄的挑战是：1）在无神论的世界观基础上推导不出普世价值；2）在除基督教以外的任何其他宗教信仰和哲学的世界观的基础之上也不可能推导出普世价值；3）基督教世界观是普世价值的基础。

我这是把自己置于绝地了，老兄愿不愿意应战？:blowzy:

1. Atheism is not a belief system. it only concerns if one believes a deity or deities or not.
2. Atheists can be good or even better than theists, or he or she can be as evil as a theist.
3. Wether or not a particular religions produce a net benifit or a net loss to human society is irrelenvant in terms of proving existence a deity or deities. ( though deitiy based religions as a whole has hindered humankind progression for thousands of years). The benefit arguments are secondary not primary, it's circumstantial not substantial.


anyway, some thoughts for your entertaiment.