Posted by Tallyman on March 18, 1999 at 19:35:27 {MWkiJ8W7uc3gE}:
In Reply to: *****Interesting Site posted by J.H. on March 18, 1999 at 17:37:12:
Tallyboy,
"boy"? what'd you do Jan, suit me up in a pair of knickers?!
: Atheism is a religion, because the adherents thereof believe there is no God.
So, a person who belive do not believe the sun will
raise in the west tomorrow is member of the
non-west-sun-raise-religion?
Turn that around a bit and it could go like this:
"The Non-West-Sun-Risers" are a religion because they believe the sun will not rise in the west each morning. They believe this because they believe only in what they can see in their material world with their physical eyes. Each morning when they see the Sun rise in the East, they experience affirmation and conviction that this is the way it has been and this is the way it shall always be. They're secure in their faith.
They believe NOTHING will ever change this and Rock Their World. They believe the Sun rising in the East and not the West is immutable.
How will their faith in this Physical Law sustain them if there is an Asteroid Impact, Polar Shift, Crustal Displacement, or hell, an All-Out Atomic Exchange with resulting Nuclear Winter, blanketing the Earth with Darkness? Will they loose faith? When they see the Sun dimly rising in another spot on the horizon, will their faith be shaken? Have they allowed for this? Are they prepared for this?
Or what if they cannot see the Sun at all, and only Darkness,
will they eventually lose faith in the Sun and start believing there is no Sun? (time to start a New Religion!) Being suddenly thrust back into a Primitive World due to this Global Catastrophy... they would not even be in a position
to test for the Sun.
Before the atmosphere cleared and technology again increased to the point of "doing testable, repeatable Science", and if a post-Catastrophy child asked Jan Haugland to prove the Sun exists, what would Jan Haugland
do to prove it?
Tell the youngster the Legends of Old- of the Days When the Sun Was? Or maybe hold a glowing ember from the campfire and wave it around in the air to show the child how the Sun used to behave from dawn to dusk?
Very interesting. If you are a member of a religion for everything you don't believe in, we're all a member of an insane amount of religions, Tallyboy.
Well you should know there ARE an insane amount of religions.
The count is only limited by how many things people can make a god out of.
I think you have to do better.
I asked for definition. I got none. I got some nonsense instead.
Naw, you just did not get what you
wanted.
And I don't know what that is.
But that does not equate to nonsense.
: And many of the Secular Humanists believe
man is a god, or has god within him and one day, when he has sufficiently "evolved" will be
god.
I have never met any of those people. Have you?
I've read a few of them.
What is a "god" anyway?
A person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired.
: Atheists have a belief
system with doctrines, rituals, they disfellowship opposers, etc.etc.
We do? Tell me about it, Tallyman. I never heard about this, but you're obvioulsy better informed than I am-
Well, that could be the
case, you know.
Sure Atheism is a religion.
Sure it is.
Look up the thread below to your buddy Covert's response and what he put up that Mr.Webster said.
Take your pick of several of the definitions.
Atheism is a religion
that has many believers.
There are many denominations of Atheism.
It has split into many sectarian factions since Charlie Darwin's time.
It has devotees. It has its faithful and fanatics.
It preaches its gospel.
It recruits
and wins converts.
It worships and sacrifices at the Altar of Scientism.
It has rituals, especially Orthodox Atheism, that must be adhered to or ostracism can result.
The Religion of Atheism brooks little criticism- to be sure
outside critics- but when one of the fold breaks away, his Atheistic Religious Colleagues can take drastic action and Excommunicate him from the Brotherhood.
...uhh, or at least take away his tenure and their funding.
Damn right
Atheism is a religion!
Y'all got the religion thingie down pat.
Why, I know some Atheists who are more religious that some Christians I know.
TT