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Can you be religious and not believe in God?

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  1. rcrane082985 rcrane082985 is offline

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 6:03pm) in reply to zeppelinzoso16

    If i believe that there is a small chance that there is a god...but dont believe in jesus and all the rest of the human gods and saviors, am i an atheist?
     
  2. TMLMS13 TMLMS13 is online now

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 6:03pm) in reply to rcrane082985

    I'm an athiest but I celebrate christmas because I like getting free stuff
  3. norcaljeff norcaljeff is offline 2010 OT Thread Kill Leader

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 6:14pm) in reply to userid363

  4. zeppelinzoso16 zeppelinzoso16 is online now world traveler

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 6:51pm) in reply to rcrane082985

     
    Originally Posted by rcrane082985 View Post

    If i believe that there is a small chance that there is a god...but dont believe in jesus and all the rest of the human gods and saviors, am i an atheist?

    Sounds more like an agnostic
  5. winwin07 winwin07 is offline

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 9:43pm) in reply to rcrane082985

    Does anyone else find the smugness and arrogance of some atheists to be just as off putting as Christians (or any other religion for that matter) who try cramming their beliefs down your throat?

    It just seems so arrogant and presumptuous to say what we perceive as the physical world is all there is. I mean we know for almost a fact that there are more than the 4 perceivable dimensions. The notion of parallel universes is no longer science fiction. We understand so little about the physical universe and yet there are people out there who want to say "this is it." I mean hell, we're bound by the constructs of space and time but how do we even know that "reality" requires those two elements?

    We may be the only conscious observers in the whole damn universe. We're what gives it meaning. And when observing things on the quantum level we somehow "force" particles to pick a side and stay there. Just by observing we turn the possibility of a quantum event into an actuality. And really our whole lives are about turning possibility into actuality. Every choice we make does that.

    I know I'm rambling here but my main point is that we are just only starting to get a tiny itty bitty glimpse into how complex, weird, surprising, etc. the physical universe is. It'd be absurd to confidently declare that our limited experiences in one tiny slice of the cosmos are all there is to existence.
     
  6. Lameass_ Lameass_ is offline

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    Sep 28th, 2011 (9/28/2011 10:50pm) in reply to TMLMS13

     
    Originally Posted by TMLMS13 View Post

    I'm an athiest but I celebrate christmas because I like getting free stuff

    [ ] celebrating the birth of christ
    [x] celebrating a "holiday" because it has presents
  7. SmokeyCasinos SmokeyCasinos is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:19am) in reply to winwin07

     
    Originally Posted by winwin07 View Post

    Does anyone else find the smugness and arrogance of some atheists to be just as off putting as Christians (or any other religion for that matter) who try cramming their beliefs down your throat?.


    Yep...
  8. norcaljeff norcaljeff is offline 2010 OT Thread Kill Leader

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:34am) in reply to SmokeyCasinos

    Nice view
  9. qjuice14 qjuice14 is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:42am) in reply to clemsonrich

     
    Originally Posted by clemsonrich View Post

    fossils tho


     
  10. warden warden is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:43am) in reply to winwin07

     
    Originally Posted by winwin07 View Post

    Does anyone else find the smugness and arrogance of some atheists to be just as off putting as Christians (or any other religion for that matter) who try cramming their beliefs down your throat?

    It just seems so arrogant and presumptuous to say what we perceive as the physical world is all there is.

    while the smugness of some atheists might be off-putting, the second sentence really doesn't fit with that sentiment. i don't think atheists "say what we perceive as the physical world is all there is." they're just saying there's no god. there can be things we can't detect at the moment, and i don't think atheists would necessarily deny that.
     2
  11. Glo4m Glo4m is offline Confess to me

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:45am) in reply to warden

    non-personified gods >>>>>> personified gods
  12. winwin07 winwin07 is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 1:53am) in reply to warden

     
    Originally Posted by warden View Post

    while the smugness of some atheists might be off-putting, the second sentence really doesn't fit with that sentiment. i don't think atheists "say what we perceive as the physical world is all there is." they're just saying there's no god. there can be things we can't detect at the moment, and i don't think atheists would necessarily deny that.

    What I'd say is that anything that goes beyond what we perceive as the natural world could be classified as "god" or at the very least spiritual.

    FTR I think the notion of a personal, human-like god is kind of retarded. But I do think there is "something" else. I think the eastern religions are probably closer to the right track when it comes to what that "other" would be.

    People always want to say that science is going to eliminate the need for religion. But as we really learn more about the universe and how it truly functions I see religion playing an even greater role. Sure its not going to be any of the ancient religions (or any of the new age nonsense of today really) but whatever philosophy evolves from when we "crack" the code of the universe is going to be extremely profound in regards to our existence and will probably be classified as religion.
     
  13. Ser Davos Ser Davos is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 2:38am) in reply to winwin07

  14. yomamanodros yomamanodros is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 2:44am) in reply to Ser Davos

     
    Originally Posted by Ser Davos View Post

    Onion Knight, not accepting the Red Woman's god doesn't make you an atheist.
    Edited By: yomamanodros Sep 29th, 2011 at 02:45 AM
  15. Ser Davos Ser Davos is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 2:48am) in reply to yomamanodros

    hahaha still havnt read the new book, been about 6 years since ive read Martin; might have to read them all over agian.
  16. warden warden is offline

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 3:43am) in reply to winwin07

     
    Originally Posted by winwin07 View Post

    What I'd say is that anything that goes beyond what we perceive as the natural world could be classified as "god" or at the very least spiritual.

    first, why? that definition could not be broader.

    second, even if there is "something" beyond our perception:

    1. it doesn't affect us, given that we can't perceive it.
    2. we have no way of proving its existence.
    3. even if you knew SOMETHING beyond our perception existed, you would have no way of even gathering information about what "it" is

    further, you say: " But I do think there is "something" else."

    why? there is no reason to think that. in fact, there isn't even a way to know what exactly you're talking about. you can't make probabilities or anything because, by definition, we are unable to perceive it.

    would you be happier if the people who consider themselves atheists called themselves agnostics? usually they don't KNOW there is no god, but they certainly do not believe in the existence of a god.

    again, the smugness is a separate issue. some people think they are way better than others because they "know" there is no god and other people don't. that's not the same as whatever you're talking about.
     2
  17. bfactor bfactor is offline Server Clogger

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 3:49am) in reply to warden

     
    Originally Posted by warden View Post

    first, why? that definition could not be broader.

    second, even if there is "something" beyond our perception:

    1. it doesn't affect us, given that we can't perceive it.
    2. we have no way of proving its existence.
    3. even if you knew SOMETHING beyond our perception existed, you would have no way of even gathering information about what "it" is

    further, you say: " But I do think there is "something" else."

    why? there is no reason to think that. in fact, there isn't even a way to know what exactly you're talking about. you can't make probabilities or anything because, by definition, we are unable to perceive it.

    would you be happier if the people who consider themselves atheists called themselves agnostics? usually they don't KNOW there is no god, but they certainly do not believe in the existence of a god.

    again, the smugness is a separate issue. some people think they are way better than others because they "know" there is no god and other people don't. that's not the same as whatever you're talking about.

    This^^^

    Btw Warden, if you ever actually do get all curiosity-mode and actually check out a Unitarian service, could you give a brief trip report about it afterwards? I think it would be cool to read about, from an atheist's perspective.
  18. userid363 userid363 is offline I want an undertitle

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 4:20am) in reply to bfactor

     
    Originally Posted by bfactor View Post


    Btw Warden, if you ever actually do get all curiosity-mode and actually check out a Unitarian service, could you give a brief trip report about it afterwards? I think it would be cool to know if there are any hot asian chicks there?

    .
    Thread Starter
  19. bfactor bfactor is offline Server Clogger

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    Sep 29th, 2011 (9/29/2011 4:42am) in reply to userid363

    lol
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