http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7681914.stm
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I like the idea. Atheism is a value just like Christianity. I'd love to see this in more cities.
I think its ridiculous. Just as ridiculous as religious propaganda on a bus to begin with. Many atheist's, especially the organized Humanists, dig themselves into the same close-minded hole many religions do. It's simply proselytizing a different religion. Like this quote from the article posted...
"This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."
That's where I stopped reading.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
Hee hee!! Very clever!Quote:
Atheism is a non-prophet organization
Atheism IS a religion. A lot of atheists don't seem to realise this. Your religion is your set of beliefs about all those questions like "What happens after we die? Is there any absolute moral authority outside of society? Where did life come from?" etcetera. An orthodox Christian has one set of answers to those questions, involving a God who created us, has set rules in place, and will judge us after we die. An atheist has a different set of answers, involving random chance, no outsite authority, and complete destruction after death. Someone else might answer those questions by saying that after we die, we come back again, the only authority is your own conscience, and life has been around eternally. All three are religions, even though two of them won't lead to someone praying, worshipping God, attending religious services, or any of the other aspects of organized religion.Quote:
Originally posted by Ilusan
It's simply proselytizing a different religion.
Thinking is not anathema to religion. Thinking is a very good thing, because it helps you codify your religious views instead of simply following someone else because you feel you ought to. And there are people who follow atheism without thinking, same as there are followers of every other religion who haven't thought about it.
This is a prime example of freedom of religion at work. Let 'em buy some advertisments. There's nothing wrong with it.
That's because it's not true. Atheism is a philosophy, not a religion.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
Atheism IS a religion. A lot of atheists don't seem to realise this.
Religion requires faith, and faith in the supernatural in particular. I am an atheist and have zero faith in anything supernatural, therefore I am not religious.
Any such beliefs that are derived from scientific observation or logical deduction are not religious beliefs.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
Your religion is your set of beliefs about all those questions like "What happens after we die? Is there any absolute moral authority outside of society? Where did life come from?" etcetera.
Is there some reason why you think having opinions - let alone answers - to those questions is necessary, and that everyone is obliged to have some? Many atheists have no answers to those questions and don't claim to, because there is insufficient evidence. Religious people claim to have those answers despite there being insufficient evidence. And as previously stated, science can and does answer a lot of those questions. In addition to 'where did life come from' and 'what happens after we die', you could have included, 'What is thunder?', 'What is disease?', 'Where does the sun go at night?'. For a long time, those questions had religious explanations because people didn't have enough scientific knowledge to answer them correctly. I know where the sun is at night - that doesn't mean I have a religious belief about it, and if anyone a thousand years ago suspected that the earth was a satellite orbiting the sun, it wouldn't mean that person had a religious belief either if it was logically deduced or based on some observed phenomena.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
An atheist has a different set of answers, involving random chance, no outsite authority, and complete destruction after death.
Rational thought does not equal religion. This 'atheism = religion' bullshit is something that was cooked up by religious nutjobs who try to validate their own irrational belief system by implying that it's at par with logical reasoning. It's not. Get over it.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
All three are religions
Science can tell you that YOUR life came from someone else's. Science has not yet shown where all life came from. Also, it hasn't explained what happens to you after you die - only to your body. There's a fair amount of scientific evidence (not proof, but evidence) that your body is not all there is of you.
Scientific observation cannot answer the question "Is there any absolute moral authority outside of society?". That's not a scientific question at all, any more than "What does Adjective mean" is a mathematical question. And it's a question that everyone has to have an answer to - either you believe that no, there isn't, or you believe that yes, there is, and it is [insert name of authority here]. Or perhaps you might believe that yes, there is, and you're still trying to find out who, or something. But you can't just not-answer.
EVERY person has faith. It is simply unavoidable. Your beliefs, worldview, philosophy, or whatever you want to call it is your faith. They are simply terms that define the immaterial understandings that you have of the world that motivate and/or influence your choices and therefore actions.
NO faith whatsoever would be nihilism. The irony of nihilism is that it is inherently an oxymoron. Since the belief in nothing is still effectively a belief in something.
Religion is the communal organizational structure that comes with those who share the same beliefs/faith/worldview/philosophy/whatever. In this case, 100% without a doubt.. atheism is a religion.
Spouting off that science hasn't answered everything yet is not an argument. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with your initial assertion that atheism is a religion, nor my rebuttal.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
Science can tell you that YOUR life came from someone else's. Science has not yet shown where all life came from.
Um.. yes, I can not-answer. By your asinine pseudo-logic, people have to provide answers to pretty much any question imaginable.Quote:
Originally posted by Rosuav
Or perhaps you might believe that yes, there is, and you're still trying to find out who, or something. But you can't just not-answer.
Why are you having trouble understanding this? Religion requires faith with an absence of evidence. I refuse to have faith with an absence of evidence, and I am not committing a crime or any intellectual dishonesty by doing so. In fact, you're the one being intellectually dishonest by offering up an answer to a question that you're in no position to evaluate. That is irrational, and that is why (presumably) you're religious.