Subscribers of non-theism and 'atheism'

[gravydancr]

Too often, I see non-theists going on about what they do not believe (i.e., theism). I would really like to hear about is what you do believe. Second, I would like to hear why you choose to identify yourself primarily by non-theism or 'atheism' -- assuming you do so. (To be honest, I find it odd that people choose to identify themselves by what beliefs they lack rather than what beliefs they adhere to.)

Side note: Why is atheism in quotations? Going forward, I will no longer use, on this message board, atheism to mean "a lack of theism." I have done so here as a one-time thing to appeal broadly to all non-theists. In the future, I will use non-theism to mean "a lack of theism" and atheism to mean "the belief that God or gods do not exist." All others are free to continue using the terms as they see fit, so long as when they differ from my own definitions that they clarify and remain consistent in their usage.

[Furrowed Brow]

Some stuff I believe...

• 1/ witness statements are notoriously unreliable.
  2/ science is the sum of what we have learned about how to keep from fooling ourselves (to paraphrase Feynman).
  3/ we are all more than capable of being fooled and fooling ourselves.
  3/ if a statement cannot be falsified it is not scientific and is liable to fool us.
  4/ folk regularly do and say all sort of strange stuff without clear or rational explanation.
  5/ there is not one act or supernatural ability, including but not limited to clairvoyance, mind reading, spiritualism, levitation, telepathy, telekinesis , remote viewing, healing, etc that cannot be duplicated by a really good magician with props, stage craft, cunning and expertise.
  6/ there is zero scientific evidence for the supernatural.
  7/ 2000 year old texts are not evidence of miracles or supernatural events.
  8/ there is humility in critical rigour; it takes time and great effort
  9/ manmade global warning
  10/ quantum physics, general relativity and evolution are each excellent scientific theories.
  11/ Belief in UFO's, Greys, Reptilians, Starchild Skull, illuminati, the Twin Towers were brought down by explosives and the Pentagon was hit by a missile, a second gunman shot Kennedy, and a long list of other conspiracy theories and urban myths are the result of delusional thinking.
  12/ separation of religion and state
  13/democracy is the least worst form of government we have so far tried
  14/ Obama was born in America
  15/ Keanu Reeve is not a very good actor

[sarabellum]

I sympathies with your frustration...

Better labels may come in handy...

For instance...

Some Gods are dead...

I am an atheist when it comes to Zeus....
A strong atheist...
Over the top....
Will not consider it...

Heck....
It's hard to find a good Zeus debate these days....
Canceled due to lack of human interest...

Sad thing is...
Being a strong atheist to Zeus is probably a logical fallacy....
I can't back it up on paper...
Hard thing to prove....

Zeuslessness....

[gravydancr]

First, thank you both for responding. Second, please accept my apologies. I should have been more specific. I am more interested in beliefs as related to 'world views.'

[Question Everything]

What we have learned from science is not as important as understanding science itself - how it works and why it works. A few essential things:

1. Elimination of bias

We are all biased in one way or another. The trick is to figure out how to reduce it as much as possible. This is the reasoning behind double blind trials in drug studies where neither the person receiving the pill nor the person dispensing the pills and recording the results have any idea which pills contain the drug being tested and which do not.

2. Falsification

Most ideas people come up with as to why the universe works the way it does are wrong and the sooner they can be corrected, the better. What would it take to prove that an idea is wrong so that you can move on to something else that is closer to the truth? There needs to be something or the idea is useless.

3. Replication of results. How do you know that what you have discovered is real and not a mistake? By doing it over and over again consistently. Other people should also be able to do it consistently, or something is wrong.

4. Peer review

Did you set up and run your experiment properly? If you didn't, it is the duty of other researchers to set you straight.

5. Large sample sizes

You are going to have random noise with any observation. The larger the sample size the smaller the noise.

[McCulloch]

I hear what you are saying. In that vein, I am an a-fairyist, an a-gnomist, an a-astrologist, an a-phrenologist, ... . The only reason why atheist has any traction is that for the longest time theism has been the norm in our societies.

Philosophically, I prefer the primary identification as a Humanist. I believe that reliable knowledge of the world and ourselves arises through a continuing process of observation, evaluation and revision. I believe that the solutions to the world's problems, if they are to be found, must lie in human thought and action rather than divine intervention.

[Question Everything]

I believe that the solutions to the world's problems, if they are to be found, must lie in human thought and action rather than divine intervention.

I second that and I also believe that the best way to solve the world's problems is to teach people to be problem solvers instead of fact memorizers. Imagine a school where students spend the entire day working as teams to solve a problem, and they are graded on participation, communication of ideas, ability to work with others, etc.

[catalyst]

Too often, I see non-theists going on about what they do not believe (i.e., theism). I would really like to hear about is what you do believe. Second, I would like to hear why you choose to identify yourself primarily by non-theism or 'atheism' -- assuming you do so. (To be honest, I find it odd that people choose to identify themselves by what beliefs they lack rather than what beliefs they adhere to.)

Side note: Why is atheism in quotations? Going forward, I will no longer use, on this message board, atheism to mean "a lack of theism." I have done so here as a one-time thing to appeal broadly to all non-theists. In the future, I will use non-theism to mean "a lack of theism" and atheism to mean "the belief that God or gods do not exist." All others are free to continue using the terms as they see fit, so long as when they differ from my own definitions that they clarify and remain consistent in their usage.

Good questions. I don't know why atheist is in quotations.

I am an atheist because I don't believe ANY of the god models shown to me actually exist or existed in reality. That said, I appreciate the ideas and coupled mythologies many cultures have had over thousands upon thousands of years and have explored too many to count... even going back 50000 years (to the "dreamtime"..where animism was a thriving concept). I am however seeing all these things as a woman in the 21st century, not as a woman living through those specific times.

I want to point out too that my research into these other god models had zero to do with my personal quest to find a "replacement" for christianity, but more so an exercise to determine why people in general claim to "need" these god models in their lives.

That said as to my beliefs. I believe in humanity and the importance to explore the "likes" of us all rather than the differences.

I believe love is uncontrollable but hate is learned.

I believe we don't have to be taught to laugh or cry, to feel pain or to feel pleasure. (many more examples of "likes" without being taught but I hope those make my point)

All these things we ALL DO no matter what "label" is attached to the christian or non theist or atheist, muslim or buddhist....etc....are the things that REALLY matter.

It's just a shame that so many people let the TAUGHT "stuff" get in the way.

[ArtanBraeden]

"the ability to let that which truly does not matter...slide." -jack

from the movie fightclub, cant remember if its in the book or not though.

i think its a good place to start with your average atheist.

[Autodidact]

Too often, I see non-theists going on about what they do not believe (i.e., theism). I would really like to hear about is what you do believe. Second, I would like to hear why you choose to identify yourself primarily by non-theism or 'atheism' -- assuming you do so. (To be honest, I find it odd that people choose to identify themselves by what beliefs they lack rather than what beliefs they adhere to.)

Side note: Why is atheism in quotations? Going forward, I will no longer use, on this message board, atheism to mean "a lack of theism." I have done so here as a one-time thing to appeal broadly to all non-theists. In the future, I will use non-theism to mean "a lack of theism" and atheism to mean "the belief that God or gods do not exist." All others are free to continue using the terms as they see fit, so long as when they differ from my own definitions that they clarify and remain consistent in their usage.

I believe millions of things. As an atheist, I believe one thing: there is no God. That's my only Atheist belief.