everything that is wrong with Atheism: namely that so many of its adherents seem drawn to it for the sole purpose of disagreeing with, rebelling against, and intentionally insulting what others consider the truth. While I feel Christians, Muslims, and other religious groups should take the time to internally examine their beliefs and condemn that part of their religious orders that adhere to violence and succumb to ignorance, I also feel that Atheists should do the same. And nothing smacks of ignorance and arrogance than labeling one's ideas the single and only truth.
I also find that many people choose atheism because it is trendy in this day in age. I have decided, recently, that I am no longer an atheist. I don't know what I believe and don't care. I am not trying to find out or seek the truth. I just live a good life and take care of those who are important to me. Nothing else matters to me. Maybe that makes me agnostic, but I am tired of the labels. As with most other things that are labels, the labelers have made me sick to death of the entire subject.
Intentionally avoiding something because it's "trendy" is just as bad as intentionally partaking in something because it's "trendy" in my opinion.
Atheism is a rejection of theism, nothing more. Anything else an atheist does or thinks is irrelevant.
AppleQueso wrote:
Intentionally avoiding something because it's "trendy" is just as bad as intentionally partaking in something because it's "trendy" in my opinion.
Atheism is a rejection of theism, nothing more. Anything else an atheist does or thinks is irrelevant.
I didn't mean to string those two thoughts together. I was simply making another observation to add to what Ack said... wait was it Ack? I can't remember now. I don't care if it is trendy or not. I am just saying that I do not care about religion or believing or not believing. I used to think of that as meaning I was an atheist, but now I don't know if I necessarily fit into that category or any category. I am what I just said: someone who does not care about religion or believing or not believing in God. I care about living a good life (not going out and being naughty or anything, I am actually more on the prudish side) and taking care of those I love, including my pets.
Avoiding labels is kind of impossible. It's best to at least know what category you fit into. . . I think at least. You're either male or female (most of the time) and you can't really escape that label. You either believe in a god, don't believe in a god, or don't know. Belief in a god would mean that you have a religion, whether it be a major one or one that only you belong to. If you don't believe in god, you're an atheist. If you've decided that it's not possible to know or we simply don't or can't know at this time, you'd be agnostic. The agnostic/atheist line is kinda blurred though. And being atheist doesn't mean you outright refuse to believe in god. I think Richard Dawkins had a good breakdown of "7 degrees of atheism".
Just because you don't care about race, or see yourself as a specific color, doesn't mean you can elevate yourself to some awesome middleground where labels don't apply.
jeffro11 wrote:Why should we label everything though? Just curious.
It helps in the categorization process, which is one of the key fundamentals that all society was built upon. Categorizing prey and predator, friend and foe, etc. If memory serves, later western cultures such as Greece developed the concept of labels and categorization even further, helping to lay the foundations of what we now call science. Asian cultures, conversely, seemed to reject the idea of conventional categorization, taking a more cyclical, interconnected look at the world (such as putting grass and cows into the same group, but not cows and ducks, since the two don't really have anything to with each other despite being animals). Of course it's not as simple as all that, but it has sadly been a long time since I've actually read a book.
Jrecee wrote:Avoiding labels is kind of impossible. It's best to at least know what category you fit into. . . I think at least. You're either male or female (most of the time) and you can't really escape that label. You either believe in a god, don't believe in a god, or don't know. Belief in a god would mean that you have a religion, whether it be a major one or one that only you belong to. If you don't believe in god, you're an atheist. If you've decided that it's not possible to know or we simply don't or can't know at this time, you'd be agnostic. The agnostic/atheist line is kinda blurred though. And being atheist doesn't mean you outright refuse to believe in god. I think Richard Dawkins had a good breakdown of "7 degrees of atheism".
Just because you don't care about race, or see yourself as a specific color, doesn't mean you can elevate yourself to some awesome middleground where labels don't apply.
Eh, see I wasn't trying to elevate myself to anything. I just don't care about the whole debate surrounding the topic and usually don't care to get involved. If we need labels then I am an agnostic on a good day and an atheist on a bad day. I don't care about being labeled either, it doesn't offend me and I agree it makes things easier. I am not rebelling against labels. I just don't know where I fit and it doesn't bother me. I guess that last sentence was my main point... sorry if I came off as pretentious, I guess it was confusing. I do find that 7 degrees of atheism thing interesting though.
