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World’s most dangerous religion: Atheists face worldwide persecution
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Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
atheism /ˈeɪθɪɪz(ə)m/
▶noun
disbelief in the existence of God or gods.
– derivatives
atheist noun,
atheistic adjective,
atheistical adjective.
– origin C16: from Fr. athéisme, from Gk atheos, from a- ‘without’ + theos ‘god’.
'atheism' also found in these Oxford entries:
That is what it means nothing more, and that is from the Oxford English Dictionary (god wrote that lol )
Please stop calling it a Religion because you (wrongly) think that just because a few Atheists call it that to gain publicity it must be true.
atheism /ˈeɪθɪɪz(ə)m/
▶noun
disbelief in the existence of God or gods.
– derivatives
atheist noun,
atheistic adjective,
atheistical adjective.
– origin C16: from Fr. athéisme, from Gk atheos, from a- ‘without’ + theos ‘god’.
'atheism' also found in these Oxford entries:
That is what it means nothing more, and that is from the Oxford English Dictionary (god wrote that lol )
Please stop calling it a Religion because you (wrongly) think that just because a few Atheists call it that to gain publicity it must be true.
edit on 12-12-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)
As Jude said Atheism is not a religion.
Most religions have little to do with God and misappropriate deism and use it for their own selfish desires.
I don't care for religion or for atheism.
Yet I do believe in God.
Sadly it's the church that has given God a bad name by misusing their influence and mixing their affairs with those of the secular world.
I used to be an atheist though raised in the church.
I believe that God is only revealed to each of us individually and not through proselytizing or speaking any combination of magic words.
Faith doesn't come through words but through life experience.
I cannot deny that some power is at work that has made this awesome thing we call creation. It's too beautiful for the product of random chance, there is an architecture to beauty that is implicit in all plants and animals. It speaks of an intelligence far beyond our own and begs me to believe that everything is perfect and as it should be.
When you spend most of your life wondering and resenting why you are and who you are it may dawn on you one day that you are a part of that same awesome creation and just as perfect and beautiful as anything else out there. Not as something to boost your ego with but as a thought that is very humbling.
Keep your religion or lack thereof, I'll take my faith.
Though not a religion atheists are persecuted in many parts of the world and that is just plain wrong.
Most religions have little to do with God and misappropriate deism and use it for their own selfish desires.
I don't care for religion or for atheism.
Yet I do believe in God.
Sadly it's the church that has given God a bad name by misusing their influence and mixing their affairs with those of the secular world.
I used to be an atheist though raised in the church.
I believe that God is only revealed to each of us individually and not through proselytizing or speaking any combination of magic words.
Faith doesn't come through words but through life experience.
I cannot deny that some power is at work that has made this awesome thing we call creation. It's too beautiful for the product of random chance, there is an architecture to beauty that is implicit in all plants and animals. It speaks of an intelligence far beyond our own and begs me to believe that everything is perfect and as it should be.
When you spend most of your life wondering and resenting why you are and who you are it may dawn on you one day that you are a part of that same awesome creation and just as perfect and beautiful as anything else out there. Not as something to boost your ego with but as a thought that is very humbling.
Keep your religion or lack thereof, I'll take my faith.
Though not a religion atheists are persecuted in many parts of the world and that is just plain wrong.
edit on 12-12-2012 by Asktheanimals
because: added comment
reply to post by Druscilla
Haha calm yourselves. I was only making a very weak joke.
I know atheists aren't going to be driven underground, I was merely making a connection to the fact that early Illuminati were said to be atheists, who held no stock in God, and made science and knowledge their 'religion'.
Haha calm yourselves. I was only making a very weak joke.
I know atheists aren't going to be driven underground, I was merely making a connection to the fact that early Illuminati were said to be atheists, who held no stock in God, and made science and knowledge their 'religion'.
It is not what you know that gets you in trouble. Its what you know that's just aint so. I cant remember who said that.
A majority of people in religions just go and fill a pew and that is about as far as it goes so atheism is too much for them because they have to think alittle. I know lots of people like this and are narrow minded but think they have all the answers. I use to be one of those people. Since leaving my religion I have done more studying on my own religion and others. The majority are based on things that are made up,lies,false doctrines,myths that are repeated and that is just the christians. There are many denomination and all have different ideas on the bible but all still have pagan trappings( christmas)
Atheism goes too far the other way for me too because there is no way in knowing for a fact there isnt a god. There is too many things we do not know or can not see or account for, so basically it is grasping at straws.So I am stuck in the middle being an agnostic.
A majority of people in religions just go and fill a pew and that is about as far as it goes so atheism is too much for them because they have to think alittle. I know lots of people like this and are narrow minded but think they have all the answers. I use to be one of those people. Since leaving my religion I have done more studying on my own religion and others. The majority are based on things that are made up,lies,false doctrines,myths that are repeated and that is just the christians. There are many denomination and all have different ideas on the bible but all still have pagan trappings( christmas)
Atheism goes too far the other way for me too because there is no way in knowing for a fact there isnt a god. There is too many things we do not know or can not see or account for, so basically it is grasping at straws.So I am stuck in the middle being an agnostic.
Originally posted by Lulzaroonie
reply to post by Druscilla
Haha calm yourselves. I was only making a very weak joke.
I know atheists aren't going to be driven underground, I was merely making a connection to the fact that early Illuminati were said to be atheists, who held no stock in God, and made science and knowledge their 'religion'.
Back up your "fact" with evidence or it is just an opinion.
2th
Anyone saying that atheists are the problem and the good old agnostics have it right are completely ignorant.
Agnostics ARE atheists. You cannot be an agnostic without being an atheist. Either you believe in a god, or you do not. If you do not, you are an atheist, if you do, you are a believer.
Whilst there are additional philosophical statements one can make on top of lack of belief, like certainty in there being no God (strong atheism), or certainty that knowledge of god is impossible (true agnosticism), the fact remains that AGNOSTICS ARE ATHEISTS.
Interestingly, so are babies, and rocks, and animals, and anyone else who does not proclaim belief in a deity. One day people will actually understand what atheism means ("without God belief"), and this BS will end, but I'm not holding my breath.
Another thing, atheism cannot be a religion, just like not collecting stamps cannot be a hobby. It is the complete opposite, a lack of religion, a lack of belief, a lack of worship. Get the hang of the definitions and you'll be able to have a discussion of religion that isn't retarded from the get-go.
Agnostics ARE atheists. You cannot be an agnostic without being an atheist. Either you believe in a god, or you do not. If you do not, you are an atheist, if you do, you are a believer.
Whilst there are additional philosophical statements one can make on top of lack of belief, like certainty in there being no God (strong atheism), or certainty that knowledge of god is impossible (true agnosticism), the fact remains that AGNOSTICS ARE ATHEISTS.
Interestingly, so are babies, and rocks, and animals, and anyone else who does not proclaim belief in a deity. One day people will actually understand what atheism means ("without God belief"), and this BS will end, but I'm not holding my breath.
Another thing, atheism cannot be a religion, just like not collecting stamps cannot be a hobby. It is the complete opposite, a lack of religion, a lack of belief, a lack of worship. Get the hang of the definitions and you'll be able to have a discussion of religion that isn't retarded from the get-go.
edit on 12-12-2012 by humphreysjim because: (no reason given)
These problems people have with atheists, this is an American or Middle Eastern thing. In Europe we are the majority in most places. Here in the UK,
we are the majority.
You guys just have a lot of catching up to do, but you'll get with the program, eventually.
You guys just have a lot of catching up to do, but you'll get with the program, eventually.
edit on 12-12-2012 by humphreysjim because: (no
reason given)
Originally posted by metaldemon2000
You know what? Good. Atheists are a-holes for the most part. People who attack and belittle others for their beliefs because they may have at some point been done wrong by religion.
I'm not a follower of any religion or believe in any kind of god but I hate being painted with the same brush as these people.
You are, by definition, an atheist, and clearly also an a-hole.
Welcome to the club
reply to post by humphreysjim
I agree people in the UK are Atheist but they put Christian or CoE on the census forms because they were brought up in a household which was CoE etc.
I put Jedi
I agree people in the UK are Atheist but they put Christian or CoE on the census forms because they were brought up in a household which was CoE etc.
I put Jedi
Originally posted by boymonkey74
I agree people in the UK are Atheist but they put Christian or CoE on the census forms because they were brought up in a household which was CoE etc.
I put Jedi
I think a lot of us refer to ourselves as CoE as a statement of who we are, rather than what we believe, which is sorta what you're saying too, I think. It's more of a tribal thing than a religious thing.
I went to a CoE school, even though my parents were not believers, it's just something we do without any real belief in the reality of it. My mum even goes into church to sing carols at Christmas.
I doubt she even knows what atheism means, and the same goes for much of the rest of our family, they sort of accept it as obviously true that the major religions are false, and kinda ridiculous. Many, many people feel this way here, and are atheists by default simply because the existence of a personal God is very unlikely to them, and devoutly religious people are thought of as a bit odd.
edit on 12-12-2012 by humphreysjim because:
(no reason given)
reply to post by Asktheanimals
Reason im an Atheist is because that answer does not satisfy my mind. Maybe im wired to think like that...
Just because nature is beautiful and has shapes and formation, does not mean it needed to be created by a creator. Many things we see randomly forms into various shapes("i do not like that god designed it so it randomly forms" answer either).. i think its similar to explaining the unknown... kinda like "this is amazing, but how is it possible?.. there must be something great at work here" This to me is just a cop out.... same as when cave men saw Thunder and earthquake and referred to as "God's Anger", heck some still think Earthquake are a way god is punishing lol.
short version: i'm not satisfied with a fill in the blank answer that stops your mind from thinking any further... like saying "It was god. next?"
cannot deny that some power is at work that has made this awesome thing we call creation. It's too beautiful for the product of random chance, there is an architecture to beauty that is implicit in all plants and animals. It speaks of an intelligence far beyond our own and begs me to believe that everything is perfect and as it should be.
Reason im an Atheist is because that answer does not satisfy my mind. Maybe im wired to think like that...
Just because nature is beautiful and has shapes and formation, does not mean it needed to be created by a creator. Many things we see randomly forms into various shapes("i do not like that god designed it so it randomly forms" answer either).. i think its similar to explaining the unknown... kinda like "this is amazing, but how is it possible?.. there must be something great at work here" This to me is just a cop out.... same as when cave men saw Thunder and earthquake and referred to as "God's Anger", heck some still think Earthquake are a way god is punishing lol.
short version: i'm not satisfied with a fill in the blank answer that stops your mind from thinking any further... like saying "It was god. next?"
edit on 12/12/2012 by luciddream because: (no reason given)
edit on 12/12/2012 by luciddream because: (no reason
given)
Originally posted by humphreysjim
Originally posted by boymonkey74
I agree people in the UK are Atheist but they put Christian or CoE on the census forms because they were brought up in a household which was CoE etc.
I put Jedi
I think a lot of us refer to ourselves as CoE as a statement of who we are, rather than what we believe, which is sorta what you're saying too, I think. It's more of a tribal thing than a religious thing.
I went to a CoE school, even though my parents were not believers, it's just something we do without any real belief in the reality of it. My mum even goes into church to sing carols at Christmas.
This is the difference between being 'Christian' and 'culturally Christian'. Richard Dawkins' views are blatant to everyone, but he admits to singing carols at Christmas etc. Most people are now capable from separating the actual religious aspect from our (religious) traditions.
Originally posted by Merriman Weir
Originally posted by humphreysjim
Originally posted by boymonkey74
I agree people in the UK are Atheist but they put Christian or CoE on the census forms because they were brought up in a household which was CoE etc.
I put Jedi
I think a lot of us refer to ourselves as CoE as a statement of who we are, rather than what we believe, which is sorta what you're saying too, I think. It's more of a tribal thing than a religious thing.
I went to a CoE school, even though my parents were not believers, it's just something we do without any real belief in the reality of it. My mum even goes into church to sing carols at Christmas.
This is the difference between being 'Christian' and 'culturally Christian'. Richard Dawkins' views are blatant to everyone, but he admits to singing carols at Christmas etc. Most people are now capable from separating the actual religious aspect from our (religious) traditions.
This is very true. Incidentally, I am shortly due to watch my son in his Christmas nativity play, something I do happily, even as an atheist.
reply to post by lonewolf19792000
THIS is why this nonsense persists. Because of this silly view that atheists are hopeless and live in constant despair. It is an arrogant, short-sighted viewpoint and you should rethink it. Be more intelligent than your faith and use the brain you believe your god gave you and think it through. As an atheist with atheist friends (as well as the devoutly religious) I can assure you that I have very little despair in my life and I have plenty of hope. I have children and a grandchild and I have great hope for their future. Neither they nor I need some god to make that happen. I love those in my life despite their flaws and feel no need to judge them based on their decisions. I need no religion to live my life to the fullest and to care for those I love.
THIS is why this nonsense persists. Because of this silly view that atheists are hopeless and live in constant despair. It is an arrogant, short-sighted viewpoint and you should rethink it. Be more intelligent than your faith and use the brain you believe your god gave you and think it through. As an atheist with atheist friends (as well as the devoutly religious) I can assure you that I have very little despair in my life and I have plenty of hope. I have children and a grandchild and I have great hope for their future. Neither they nor I need some god to make that happen. I love those in my life despite their flaws and feel no need to judge them based on their decisions. I need no religion to live my life to the fullest and to care for those I love.
Originally posted by humphreysjim
These problems people have with atheists, this is an American or Middle Eastern thing. In Europe we are the majority in most places. Here in the UK, we are the majority.
Unless in "atheist world" 40% of the population is a majority and 55% is a minority, no, you are not.
2011 UK Religious Demographics
Maybe put up a few more bus adverts and you'll convince some more people to abandon their faith.
Originally posted by adjensen
Originally posted by humphreysjim
These problems people have with atheists, this is an American or Middle Eastern thing. In Europe we are the majority in most places. Here in the UK, we are the majority.
Unless in "atheist world" 40% of the population is a majority and 55% is a minority, no, you are not.
2011 UK Religious Demographics
Maybe put up a few more bus adverts and you'll convince some more people to abandon their faith.
See the above discussion between myself, boymonkey74, and Merriman Weir as to why this poll will not tell the whole story. Then add the fact that the poll is a poor one, because it asks people if they consider themselves religious, which is not quite the same as declaring God-belief, or atheism, and add that to falling trends away from the main rival of atheism (Christianity), and you'll see your argument is not very sound:
"Religion: Number of Christians down 12% in a decade
The number of people calling themselves Christian in the UK fell dramatically between 2001 and 2011. Christianity was the only religion to see a drop-off in membership, with a 12% decrease during those 10 years.
The number of people with no religion at all in the UK has doubled since 2001."
Continued...
www.independent.co.uk...[editb y]edit on 12-12-2012 by humphreysjim because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by adjensen
Originally posted by humphreysjim
These problems people have with atheists, this is an American or Middle Eastern thing. In Europe we are the majority in most places. Here in the UK, we are the majority.
Unless in "atheist world" 40% of the population is a majority and 55% is a minority, no, you are not.
2011 UK Religious Demographics
Maybe put up a few more bus adverts and you'll convince some more people to abandon their faith.
To add to my previous posts, if you were to ask the people in my family, as an example, what religion they are, I'd wager most of them would likely say "Church of England", as a statement of who they are, and not what they believe. I know for a fact none of them take the major religions remotely seriously, and I know more than half of them do not believe in God. The poll is skewed. As someone who lives in England, I know for a fact there is no way more than half the population is "Christian". Not even close.
Find me a poll with percentage of regular church-goers, for example, and you'll see it's pathetically low.
Here is a more realistic assessment:
"Only 38% of Britons believe in God
The new edition of Social Trends gives some revealing new statistics about religion the UK and Europe. Social Trends is described by its publisher, the Office for National Statistics, as “An established reference source”, drawing together “social and economic data from a wide range of government departments and other organisations; it paints a broad picture of UK society today, and how it has been changing.”
The fact is that when people are questioned by opinion pollsters about their religion, they still, for some reason (residual guilt, perhaps?), feel the need to exaggerate and even lie about their beliefs and activities. Taking this into account, the figures must be even more alarming for religious leaders who try to give the impression that they are important figures in the life of the nation.
This research shows once more that Britain is one of the most irreligious nations on the face of the earth. So, what is it with this Government and “the faith communities”? When is the majority non-faith community going to get a look in?"
www.secularism.org.uk...
edit on 12-12-2012 by humphreysjim because: (no reason given)
One of the big differences between the two...(and this is what you might consider walking the walk) is... as an atheist I don't mind being with a
religious person of any of the faiths. I don't mind hanging around them, being friends with them, lovers or work colleagues. I see their personal
religious conviction as a non issue of this great thing called life.
This however is not a two way street. As this report from the OP clearly shows.
This however is not a two way street. As this report from the OP clearly shows.
reply to post by humphreysjim
Even among those who go ahead, for tradition's sake, and claim the Christian faith, many of them, in fact, aren't. The poll cites numbers of people who THINK that they're Christian. But, if one was to test these individuals as to what they really believe, many would not past the mustard.
As Adjensen has reminded us many times, to claim Christianity as one's modicum, one must accept the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is the standard that judges who is and who is not really a Christian.
Put through the above litmus test, Christianity will loose numbers across the board. There may be many who do actually believe in a God of some kind, and some who may actually believe that Jesus was a real person, but not so many will accept the creed in total.
So, yeah, those number are skewed!
To add to my previous posts, if you were to ask the people in my family, as an example, what religion they are, I'd wager most of them would likely say "Church of England", as a statement of who they are, and not what they believe. I know for a fact none of them take the major religions remotely seriously, and I know more than half of them do not believe in God. The poll is skewed. As someone who lives in England, I know for a fact there is no way more than half the population is "Christian". Not even close.
Even among those who go ahead, for tradition's sake, and claim the Christian faith, many of them, in fact, aren't. The poll cites numbers of people who THINK that they're Christian. But, if one was to test these individuals as to what they really believe, many would not past the mustard.
As Adjensen has reminded us many times, to claim Christianity as one's modicum, one must accept the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is the standard that judges who is and who is not really a Christian.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Put through the above litmus test, Christianity will loose numbers across the board. There may be many who do actually believe in a God of some kind, and some who may actually believe that Jesus was a real person, but not so many will accept the creed in total.
So, yeah, those number are skewed!
edit on 12-12-2012 by windword because: (no reason given)