Atheist Sunday Assembly goes worldwide, the future is bright for non-believers

Atheist meetings are not new. They have been here for ever since the first people begun stepping up against organized religion. However, I do not think we need organized atheism too. We should not get into a routine, meetings, discussions abd confentions should stay more random instead of every sunday.

reply to post by SaturnFX

You have to really look at it however without any sort of contemptuous bias prior to investigation. What was revealed was love and power in humility and weakness, while at the same time capable of confounding the willful pride of man in his sinful-egoic nature. In gaming lingo you could say that we were punk'd by God where all ur sins are taken away. For Jesus it was a matter of obedience to the will of God as the will to love.

One can also find in Jesus a man of great logic and reason.

Even today, looking around with clear eyes and an open mind at first/last causes and the world of manifestation, both without and with intuitive discernment, within, any sane and rational mind could very easily conclude that life as we experience is no accident, no mere coincidence and that therefore what have in human form is something intended for us so that our experience is made possible ie: as a free gift of life.

Furthermore in terms of our spiritual awareness, one can hardly step outside of their own experience and call themselves a mere thing or an it.

I'm just all for denying ignorance and embracing the truth.

And in truth it's astonishing.

Originally posted by Jauk3
Atheist meetings are not new. They have been here for ever since the first people begun stepping up against organized religion. However, I do not think we need organized atheism too. We should not get into a routine, meetings, discussions abd confentions should stay more random instead of every sunday.

Why not?
I love the idea of a place for non-believers to hook up and enjoy interesting discussions and community spirit in an environment free from religious zealotry. Many others appear to be attracted to this as well.
Social interaction, entertainment, networking and community minded charitable projects all seem pretty good to me.
If you have a strong argument against such things I'd be interested in hearing the specifics?

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by DaMod
Of course my personal experience with atheists has been when they see anything that can even be remotely described as religious, they start foaming at the mouth.

edit on 12-3-2013 by DaMod because: (no reason given)

Religious, yes...spiritual, no.

Example:
An Atheist and a Theist both have a "ghost" experience...
The atheist then will say it was a remarkable phenomena that he cannot yet explain in any scientific context. He will then more than likely speculate on some things, but his skeptical side will prevent him (typically) from declaring it to be something

The Theist will take the same experience and demand it was from a deity, will then demand ceremonies and tributes..will make up all sorts of rules, come up with a heirachy of power, talk about the future plans of said ghost thing, etc.

The Theist reacts this way because there is a fear of the unknown..and instead of admit general ignorance, they fill in the blanks with pretty much anything that comes to mind that cannot be immediately disproven (the ghost loves kittens).

See, a spiritual experience would be the ghost experience and maybe some speculation, some introspection, etc...the religion is the making stuff up and saying its true because it can't be determined false.

From you Saturn, that's a little black and white. As someone who is not an atheist (I haven't ticked any other box currently) I would think bloody hell what did I just see? Was it a ghost or some illusion or was my mind fooling with me? I may wonder if this means life exists after death, I may wonder what this means from a religious perspective - I wouldn't automatically assume it meant anything.

I think for some reason your own experience is tainting your thoughts on what other people would do. You are also assuming that the atheist would be totally clear headed and skeptical - maybe another way of putting that is that the atheist would desparately try and make sure it couldn't interfere with their own (non) faith beliefs.

Originally posted by grainofsand

Originally posted by something wicked

Originally posted by flice
One thing that did set us Atheists apart from the rest of the idiots of the world is that we don't have to idolize or worship anything... we can simply just state that we are happy not being brainwashed by anything other than common sense and the fact that goodness of heart is not instilled by joining a church but is given to you from birth.

So all in all... I don't support these meets. We can combat the silliness of idolatry without these meetings...

Combat? Combat what? That suggests atheists in some way want to have some confrontation with people who have a different point of view - this is now becoming more and more cultish which is why you will see cynicism on this thread from people who follow a faith and those that (they profess) don't.

I shall only comment on the intentions of the sunday assembly and it is nothing to do with combating theists, but all about creating a religious-free space for social connection and interesting discussion. The local group in my area is also in discussion about charitable work for our community, that is far removed from claims of confrontation and closer to altruistic human ideas, without the fear of an invisible entity guiding people towards such a path.

Thank you. The question was posed at the person who felt the need to combat, not you. Sorry, but does one atheist now speak for all atheists?

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by St Udio
i could not abide the Anton Levay, church of Satan thing, but this might be OK

Why not?
Currently that's called "wall street"

naw2... we are of different minds here....

Wall Street' and all it entails... would be the Synagog Of Satan...
rather than the Church-of-Satan from the 20th century modern era,
besides IMHO the self declared Satanic man was a shallow copy, a characture, a comic personage....


but your assessment is well received

Atheist church sounds pretty silly to me.

what do they do? sit around a room cussing other religions?

Because when i was a youngster, sitting around chatting about random stuff was just called a youth club.

seems very weird to me

Its a morning thing...now, if they do it say, on a sunday afternoon with the overall theme being barbecues and social networking..sure. Also, discuss "this week in science" as a sermon..how cool would that be.

Then pass the plate for specific researches in cures / vaccines, etc...

I would like it. Give speeches on existentialism, etc. Needs to focus on a net positive for humanity through its organization, and seeing it as a viable route to take verses thinking your required to believe in a deity before you can be a source of good for the earth.

Originally posted by grainofsand

Originally posted by DOLCOTT
Wht do they need another social social club, looks like a scam to me. Do they pass the plate also?

Why do you see any problem with a gathering of non-believers which does not affect you?

Now, GOS, this is perhaps as pertinent, why does a gathering of believers (of any faith) seem to present you with a problem, and why do you think people meeting on a Sunday in a deconsecrated church is not meant as some way of countering something? Be honest?

I truly and honestly don't care about your answer and I mean that in the nicest possible way, I think most people on here who haven't said they are atheist just find it ironic more than anything, it's the atheists who believe that it breaks the atheist rules who seem most riled.

Originally posted by Biigs
Atheist church sounds pretty silly to me.

what do they do? sit around a room cussing other religions?

Because when i was a youngster, sitting around chatting about random stuff was just called a youth club.

seems very weird to me

Do sci-fi clubs sit around and cuss non-fiction as their primary goal?

Originally posted by Biigs
Atheist church sounds pretty silly to me.

what do they do? sit around a room cussing other religions?

Because when i was a youngster, sitting around chatting about random stuff was just called a youth club.

seems very weird to me

It really does sound daft to me too. It sounds pretentious and full of smugness, and that is purely my point of view.

Originally posted by St Udio

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by St Udio
i could not abide the Anton Levay, church of Satan thing, but this might be OK

Why not?
Currently that's called "wall street"

 

naw2... we are of different minds here....

Wall Street' and all it entails... would be the Synagog Of Satan...
rather than the Church-of-Satan from the 20th century modern era,
besides IMHO the self declared Satanic man was a shallow copy, a characture, a comic personage....


but your assessment is well received

Right..well, sometimes too much detail and accuracy ruins a otherwise perfectly good joke

But I do understand the difference...parody verses purity. Levay is parody.

Originally posted by NewAgeMan
punk'd by God where all ur sins are taken away.

Is it just me or did anyone else find that hilarious..

Originally posted by humphreysjim

Originally posted by something wicked

That's an interesting definition, but it's yours. Where does being an agnostic sit in your very black and white mindset? An answer of 'I don't know' does not make one an atheist. An answer of 'No', well, I'll grant you that one

It isn't mine, it's the term most commonly used by atheists (have a look on atheism.com), it's the main definition in most dictionaries, and it's what the word ACTUALLY means. "Theism" means "God Belief" and the "A" means "Without". Atheism means, by very definition "without God belief".

Agnostics are "without God belief".

Agnosticism is used in different ways, it's supposed to reflect lack of knowledge, which is why most atheists see themselves as both agnostics and atheists, or "agnostic atheists", but it's often just used by atheists in places like America where you the word "atheist" has such negative connotations.

Much easier to tell your religious parents you're an agnostic than an evil atheist satan worshipper.

Whichever way you look at it, agnostics are atheists too, and that's not my definition, it's the actual definition.

edit on 12-3-2013 by humphreysjim because: (no reason given)

I personally don't think there can be no actual definition, it's the same as how people on ATS debate what is socialism, capitalism and communism except on this one there is only one real definition - atheism = declared lack of belief in a deity. There, it's that simple - don't try and make it more intellectual, it isn't, it's as straightforward as that. People may wish to earn a university diploma for dressing it up a little, but it's an absolute waste of time.

BTW, you can't be an atheist satan worshipper, even your parents would tell you that's an oxymoron.

Regardless of the 'god/s exist' or 'god/s don't exist' arguments though, this thread is about considering the situation of a non religious fledgling organisation offering an environment for debate, entertainment, social networking and community minded charitable work free from religious zealotry.

Is that so bad? Really?

Debating the existence of gods or not is not really helping anything as long as neither camp can prove their beliefs (or lack thereof) either way.

I created this thread because I want people with no faith, such as myself, to know there are likeminded folk out there who care about the world through their own inspiration and not through fear of damnation in an alleged afterlife.
If this is really such a bad thing then stick to the OP and explain why you think it is, otherwise just embrace it as another altruistic meeting of minds for the benefit of humankind.
If you have evidence of such an organisation causing harm to society then of course raise your concerns, but simply bashing an organisation because they do not share your particular belief is smallminded at best.

Originally posted by grainofsand
Regardless of the 'god/s exist' or 'god/s don't exist' arguments though, this thread is about considering the situation of a non religious fledgling organisation offering an environment for debate, entertainment, social networking and community minded charitable work free from religious zealotry.

Is that so bad? Really?

Debating the existence of gods or not is not really helping anything as long as neither camp can prove their beliefs (or lack thereof) either way.

I created this thread because I want people with no faith, such as myself, to know there are likeminded folk out there who care about the world through their own inspiration and not through fear of damnation in an alleged afterlife.
If this is really such a bad thing then stick to the OP and explain why you think it is, otherwise just embrace it as another altruistic meeting of minds for the benefit of humankind.
If you have evidence of such an organisation causing harm to society then of course raise your concerns, but simply bashing an organisation because they do not share your particular belief is smallminded at best.

Britain has had a place for this for a long time. It's called a pub.

If Jesus could see you all now.

I'm sure he would be happy that people in their communities were comming together in a positive way, whether they believe in him or not. Maybe he would conclude, "god moves in mysterious ways"

Don't forget to bring your copy of the Humanist Manifesto, and make sure to have all versions. How much fun that would be for all of you to hang around and discuss over cigarettes and coffee how you are going to keep implementing your dream in the education system...oh wait, durn you can't smoke in public.

reply to post by KBadger

Nope, I've met many a zealot in a pub, just depends on how drunk they are when they impose their beliefs on others

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by Biigs
Atheist church sounds pretty silly to me.

what do they do? sit around a room cussing other religions?

Because when i was a youngster, sitting around chatting about random stuff was just called a youth club.

seems very weird to me

Do sci-fi clubs sit around and cuss non-fiction as their primary goal?

I would imagine sci-fi talk about sci-fi stuff, what might atheists talk about if the reason there are all there is a common interest in essentially.... nothing.

religions sing songs and read text and discuss "local stuff"

Atheist church sounds more like a boring waiting room,
Bob- "hey frank do you still not believe in a God?"
Frank- "nope"
Bob- "yup, me either"
-= awesome! =-