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

reply to post by grainofsand


You would rather mention mermaids and argue with people about god being real or not.. I wanted none of those arguments.

Just a deeper understanding of where your coming from.

I will say.. at least the Atheist church wont be claiming to be holier than thou while they are making millions behind scenes and laughing to the bank.

Millions may still be made.. but definitely without the hypocritical stand-point.

reply to post by Basilis

I'm actually surprised by such opposition myself.
The social gathering of people who feel comfortable in a religious free zone seems inoffensive to me and something anyone can ignore if they wish.

Originally posted by waggz
reply to post by grainofsand

 

You would rather mention mermaids and argue with people about god being real or not.. I wanted none of those arguments.

Just a deeper understanding of where your coming from.

What more do you want?
I've stated previously that I studied various faiths over the years and do not believe in any gods due to the lack of evidence.
I do not believe in any other mystical or mythical stories due to the equal lack of evidence.
Of course I will consider gods in the same way I consider ghosts, demons, and pixies etc, none of them have any evidence. If others take offence to my lack of belief then that is unfortunate, but again, not my concern.
I do not say 'they do not exist' I say 'I do not believe' - that is an honest position.

Originally posted by grainofsand
What more do you want?
I've stated previously that I studied various faiths over the years and do not believe in any gods due to the lack of evidence.
I do not believe in any other mystical or mythical stories due to the equal lack of evidence.
Of course I will consider gods in the same way I consider ghosts, demons, and pixies etc, none of them have any evidence. If others take offence to my lack of belief then that is unfortunate, but again, not my concern.
I do not say 'they do not exist' I say 'I do not believe' - that is an honest position.

See, this is what people don't understand.
Now, that is the most rational stance. a baby doesn't believe in Montana or Narnia, then it is shown solid evidence of Montana and voila..they believe in Montana..its not like they were being foolish before.
They are shown "evidence" of Narnia also, but they then realize the evidence is not actually evidence, so they remain without belief (even though they may have slipped a bit initially).

You said something interesting. You don't believe in ghosts. This is a perfectly rational stance. I have seen subjective evidence for myself personally of a "ghost" (no clue what a ghost is..just a description of what the events are likened to). I don't spread my subjective experience as fact though as I have no objective evidence to prove otherwise.
If not for that subjective evidence though, I would still not believe in ghosts..and I still don't believe in ghosts as strictly my late aunt edna saying hello or whatnot..frankly, I don't know what it was(is), it could be many things.

But key here is that as you said...saying you don't believe is not saying they don't exist...just that you await evidence.

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by waggz
Why cant you just hook up with people in general? I don't even remember the last time I was with a group of people and religion was brought up.

Actually...why are you even in this discussion? You made it clear you have no actual opinion about either church or gatherings in general
Do you also find sewing circles and hammer on them, asking why they don't just sew at home?

Aren't you showing what people are finding ironic? A sewing circle is effectively the religion using an analogy. All the people there have an interest in sewing. A club for people who have no interest in sewing would be the weird thing as they have nothing in common apart from not having an interest in sewing.

Never mind. This thread really shows four aspects of personality - people of faith who find this richly ironic, people of faith who for some reason find it offensive, people of no faith who find it offensive as it obviously breaks some code of the atheist charter and people of no faith who want to be part of a club and have no interests apart from a lack of interest (purportedly) in a particular subject.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Saying that I don't understand why people gather and discuss things is utterly insulting. Cmon man!

I guess I should just drop all of my hard earned life lessons and take on all yours. Since you are obviously smarter than me. You don't even have enough details to make responses to some of the things I have said..

I still talk with my ex-girlfriend everyday... my view is not skewed at all due to our break-up. Her family were cocky Atheist know-it-alls.. just like you are.

Thanks for that first impression of yourself.

reply to post by grainofsand



My questions had nothing to do with your faith.. I have no idea why you responded by explaining your faith.

You even quoted the part where I said I was not here to argue about god.. and then proceed to explain your belief in it!

I am out of here!

reply to post by waggz

Nice meeting you
If your questions were relating to why I wish to hook up with likeminded folk who don't believe in gods I've explained it a few times in this thread.
All the benefits of the social community which churches provide but without the invisible unprovable supreme entity.
I am sorry if I have not been able to explain myself to your satisfaction.

reply to post by grainofsand


I do understand it a bit better.. so not all is lost.

Nice meeting you too sir.

Originally posted by SaturnFX

I have seen subjective evidence for myself personally of a "ghost" (no clue what a ghost is..just a description of what the events are likened to). I don't spread my subjective experience as fact though as I have no objective evidence to prove otherwise.
If not for that subjective evidence though, I would still not believe in ghosts..and I still don't believe in ghosts as strictly my late aunt edna saying hello or whatnot..frankly, I don't know what it was(is), it could be many things.

But key here is that as you said...saying you don't believe is not saying they don't exist...just that you await evidence.

Exactly.
If I saw something disappear through my kitchen wall or whatever then my opinion about ghosts would obviously be influenced.
Equally, if I was down my local beach and the sea parted with someone floating in the sky above saying 'I am your God' then of course I would be more drawn to believing such things.
Until such time comes I remain unconvinced, but I do not assert that such things do not exist.

Originally posted by skalla
reply to post by spy66

 

my point is a counter to yours, and as you missed or ignored when i outlined it in lesser detail earlier, i felt the need to re-outline it.

you suggested that christianity somehow controlled my life via the calendar, and you seemed pleased by this in a partisan way.

i only seek to show that pagans equally control yours, by the standards of your own argument/position..

i dont think i am a christian, pagan or atheist - i just found the idea you proposed to be extremely daft

Correct. The catholic religion controlls my life too. All my work, everything is made to fit the callander that everyone uses. There is more to the callander than just time. There are rituals manifested to it as well. Some reaching as far back as Babylon. The function of our society comply with these rituals. There are laws that prohibit us from having shops open on some of these days. Mostly to respect the emplyees from being used by the employer. But that is a argument also used to hide the point of this ritual, so that it will be accepted by the community. Rituals have been mixed in with politics.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by waggz

 

Do I have to copy and paste this or something...

Social environment for likeminded folk free from religious zealots, interesting talks, entertainment, charitable work, community spirit...

There is clearly a market for it due to the growing success. If you don't understand it then ignore it, or even better, just read what is presented on the Sunday Assembly website - it is not a campaign to destroy religion, it is an option for non-believers to hook up socially.

I hope these spread to the US and that one opens near me. I would love to be a part of The Sunday Assembly. For the people who don't understand a need or want for these, then they are not for you.

As for me, I do and have participated in charity events, donations, etc. with religious organizations, because I
love to help, but I don't feel 100 percent good about it because I feel like I'm representing the Christian god, which I don't believe in. I feel like part of my helping out is attached to a great big lie, and I don't like to lie.

Lots of folks like to meet and socialize with like minded people. Look at all the groups, clubs and organizations we have. This one just happens to be minus the religious element. I see that as a good thing.

reply to post by virraszto


I do see this point now from both of you.. and you should be able to gather and talk about things that interest you.

Its no different than my fellow IT buddies getting together and talking about technology. We do have clubs and such. According to Saturn... I am not a regular hooooman and could not understand the need to get together and talk about like-minded things. So my point is moot.

I just think the word church needs to be removed from this altogether.

For the same reasons people believe there is a god, the same reasons can be said for not believing in a god. There just isn't any proof. So, I doubt anyone here has had a 1 on 1 with 'god' or has seen him/her/it. I'm more of the kind that believes religion was invented to bring families together, hence all the holidays.

when people think about life they tend to imagine what its not then believe what makes them feel happy or right, remember just because you belive something to be it doesn't make it so, the only true wisdom is knowing we no nothing.

These groups and gathering tend to separate people into groups who think there better and wiser than other groups, ITS ALL STUPID! why not celebrate life and each other by all meeting in a field with food and music, no matter what you belive where all the same.

Life as its self experiencing its self.

the changes you want to see in the world must be seen in your self first, so make the change, be the change, and see the change around you.

if you want unity then leave the group, don't just calibrate your belief, calibrate the uniqueness of all beliefs.
if you surround your self with loads of people who make you feel right you will never come to understand that you are wrong, your beliefs will never evolve.

reply to post by life12


I agree 100%. This is pretty much where I have been coming from through all of my posts.

Nice way of summing it up.

reply to post by grainofsand


i am agnostic and i think this is really cool. i find this awesome and i give a star. i wonder when we will move towards a universal consciousnesses.?

I agree that true unity in the world would be a beautiful thing, but as long as there are people with passionate conflicting faiths they are prepared to fight over, it is unlikely to happen soon.
This is part of the attraction I see in hooking up with other people who have no faith, there is no chance of anyone being accidently insulted that their god has been denied or whatever.
It is not about opposing religion, just offering a sanctuary from it.

I wasn't aware of atheist sunday. I am an atheist so this is news to me!
Thanks for bringing this to light, I see nothing wrong with this.



reply to post by grainofsand


Indeed the YMCA has undertones, especially in this picture!



Z32Driver

reply to post by Z32Driver

My intentions in this thread is to be informative and discuss the growing Sunday Assembly for people who do not believe in gods.
I appreciate the lighthearted slant of the images in your reply, but I am also aware of how deeply rooted faith is in the self-identity of many believers so would not wish to mock anyone here. If my simple lack of faith offends anyone I do not particularly care, but I would not go out of my way to ridicule anyone with strong faith because I understand how much that could hurt them emotionally.
As I said previously, the assembly is not about attacking religion, just offering sanctuary from it.