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

One thing that people of faith, the religious, atheists, agnostics, and any other 'group" have in common in this thread is that they are too lazy to read all of the comments/posts before making a comment themselves.

grainofsand (the OP of this thread) has said many times now that this is simply a gathering of people who want to socialize, serve their community, do charitable work, etc. without being tied to any religion or faith. This is not a place for them to meet simply to mock people of faith or religious people. Why have so many in this thread (both believers and non believers alike) made the comment over and over that it's only a place to mock believers or to combat believers. Like I said on page 16, they just want to socialize in a non religious way. For crying out loud - I'm a Christian (well, my non-hell believing version of Christianity anyway) and I can understand a person's desire to meet with like minded people. I wish I could find a church that wasn't blinded by religious dogma and un-Christlike views, but there are very, very few. So what is the big deal? This is not an "atheist church". I mean, I guess I can somewhat understand the religiously blinded sheep who might feel threatened by this group due to themselves being indoctrinated by religions of fear, but why are so many "atheists" and "agnostics" opposed to it?

Bowling leagues get together to socialize while bowling. AA groups get together to socialize with other people in recovery who do not want to be around people who are drinking. Sewing groups get together with other people who want to socialize while sewing. There are many groups that come together with other like minded people who share the same interest. I would venture to guess that most of these groups are gathering because of their shared interest not to mock those who do not share their interests. Why would a group of people who want to socialize without discussing God be any different?

I, as a Christian, would gladly stand up for this group - I would even go to one of the gatherings to see what it's all about. I fail to see what's wrong with wanting to gather without discussing God - even as a Christian.

reply to post by grainofsand

I apologize, I really hadn't thought about it that way that but you are right. I hope my post doesn't offend anyone too much, as soon as a read YMCA I couldn't resist.
I would like to check out one of these non religious Sunday services, it does seem a little odd of a concept, but in my opinion its a great idea! And in my opinion it doesn't defeat the purpose of not believing by going to a "church" of non believers. The way I see it, it would simply encourage stronger community relations and a way to meet like minded people.

Again I hope my post isn't considered as some kind of attack on religion, although it definitely wasn't quite as appropriate as it could have been

reply to post by Z32Driver

Hey no worries
...to be honest, I was just as worried about the "you'll burn!" brigade getting back into the thread and spoiling things with their irrational contributions. I'm trying my best to keep their supply of ammunition as limited as possible just so that any attacks on atheists can be seen for what they are, hate filled intolerance.

reply to post by tallcool1

Again, thank you for such a reasoned, considerate and tolerant contribution to this thread.
We may wildy differ theologically, but your civil response is an example of how we can all make such discussions a much more friendly experience for all of us.
I would have given you a few more stars if I could

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I which you would ask me why i believe there is a God. I know what your answer would be after i tell you why.
Because i have done this over a hundred times on ATS.

Understandiung science is not the peoples strongest area of knowledge. and peoples understanding of dimensions is lacking deeply.

Originally posted by grainofsand
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.

Whereas I would be thinking that was clearly an alien

reply to post by SaturnFX

Haha, I'd be wondering if someone had slipped something into my drink as well, and of course get my phone out because as we all know, pic's or it didn't happen!

reply to post by grainofsand


You may have missed my question from earlier, what with all the discussion this thread has generated, so I will pose it again to you:

Question: If you could choose to have your consciousness live on or continue existing after your physical body dies, would you?

reply to post by grainofsand
That is almost the most stupid thing I have ever heard, the atheist church, they don't believe but need a church to prove it, is that a Oxymoron or not.
If you don't believe well big deal, rejoice in the fact that you do not exist, now you don't have to prove it to me, just prove it to your self..

I will say though that I don't believe some old man with a white beard made the universe, I think that might be some other type of oxymoron.

But go look in the mirror, your reflection only shows your ignorance. I know where the atheist came from, they pulled themselves outs their arses.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

Haha, I'd be wondering if someone had slipped something into my drink as well, and of course get my phone out because as we all know, pic's or it didn't happen!

It didn't happen..or it was photoshopped you mean

Originally posted by ExquisitExamplE
Question: If you could choose to have your consciousness live on or continue existing after your physical body dies, would you?

I think that is the quest of most people in some form since the dawn of time. method tends to be diverse..moreso now with the promise of nanotechnology, digital brains, downloading, etc..

The question is self evident though..if someone didn't want their consciousness to exist anymore, they would simply commit suicide...it is our innate life desire to continue existing that keeps us going from day to day in a what would seem to be pointless existence.

reply to post by ExquisitExamplE

Ah, sorry, I missed it.
Hmm, I guess it would all depend on the circumstances.
I wouldn't fancy being a lonely invisible energy-floaty-around type thing unable to communicate with others, but the idea of some warm and fuzzy afterlife would obviously have an appeal.
I just assume the transfer of energy will be as simple as becoming worm food though, no-one has shown me anything to draw me towards believing otherwise.

Originally posted by OOOOOO
I will say though that I don't believe some old man with a white beard made the universe, I think that might be some other type of oxymoron.

So your an atheist...

But go look in the mirror, your reflection only shows your ignorance. I know where the atheist came from, they pulled themselves outs their arses.

So your a self deprecating atheist

reply to post by OOOOOO

Thank you for such a reasoned and considerate response.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by ExquisitExamplE

 

Ah, sorry, I missed it.
Hmm, I guess it would all depend on the circumstances.
I wouldn't fancy being a lonely invisible energy-floaty-around type thing unable to communicate with others, but the idea of some warm and fuzzy afterlife would obviously have an appeal.
I just assume the transfer of energy will be as simple as becoming worm food though, no-one has shown me anything to draw me towards believing otherwise.

When I die, I will wake up, remove the neural connections, and note my game score in the sim.
will probably go another round in a hundred or so years.
After all, we, being a race so scientifically advanced we beat mortality long ago, have plenty of time to do so.

I will wait for my group to get done their game though..not sure if I want to do the digital simulation again..might try the dawning of intergalactic flight scenario...bit longer of a game, about 150 years..good fun though.
Normally I don't like MMO, but these life simulators we are in are pretty good. amazing detail. I hear they are going to be adding in quarks in the next update.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by tallcool1

 

Again, thank you for such a reasoned, considerate and tolerant contribution to this thread.
We may wildy differ theologically, but your civil response is an example of how we can all make such discussions a much more friendly experience for all of us.
I would have given you a few more stars if I could

While we do have different beliefs, I don't see how people of different beliefs can't agree on many other things. You and other like minded people meeting in a God free/religion free environment poses no threat to me or my beliefs whatsoever. In reality, religion is more of a threat to my faith than anything else. I would say that I probably have more atheist/agnostic friends than Christian (or other faith) friends. But the people on both "sides" who can't seem to understand like minded people socializing together is just idiotic to me and I am completely in your corner on this issue. Like I said before, the intolerance baffles me. And I applaud you for keeping it civil - even though most in here are not being civil to you.

reply to post by SaturnFX
Do you think they'll force an upgrade for the OS? I'm pretty happy with Life1.0 as it is.

Originally posted by OOOOOO
reply to post by grainofsand

 

That is almost the most stupid thing I have ever heard, the atheist church, they don't believe but need a church to prove it, is that a Oxymoron or not.
If you don't believe well big deal, rejoice in the fact that you do not exist, now you don't have to prove it to me, just prove it to your self..

I will say though that I don't believe some old man with a white beard made the universe, I think that might be some other type of oxymoron.

But go look in the mirror, your reflection only shows your ignorance. I know where the atheist came from, they pulled themselves outs their arses.

After 30 pages of the OP saying this is not an "atheist church" - it's just a God-free/religion free place to socialize...you come in and call it an "atheist church". And then call the OP ignorant.

Irony - not only ironic, but funny too!

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

Do you think they'll force an upgrade for the OS? I'm pretty happy with Life1.0 as it is.

Cloud computing....its all good.

Originally posted by grainofsand
reply to post by ExquisitExamplE

 

Ah, sorry, I missed it.
Hmm, I guess it would all depend on the circumstances.
I wouldn't fancy being a lonely invisible energy-floaty-around type thing unable to communicate with others, but the idea of some warm and fuzzy afterlife would obviously have an appeal.
I just assume the transfer of energy will be as simple as becoming worm food though, no-one has shown me anything to draw me towards believing otherwise.

I see. Well hopefully I may be of some service to you then. Allow me to share with you a snippet from some material that I've been reading lately and we shall see how it affects you. This material is channeled material, channeled by a man named Bub Hill, speaking for an entity that has chosen to call itself Joshiah.

Now. Our comments this afternoon undoubtedly will be misinterpreted and challenged by many. (Chuckles) That should come as no surprise. Well, you see, we have been consistent in that there are but three belief systems that you bring into this vibrational level that you cannot alter. You can create illusions that seem to alter and you can create illusions that give you the impression in your conscious state that you have altered but you cannot, within your subconsciousness, alter the three basic truths. You are a Piece of the One, if you wish, a spark of consciousness, no more and no less than any other spark of consciousness that exists not only within your vibrational level but in all of the vibrational levels throughout all of creation. You are equal to each and every other spark of consciousness. You create your own reality and, you absolutely cannot fail. You see, each one of those beliefs, each one of those statements fly in the face of every religion that is organized within this vibrational level that you exist in on this Earth system. Every religion, every organized religion says that there is a superior being. We are suggesting that there is no such thing; that you are that One; that you are an equal Piece of the One. There is no superior being. We are suggesting that you created this reality and every organized religion will suggest that there is a superior being that created this reality and then put you here. We suggest that you absolutely cannot fail and every organized religion will suggest that if you don’t follow their rules and regulations then you will fail. And so it should come as no surprise that when we put it in that context, when we give that direct explanation, that people then put together the pieces of the puzzle to figure that out, that they will become agitated. We haven’t been concerned about agitating people but rather presenting the three simple truths, that you are the Piece of the One that you search for, it exists withinside each and every one of you. You are so much more than what you perceive. If you could grasp that concept and bring it into your consciousness, you could get a glimpse of the unlimited possibilities that exist, not through some religion, not through some method of following rules and regulations, but rather exist withinside each and every one of you. It is your right. It is who and what you are. It is not something you can lose. It is not something you have to gain. It exists, absolutely, withinside each and every individual existing within your vibrational level. You create this reality. You see, there is no right or wrong other than that which you judge yourselves. You create you reality absolutely, based upon the beliefs that you hold. The reality that you experience is a reflection of your beliefs. If you desire to believe that there is a superior being that creates your reality, you can have that. It is not right or wrong. It is a choice and a belief system and you can have that. We have never suggested that you can’t have it, that this is right and this is wrong. Absolutely not. Right or wrong is a human consciousness concept and it does not exist outside of your vibrational level. And you can have whatever you desire and if you desire to believe that there is a superior being that has the capacity to create your reality then you shall create a reality to support the belief. You shall create the reality to support the belief. Not the superior being. The superior being is your creation through your belief. You create your reality absolutely and it is not right or wrong. It is your creation based upon your beliefs, based upon your desires, based upon your choices. But it is yours. It is your belief. And you see, when you accept the responsibility for that belief then you begin to get glimpses into the magnitude of the possibilities that are available to you to create. That is the beauty of accepting the responsibility and not laying it on some other individual, or individuals—for those who would believe that they have the guides and angels that create for them. The downfall of believing that you create it all is that you also then have to accept the responsibility and there is no comfort zone for those areas of creation that you are less than satisfied with. But nonetheless, when you weigh the two it seems that accepting the responsibility allows you then to create whatever it is that you desire and to change those less than desirable realities.

Please forgive the lack of proper paragraph spacing, for some reason when I try and space it out after quoting it, it cuts off most of the quote, so I'll ask that you bear with us and read through it as is. Now, I know all of this will be perhaps difficult for an Atheist to come to terms with, being that there is no scientific proof that may be had at this time. I will say that we know that energy may not be destroyed, only alter it's state, and your consciousness is indeed an energy, and it will indeed alter it's form when you 'die'. Our current science of quantum physics draws us closer to realizing the nature of what is being said in the above quote.

Thank you for your time and patience, and I would indeed be very interested to know what you have to say in regards to the matters discussed.