The non-thinking that is Religion.

[Thee Alex]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Looks to me like it's a belief. So if it isn't a religion then what is it ?
A philosophy ?

I believe my computer to be a Mac. I believe myself to be male. I believe I live in Solihull.

Are those religions? They are certainly beliefs! Are they philosophies? Or are you talking a quite significant amount of guff?

[LesMts]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Well if wikipedia said it, it MUST be true then !

Well, here it is at dictionary.com : universe - Definitions from Dictionary.com

[Origin: 1325–75; ME < OF univers < L ?niversum, n. use of neut. of ?niversus entire, all, lit., turned into one, equiv. to ?ni- uni- + versus (ptp. of vertere to turn)]

A source you used yourself for defining atheism.

[alien_syndm]

Originally Posted by Thee Alex

Absolutely, saying is completely and utterly wrong.

How is atheism a religion? I think you should clarify. What do we worship? Where do we worship it? How does this worshipping manifest itself?

If you can't put forward a convincing argument for atheism being a religion then I would ask you to retract that statement.

Atheism:

1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

You worship man/yourselves as the highest form of life.
You worship it in your actions, just the same as an advocate of any religion does. He lives his life out according to his beliefs/world view.
You don't have to visit a building once a week and pray in order for it to be a religion !

[humndislocation]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Of course quite how natural selection is supposed to act on non-living matter is anyone's guess.

By the way, natural selection absolutely can operate on non-living entities.

There's a field in computer science known as "genetic programming" where solutions to a problem are evolved from very simple programming building blocks, and the most "fit" programs are bred together. (fitness defined as "how close does the program come to producing the right output for a set of inputs?", and sometimes other factors such as "how long does the program take to run?")

Over the course of a few generations, the evolved solutions converge on a solution to the problem.

The process has actually resulted in the generation of unique, patentable algorithms on several occasions.

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Atheism:

1. the doctrine or belief[ that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

Oh look. Definition 2 completely destroys your argument and defines atheism as a lack of belief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

You worship man/yourselves as the highest form of life.
You worship it in your actions, just the same as an advocate of any religion does.

Oh look, you just made up your own definition of atheism that has absolutely nothing to do with atheism. Cool

I love how some religious people's definition of "worship" can be bent to include absolutely any activity, if they're trying to insist that non-religious people are religious.

"You drive your car on a sunday LOOK! YOU'RE WORSHIPPING IT!"
"You spend money! YOU'RE WORSHIPPING IT!"

[alien_syndm]

Originally Posted by LesMts

Well, here it is at dictionary.com : universe - Definitions from Dictionary.com



A source you used yourself for defining atheism.

Oh looks like I may have made a mistake there. I wasn't trying to deliberately mislead anyone, apologies if I did.

[alien_syndm]

Lack of belief is still belief ! It's just a different way of saying the same thing.
If I cross the road I believe it to be safe or I disbelieve it to be unsafe.
OK horrid example with double negative but you should get the idea.



Alex - why must you be so confrontational all the time. It does you no favours.

[LesMts]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Atheism:

1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

You worship man/yourselves as the highest form of life.
You worship it in your actions, just the same as an advocate of any religion does. He lives his life out according to his beliefs/world view.
You don't have to visit a building once a week and pray in order for it to be a religion !

I don't think man is the highest form of life.
We're as evolved into our niche as well as any other animal is.
Nematode worms are shit-hot at being nematode worms. Humans are shit hot at being humans. Mexican burrowing toads are shit hot at being Mexican burrowing toads. You get the idea.

[Thee Alex]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Christianity preaches the exact opposite - Love your neighbour as yourself and do good to those who do evil to you.

Uh, it doesn't (well, not with any level of consistency).

Deuteronomy 13:6-9 (NIV)
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death.

Deuteronomy 13:12-15 (NIV)
If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock.

Romans 1:26-32 (KJV)
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.


There are dozens and dozens of verses like this.

[humndislocation]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

Lack of belief is still belief ! It's just a different way of saying the same thing.
If I cross the road I believe it to be safe or I disbelieve it to be unsafe.
OK horrid example with double negative but you should get the idea.

Lack of belief is not a belief, it's the absence of belief. Just as "not playing the violin" is not a hobby, and darkness is not a type of light.

Someone who can't see or hear traffic on the road you're crossing has absolutely no opinion and no belief, regarding whether or not the road is safe. That is not a belief, it's the absence of a belief.

You don't have to positively assert that god doesn't exist, to lack belief in a god.

Also, I've yet to see an answer to why lack of belief in a god is a religion, but lack of belief in fairies isn't a religion.

Does lack of belief in something only become a religion when it's convenient for you for it to be a religion? Since their are many different religions, is lack of belief of the deity of each individual religion a religion in and of itself, or does it just get lumped into the one religion?

[Thee Alex]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

No I do not support slavery.

Why not? 'God' clearly thinks it's ok.

[Thee Alex]

Originally Posted by alien_syndm

You worship man/yourselves as the highest form of life.
You worship it in your actions, just the same as an advocate of any religion does.

No, I actually don't.