Sherman123
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I would, actually, but let's say they're not: do Taoists have a religion, then? Or are they just philosophers? If you say Taoism isn't a religion, then we're good. You're consistent, anyway.
How many doctrines and practices? You should have a list or something, yes? If there's a very specific thing needed, you should be able to tell me what it is. How many doctrines? Of what kind? For how long?
Some people aren't religious, don't believe in god (or that god doesn't exist, for that matter) and consider atheism to be a religion. The point is what someone 'thinks' about their beliefs is kinda irrelevant. I can say I love Mohammed, think he's the true prophet, and then turn around and say I'm not religious. It doesn't make it true. Just like how atheists go on and on about how they know there's no god, but then say that that's not a religious belief.
No one said it was a system.
Which is a religious belief.
No, I'm not. An atheist actively doesn't believe there's a god. That's a religious belief.
I'm coming to the conclusion that some atheists are so rigidly and doggedly against the idea of a god (often just known as 'religion', but that doesn't entail all of it, as we've seen) that they bristle at the idea of "religious" or "religion" describing them in any way whatsoever. So much so that they'll argue about for damn near 40 pages. The Pavolovian response in them is so strong that they can't help but fight against the very word. But that's too bad. The more they believe, the more they care, the more they fight...the more it describes them.
Just imagine someone who has never been taught to worship a God. They would go about life not thinking about God, or anything related to divine hierarchy. You're telling me that that person would be religious? That doesn't make sense.
Not necessarily. Deistic belief systems have been around since the dawn of civilization, and avidly expressed in every known human society ever since. Indeed, deistic belief systems were likely the organizing principle around which human civilization was able to become manifest. Therefore, it would be in complete contradiction to what we know of human history to suggest that someone who has never been taught to worship God would not suddenly manifest some sort of deistic cognitions independent of any preexisting social influences.
deist - definition of deist by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.de·ism
n.
The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.
To disagree would be to set oneself upon the absurdity of an eternal regression in search of the primeval atheist, and good luck with that.
Don't you mean "primeval adeist"?
Go ask your mother.
And give the old mare a swift kick in her arse for giving me a son with tapioca pudding for a brain!
Now that's a good lad...
...and get me a beer from the fridge while you're at, boy!
Were you using the wrong word or presenting a new theory?
...uh, oh... I've said too much already!
Not at all. Please, enlighten us about that bizarre use of improper terminology. It looked like an argument posted by a parrot that managed to get one word wrong. Was it parroting and a mistake on the basic term because of a lack of real understanding, or was it a new theory?
There's not much point in replying to this at length. You keep asserting it's religion despite proof to the contrary.
You are obviously not very versed in philosophy otherwise you would see the obvious holes in your arguments.
You need to learn the difference between religion, philosophy, and epistemology. Your arguments are mostly illogical. A single strong belief is not the basis of religion. You haven't proven that atheism is religion other than your say so.
Just imagine someone who has never been taught to worship a God. They would go about life not thinking about God, or anything related to divine hierarchy. You're telling me that that person would be religious? That doesn't make sense.
It doesn't? It doesn't say that life is just what we see and that's it?
Atheism is merely a lack of belief in deities. It says nothing more than that. Your own definition says Atheism is not a religion.
It's not my definition. It's the dictionary's. And no, it doesn't.
Unless we suggest that Taoism and Buddhism are likewise not religions.
A Bodhisattva is effectively a deity.
Taoism has reverence for immortals as well as practices divination, which implies that there are some form of God(s) out there.
Atheism is merely a lack of belief in deities.
Want to try again?
Some. Not all.
Which itself is a belief.
Try what? Does it upset you to think of yourself as religious?
I don't know, I'm not the one who called over half the world's population "delusional," as if you know better than they do. That pretty much defines "arrogance."
Definition of BELIEF
1
: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
Atheism is not deities do not exist, Atheism is a fundamental lack of belief in deities at all.
be·lief [bih-leef] Show IPA
noun
1.
something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.
2.
confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof: a statement unworthy of belief.
3.
confidence; faith; trust: a child's belief in his parents.
4.
a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith: the Christian belief.
be·lief noun \bə-ˈlēf\
Definition of BELIEF
1
: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
2
: something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
3
: conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence
An atheist actively doesn't believe there's a god. That's a religious belief.
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to the supernatural, and to spirituality.
a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion>
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2
: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
if one goes with shared belief about cause and nature of things, then yes.
First, that's not totally true.OldWorldOrder said:An atheist actively doesn't believe there's a god. That's a religious belief.
Atheism rules out intelligent design, is intelligent design not a belief of the cause and nature of things? Therefore, does atheism not concern the cause and nature of things?Still no. Atheism, in itself, doesn't share any belief about the cause and nature of things. One may believe the universe started in the big bang. One may believe it started at the end of the collapse of a previous universe -- sometimes known as the big bounce. One may believe that we do not, and cannot know, and that both of the aforementioned are likely wrong. One may believe that there are many, many universes, or only one.
If you want to talk about "religiously held beliefs", that's different from "religion", though. For example, I believe, in the most absolute way, that the Earth is round. My determined belief in that doesn't make it a religion. I believe with certainty that there isn't a massless, invisible, extra-dimensional hippopotamus sitting on my head -- even though it's impossible to prove. That doesn't make it my religion. Not believing in a thousand ridiculous things doesn't mean I have a thousand a-thing religions.
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