Atheism - The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Disclaimer:
I have chosen my words carefully on this topic and I would appreciate you doing the same. Preaching and/or derogatory comments about me or anyone else will not be accepted.
The Overview:
There are many misconceptions about atheism and what it means to be an atheist. I thought it would be a good idea to clear these things up right from the start. First, atheism is not a religion. This can be proven by simply looking up the definitions of the words. Atheism has nothing to do with science, politics, or any worldview (if that term even means anything). Atheism is only a stance on one subject, the belief in a god or any god. That's it. Just the one thing. Does that surprise you?
Atheism does not have any special book or godma. There is no other beliefs that is necessary to be an atheist besides the rejection of the god claim. Therefore, nothing can be done in the name of atheism. Not the good things people do like donating to charity or leading a country to prosperity. Nor the bad things people do such as killing or enslaving other people. None of it can be done in the name of atheism.
Atheist are not waging a war on religion, christmas, or the country. There has been many claims that atheist are kicking god out of schools. This is not the case. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is fighting to keep public schools and their staff from promoting religion or having any school sanctioned religious activities. This not only for the benefit of atheist, but also for other minority religions in the area. Most of the time when this is an issue the school (here in the US) is promoting christian beliefs. If this was allowed then no one would be able to complain about muslim, satanic, or even atheistic beliefs being pushed onto the students. Religion is not within the realm of public schools because it is not in the realm of the US government. This is a right included in the 1st amendment of the constitution. It's called freedom of religion and if the government is pushing any religion then you no longer have freedom of religion. Not alone freedom from religion as many atheist would welcome. I must point out one simple fact. Just because the school cannot promote religion does not give them the right to deny religious freedoms of their students.
The Good:
The majority of atheist have gotten to the point where they do not believe in a god due to being sceptical. This scepticism normally stems for a scientific mindset where clams need to be backed up by evidence to be believed. The scientific mindset normally comes from education and logical reasoning. Therefore, the majority of atheist tend to be more intelligent and well educated. In fact, if you could provide credible evidence for the existence of god most would then believe.
The majority of atheist tent to be well mannered, caring, and loving people. Many do not promote the fact they are atheist and you would not know it until you ask them. Some of your friends and coworkers you think highly of may in fact be an atheist unbenounced to you.
The Bad:
Just by being an atheist does not make you more intelligent. Plenty of people in the world do not believe in gods without having a good reason for their disbelief. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a bad thing but it would be nice if it was true.
Many outspoken atheist such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Bill Maher have said some really ignorant things. Although, much of what has pissed people off is taken out of context. These incidents tend to reflect badly on nonbelievers. However, no one person or group of people is held as the leader of the atheist community. Therefore, should not reflect on anyone else.
The Ugly:
There are crazies in every group of people. Atheist are no different. There is a minority of people within the community that believe religious people should be shunned, and all religions should be banned. I assure you this is a minority and not the belief of the majority of the community.
There is an even smaller minority that believe religious people should be killed for their beliefs. These people are no better than other people who think killing is a good thing and should seek professional help.
There are others that say they are atheist once they find out you are just to start preaching later. These are liars and not atheist at all. In fact they are not even good religious people and should be treated with the disrespect they deserve.
Conclusion:
Atheism is not what you have been told it is. Atheist do not eat babies, worship the devil, or fake not believing in God because they want to sin. Most atheist are good people who try to live their lives as best they can. Many atheist go out of their way to help others, and care about the wellbeing of other people.
Please do the research yourself. Ask the hard hitting questions you have always been afraid to ask. Get to know an atheist and judge them on who they are and not what they believe. Please, read your holy book(s) from beginning to end. Then ask yourself, "Is this really what I believe?"
I'm not trying to tell you what to think. I'm just asking you to think for yourself. You should take what I said to heart, but what do I know? I'm just a guy named rug, and that is what I think.
I have chosen my words carefully on this topic and I would appreciate you doing the same. Preaching and/or derogatory comments about me or anyone else will not be accepted.
The Overview:
There are many misconceptions about atheism and what it means to be an atheist. I thought it would be a good idea to clear these things up right from the start. First, atheism is not a religion. This can be proven by simply looking up the definitions of the words. Atheism has nothing to do with science, politics, or any worldview (if that term even means anything). Atheism is only a stance on one subject, the belief in a god or any god. That's it. Just the one thing. Does that surprise you?
Atheism does not have any special book or godma. There is no other beliefs that is necessary to be an atheist besides the rejection of the god claim. Therefore, nothing can be done in the name of atheism. Not the good things people do like donating to charity or leading a country to prosperity. Nor the bad things people do such as killing or enslaving other people. None of it can be done in the name of atheism.
Atheist are not waging a war on religion, christmas, or the country. There has been many claims that atheist are kicking god out of schools. This is not the case. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is fighting to keep public schools and their staff from promoting religion or having any school sanctioned religious activities. This not only for the benefit of atheist, but also for other minority religions in the area. Most of the time when this is an issue the school (here in the US) is promoting christian beliefs. If this was allowed then no one would be able to complain about muslim, satanic, or even atheistic beliefs being pushed onto the students. Religion is not within the realm of public schools because it is not in the realm of the US government. This is a right included in the 1st amendment of the constitution. It's called freedom of religion and if the government is pushing any religion then you no longer have freedom of religion. Not alone freedom from religion as many atheist would welcome. I must point out one simple fact. Just because the school cannot promote religion does not give them the right to deny religious freedoms of their students.
The Good:
The majority of atheist have gotten to the point where they do not believe in a god due to being sceptical. This scepticism normally stems for a scientific mindset where clams need to be backed up by evidence to be believed. The scientific mindset normally comes from education and logical reasoning. Therefore, the majority of atheist tend to be more intelligent and well educated. In fact, if you could provide credible evidence for the existence of god most would then believe.
The majority of atheist tent to be well mannered, caring, and loving people. Many do not promote the fact they are atheist and you would not know it until you ask them. Some of your friends and coworkers you think highly of may in fact be an atheist unbenounced to you.
The Bad:
Just by being an atheist does not make you more intelligent. Plenty of people in the world do not believe in gods without having a good reason for their disbelief. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a bad thing but it would be nice if it was true.
Many outspoken atheist such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Bill Maher have said some really ignorant things. Although, much of what has pissed people off is taken out of context. These incidents tend to reflect badly on nonbelievers. However, no one person or group of people is held as the leader of the atheist community. Therefore, should not reflect on anyone else.
The Ugly:
There are crazies in every group of people. Atheist are no different. There is a minority of people within the community that believe religious people should be shunned, and all religions should be banned. I assure you this is a minority and not the belief of the majority of the community.
There is an even smaller minority that believe religious people should be killed for their beliefs. These people are no better than other people who think killing is a good thing and should seek professional help.
There are others that say they are atheist once they find out you are just to start preaching later. These are liars and not atheist at all. In fact they are not even good religious people and should be treated with the disrespect they deserve.
Conclusion:
Atheism is not what you have been told it is. Atheist do not eat babies, worship the devil, or fake not believing in God because they want to sin. Most atheist are good people who try to live their lives as best they can. Many atheist go out of their way to help others, and care about the wellbeing of other people.
Please do the research yourself. Ask the hard hitting questions you have always been afraid to ask. Get to know an atheist and judge them on who they are and not what they believe. Please, read your holy book(s) from beginning to end. Then ask yourself, "Is this really what I believe?"
I'm not trying to tell you what to think. I'm just asking you to think for yourself. You should take what I said to heart, but what do I know? I'm just a guy named rug, and that is what I think.
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