forced to be an athiest???? or is it ok????

[kagetora]

Alright lets get this down from the very start i have no problem with you and this is NOT a desccioion on GOD and if he is there or not. This is how i presive you tell me if i am wrong in this line of thinking. Frist and formost i am a Roman Cathilic who does not go to church that often. i do belive in a God and that would be the god i belive in ok. So now you know where i am coming from ok.

latly there has been a whole lot of disscion about God in our everday life for example plege of alligaince, money, and even Obama's take that back recent presidential swearings in where at the end they say somthing like so help me God or somthing in way of God. it also comes up in taking the stand you swear in on a Bible. all realious stuff ok.

Now here is my problem with the term athiest people associated it with some one with out religion!!!!! now what is a realigon to me it is a belif in somthing no matter what that belif is and is held with some extendent by others. meaning they have the same core belifs.

now alot of people say that we should not say god or force anyone to say that or get god off our money or teach cereationsim because it would be forcing a religon on people right!!!! Wait hold the phone ATHIEST IS A REALIGON it is a belif that GOD dose not exsist. they might not meet in a church mosk or snygog (Sorry bad speller forgive me) and by forcing us to stop us from exsersing our freedom realigion You Athiest seem to be forcing us to become like you. WHAT DO you athiest think of this?????? i was just wondering

1. Try using a spellchecker. There is no reason why you shouldn't.
2. I'll start the same way you did. I was raised from 1-12 as a devout Protestant Catholic.
3. OK, hard to read, but ok
4. Atheism is not a religion by any definition. Atheism has no rituals, no core beliefs, no teachings (for the purpose of this debate, I am considering religions like Buddhism as non-atheist). The only common belief shared by all atheists is that there is now divine power, no divine justice, no deity, no creator.
5. No we are not. It's not only Atheists that are complaining about stuff like "Under God", "In God we Trust", and Christmas trees. This is being argued by Muslims, Jews, and Atheists, so no we are not trying to force you to be Atheist, we are just demanding equal treatment. By having "Under God" in the pledge, it implies that all Americans are Christian (which is one of the reasons I refuse to say the pledge). If Christianity was an official religion, we wouldn't be as vocal. But it's not, and therefore we demand equal representation.

[mpjh]

WHAT DO you athiest think of this?????? i was just wondering

I assume you mean "atheists." I assume you meant to start the sentence with a capital "I" and end with a period. Now that we are in plain, proper english, your assumption that atheists are of one mind on anything is mislaid. Some atheists are scientists and do not "believe" anything. They deal, as much as possible, in facts, provable facts, that are testing using the scientific method. Some matters are so complex that science only has theories, or models, that explain the facts of reality. These are also tested empirically by testing the expected consequences of the theory against what does happen in the real world.

It is called science. It is not a belief system. It requires no faith. However, it is not in conflict with faith except then people wish to believe something that is simply not true like; the world is flat, the sun goes around the earth in space, or evolution is factually wrong.

[oVo]

kagetora has me curious how many "devout Protestant Catholics" there are left in the World
and if it's true that most of them reside in the Belfast area of Northern Ireland?

[targetman377]

Alright, I see everone's point of view. To many people realigion is an established thing. I understand how you can argue that it is not a realigon. But to me the belife is what makes the realigion a realigion/ scratch that i understand now and i would agree with you all.

[targetman377]

thank you all for answering me.

[The1exile]

"devout Protestant Catholics"

Now there's an oxymoron if ever I saw one

[kagetora]

"devout Protestant Catholics"

Now there's an oxymoron if ever I saw one

DOH!

That was supposed to be Protestant Christian...

Now I feel stupid

[The Weird One]

"devout Protestant Catholics"

Now there's an oxymoron if ever I saw one

DOH!

That was supposed to be Protestant Christian...

Now I feel stupid

Don't feel bad, you could be like me. . . I am stupid.

[mpjh]

Alright, I see everone's point of view. To many people realigion is an established thing. I understand how you can argue that it is not a realigon. But to me the belife is what makes the realigion a realigion/ scratch that i understand now and i would agree with you all.

I third the illiterate c*** motion. Can't spell, Can't punctuate. Can't make sense. Must be a Pentecostal in trance.

[StiffMittens]

Let's throw some more gasoline on this fire:

--
re·li·gion
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈli-jən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at rely
Date: 13th century

1 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
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
--
re·li·gious
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈli-jəs\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French religius, from Latin religiosus, from religio
Date: 13th century

1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity <a religious person> <religious attitudes>
2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances <joined a religious order>3 a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful b: fervent , zealous
--
the·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈthē-ˌi-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: 1678

1: belief in the existence of a god or gods ; specifically : belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world
~ the·ist \thē-ist\ noun or adjective
--
athe·ist
Pronunciation: \ˈā-thē-ist\
Function: noun
Date: 1551

1: one who believes that there is no deity
--
ag·nos·tic
Pronunciation: \ag-ˈnäs-tik, əg-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek agnōstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnōstos known, from gignōskein to know — more at know
Date: 1869

1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable ; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2: a person unwilling to commit to an opinion about something <political agnostics>
--

Based on these definitions, I'm going to have to say that atheism is a religious belief. As objective as the atheist like to think themselves, their position is still very subjective. What they mostly prove is that theistic religions are contradictory and far-fetched. But to say that proves there is definitely no god, is a highly questionable leap in logic (it strongly resembles the leap in logic that a theist takes when they have found comfort in the scriptures and think that proves there is a god). Agnosticism is the only truly objective position, f*ck religion.

PS - I submit a fourth aye for the illiterate cunt motion
PPS - I like how the obscenity filter changes the word f*ck but leaves cunt in the clear (also, is anybody really going to be fooled by an asterisk in place of a "u"?).

[PLAYER57832]

Alright lets get this down from the very start i have no problem with you and this is NOT a desccioion on GOD and if he is there or not. This is how i presive you tell me if i am wrong in this line of thinking. Frist and formost i am a Roman Cathilic who does not go to church that often. i do belive in a God and that would be the god i belive in ok. So now you know where i am coming from ok.

latly there has been a whole lot of disscion about God in our everday life for example plege of alligaince, money, and even Obama's take that back recent presidential swearings in where at the end they say somthing like so help me God or somthing in way of God. it also comes up in taking the stand you swear in on a Bible. all realious stuff ok.

Now here is my problem with the term athiest people associated it with some one with out religion!!!!! now what is a realigon to me it is a belif in somthing no matter what that belif is and is held with some extendent by others. meaning they have the same core belifs.

now alot of people say that we should not say god or force anyone to say that or get god off our money or teach cereationsim because it would be forcing a religon on people right!!!! Wait hold the phone ATHIEST IS A REALIGON it is a belif that GOD dose not exsist. they might not meet in a church mosk or snygog (Sorry bad speller forgive me) and by forcing us to stop us from exsersing our freedom realigion You Athiest seem to be forcing us to become like you. WHAT DO you athiest think of this?????? i was just wondering

With respect, your writing is very difficult to understand. Do you have any sort of word processing program? If so, run your typing through it and then cut and paste it here. (guilty of many misspellings myself).


First, often times folks do like to talk about "atheism VERSUS religion". I believe you are saying this is incorrect? If so, I would agree. That is part of the conundrum.

Our country was founded not so much so people could be free from religion, but so that various people could practice their particular form of religion. Sadly, this often meant turning around and passing laws that restricted other people's right to practice their religions. The most modern/recent one was Utah, of course founded as a refuge for Mormons (or Latter Day Saints, as they prefer to be called).

Still, Christianity is the basic religion of most immigrants to the United States. At times Roman Catholics were given less favor than Protestants. Jews were admitted in much lower numbers. Other religions had even fewer representatives admitted.
So, a lot of things were simply absorbed as part of our "culture" even though they do have a Judeo-Christian or Christian basis. The "in God we trust" on our money, various writings on judicial buildings, etc.

Where does that leave us now? The arguments still bound. In the 70's and 80's, some predominant atheists began to stand up and demand that their right to NOT have their kids "indoctrinated" by things like saying "under God" in the pledge of allegiance, etc. The Boy Scouts of America was sued at one point for not having a religious emblem for atheism (don't know how that was resolved). ETC. Others came back and said "hey, wait , I WANT those things".

In general, the courts recognize that God/specific religious beliefs should be removed from or equally honored in all public venues. However, it gets complicated. Requiring a city to tear down a 200 year old courthouse because it has a religious statue is not reasonable. Putting up creches with public dollars is generally not considered OK, even if they also put up a Menorah and other symbols. (However, it is often done anyway in small communities ... at least until someone pushes a court challenge.) Sometimes it IS, however, OK for a city or county or other entity to allow private groups to set up their own displays on public property (judgements vary on this), providing all groups are given "equal" access. That last can get very tricky, because there are always a few who simply want to push the limits or who (on the other extreme) will object to anything but their own symbols. Both cause judiciaries, councils, etc across the country to simply say "no religious displays ... at all".

[jay_a2j]

My two cents, religion has done more harm than good. Jesus was not "religious". I always liked the phrase, "My relationship is against my religion". Mere belief in God means nothing. ("You say that you believe in God? Good! Even demons know there is a God and tremble!") As far as atheism is concerned, consider it whatever you like, religion or not, in the end it is the RELATIONSHIP that matters. I can live without religion..... and I do.

[Frigidus]

My two cents, religion has done more harm than good. Jesus was not "religious". I always liked the phrase, "My relationship is against my religion". Mere belief in God means nothing. ("You say that you believe in God? Good! Even demons know there is a God and tremble!") As far as atheism is concerned, consider it whatever you like, religion or not, in the end it is the RELATIONSHIP that matters. I can live without religion..... and I do.

I am genuinely shocked that I agree with jay on a religious matter. There are a lot of people that believe in a god but have no religion, and plenty of people who don't believe in a god but have religion. An opinion does not constitute a religion, it requires religious practices.