atheismforthewin:

That the blog posting all of the bible chapters is called, “freedmentalstate.” 

It seems a bit contradictory, you know?

Just a thought.

-Victor

I blocked that one almost right away.  It’s a complete waste of space.

theloveisin:

A man may glide into agnosticism insensibly, and remain in it languidly; but to believe is to be alive. Those who think faith to be a childish business will have to make considerable advance toward manliness before they are able to test their own theory.

As you have posed “Food for thought” as a question, I assume you are wondering if this is truly food for thought.  Let me assure you that it isn’t.  To believe is to languish unquestioned in ideas taught to us as children.  When these ideas are examined at their face value, and compared rigidly against that which we have determined to be the best representation of reality that we can muster, these beliefs fail dismally.

Faith is only necessary without evidence.  To accept something with no evidence is pretty much as close to being “anti-thought” as can be achieved.

~ Steve

t0m135:

I recently stumbled across agnostic philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny, he had a very good point about the sheer magnitude of the atheistic position and the seeming impossibility to back up the position with sufficient evidence. Here’s a couple of quotes:

“Many different definitions may be offered of the word ‘God’. Given this fact, atheism makes a much stronger claim than theism does. The atheist says that no matter what definition you choose, ‘God exists’ is always false. The theist only claims that there is some definition which will make ‘God exists’ true. In my view, neither the stronger nor the weaker claim has been convincingly established”

“The true default position is neither theism nor atheism, but agnosticism … a claim to knowledge needs to be substantiated; ignorance need only be confessed.”

Atheism is the “belief” that a god does not exist, not so much the dogmatic claim.

Most atheists fall under the category of “agnostic atheist” as defined in Wikipedia.

I acknowledge that I cannot prove with absolute certainty that no god exists, but it is my personal belief, based on the lack of evidence, that there is none.

I use the term atheist as a short-hand, but I am, in truth, an agnostic atheist.  There are many competing definitions, but I feel that using the term agnostic atheist is the most unambiguous one out there.

prayerworkz:

“Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members.

“Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics, religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity, aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differences in the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness, or stressful life events were found.”

Source please.

literarydancer:

     So, I recently realized I no longer believed in God, and now I identify as an agnostic atheist. I stopped believing in heaven a long time ago, so exiting out of my religion wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. If you don’t want to read this, just scroll along, it’s fine (I’m not trying to force anything down your throat) but here’s why creationism/christianity no longer make sense to me:

• The Allegory of the Cave. This was a metaphor created by Greek philosopher Socrates, and basically it tells the story of two people in a cave their whole life, chained to a wall in utter darkness. They can only see the shadows of people who pass by with objects, so they only know those objects for what they’ve seen. Once they leave the cave, it’s painful, blinding, but otherwise they will never see those objects for what they really are.
• The Bible no longer fits in our modern, progressing society, why do we try to force it?
• If God created us and sent his son to prove that we were meant to worship him, why did it take so long? If the sole purpose of our existence was to worship this God, why did we evolve from another organism? Why is it that billions of years later God is trying to finally connect with us? 
• How does the argument “The Universe had to be created” make sense, if the argument “God had to be created” stands?
• Why are there and have been so many religions in the world? Greek myths were once believed to be true. Religions fade and trend, but not one has lasted forever.
• If I had been born in another family, I would be whatever religion they raised me, right? If I had not ever heard an idea of religion, I wouldn’t believe it. Again, if our sole purpose is to follow this God, why isn’t our worship instinct?
• I see a pattern in our society. The more technology and science is developed/discovered, the more religion fades out and evolves. The number of atheists grows every year.
• We can’t rely on a book made 2000 years ago! A book that has been passed down, modified, through generations and generations.
• We are such a small crumb of the universe: why would any God waste his time bringing us to redemption?
• Why would a God judge us based on a concept that is utterly out of our grasp?
• I can connect this to the book “Lord of the Flies,” in this book, boys get trapped on an island with  no adults, no one to control them. By the end, they’re murdering each other and have lost every single moral built up in their lifetime. People are unable to wrap their heads around the idea that    there doesn’t have to be a higher power guiding us, and without it they feel too confused to function.
• I’ve started reading “F-451,” by Ray Bradbury. This book is about a futuristic world where the government burns books. Montag, the main character, is a fireman who burns the books without a thought, and is a perfect example of the concept “ignorance is bliss.” He meets someone who tells him of a world of thoughts and ideas, and his whole life falls apart. He no longer is able to live in his perfect bubble of happiness, but he gains knowledge and learns to think for himself.
• For those of us who once believed in Santa Clause, remember how our parents fed us excuses on why we couldn’t see him? The same with God. Why is it such a tough task to reveal yourself?

I could go on, but that’s basically the gist of this post.

Well said.  Welcome to the world of reality.  I hope you don’t get too much hate as a result.  :)

~ Steve