Are there others out there like me who have become atheists after leaving the Jehovajh's Witnesses? I now have a internet radio show at www.screamingmonkeys .com every Mon, Wed, and Fri at 12noon &9pm EST. Its a free thought show with lots of Bible humor. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
Atheism after the Kingdom Hall
by lordconquer 9 Replies latest jw friends
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mikepence
Atheism after the Watchtower mindfuck is common.
My problem with Atheism is that, in some ways, it plays along with theism. Let me explain.
The reality that we perceive, the sky, the earth, people around us, the weather, is tangible, by definition. It is real, we can touch it, see it, smell it. When we look into the sky, we do not see a Big Man in the sky. We see clouds, the reflection of blue in the sky, a bird, a plane maybe, but no Big Guy.
That is all that we know for sure.
The question of whether there is a God, angels, Tooth Fairies, honest politicians, etc. is purely a theoretical one, since we know of no way to concretely prove or disprove such things. These are arguments about nothing except our own personally embraced belief systems. They can neither be proven, nor disproven.
So, how can one be a theist or an atheist, since neither can be proven?
What we do know is that there are tremndous forces and powers in our universe, which we are beginning to see as a much more organic place than we used to think. Since we are human, we *project* our image onto many things. We personify emotions, ambitions, etc. Simply, we describe things in human terms, because that is what we have as a frame of reference. To assume that the greates powers in the universe are somehow humanlike is the height of arrogance and ethnocentricity. To say that we project human-like features onto the unknown to put our mind at ease would be much more realistic.
Peace and love,
Mike -
slipnslidemaster
Lordconquer, are you on Yahoo! chat at all?
Slipnslidemaster: "If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?"
- Seymour Cray -
lordconquer
Most athesits don't say God doesn't not exist but rather say they have no proof of God. Theists say they have proof through good deeds and the miracle of life and man. Atheists make no claims. Evolution is a theory on its own and is not widely held by most atheists. Agnostics believe God but don't know which one to worshipor how God exists but God exists to them. Atheists are not what you think they are. They hold your exact views. Having the title atheist is not good since it is the non-belief that is whats held. Atheists have no beliefs, just ideas. I hope this has been helpful.
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larc
I disagree with you on two points. The first is about evolution. In my experience, most atheists, angnostics, and many theists believe in evolution.
Your description of agnsotisism is wrong. Agnostics don't know if there is a God or not. Furthermore, they believe that it is not possible to know, one way or the other. Look it up in any good dictionary.
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COMF
Agnostics believe God but don't know which one to worshipor how God exists but God exists to them.
No, that's wrong.
1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
2. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.COMF
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lordconquer
Agnostics and Atheists are not the same but they are similar. Atheists do not know of a God. Agnostics believe but are unsure. The above definitons are more accurate.
Evolution is held by some and maybe most atheists because they actually understand evolution when most Theists shun evolution not really trying to understand it. Evolution does not show how the universe was created or started. It shows how life progresses. Evolution is just a scientific theory that can be proven wrong but has yet to be. Atheists study evolution because it is more tangible then an invisible being. Believe it or not but a theist can believe in evolution, meaning he or she can believe in a creator and see life continuing through evolution. These concepts are not easy to realize until a person actually wants to understand. Understanding evolution with a biased opinion will further no understanding.
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crownboy
Atheists do not know of a God. Agnostics believe but are unsure. The above definitons are more accurate.
Well, as COMF pointed out, an agnostic is a person who is not sure whether or not a god exist.
An atheist either has a negative belief in god (weak), or a positive disbelief in god(strong). I would call myself agnostic to the "god concept".
I think a lot of former JW's go the freethinking route because scrutiny of the JW's a lot of times leads to scrutiny of the god concept itself. At this point, many realize that there really isn't much to believe in when looked at critically.
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patio34
"a" means without; "gnosis" means knowledge. An agnostic is a person "without knowledge."
Btw, it's very similar and a bit redundant to atheist, a person without god. No sense discussing it further as the dictionary settles this one easily (unlike the present world situation!).
A person who does believe in god is a . . . theist.
Pat
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drwtsn32
I am an atheist. I see no proof of God, so I have no reason to consider myself a theist or agnostic.