The Atheist/Agnostic/Freethought/Humanist/Skeptic/Nonbeliever Thread

[yakherder]

Just an arbitrary example. I'm not any more against people using hemp oil than I am against people believing in god. I just don't happen to believe that any of them stand up to scientific skepticism. My point wasn't regarding pot or religion, only that most people, regardless of how they label themselves, form many of their beliefs (both the correct and incorrect ones) off of limited and incomplete information and then fully devote themselves to those beliefs. As long as it doesn't hurt me I wish them the best of luck in their educated guesses.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I believe in science. That's all.

 

[Spang]

Wolf Blitzer asked this woman if she thanked the Lord:

 

[Amy SF]

http://www.alternet.org/atheists-ri...-says-dont-bow-your-heads?page=0,1&paging=off

 

[ledboots]

Wolf Blitzer asked this woman if she thanked the Lord:

He was just being awkward, poor Wolf.

 

[Spang]

He was just being awkward, poor Wolf.

Mr. Blitzer should stick to Jeopardy. Never mind, he's not good at that, either:

He does have a nice beard, though.

 

[FortyTwo]

So, a few questions for theists:

• Do you believe in rock and roll?
• Can music save your mortal soul?

 

[Amy SF]

So, a few questions for theists:

• Do you believe in rock and roll?
• Can music save your mortal soul?

 

[Spang]

Us atheists are still going to hell:

The Vatican issued an “explanatory note on the meaning of “salvation,” on Thursday, May 23, after media reports circulated indicating that Pope Francis” promised heaven for everyone engaged in good works, including atheists.

In response to the media attention, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, said that people who know about the Catholic church “cannot be saved” if they “refuse to enter her or remain in her.”

 

[Amy SF]

I honestly don't understand why atheists are making such a fuss about the fact that the new Pope has "reached out" to atheists and made atheists inclusive and all that. We're atheists. We don't need the Pope to tell us we're okay. So this latest "hell" thing doesn't surprise me in the least.

 

[Amy SF]

/bumpety-umpety

http://www.celebatheists.com/wiki/Main_Page

 

[peacefulveglady]

This thread just overloaded my brain and clogged it LOL, you pretty much covered everyone non religious.

 

[FortyTwo]

Cheeky (and relatively inoffensive, but might be considered rude) joke below:

Spoiler

What do you call a book club that takes 2,000 years to move on from one book to the next?

Church.

 

[peacefulveglady]

That would be tent revivals..

 

[Calliegirl]

It would be interesting to attend this.

Ancient Confession Found: 'We Invented Jesus Christ'
Biblical scholars will be appearing at the 'Covert Messiah' Conference at Conway Hall in London on the 19th of October to present this controversial discovery to the British public.

American Biblical scholar Joseph Atwill will be appearing before the British public for the first time in London on the 19th of October to present a controversial new discovery: ancient confessions recently uncovered now prove, according to Atwill, that the New Testament was written by first-century Roman aristocrats and that they fabricated the entire story of Jesus Christ. His presentation will be part of a one-day symposium entitled "Covert Messiah" at Conway Hall in Holborn (full details can be found athttp://www.covertmessiah.com).

Although to many scholars his theory seems outlandish, and is sure to upset some believers, Atwill regards his evidence as conclusive and is confident its acceptance is only a matter of time. "I present my work with some ambivalence, as I do not want to directly cause Christians any harm," he acknowledges, "but this is important for our culture. Alert citizens need to know the truth about our past so we can understand how and why governments create false histories and false gods. They often do it to obtain a social order that is against the best interests of the common people."...

http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11201273.htm

 

[SummerRain]

I wish I understood enough about biblical history/writing to know whether this guy is a nut, or whether it could be correct. Sounds interesting.

 

[Clueless Git]

Dum-bassed Question:

If an atheist prayed that there be no God and it turns out that there is a God ...

Would it be within Gods power to make the atheists prayer come true?

 

[Blobbenstein]

can god make a stone so heavy he can't lift it?

I don't think god would be that keen or interested in annihilating himself anyway.

 

[yakherder]

I wish I understood enough about biblical history/writing to know whether this guy is a nut, or whether it could be correct. Sounds interesting.

I find the idea of what I expect him to talk about interesting, and I suppose I want to believe it, but since seeing this link I also came across this. Something to think about, I suppose the point being that if we don't take unproven ideas with a grain of salt rather than believing them simply because we want to, then why bother being atheist?

http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/2013/10/09/dont-believe-every-jesus-conspiracy-you-read/

Don’t believe every Jesus conspiracy you read
Atheism & Religion

by Russell Glasser

Okay, I need to nip this in the bud. We’ve gotten a flood of email in the last 24 hours telling us we should check out this thing.

• http://www.covertmessiah.com/
• http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11201273.htm

I’m inclined to conclude that it’s rubbish. Joseph Atwill has been peddling his Jesus conspiracy theories for years. He is not a historian, he doesn’t have any credibility on the subject. I’m not inclined to believe his “discovery” of a “confession” by Romans who invented Jesus, and even if it were verified to be real, I wouldn’t be inclined to assume they were telling truth either.

I’m not a historian myself so I don’t have the ability to thoroughly evaluate this information. But here’s a guy claiming to have a made a new discovery of significant academic importance, yet he won’t just release it to other scholars and the public. Instead, you must buy tickets to attend a lecture at which he will reveal his secret information in a week and a half. Scholarship does not work like that. You don’t reveal new information in a lecture and then let other scholars pore over it. You get it reviewed, verified, and debated first, and after it’s accepted by a significant number of credible reviewers, THEN you reveal it in a lecture. Jumping the gun like this is just pulling the equivalent of the cold fusion fiasco, and in this case it’s clearly a stunt to bring in some money.

Bother us about this stuff again after Atwill has finished his lecture and other mainstream historians have reviewed his work. Until then, don’t be gullible.

Added: Martin would also like you to read this review of Atwill’s work by Robert Price.

Update 2: Richard Carrier weighs in with much more detail; calls Atwill a crank.

 

[Calliegirl]

Even if he were able to prove that it's true, it wouldn't make a difference. Christians will continue to believe and call it a fake, put there by the devil, or just simply ignore it. Although, I suppose some Atheists would enjoy the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so'.

Still, it would be interesting to hear his 'proof'.