Margaret Atwood on Religion Part2/3

[velnias]

It's interesting that her calling atheism a religion seems to involve placing upon atheists the burden of proof to say that there is not a God. That mindset is fundamentally flawed, and it explains her misunderstanding.

The burden of proof is not on the atheists. The burden of proof is on those who claim that the invisible, unknowable entity exists. Atheists see no hard evidence that there is an invisible, unknowable entity. Again, the burden of proof is not on the atheists.

[seanbirch]

Oh Atwood, i'm disappointed. Atheism isn't a religion, just as baldness isn't a hair colour. It's not the definitive statement that there is no god, it is simply a non-belief in god. It's a rejection of all the positive claims about a god. It is seperate from gnosticism or agnosticism.

[Trudeau7900]

I think it is marvelous and fascinating that she links the need for God with the need for language. I will need to think about that for awhile.

[Shirleyxia74]

I'm a fan



[alxcookie]

Atheism is not a religion. I kind of like to think of it the same way Black is not a colour. At first glance we think it should be because of similarities, but when you examine, it is really the absence of colour. I'm not an atheist but Margaret Atwood is definately one of my favourite Canadians, so bright.

[sebby00]

anyone know where this interview is originally from? I need to cite it for an essay on her books. thanks

[darkelf456]

Heaven is where people as intelligent as Atwood take back the attention stolen from them by ditzy celebrities in corporate America.

[omgitsphil01]

"Atheism is a religion."?!?! I understand her thinking, but she's defining atheism as an absolute "BELIEF that there is no God" when it is in fact a "LACK of belief in a God." I simply don't believe there's a God just as I simply don't believe in pixies. My nonbelief in pixies should not constitute a religion and therefore my atheism should not either. As someone more witty than myself once said, "calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair colour."

[okwallaby]

this woman is soooooo brilliant...

[pitberlin]

She is just brilliant ,,,,love her work for yoears. And I'm just happy right now to discover this interview.

[heylookitsnana]

I like how she said that atheism is a religion because it's an absolute stance. I do not believe that atheism should not be imposed onto others (even though I am one).

[Calciummetal]

@heylookitsnana the primary aim of a religion is not to impose it upon others. although admittedly many do so nowadays, this should not be associated with the purpose of religion itself.

[andyx1205]

I'm an atheist but I respect many religious people, there are many liberal Christians and Jews (I'm sure there are Muslims but its hard to find very socially liberal Muslims) that share many of my political and social views.

I also immensely respect Bill Moyers. He belongs to the United Church of Christ which is probably the most liberal Christian Church in America, he's a great man.

Imo, liberal Christians, Jews, agnostics, tolerant atheists,etc need to form a coalition against the crazies.

[harryspoonpotter]

@andyx1205 i don't think it's hard to find socially liberal muslims. not in britain anyway where do you live? (im nt bigging up britain btw im no patriot jst saying)

[andyx1205]

@harryspoonpotter i live in Canada and i do have many Muslim friends that are politically social and somewhat liberal in that they drink and smoke and are pro-choice, but even a lot of liberal muslims are homophobic and look down upon atheists, not even one of them wonders why the 2 most religious Islamic places in the world, Mecca and Medina, are both located in the shittiest Islamic country, Saudi Arabia.

[THEREIZNOGOD]

i part ways with atwood at her definition of atheism and agnosticism.

if you tell me you have an two-ton truck in your pants pocket, and i see that you can't be correct, i will say, there is no truck, period. i don't need to prove the absence of something.

[claudeghe]

But God or the concept of God is not a two-ton truck. We do not even totally understand materiality and, wider to speak, reality itself. We still can't measure reality. The atom was "discovered" long before we could see them, but the atom of the atomists is more than our atoms today and more than the quarks and the not yet viewed and proved Higgs elements. Let's just say, life is more than we believe to perceive it and percieve it within the limits of our perceiving antennas. :)

[joejjohnston]

With Atheism though, I think she's incorrect; she's referring to anti-theism. many Atheists say that they wish they were religious.

[mironowak]

"The holy books" promote child abuse, slavery, ethnic cleansing. They condone discrimination & degrading of women under the eye of an omnipotent celestial puppeteer (allah/jahve/vishnu/god).

Margaret Atwood is a very wise woman & a beautiful human being.

Religion is totalitarian in its nature. It is about controlling peoples actions & minds. It is a crowd pacifier/controller in service of those in power who sponsor & protect them. It puts itself above the law because it claims to be the LAW.

[joejjohnston]

yeah. Christopher Hitchens said ' name me one moral decision a christian can make but an atheist can't. He said the only answer he got was excorcisms. He also Said that North Korea is the most theocratic state on earth as you have to be constantly worshipping a leader; one who's been dead for 16 years now. The difference is though, you can escape North Korea through death, unlike Religion which is permanent slavery.

[sewagedweller]

i wonder if she became feminist to avoid doing dishes ?

[toopeelooo]

hahaha

[tempsanity]

As much as I don't dig "Handmaid's tale", I really find her interesting. I would love to see her on one show with the late Robert Anton Wilson.

[catsrule52]

Religion is an excuse people use to assert their own evils within their human nature. When this comes to fundamentalism anyway.

I think it would be refreshing to recognize that most people in the world are good people. And a good 84% of people on this planet believe in a higher power.

[Chamelionroses]

The thing about religion or any other written work can be placed in interpretation wrongly. As I mean what people would call wrong doings to humanity. Then those that do this try to make it seem a righteous way to live and treat others.

Even as any power of any kind can become corrupt. Even Anarchy and Atheist beliefs. You may wonder how but I can assure you it is possible for things to go wrong under all ideas. I believe the world would be cured of suffering by now if there were a sure thing.

[KeirKeir2010]

8:42 She names nearly every time God appears in the bible. She knows what she is talking about, and although she is not very personable, you have to admit that the woman is intelligent as who knows what. 9:17 Old Man With a Beard Floating in the Clouds, love that by the way.

[sakeena09]

God is not a man

[KeirKeir2010]

Well obviously, He is a superhuman power and I don't think that it is possible to actually name is being with a label. You can certainly say that I'm a human being but you can't say the same for God.

[gilesderoet]

Iy doesn't like that name :-)

[inglefud]

I agree with most of what Margaret is saying. But I have to disagee with here calling atheism a religion. I agree that non-believers have to be technically agnostic about this things they don't believe in. But if they are a non-believer, Agnostic does not explain thier level of belief very well. That is, for those people (myself included) there is not equal probabilty of god vs no god. The level of belief is very near Agnostic on a scale of belief. I'm Atheist, ASanta-ist, AElf-ist, etc.

[PhotoNika]

I also agree that our semiotic symbolic brains and lack of deep clear understanding of the illusion that is our perception will pretty much always give rise to the magical thinking that results in religion, especially in those people who are never challenged to think deeply in the first instance but, rather, are indoctrinated with a thicket of assumptions and dellusions from birth.

[PhotoNika]

to me atheism = living without a theology (dogma) and can absolutely encompass a non-dogma based worldview

Agnostisism seems to dither a bit much on the question of whether there is or is not a god while atheism can set that red herring conundrum aside and get on with an unfettered existence.

I appreciate Atwood's passion tho, as she has been raised in a completely different context than I have.

[greenleaflink]

She has interesting thoughts, I like the points on the old man in the clouds "zeus" "jupiter" which is neat, never thought of that.

I guess Agnostic is the way to go. But so many are labeled Atheist

[PlanetoftheAtheists]

i call myself an atheist for no other reason than it pisses people off

[greenleaflink]

Yeah there are alot of people who think it is a "new age" movement lol

In some part of the countries it seems to be worse to be a Atheist than a Homosexual

[lovedovelight]

Nobodaddy sounds like an angry manual worker dressed in boxer shorts holding a can of Budweiser.

[nammer77]

God don't give a shit about us, he's too busy getting a blow job from some 10 year old boy, just ask any Catholic priest he will confirm it.

[allthatisman08]

iron my shirt bitch!

[FA8T]

The necessity for poetry is not an argument against science, not does it hold anymore as an argument for religion. It did for many centuries through sacred art, but I think it no longer applies.

[FA8T]

The necessity for poetry is not an argument for poetry, not does it hold anymore as an argument for religion. It did for many centuries through sacred art, but I think it no longer applies.

[RyeItGrrl]

Oh no! At 6:00 she actually defended religion and said that the flaw is in people! God forbid all the religious fanatics actually listened to what Atwood has to say rather than burning her books.

[sakeena09]

that's true that people distort religion. I'm a Muslim and I believe Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all from God but that the original Bible and Torah were corrupted and changed by some priests and rabbis for a small amount of money. The Qur'aan however will remain uncorrupt until Judgment day.

[thegimprevolt]

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

[kingsman565]

Exept that you make the assumption that the original Qur'aan is the uncurrupted word of God, you or I could write a holy book right now and tell people an angel commanded us to recite.

[PlanetoftheAtheists]

well, i'm glad you cleared that up

[greenleaflink]

So your a Muslim, but you say that the Bible (Christians) and Torah (Jews) are corrupt...

and only the Koran is uncorrupt...and judgement day?

Seems you have the "syndrome" that all -other- religions are wrong, tainted except yours.

there ALL corrupt.

[lolaxian]

@greenleaflink how do you know? have u read the kuran?

[greenleaflink]

@lolaxian

and reading the Koran would prove what?

[elh666]

@lolaxian I have read the Koran. I have also read the bible, and I'm here to tell you that they are painfully similar.

[MrCoreyCole]

@greenleaflink *you're

*they're

[greenleaflink]

@MrCoreyCole

thanks you grammar polices.

[Kingsta1234]

yeah.......no........thats the complete opposite. The Qur'aan is so corrupt.

Woman must be separated from men?

Men can marry multiple women?

why dont you stfu and stop making the quran look so special. its completely corrupt and changed around.

[httyht]

I'm not sure if you're taking to me here? Just replying as I got email saying you replied. I apologise for my (lack of)grammatical skills annoying you - I just can't be bothered with it in such casual forms as this. And I am not aware that I have spoken down to anyone - where is the evidence? I'm simply disagreeing with the woodensaw guy/girl. Anyway, thanks for posting this video as I enjoyed it very much and admire the author.

[aluckypunk]

Yes, I misread what you had written and replied much too hastily. I apologize, and am glad you enjoyed the video.

[httyht]

no probs!

[httyht]

important point about atheism as religion. but agnosticism is foolish, because of its evasive ignorance and selfish refusal to accept servitude to something other than humanity

[woodensaw]

For years, two infinites have been locked in battle: Christianity (comm) and paganism (self). The new struggle is reconciling those two infinites. The "something other than humanity" could easily be Gaia, or Mother Earth, and certainly, both infinites overlook our eternal life-giver, this earth. P.S. Fuck religion

[httyht]

God is infinitely beyond us both, and religion, and certainly 'mother earth. P.S Praise God

[woodensaw]

That makes no sense. You know for many facts why Mother Earth is your creator.

[httyht]

Earth is a creation - not a creator, mother or otherwise.

[woodensaw]

What the hell are you rambling on about, young fool? The Earth breeds life everyday, and without trees, you would starve. Of oxygen. I know that's a big Chemistry term, but your narrow, closure-seeking, imaginary order of thinking will eventually come to an end once you read Lacan, or something literary other than the (authoritative) Book.

Do you know who the natives are and were? Dwell on that quandary before you reply fool-heartedly.

[httyht]

"Earth breeds life everyday, and without trees, you would starve." Yes, how am i disputing that by saying earth is a creation and not the creator? What we're basically saying here - through all our rambling - is that i beleive in God and you don't. or is there more to the equation? or is this frankly annoying you? enlighten me...

[humanist7117]

It seems impossible for Westerners to talk about religion and the existence of "God,"as if this were the only concept of deity, without the discussion bein narrowly defined Why is there never an inclusion of the Hindu "gods," or the Greek and Roman, the nature 'gods,"etc?

[sewagedweller]

No one is talking about Hindu cow gods , because West is dominated by a single monotheistic religion . Nature is not a religion , its an environment. Alike to all humanist your are an idiot , since there is no such thing as stupid question , there are just stupid people .

[humanist7117]

Exactly my point. Westerners need to move beyond arguing against or about "God." Need to realize that there are other humans out there who are just as mistakenly devoted to their dieties. We shouold strive to make logic and reason universal.

PS Most Hindus have many other gods bessides cows.

[sewagedweller]

Science is universal , reason is not . Why should we care about bunch of cow worshipers or hippies ? We are the superior civilization who is in charge of this world not them .

[humanist7117]

How do you separate science and reason?

PS The Greeks, the Romans, Hitler and Stalin thought they had superior civilizatiions, too.Those who travel with delusions of superiority are doomed to fall on their butts!

[sewagedweller]

'sight' Stalin was a superior civilization....... nice one . So one man is civilization . lol

[humanist7117]

you're not your

[woodensaw]

your (possessive), you're (contraction of you are). Earth is YOUR creator.

[sewagedweller]

lets kill all atheists , they are annoying .

[aluckypunk]

Intelligent.

[gummybrain]

we can't be killed off. we are born from religious parents. whenever someone discards the (sometimes innocent) lies of religion, another atheist is born. If you want to get rid of atheists, found a religion that isn't bullshit.

[sewagedweller]

no what we do is brainwash everyone . that simple what ever doctrine you choose will never have a free mind .

[greenleaflink]

@sewagedweller

Okay Bill O Riley

[Alexdurrant7]

@sewagedweller They're generally the best writers, though.

[elh666]

@sewagedweller Way to prove a point..

[sewagedweller]

@elh666 not too different from usual atheist bitching is it ? besides bitch in a video is a cause of my first year undergrad misery , do you know what is it like to read 1000 pages of blind assassin by m. atwood ? if genocide of unbelievers will save the future generations from awful feminist literature , i think it's worth cost :p.

[elh666]

@sewagedweller Riiiiiiiiiight... you don't agree with what she says so her literature is automatically awful and she is a bitch? Moby Dick has huge Christian themes, and I still appreciated it on a literary level. Likewise, some of the things in the Bible shock and offend me, but I can enjoy some of the images and concepts. I'm presuming you were studying literature during your 'misery'. Did you really expect to study English and NOT have to read feminist literature?

[elh666]

@sewagedweller Also, atheist bitching? I don't think I've ever heard an atheist suggest genocide because religion is 'annoying'...

[sewagedweller]

@elh666 well there was this one atheist called stalin , and then there was another called comrade mao..... I wasnt studying english i was taking a mandatory writing class which was supposed to help my english , but instead of teaching me about writing it was all about feminist ass kissing. remind me again when did English writing classes suddenly became about shitty , long, politically correct turd novels that no one in their right state of mind wants to read ?

[elh666]

@sewagedweller You're getting dangerously close to Godwin's law there :P I would also argue that both of the people ordered genocide on religious people because it was vital for their regimes to function... not because they found them 'annoying'. Let's not forget how many atheists have been persecuted by the Vatican.

'The Handmaid's Tale' is one of the most challenged modern novels. If you're going to call Atwood 'politically correct' just because she's liberal, you're barking up the wrong tree.

[sewagedweller]

@elh666 liberalism is a new political correctness . The body count by Vatican cannot compare to one of stalin or mew . basically atheists are doing same thing as muslim , we are religion of peace . Never did anything bad .

[elh666]

@sewagedweller ... however, I might start calling Mao 'Mew' from now on. It's sort of cute :3

[ritchloui]

@sewagedweller The body count of the Vatican probably compares quite well with Stalin (a Jesuit) and Mao. Have you included the transmogrification of the Americas into a gigantic genocidal slave camp by the RCC's bullies? Also its 'indulgences' that made it all the richer proportionate to the cruelty? The eye-witness from 1493-1540 Bartelome de las Cassus estimated 50 million people were slaughtered and the real fun hadn't really begun till 1520. Islam probably has a WORSE record though.

[Mahoivlich]

If the argument started with atheism, yes then it would be dogmatic. The honus of proof lies with the person claiming it exists.

[CaptainTrina]

*posh laugh* symbolism like Cassirer!

oh yes, cultural theory lectures are useful it turns out...

[darris321]

it is scientific to not believe in god because theres no reason to think there is one in the first place

[FA8T]

Her version of agnosticism interestingly is contradicted by Bertrand Russell. Russell thought exactly because you couldn't prove either way if a deity existed it wasn't worth believing in. If something can't be proven why believe in it?

[knots1975]

well said

[FA8T]

hence agnosticism and atheism are completely compatible. Contrary to popular belief.

[rob445544]

when i was a kid i used to be scared s**tless by the descriptions of heaven and hell. there's something sick and twisted with a society that imposes these worlds on young minds - as if humans haven't got enough stuff to worry about, without knowing that it all ends in a big judgement and then either eternal bliss or eternal pain. What if i like mediocrity? Why do i have to have one of two extremes? It just doesn't make any sense.

[AttemptingReason]

I disagree with Ms. Atwood's characterization of atheism. Most atheists I have talked to admit that there is no way to test directly for an omnipotent, invisible being, but believe that that if such a being existed, there would be observable effects on reality, since its fair to expect that any god worth worshiping would have an intimate relationship with people and the world around them. I don't think that it is dogmatic to expect evidence for a belief before accepting it as plausible.

[TruthIsTruth01]

How could Scientists recover a T. rex dinosaur bone with soft tissue How can a supposedly 70 "million year" -old fossil yield preserved cells and blood vessels?

[culverapex]

You're asking in the wrong forum, ask a paleotologist. A buddy once came to me after a sermon and claimed that carbon dating was a fraud. Apparently his pastor took a rat, put it into a "carbon dating machine" and it came up a million years old. Years later, my buddy regretted getting scientific information from his pastor... So again, ask someone who knows.

[ronrayah]

It depends on the SERCUMSTANCE of the animals death hence if it died in a preserving substance its likely that cellular degeneration may have been hampered. SHIT HEAD!!!!

[eatnewspaper]

It's CIRCUMSTANCE...

[Devereux]

i don't know.. i somewhat like Margaret Atwood.. the way she talks makes me relax.. and i can understand what she's talking about pretty well.. i like Handmaid's Tale.. :)

[MrCrotchford]

Religion started as caveman science, the most logical explanation. since then, science has advanced a bit.

[av1611truth]

The code for each protein is contained IN the DNA/RNA system. However, proteins are REQUIRED in order to manufacture DNA. So which came first: proteins or DNA?

[mae1958]

I enjoyed this. What a brilliant woman! I love what she said about the self-righteous basically salivating with glee at the thought of being raptured while watching others suffer and burn. Humans are just a mess.

[RhondaH]

I put flowers on my dog's grave and buried her with her favorite things, but that doesn't mean I believe she has an afterlife. Also, I CAN tell you your dreams are not real. It is your brain sorting out things you have taken in and saving the important stuff and discarding what you don't need. That's why you can't remember every minute of everyday of your life.

Also I have NEVER hungered for any sort of god. Never felt any sort of need to be a slave to a god, just not a worship oriented being.

[knots1975]

Brilliant.Thanks for uploading

[gavinbarber]

Margaret Atwood maybe a very smart writer, but her argument that because we can't prove that God doesn't exist atheism is just another religion makes no sense. We can't prove that Zeus doesn't exist as well. Should we be agnostic towards Zeus? Agnostics seem to be on the losing side of an intellectual argument. What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. So as a proudly defiant atheist I reserve the right to dismiss God's existence without proof!

[smaakjeks]

Yeah, she needs to think that one over. I absolutely don't believe in ghosts. Is that a religion? What about the absolute non-belief of the easter bunny? Religion? Sheesh!

[roberto8ag]

People doesn't understand what religion really is. Religion is a belief system. A belief system based in the established relationship you have with the world around you, which guides your actions. If we call ourselves rational individuals then we have a religion.

[LEATSLAN]

Many Atheists and writers on Atheism would define atheism in a way that closely resembles Atwood's definition of Agnosticism

[southCSA]

There is no pfoof that god dose not exist the wahole universe is a mystery u never know that there may really be somehing else besides so called factual science.Which probaly dont even know what their doing.

[LEATSLAN]

Brilliantly and eloquently put southCSA! Your English teacher would be proud of you, had he ever seen you!

LOL

[sciencedoggy]

There is no evidecne for any god, much les the Christian one.

[CCT353GondzikA]

I wouldn't say athiests deny a god completely. I believe that the probability of a God, especially one that concerns himself with our actions and fates, is infinitesimal. Meaning so small, that I live my life under the assumption that He doesn't exist.

[dgdgdj47446]

Atheist: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings; Atheists deny god completely. You're thinking of agnostics: one who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.

[DrRandale]

I disagree with Margaret Atwood on Atheism and religion.

I am a bright, that means my worldview is free of supernatural or mystical elements,

that means my worldview is naturalistic.

As we say in Germany:

"In der Welt eines Bright geht es nur mit rechten Dingen zu." ;)

= "In the world of a Bright everything works in a proper (lawful) way." (i.e. naturalistic way)

I hope the translation is good enough...

[BCVChannel1]

The no g/God claim of the atheist does not claim knowledge about g/God for there is none. It is based on the understanding how social structure produces tendencies and perceptions of g/God but not g/God.

[MissLLB2B]

Margaret Atwood is by far the one person I would love to sit next to and just hear her speak.

[Euripides27]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Atwood when she claims that "atheism is a religion; it is dogmatic" and that it makes an "absolute claim". I am an atheist and I am not dogmatic nor absolute in saying "there is no God". "Atheism" is defined as "without God" meaning that I do not believe there is a God/Gods. Saying one does not believe is different than making an absolute claim there is no God or higher power. As a very smart person schooled in english literature, she should know that.

[BCVChannel1]

You are quite right. What needs to be understood is the social structure constructing the image/meta perception of g/God. Once you understand the dynamics you will know that its function is similar to fairytale construction.

[swimner87]

With all due respect, with what language do you distinguish yourself from a person who believes absolutely that "there is no God"? You, Atwood, and I seem agree to withhold judgment on that issue, and she and I call ourselves agnostics. But what do YOU call the person who believes unequivocally (and with no evidence) that no God exists? Just curious.

[Euripides27]

There are different levels of "atheism" but she is wrong when she defines atheism as a "religion". She should know what religion is exactly. The word Atheism simply means without God or not believing in a god. Some people might have a more absolute stand on the issue. Of course Secular is probably a better word to use if one simply has no particular religious belief.

[swimner87]

So someone who has an affirmative belief that "no god exists" is what, in your opinion? And what do you call someone who says "I currently see no reason to believe in God, but I'm open to persuasion?" BTW, I think Atwood quipped that atheism is a religion merely to illustrate that no proof exists to believe that "God CERTAINLY does not exist."

[Euripides27]

And again most true atheists do not say "God CERTAINLY does not exist". Atheism is an absence of belief just as Theism is a system of belief. She shows the deficiency in her philosophical education by positing such shallow (absolute) claims about Atheism. Agnosticism (literally "without knowledge"), on the otherhand, can be seen as dangerously close to nihilism. There are many categories for atheism and agnosticism, and she should consider those more carefully in her argument.

[swimner87]

Euripides, I don't mean to pick a fight with you. After all, we agree on so much. But I'm puzzled as to why you seem contemptuous of Atwood. Look, you are doubtless a smart person, but it's possible that you are wrong to assume that educated people agree about these terms. My experience (and, alas, I'm depressingly older than you) with discussing this with many many educated people is that no consensus exists. Ask around.

[xXAkridXx]

I think her interpretation of Atheist and Agnostic are diffrent from ours. I consider myself an Atheist as religion is untestable and unlikely and default is all religion is false untill one is proven true, but the possiblility is still realized, its just a very small possiblilty. I would argue that she is an Atheist by our definition, and she sees ignorant Atheist as the only Atheist.

[OrchidMaroon]

i don't think you understood what she said.. ????

[xXAkridXx]

She said Atheism was a religion because atheist asume 100% that no god exist, and that it in itself dogma. Where we differ in opion is that definition of Athiest beliving god dosnt exist 100%, we give it a small EX:0.000000000000001% chance of probability but find it neglegible. So Athiest truley belive nothing 100%, rounded to a cetain decimle we belive eveything 99.9% at maximum.

[OrchidMaroon]

maybe you personally. but the general agreement on the term is that it's a, "doctrine or belief that there is no god.".. I think her conversation is operating with that to be true.

[xXAkridXx]

Your missing my point, A Athiest belives there is no god, yes, just like we belive theres no invisible flying monsters that poops on us with invisible poop. Because technicaly we dont know a god dosnt exist although its very improbable we must leave the smallest proobablity, and that probability is NEGLEGIBLE. Therefore we can say there is no god and be pretty damn sure about it, but for all we really know we are all in the matrix. Nobody has absolute knowlage and all our facts are subjective.

[OrchidMaroon]

No, I got your point, I just don't agree.

[xXAkridXx]

No you are assuming to be an Athiest means to belive no god exist 100% even though you have never been into outerspace ans searched all existance, you make the assumption that its 100% impossible, that 100% assumption is dogma, Therefore your not a strong atheist.

[OrchidMaroon]

Yeah. I assume just as the dictionary does.

[xXAkridXx]

You take your definition out of a Dictionary?! You know how they define it? "someone who denies the existence of god" As if Athiest are just in denial, other dictionarys have defines Atheist as "immoral". Anyway I could still say I dont belive god exist because the probilbility that he does is so small its NEGLEGIBLE. I was simply explaining how because; I dont attribute 100% that god cant possibly exist, I am not in a religion for beign an Atheist.

[OrchidMaroon]

"the doctrine or belief that there is no God." is what i've read...i'm sure it's worded as "denial" somewhere. to deny is to simply state something isn't true. shouldn't be offensive.

[xXAkridXx]

Denial; " Psychology; An unconscious defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings." And "the doctrine or belief that there is no God." is vauge, it dosnt discuss absolute thinking, your still not gettign it.

[OrchidMaroon]

even if "Denial" is offensive, it's NOT what I read in the dictionary.

bah. i don't care! next video. lol.

[ISUhandmaidstale]

you are not an atheist. An atheist believes that there is 100% NO god. If you believe that there is an possibility of god, even a negligible 0.000000000000001%, then you are NOT atheist. there are no grey areas in atheism. Our facts may be "subjective" but our faith, or lack thereof, is not. religion and belief are not based on fact.

[xXAkridXx]

No 100% would be a strong atheist. Atheism pertains to one's lack of belief in religion not the existence of god. Most atheist are Agnostic Atheist, meaning they do not claim to know for certain if a god exist but believe 100% that all religion/faith is false. If something that could be accurately described as a god did exist, an atheist would require facts to believe it exist, never faith.

[harryspoonpotter]

@xXAkridXx but yo can be theist without being religious... so the 'theist' part pertains to belief in god, not religion. an atheist believes there is no god. the theist, agnostic and atheist could all have no faith in religion. so having no faith in religion is not a question of theism, bt merely of religion. ur wong, sorry

[xXAkridXx]

@harryspoonpotter

Gnostic Theist - believes in and knows there is a god

Agnostic Theist - believes in but does not know if there is a god

Agnostic Atheist - does not believe in but does not know if there is a god

Gnostic Atheist - does not believe in but knows there is no god

*Most people are agnostic in regards to knowledge.

[THEREIZNOGOD]

you don't necessarily have to believe that there is no god to be an atheist...

you just have to be NOT theistic and all that entails

it's not so much knowledge, nor belief, but what you subscribe to.

i can somewhat play hockey, but i don't play it at all: i'm a non-hockey player. (i don't go around calling myself what i am NOT)

[isaishkai]

Being an agnostic I found, for once a video about religion I could not only listen to. but it actually made me think. She makes a great point about god as a weapon, Margret Atwood is a prophet of rationality.

[VampireKiller1985]

Superb video

[BlueFireWitch]

There are plenty of other God concepts beside the Biblical ones.

[GEZAS]

Very interesting conversation