[extropy-chat] Putting God to Rest

[ben]

"Robert Bradbury" <robert.bradbury at gmail.com> wrote:

 > You cannot be an "athiest since birth" since at birth you were
 > incapable of having or holding beliefs.


Nooooooo!

What are you saying?!

Atheism is a belief now?

 > I would be interested in comments by "indoctrinated" individuals who 
  > simply said "this does not make sense".


Well, you're getting one. I suppose i qualify, having been brought up 
until my early teens in a nominally anglican environment. Sunday school, 
occasionally being taken to church, being drafted into holding candles 
on a stick, that sort of thing.

One day i started to actually read the bible. That really opened my 
eyes. I soon realised that the whole thing was a bunch of often 
self-contradictory stories that were obviously made up by lots of 
different people over a long period of time. I really don't understand 
how anyone can read it and not conclude that it's all a load of 
bollocks. Any actual wisdom in there is completely accidental, i'm sure, 
and mixed in with so much nonsense, not to mention outright viciousness 
and stupidity, that if you can sort the one from the other, well, you 
don't /need/ any book to tell you how to live your life.

After a bit of thinking, i came to the conclusion that the whole thing 
was a crock of shite. So it was actually reading the bible that made me 
realise there are no gods, and we have to grow up and take 
responsibility for ourselves.
I used to say "well, if it turns out there is a god, i'd bloody well 
like a word with it!". I mean how could any all-powerful and wise being 
make such a godawful fuck-up of things? If there is a god, it needs a 
kick up the arse, or at least a good psychiatrist.

Later on, when i realised what 'belief' actually entails, i decided i 
was an atheist. As in someone free of beliefs about gods. Atheism is 
/not/ a belief system. Just the opposite. I don't 'believe there are no 
gods', but i do have a lack of belief in them. Completely different 
thing. If some strong evidence turns up for their existence, i may 
change my mind. That's not belief.

So i don't see a problem with Stathis claiming to be an atheist from birth.

ben zaiboc