How to be an atheist?

Okay. Say I walk up to you (and say...you are an atheist) and I say to you "Hey! I've decided I don't believe in God. How can I be an atheist too?" What would you say? (I'm serious here..okay?) Tell me how you would describe what it means to be an a-theist....a "no Theos" person....a "There Is No God" person! What does it require of you? What does it cost you? What does it mean to you? Elaborate! Tell it! We are all ears! :mickey:

 

I would seriously say that that question is stupid. What does being an atheist mean to me?: just the definition in the dictionary I would say. Someone who believes that god(s) do not exist. Why? Because that is what it means.

 

If somebody asks you if you believe in God say: 'No'. It costs approx' 30 seconds of your time.

 

It doesn't require anything.
All the word means is that you reject deity.
End of story.

 

"Would you like to go bowling"?

 

It seems like you're asking an atheist to proselytize about being an atheist, which is kind of weird

 

Yeah. OP seems like he was trying to bait people but it didn't really work.

 

buy a fedora.

 

Interesting replies. No, I wasn't trying to "bait" people. I was just curious as to what the reaction would be.

 

i'd say i hope your ready ta read loadsa bibles,cos the majority of self proclaimed atheists are always quoting bibles,in their mission ta try and prove ta others that the gods they say they don't believe in don't exist. ha! ha!

 

I would say that to understand what it costs me to be an atheists, consider what it costs you in your life to believe in your god(s), and then substract that cost. That is what it costs me.

 

Atheists do seem to want others to realize their viewpoint dont they?

 

:coffee:
I wouldn't be so quick with the
"majority" thing, makes you sound a little prejudice. The ones you are talking about, aggressive atheists, are more like what Westboro Baptist is to Christianity... while still a ridiculous comparison, you get my point?
Most of us believe in live and let live...until questionable religious values like censorship starts to creep into legislation then we start getting upset(Remember the PMRC?)

 

You mean it would'nt cost you jobs or friends or etc because the world as a whole equates atheists with satanists and etc....dont they?

 

it was not ment in a predudice way at all.i am just speaking from what i see written by selfproclaimed atheists.and it was a majority rather than a minority.i live an let live all the time.ya, there is the agressive thing in common.in my opinion the really true atheists actually very rarely, or never call themselves atheists at all.

 

i agree. while it isn't a majority, it is the most vocal and self-identifying minority of atheists which colour perception of the whole.

although the comparison of the westboro baptist church has some relevance, the comparison between atheism and the public perception of Islam is probably more accurate. in Islam, there are fewer "official" organs or heirarchies than in christianity. When the westboro baptist church does its thing, multiple church officials from different denominations can come out and decry it with some degree of authority. people tend to get angry when an islamic radical does something despicable and wonder why high-ranking Islamic officials don't come out and condemn it. the fact is, with a non-heirarchical system, there isn't anybody to speak for the faith as a whole and provide the "official" condemnation that people demand.

similarly, atheism (obviously) has no hierarchical structures, and those that do exist are often run by precisely the kind of people that the majority of atheists want to distance themselves from. so when atheists act like cockbags, there's no official organ to decry them. its a price worth paying, but it is annoying when people assume you to be a twat based on your religious beliefs because the most vocal of the same belief are often twats themselves. with no oficial voice, the people that shout loudest get heard most often. irritating, but true.

 

In my every day life, I am a live and let live atheist. It is only online, in religious posts and atheism forums that I am the militant anti-theist.

 

there are appropriate places for that kind of discussion, and those would be examples. There are also appropriate situations (the political aspect) when it spills over into other forms, it becomes a problem for the individual (or i would say, it is already a problem for the individual) and, in the long run becomes a problem for the whole.

 

I will say that most atheists are far more ready to express their position than most believers. Many feel it is their duty to wake people up out of their so called ignorance and superstition.