How did you become an atheist?

[shortylickens]

I would ask what "knowledge" one actually obtains from religion...

Judaism encourages creativity and learning.

 

[Illyusha]

Mystic vision

 

[zinfamous]

I would ask what "knowledge" one actually obtains from religion...

Well, I meant in terms of the history of knowledge. Scientific thought is based in organized religion. Religion begat Science, basically.

Still, I've known some extremely brilliant and pious people in my life. When you look back through history, I would say that strong religious belief did not hinder the minds of people like Michelangelo or Leonardo, though the Church did.

Don't forget that Darwin was on his way towards the priesthood.

Religious belief does not preclude ignorance. Rote adherence to doctrine--of any kind--is what limits the mind.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I speak to Atheists every day but, I don't believe in them.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

I would ask what "knowledge" one actually obtains from religion...

Well the Catholics, who get railed on quite a bit for being so archaic, funded and subscribed to quite a bit of science... like all of it in Europe. They also preserved quite a bit of the foundations for things that would have been lost during the Dark Ages. I don't think you really find any Catholics who are young earthers, or look at Biblical stories as anything other than allegory. Not to mention Catholic schools in this country teach the same curriculum as public schools (in addition to SOME theology), and for the most part do it better, UNLIKE the “schools” of some other Christian sects which teach children lies. Islamic and Hindu cultures produced enormous leaps in science and math without adding cultural stigmatism to hinder new thought. Please don't confuse Islam with the Wahabbism you are so violently familiar with, like half of the "patriots" over in P&N. Islam has essentially been taken over in the countries that have become theocracies, by a doctrine whose Christian equivalent would be ideas put forth by Fred Phelps. The only reason this happened is because in those places, the vast majority of people are impoverished and marginalized, making them angry and easy to manipulate. I still say that if they had McDonalds and Best Buy, all would be well within a few years, but the guys in charge seem to think shooting them is best... I mean I think we should shoot enough to be able to establish order democracy and capitalism, but after that it should be Taco Bell and iPods.

I know sometimes I seem very harsh on religion here, but I don’t mind it so much until it: gets into law and interferes with my rights to think for myself and do what I want, or gets into an argument about science, or the belief is ignorant of mountains of evidence to the contrary, or me expressing my personal views insults someone because they think it is morally wrong to think what I think, and that argument escalates.

In fact, thank gosh they had theology where I went to public school. I am without a doubt better for it.

 

[zinfamous]

Well the Catholics, who get railed on quite a bit for being so archaic, funded and subscribed to quite a bit of science... like all of it in Europe. They also preserved quite a bit of the foundations for things that would have been lost during the Dark Ages. I don't think you really find any Catholics who are young earthers, or look at Biblical stories as anything other than allegory. Not to mention Catholic schools in this country teach the same curriculum as public schools (in addition to SOME theology), and for the most part do it better, UNLIKE the “schools” of some other Christian sects which teach children lies. Islamic and Hindu cultures produced enormous leaps in science and math without adding cultural stigmatism to hinder new thought. Please don't confuse Islam with the Wahabbism you are so violently familiar with, like half of the "patriots" over in P&N. Islam has essentially been taken over in the countries that have become theocracies, by a doctrine whose Christian equivalent would be ideas put forth by Fred Phelps. The only reason this happened is because in those places, the vast majority of people are impoverished and marginalized, making them angry and easy to manipulate. I still say that if they had McDonalds and Best Buy, all would be well within a few years, but the guys in charge seem to think shooting them is best... I mean I think we should shoot enough to be able to establish order democracy and capitalism, but after that it should be Taco Bell and iPods.

I know sometimes I seem very harsh on religion here, but I don’t mind it so much until it: gets into law and interferes with my rights to think for myself and do what I want, or gets into an argument about science, or the belief is ignorant of mountains of evidence to the contrary, or me expressing my personal views insults someone because they think it is morally wrong to think what I think, and that argument escalates.

In fact, thank gosh they had theology where I went to public school. I am without a doubt better for it.

:thumbsup:

 

[qliveur]

Ditto. And I'm agnostic about rainbow striped invisible unicorns too. I'm also agnostic about the Smurfs. Granted, it was a kids show, but how do you really know that there aren't smurfs out there somewhere? They're really small & hide well.

You'll have to pardon me if I find it hard to believe beyond any doubt that something as complex as DNA is the result of a cosmic accident without any proof either way.

 

[zinfamous]

You'll have to pardon me if I find it hard to believe beyond any doubt that something as complex as DNA is the result of a cosmic accident without any proof either way.

but DNA isn't all that complex, really. In fact, an individual genome is a big gigantic mess littered with mistake after mistake and mostly filled with nonsense and trash.

Things become less complicated when you investigate and explore, not just accept them as complicated because you either don't want to understand, or are afraid to discover something that challenges a core conviction.

 

[SMOGZINN]

You'll have to pardon me if I find it hard to believe beyond any doubt that something as complex as DNA is the result of a cosmic accident without any proof either way.

I refuse to believe that this post of created by an intelligent being without any proof either way.

Really, what seems to be more likely to you that chemical reaction formed long strands of Deoxyribonucleic acids, or that some intelligent being that has no end or beginning was sitting around forever and decided on one of the trillions and trillions of days he had been around to create an entire universe.

On one I need a moderately complex chemical reaction, which we know happens.

On the other I need an entire supernatural mythos, that we have no proof of, with an eternal being that has always existed, is both powerful enough and interested enough to actually hand craft these long strings of acid, that decides to do it on a whim.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

but DNA isn't all that complex, really. In fact, an individual genome is a big gigantic mess littered with mistake after mistake and mostly filled with nonsense and trash.

Things become less complicated when you investigate and explore, not just accept them as complicated because you either don't want to understand, or are afraid to discover something that challenges a core conviction.

It also started out far simpler than it is today in any organism. Every organism around today is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. Bacteria are equally evolved, they just evolved differently. What's in DNA has been added to for all that time, it didn't just poof into existence, though I can see where someone might get that idea...

Then again, DNA is not the whole story. DNA has codes for making stuff, and some of that stuff is in turn codes for making other stuff, the overall process of which in humans is INSANELY COMPLEX. But I'm sure anyone sufficiently versed in honest debate understands the complexity argument is flawed, so it doesn't say anything about the likelihood of god.