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To me, your religion is nothing more than your belief system.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
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I can definitely see why Atheists want to stay away from being classified as a religion, because then they would have to follow the same rules, in the same way, as they force Christianity to do. I know of no atheist belief that forces anybody to do anything other than follow the constitution. We can disagree about the constitution, but I'm not forcing anything unless you are too.Since Atheism does not have religious centers, like churches and such, then they do not have the expense of other religions. Thus the tax free aspect is not really that important to them. Using that logic then all Tea Party members are atheists.Dictionary.com defines religion as follows: Dictionary Link, which has a creator noun 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. I would not be surprised if some atheist believe in a superhuman agent or agencies, I wouldn't be surprised if some had no moral code, but atheism in no way involves devotional and ritual observances. Simply put, they don't believe in God.2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion. If you can find more than one atheist willing to agree with another on beliefs and practices then I imagine you can call it a sect, but I'm sure it would need another identifier to classify as religion.Atheism in and of itself has nothing to do with religion. Simply put,they don't believe in God.3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions. Can you find a world council of religions with atheist as members?4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion. I wouldn't be at all surprised to anybody, including atheists to live life as a monk or nun would.5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith. Really has nothing to do with atheism. Simply put,they don't believe in God.6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice. I wouldn't be surprised to find anybody with a code of ethics, but that in itself doesn't equate with religion.7. religions, Archaic. religious rites: painted priests performing religions deep into the night. O-0So, definitions 2, 3, and 6, (and to an extent, 1 and 6, if you accept the denial of a supreme being, or the idea that a supreme being is something other than God as fitting this definition) all fit with Atheism. As long as it fits even the definition of religion, even in the slightest, then it should be restricted as other religions are. No they don't. Simply put,they don't believe in God and that's a disbelief. You can they don't believe in God, but it still doesn't equate with a religious belief. I accept that you believe it does.It is a religion, and should have the same rights, responsibilities, and restrictions, as any other religion. Atheists have the same rights, responsibilities and restrictions as people who believe in God do, but it doesn't mean their a religion at all. I accept that you don't agree.
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Legend
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Of course you can make a bit of an argument against my point, just as I can make one for it. That's why the Atheists stand firm against such a designation, because there is room, within the definition of the word, for it to happen.
If Atheism became a recognized religion, schools could no longer deny any and all references to creationism, for example. The removal of religious symbols on religious holidays would be a form of religious expression in and of itself, (which, IMHO, it is) and thus a settlement where the rights of all are protected would have to be recognized, rather that those who do not believe getting their way at the expense of those who do.
Atheism is a religion in many ways. If religions where nature are seen as the creator is religions, or other with such undefined supreme beings, or even others that maintain that man is the supreme being, then why not Atheism?
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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~ Legend
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and some have demented and twisted views on a book full of love  Please remember, that book full of love also has a lot of Divine judgement going on also. God is love, but God is also just and he will judge unrepentant sinners. But unlike that book, we're not filled with "divine judgement" 
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Atheism is a logical consequence of objectivity. As is the scientific method.
Objectivity (scientific method) is a methodology for obtaining truth, not a series of conclusions. If some evidence is discovered for supernatural existence etc. etc. then atheists if they are objective would change their opinion.
Religion is subjective and has no rational basis for telling truth from falsehood. This is why fundamentally you can't prove any religion wrong (all fact claims eventually get dismissed as metaphors if disproven).
It isn't the set of conclusions that is important. It is the methodology.
For example. Creationism would only belong in a classroom if it followed a scientific method. At that point it would be a competing scientific theory and that fact it is religiously motivated would be irrelevant.
I'm not sure what percentage of people can be reasoned out of religion. It never stuck for me despite being raised in it. I can't really fathom why people can't get it is a cultural phenomenon. You'd be a Hindu if you were born in New Delhi, it's really that simple. I imagine because the belief itself is not developed through reason or arguments there is all kinds of emotional glue to the belief I have no idea how to change.
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Legend
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate?
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
- Theodore Roosevelt
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate? God only knows.
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate? This particular thread was started about a pediatrician refusing to treat the child of a lesbian couple for religious reasons so it belongs here.. but in other threads, I get your point. 
yebat' Putin
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Atheism is about the most illogical thing out there. An inanimate object suddenly turns itself into a living object all on its own and then magically transforms into all life on earth, all by itself. That sure sounds scientific to me. Sounds more like religion to me since it can't be proven scientifically AT ALL. I mean when was the last time you saw a rock make itself become a living organism? Never, and you never will. Or I can believe that all things in the universe are just expressions of energy and that its all connected to a Universal consciousness we call God who can manipulate that energy at will because its just a part of him. We are all connected to him but only he chooses what he keeps or discards.  I think real science is only proving the existence of God more and more.
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
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Miller-Urey experiment Like I said. Atheism as an idea is a product of rationality and objectivity. It isn't a set of conclusions about the absence of a god. It is saying that the evidence provided on the theory of god do not meet scientific standards to prove the hypothesis. The question of whether god exists (like all hypotheses" or not is only answerable by two methodologies. Objective measurements and testing. Subjective feeling. It doesn't matter what you believe. The hypothesis that all things in the universe are connected to a Universal Consciousness is either backed up by evidence or not. You can base your beliefs on what you feel is true all you like, but that doesn't make them objectively credible. How are you to know if Christianity is true vs. any other religion? For all you know you're pissing off the real god. Like I said, I was raised religious and it didn't stick. I have no idea how to convince someone using rational arguments. I view religion like culture or being a browns fan. It is what you are raised with and it sticks with you as a belief system. If I knew how to change highly ingrained beliefs and attachments I wouldn't be a browns fan.
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They named their kid Bay, really???
Pediatricians and doctors are not obligated to treat anyone at their "PRIVATE" practice. Not that I am against gays and lesbians adopting/having children, however I am for a business owners right to not accept a client. Its also a religious issue, which I am not regilious at any means, however I agree we all have a right to freedom of religion, and if your religion does not believe in that, then you have that right.
You can have it both ways, you cant be FOR freedom of reglion, BUT against anyone practicing their religion in the terms on their beliefs.
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Atheism is about the most illogical thing out there. An inanimate object suddenly turns itself into a living object all on its own and then magically transforms into all life on earth, all by itself.
That actually sounds JUST like a belief in creationism. So someone magically says, "hey i want to make a person" and all by itself made man????
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Legend
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Atheism is about the most illogical thing out there. An inanimate object suddenly turns itself into a living object all on its own and then magically transforms into all life on earth, all by itself.
That actually sounds JUST like a belief in creationism. So someone magically says, "hey i want to make a person" and all by itself made man???? Well, when the alternative is "there was a big bang, and dust became life in the form of organisms, and those organisms mutated into fish, birds, and humans and we've never been able to replicate anything like it......" yeah.....
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Legend
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Atheism is about the most illogical thing out there. An inanimate object suddenly turns itself into a living object all on its own and then magically transforms into all life on earth, all by itself.
That actually sounds JUST like a belief in creationism. So someone magically says, "hey i want to make a person" and all by itself made man???? You are correct.. I find it much easier to believe that someone made something than nothing made something...
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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While I agree with you, my mind is always boggled by who or what made that someone. Too much for our brains to comprehend either way, that's for sure.
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The way I think of it is that God exists before time existed. He created time, and matter, and energy, and everything else that the universe contains.
It's funny. For a long time scientists believed that the universe was eternal, and had just always been. Then they came upon the big bang, and what does that sound like? Like Genesis 1. The big bang took something like 1 second to create and expand/inflate the universe. "God said, let there be light, and there was light". Sounds rather consistent, and way ahead of what people believed in early Biblical times.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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metaphysically speaking I think that it is very likely that when enough energy is compressed into a single point that weird things can happen. Now imagine everything in the entire universe compressed into a single mass of energy.(not discussing where that energy came from). Anyways my thoughts are that God was born from the moment of the existence of that energy as it grew a consciousness.
I think our souls are mirror images of that form of God. In other words our souls are the energy force of our existence. I think science will someday be able to prove it too. When the Bible says God made us in his own image I think he was referring more to that of our eternal souls than our physical bodies.
I also think its possible other Godlike creatures could have been born from very strong energy fields as well. I think since these creatures are made from pure energy they can also manipulate it at will and thus create things from energy fields like we humans are starting to learn to do.
I think it is possible that everything in our universe is a part of God's original energy form and that his will allows the universe to exist. God is the alpha and the omega. Scientifically speaking the beginning and end of all things is pure energy.
Of course I can't prove any of that and its just my opinion but regardless that is what I think =)
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
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Maybe the dinosaurs were God's image.
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Legend
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Maybe the dinosaurs were God's image. Then that V tv show had the wrong invaders.
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Bb metaphysically speaking I think that it is very likely that when enough energy is compressed into a single point that weird things can happen. Now imagine everything in the entire universe compressed into a single mass of energy.(not discussing where that energy came from). Anyways my thoughts are that God was born from the moment of the existence of that energy as it grew a consciousness.
I think our souls are mirror images of that form of God. In other words our souls are the energy force of our existence. I think science will someday be able to prove it too. When the Bible says God made us in his own image I think he was referring more to that of our eternal souls than our physical bodies.
I also think its possible other Godlike creatures could have been born from very strong energy fields as well. I think since these creatures are made from pure energy they can also manipulate it at will and thus create things from energy fields like we humans are starting to learn to do.
I think it is possible that everything in our universe is a part of God's original energy form and that his will allows the universe to exist. God is the alpha and the omega. Scientifically speaking the beginning and end of all things is pure energy.
Of course I can't prove any of that and its just my opinion but regardless that is what I think =) Thank God for gravity!
#gmstrong
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Legend
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While I agree with you, my mind is always boggled by who or what made that someone. Too much for our brains to comprehend either way, that's for sure. It does boggle the mind doesn't it. We, as humans, struggle to comprehend anything being eternal going forward because basically everything we see and know, has a finite existence. Even stars and planets don't last forever... but to comprehend something being eternal going backward, something with no beginning... my little mind just can't get around that. No matter what science proves, or thinks they have proven about the past there will always be the question, "Well where did THAT come from?"
yebat' Putin
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Ken Ham and Bill Nye were both asked what would change their position to see their opponents side at the evolution debate. Ken Ham replied "Nothing." whereas Bill Nye replied "Show me the evidence."
Science isn't concerned with matters of picking theology; science is concerned with measurable truths. Most just believe it's illogical to attach your worldview to a book with contradictory knowledge to what's known about the real world.
Blind faith isn't enough for most people. Especially when you consider all the cherry picking, lack of uniformity among all denominations, and odd antiquated social policies which go against all scientific research.
I'd argue a true scientist must remain an agnostic. No body of evidence can disprove some higher power, but at the same time, we currently possess no physical evidence of a higher power. None of the creation myths from any theology match up with how we know celestial bodies form.
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1st String
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Rocket, you are one smart Cat. Well said.
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I'm average at best. I'm young and will still be learning for quite awhile, Victor.
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I think that the very fact there is a universe instead of a complete void is proof there is a creator. There is no way of explaining how something was born from nothing.
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
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Nowhere am I saying that can't be a possibility.
What I'm arguing is no theological system describes accurate cosmological information. The whole apologist "Well, a day is really thousands of years or more to God" doesn't fly with me. That brings up a can of worms with "what's literal and isn't literal". The argument goes from there "Well, if you're a versed scholar you can tell". But, wouldn't a creator make a book as simple to understand? It's disingenuous to not give a cut and dry example of what's literal and figurative in a text that gives you instructions to find the afterlife.
Science shows what's literal and figurative. The line is constantly blurred in all theological pursuits.
Last edited by RocketOptimist; 03/15/15 06:18 PM.
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[quote]The whole apologist "Well, a day is really thousands of years or more to God" doesn't fly with me. /quote]
You're not quoting the whole verse. 2 Peter 3:8 'But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord AS a thousand years, and a thousand years AS one day.
The apostle Peter is making the case to be diligent about your faith.
I've heard Ken Ham make the case that one day in the old testament means a literal day and when talking about the verse above said that those who try to make it out that a day is a thousand year period to God are stretching it because one part of the verse cancels the other out as it were.
The Bible also doesn't attempt to explain how planets and stars form. It merely says that God created the heavens and the earth, and then goes on to describe how man screwed it all up and then how God redeemed us. (Those are the cliff notes).
WE DON'T NEED A QB BEFORE WE GET A LINE THAT CAN PROTECT HIM
my two cents...
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate? God only knows. Hey man! You started it!  
WE DON'T NEED A QB BEFORE WE GET A LINE THAT CAN PROTECT HIM
my two cents...
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate? God only knows. Hey man! You started it! I think the "God only knows" was so subtle of a joke that it completely fell short of the humor spectrum. On the other hand, a lot of posts claim He started it.
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Why does every single thread need to turn into a religious debate? God only knows. Hey man! You started it! I think the "God only knows" was so subtle of a joke that it completely fell short of the humor spectrum. On the other hand, a lot of posts claim He started it. It was subtle, but it was funny! Don't doubt it!
WE DON'T NEED A QB BEFORE WE GET A LINE THAT CAN PROTECT HIM
my two cents...
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Legend
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The doctor's discrimination was based on a religion by her own admittance. For this fine doctor to be consistent she should have only acceptted patients that are of the same religious denomination as herself.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
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