Something To Ponder.

[Moochka]

So I was thinking-(a very dangerous past time) about my being atheist and what not.
And then I came to a conclusion.
By denying someone's or somethings existence (i.e. God) aren't you then giving it credit of existence.
So then I decided, maybe I'm not atheist and that I don't need to label myself.
Maybe I'm just Emirie.
So now I think whenever someone asks me "what do you believe in?"
I'll just say myself.

Have you had any self realizations lately?
Discuss?  

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

HiverReine

So I was thinking-(a very dangerous past time) about my being atheist and what not.
And then I came to a conclusion.
By denying someone's or somethings existence (i.e. God) aren't you then giving it credit of existence.
So then I decided, maybe I'm not atheist and that I don't need to label myself.
Maybe I'm just Emirie.
So now I think whenever someone asks me "what do you believe in?"
I'll just say myself.

Have you had any self realizations lately?
Discuss?

I'm sorry, but...
I don't understand what you mean.
It would be appriciated if you would explain.
I apologize for being stupid on this...  

[Moochka]

Okay, well labeling yourself as an Atheist means you deny the existence of God correct?
Well by denying it's existence are you not then giving it some form of existence?
It's just a thought.  

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

HiverReine

Okay, well labeling yourself as an Atheist means you deny the existence of God correct?
Well by denying it's existence are you not then giving it some form of existence?
It's just a thought.

Makes sense, I think.

Why does that bother you?  

[Moochka]

It didn't really bother me per say, it was just something I was pondering.
I found it interesting I suppose.
I mean in one way I suppose I am still denying God's existence.
But I find not acknowledging God at all more self gratifying in some twisted aspect.  

[a390984092ff]

Well...god does exist, in the eyes of all of his followers. So yes, you are right in a way...But it doesn't make atheism hypocritical.

I usually say 'free thinker' or 'I believe in my family'. Those are too out there to get a negative response smile  

[Moochka]

Understandable.
I wasn't trying to say Atheism was hypocritical, but I suppose in a roundabout way I did sweatdrop

Yeah I could see where those could get an unwelcome response.
They usually just stare at me and go "May God Bless You."
But I live in the bible belt, so it's to be expected. rolleyes  

[55may55]

I agree with RyonaNoel, in that "God" has existence in our culture, and there is no denying that. However, I don't feel that saying that you are an Atheist means you are "denying God," rather you are saying "I don't believe in any such nonsense period, so don't confuse me with that crazy Christian over there." I mean the definition of Atheist is (according to Dictionary.com): "a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings." Now, although it does say "denies," which I think is a poor choice of words, it also says "disbelieves," which is defined as: "to have no belief in; refuse or reject belief in" In this case the "to have no belief in" part would apply whereas if you claimed to have a mouse who could sing ABBA, I might disbelieve such a creatures existence in the second sense of the word (aka, I would deny that such a thing could be possible as mice do not have the vocal cord capabilities). That is my take on this matter, use my rantings however you wish.  

[Kidrahs]

I disbelive in god like I do unicorns...

Just a silly creature that someone made up.  

[[-Erik-]]

You indeed give them credit for existance.

Just no as a fact, but as an idea.

You aknowledge he exists (as an idea), but you reject the suggestion of him being real.

While an idea is just a concept, a fact is an statement that can be confirmed or denied.

 

[Dathu]

[-Erik-]

You indeed give them credit for existance.

Just no as a fact, but as an idea.

You aknowledge he exists (as an idea), but you reject the suggestion of him being real.

While an idea is just a concept, a fact is an statement that can be confirmed or denied.

I agree. If by acknowledging a concept, you give it a "form" of existence, then all things fictional, no matter how ridiculous, the moment they form in your consciousness, exist.

That of course also means that you define your reality by what you imagine, reality is the mind and vise versa, thus "I believe, therefore I am." Let's just hope our minds don't manifest in the perceived reality. ninja  

[adolfchrist]

god exists in our minds, but not physically, so hes not actually real  

[Lordress Viper]

HiverReine

Okay, well labeling yourself as an Atheist means you deny the existence of God correct?
Well by denying it's existence are you not then giving it some form of existence?
It's just a thought.

Well I see your point however I don't think Atheist means denying God's existence.. Atheist means not believing in God. There is a difference. Denying is knowing something exists but you refuse to believe it. Not believing is simply not believing. Take Santa for example. I don't believe in Santa because.. Well Santa doesn't exist to me. I am not denying Santa's existence because I know he is not real. If I were denying him then I would be saying I didn't believe even though I knew he was real. But Santa's not real. So I don't believe. Just trying to state my opinion so please don't take it personally sweatdrop  

[0UjgJBt3ONkG]

I strongly disagree with this.

I'm sure someone has said it already but I'll say it as well.

By denying the existence of God you are denying that God is real. You are not denying that the thought or idea of God exists.

It would be like denying Ender's Game (good book) is a true story, you're not denying that the story exists you're just denying that the events in the story actually took place.  

[Czstwyb]

That seems to me sort of like saying "By doing something, you are actually doing the opposite."