How many ATHEIST bronies out there?

[Concord 1,980]

Hello!

 

Yes, I am an atheist. God to me was never interesting, nor was I ever interested in any other religions... But it's something i keep to myself, and I do not persuade other people's beliefs.

[Stratos 109]

well you see that wasn't exactly my point of just raping people. I just used that as an example cause I use to have a friend named Curtis who used his atheism as an excuse to deny the law do drugs and get into that kind of activity I wasn't exactly aiming for it to just be centered around rape

That's called being a sociopath.  Sociopaths see no problem hurting people and will grab at straws to defend their behaviour when confronted.  Not believing in the god of Abraham did not make that dude rape someone.  He chose to do that and is a terrible person.

 

Edit: And another thing, religious people do terrible things (rape, kill, steal, etc) ALL the time.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Stratos

[Bigmethod 239]

I'd like to congratulate you on starting this thread.  It is very brave to stick your head out of the crowd and risk being singled out.  Every time I do it, I see an object flying my way 

 

But seriously, I believe man created gods to explain phenomena and to convey moral and social norms.  That includes the Abrahamic god that Judaism, Christianity and Islam worship.  He wasn't the first, nor the last god on record, he's just pretty popular.

 

That doesn't mean I look down on those who have faith in that god or other gods.  I have faith in things too!  Faith is an important and healthy thing for a person to have!  I'm just a born skeptic and look at things with a wide angle lens.  

 

I do have a slight problem with Atheism  though I'd be considered and atheist.  It implies that the Abrahamic god is the only god but you don't believe in him.  I've met self proclaimed atheists who believe in ancestor spirits and jinn and other mythological things.  It just seems to exclude the one god that a bunch of people loudly support, like an opposition to those people.  I don't support that.

 

So, I'd call myself a Humanist, if anything, but it is a type of atheism, just a type that doesn't go around trying to disprove matters of faith, rather having faith in this mortal plane and putting your chips in the basket that maybe one day we'll all get along and be cool to each other.  That also colors my political beliefs (won't get into THAT on this board) and how I interact with people.  Try to give good vibes, hope to get good vibes back.  It's all very hippy-ish, haha.

Not to be offensive or anything, but people who are atheists claim the simple fact of "The bible/torah/qu'ran doesn't have enough facts in it for me to believe it." Thats it, the ancestral spirit stuff is something else... In my opinion, faith isn't important, you don't need faith. However, i really don't believe you need "Atheism" either, its the simple fact of NOT believing, its not like we have a non-physicist or NON-mathematician or NON-archaeologist. So at the end of the day, its a useless word to describe people who haven't fallen pray to something like an organized religion, thats it. 

 

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

[Xan 22]

That's called being a sociopath. Sociopaths see no problem hurting people and will grab at straws to defend their behaviour when confronted. Not believing in the god of Abraham did not make that dude rape someone. He chose to do that and is a terrible person.

 

Edit: And another thing, religious people do terrible things (rape, kill, steal, etc) ALL the time.

ugh this is hard I also never aimed for someone to think I was saying religious people are amazing. I know we are bad the ONLY reason I say I'm Christian is cause I believe in god other than that I'm a bisexual clopper so I kinda suck at being a Christian now don't I? So yea I know Christians can be horrible people too

[Stratos 109]

Not to be offensive or anything, but people who are atheists claim the simple fact of "The bible/torah/qu'ran doesn't have enough facts in it for me to believe it." Thats it, the ancestral spirit stuff is something else... In my opinion, faith isn't important, you don't need faith. However, i really don't believe you need "Atheism" either, its the simple fact of NOT believing, its not like we have a non-physicist or NON-mathematician or NON-archaeologist. So at the end of the day, its a useless word to describe people who haven't fallen pray to something like an organized religion, thats it. 

 

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

I pretty much believe the etymology of the word means "follower of a way without a deity," there ARE anti-scientists and they get elected to public office more often than is comfortable and I think you may have misunderstood my post, but that's ok.

[Hansel 1,511]

There was a similar thread to this started several months ago. I think I spent most of thread trying to explain what agnosticism was. Most people - including some who claim to be agnostic - don't really seem to know what it means and see it as a kind of diet-atheism.   Not to mention the amount of times people claimed that atheism was either a religion, and a belief system... 

 

Anyway, I'm an agnostic atheist. I think it would be fairly ignorant of me to say that I know for certain that there is no deity, but I simply lack the belief in one. Given the evidence (or lack of), I don't really see any reason for me to hold on to a belief in one. Honestly, even if there was a deity, I would still think that I was right in being an atheist simply because I didn't believe in one without any real proof.

 

My atheism is probably a product of my skepticism, which, contrary to popular belief, is a fairly open minded way of viewing the world.

[Xan 22]

Just cause I've heard this a lot but to many people to quote them all I'm gonna put this out there. Who the hell is judging atheists? I mean I know there is a few who stand up to it but from my experience there is more atheist tha Christians so to me it seems a lot more like Christians get hated on by atheist so why is everyone going on about how "we will not hide" or "we will not be ashamed and we will put ourselves out there even if we get singled out" I just don't see anyone singling anyone out or doing any of that m8. So why does it seem everyone is worried sick of being judged?

[Stratos 109]

There was a similar thread to this started several months ago. I think I spent most of thread trying to explain what agnosticism was. Most people - including some who claim to be agnostic - don't really seem to know what it means and see it as a kind of diet-atheism.   Not to mention the amount of times people claimed that atheism was either a religion, and a belief system... 

 

Anyway, I'm an agnostic atheist. I think it would be fairly ignorant of me to say that I know for certain that there is no deity, but I simply lack the belief in one. Given the evidence (or lack of), I don't really see any reason for me to hold on to a belief in one. Honestly, even if there was a deity, I would still think that I was right in being an atheist simply because I didn't believe in one without any real proof.

 

My atheism is probably a product of my skepticism, which, contrary to popular belief, is a fairly open minded way of viewing the world.

 

You would probably like this quote by Carl Sagan:

 

"The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides."

[Bigmethod 239]

Just cause I've heard this a lot but to many people to quote them all I'm gonna put this out there. Who the hell is judging atheists? I mean I know there is a few who stand up to it but from my experience there is more atheist tha Christians so to me it seems a lot more like Christians get hated on by atheist so why is everyone going on about how "we will not hide" or "we will not be ashamed and we will put ourselves out there even if we get singled out" I just don't see anyone singling anyone out or doing any of that m8. So why does it seem everyone is worried sick of being judged?

Almost every religious group in the entire world. They may say, "We love you" and all that junk... but what if i were to walk up to you, and say, "I love you, but your going to get burned and tortured for eternity if you don't do what i think is right." 

 

But atheists shouldn't be worried about being judged, i hate religion, it's like an old cassette tape that won't go away, i mean we now have cd players, blue ray players, yet this cassette tape, which was useful for a while 1000 years ago, just WON'T leave and let the cd's etc etc. take over.

 

In the end, religion is currently useless, sure it might provide comfort for some, but in the end, some comfort that many have learned to be without, is not worth the millions of deaths it has caused. 

[Starlight Sweet 17]

I'm an atheist, but I have a lot of Christian friends. I don't mind other people's beliefs, and they usually don't mind mine, that is until I run into le wild Super-Christian and he rips me a new one about how I'm "gonna burn in hell" or I "have to repent."  I dislike those that cannot accept that everyone believes differently.

[ErBoi 498]

Just cause I've heard this a lot but to many people to quote them all I'm gonna put this out there. Who the hell is judging atheists? I mean I know there is a few who stand up to it but from my experience there is more atheist tha Christians so to me it seems a lot more like Christians get hated on by atheist so why is everyone going on about how "we will not hide" or "we will not be ashamed and we will put ourselves out there even if we get singled out" I just don't see anyone singling anyone out or doing any of that m8. So why does it seem everyone is worried sick of being judged?

 

In addition to what Bigmethod has already said, saying that there are more atheists than Christians isn't even close to true.  It might seem that way on forums a lot, but out in the real world, Christianity and Islam reign with tremendous proportion.

An estimated 2.3% of the world's population claim to be atheist outright.  A further estimated 11.9% say nonreligious.

Contrast that with Christianity (33.39% of the world's population) or Islam (23.4%) and atheists are hardly a blip on the radar.

 

 

Reading through this thread, in some ways I wish I had as dramatic experiences with my being an open and adamant atheist/anti-theist, but my friends are generally pretty cool with it.  I got one mildly shocked reaction from my best friend but in the long run, he didn't really care.  Even when I started becoming more openly opposed to religion, I found no trouble living my life as usual.  I should be thankful my friends were as cool as they are, but at the same time I kind of want to have some story of outright rejection to give me something visceral to fight against.

 

Oh, and some confusion in the early pages of this thread over some definitions that I'd like to clear up:

Being an atheist means that one does not believe in any gods.  That's it.

Agnostic and gnostic are not mutually exclusive terms to atheism.  Gnosticism is the presence of claimed certainty, while agnosticism is the presence of uncertainty.  One can be a gnostic theist, an agnostic theist, a total agnostic, an agnostic atheist and a gnostic atheist.

 

I, as well as most atheists, fall into agnostic atheist.  And we can still be more specific beyond those 5 terms; specifically I fall into the group of agnostic atheists that, for all intents and purposes, may as well be gnostic.  I reserve total rejection of the possibility of gods for the same reason I reserve total rejection for the possibility of fairies:  Once you apply magic to something it becomes impossible to disprove (which is also a terrible argument in favour of believing in something).

[Zerobot 179]

I'm an atheist because I'm a rebellious teen and you can't tell me what to do.

 

...I mean, because I think people should do what they think is right regardless of an eternal reward/punishment system, and regardless of whether or not some all knowing being is constantly judging them. I don't mind people who are religious though. Best case scenario it can make you be a better person, and if someone is using their religion as an excuse to be racist or intolerant or rude then I'm not going to dislike them because they're religious, I'm going to dislike them because they're being racist or intolerant or rude.

[Freewave 1,145]

Atheist. Don't like getting in people's faces about it but i just find some of the arguments for god existing just ridiculous. Why anyone would worship someone who won't show his face or his existence and stays idle during mass suffering is just strange.

 

As Sting said.

 

O my God you take the biscuit
Treating me this way
Expecting me to treat you well
No matter what you say
How can I turn the other cheek
It's black and bruised and torn
I've been waiting
Since the day that I was born

 

If I show up at the pearly gates and they ask "why should we let you in when you've been ignoring the boss" my reaction would be "well why has he been such a deadbeat dad". But seriously i don't think that would even happen. We make up fantasies to protect ourselves from the fact that we're born, we grow, we word, we die, and that's it. It's too depressing to not hope for an afterlife i guess or that evil people get punished in hell. Cloud cities in heaven, torture in hell, seriously?  It's more important that we begin to realize it's how live and treat each other in this life that is important.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Freewave

[Bigmethod 239]

In addition to what Bigmethod has already said, saying that there are more atheists than Christians isn't even close to true.  It might seem that way on forums a lot, but out in the real world, Christianity and Islam reign with tremendous proportion.

An estimated 2.3% of the world's population claim to be atheist outright.  A further estimated 11.9% say nonreligious.

Contrast that with Christianity (33.39% of the world's population) or Islam (23.4%) and atheists are hardly a blip on the radar.

 

 

Reading through this thread, in some ways I wish I had as dramatic experiences with my being an open and adamant atheist/anti-theist, but my friends are generally pretty cool with it.  I got one mildly shocked reaction from my best friend but in the long run, he didn't really care.  Even when I started becoming more openly opposed to religion, I found no trouble living my life as usual.  I should be thankful my friends were as cool as they are, but at the same time I kind of want to have some story of outright rejection to give me something visceral to fight against.

 

Oh, and some confusion in the early pages of this thread over some definitions that I'd like to clear up:

Being an atheist means that one does not believe in any gods.  That's it.

Agnostic and gnostic are not mutually exclusive terms to atheism.  Gnosticism is the presence of claimed certainty, while agnosticism is the presence of uncertainty.  One can be a gnostic theist, an agnostic theist, a total agnostic, an agnostic atheist and a gnostic atheist.

 

I, as well as most atheists, fall into agnostic atheist.  And we can still be more specific beyond those 5 terms; specifically I fall into the group of agnostic atheists that, for all intents and purposes, may as well be gnostic.  I reserve total rejection of the possibility of gods for the same reason I reserve total rejection for the possibility of fairies:  Once you apply magic to something it becomes impossible to disprove (which is also a terrible argument in favour of believing in something).

Haha, the first time i admitted i was atheist was around 10 years ago in highschool... i wish i got the reaction on tape. I went to a very religious school so we had a visitor from church babbling on about how everyone who doesn't follow the bible will become a "dying tree" and go to "hell" i understandable got frustrated so i started poking and prodding at him a few hard to answer questions, and the answers were mostly "read the bible more" or "Thats the way god made it", so after a good amount of questions he jokingly asks, "So many questions...what are you an atheist?" And a few people let out a chuckle.

 

I just respond... "Yes..." pretty dramatic... its almost as if i was admitting to being a murderer on a Spanish soap Oprah  because i swear every student looked at me and gasped... needless to say it was pretty funny. 

 

 

have a great day.

[Shaky Novel 72]

I was, but now I'm a Christian. I hated the way religion tried to control people, and I didn't feel like their highest priority was to love and cherish their god, but to take control over peoples minds through fear. I also felt like religion was the opposite of sience... but now I feel like it could be a way to explain God, to understand his creations. 

 

I still don't always agree with the church. But you have to keep in mind that these are people, humans, and not God or Jesus, which causes the problems. We're far away from even near perfection, considering all the war and such that religion has caused. And WE HUMANS did it. I don't feel like it was Gods purpose. We are the sinners, right? Not Jesus. The only big religion that haven't spread through violence is Buddhism. What I mean is that religion is held up by humans, the sinners, which is the reason of its deficiencies. And those should be corrected, but religious people have a tendency to be very confident in their opinions, which isn't that much of a suprise, but very unfortunate.

 

However, I feel like God aswered my prayers... and once I actually said: "Give me this as a proof of your existence, because right now I need a miracle". He gave it to me, and I don't think that I can get a more proper answer. I still doubt my beliefs a lot though, so I completly understand atheists. But I LOVE Jesus, and I LOVE his words. ♥

 

I highly recomend this video:

 

Edited April 21, 2013 by Shaky Novel

[Bigmethod 239]

I was, but now I'm a Christian. I hated the way religion tried to control people, and I didn't feel like their highest priority was to love and cherish their god, but to take control over peoples minds through fear. I also felt like religion was the opposite of sience... but now I feel like it could be a way to explain God, to understand his creations. 

 

I still don't always agree with the church. But you have to keep in mind that these are people, humans, and not God or Jesus, which causes the problems. We're far away from even near perfection, considering all the war and such that religion has caused. And WE HUMANS did it. I don't feel like it was Gods purpose. We are the sinners, right? Not Jesus. The only big religion that haven't spread through violence is Buddhism. What I mean is that religion is held up by humans, the sinners, which is the reason of its deficiencies. And those should be corrected, but religious people have a tendency to be very confident in their opinions. 

 

However, I feel like God aswered my prayers... and once I actually said: "Give me this as a proof of your existence, because right now I need a miracle". He gave it to me, and I don't think that I can get a more proper answer. I still doubt my beliefs a lot though, so I completly understand atheists. 

 

I highly recomend this video:

 

Thats completely fine, but for the sake of argument i'll ask you this. Without god or jesus or the bible (or whatever book, torah qu'ran etc.) some of the massive wars could have been avoided, for christianity, it would be the crusades and the inquisition, because if christianity didn't rule over many people, the church wouldn't exist, and if it wouldn't exist then the pop would have no reason for wanting the land... etc etc... 

 

So although some religious people do crazy crazy things... they do it for the sake of religion you know? 

 

And not to belittle your faith or anything (honestly, this is not what i'm trying to do, but i understand how sometimes i can come off as a complete D when i talk about religion) but wouldn't a more obvious and direct and REAL way to answer your prayers to just come down to earth and be like... "Sup.. i exist... so all this atheist stuff needs to go by by." instead of hiding wherever he is just so some of the people who follow science and not religion will get to burn for all eternity... you know? 

 

 

I used to be religious back when i was in middle school, but i stopped when we learned about biology and how interesting and specific the system of natural selection was, how expansive the stars and galaxies are... and i found that to be much more amazing than a book. 

 

However, i digress, i respect all religion as long as the people who believe in them don't harm others (which is sometimes the case) , and as i always say... "I love the person, not the religion" 

 

Thanks =) In the end we are all ponies at heart =D 

[ErBoi 498]

I'm not very fond of TheAmazingAtheist, but he's done a pretty great job picking this particular video apart:

From where I stand, that poem and its popularity are simply proof that if you can say stuff with a knowing look while rhyming (badly), even if what you're saying is directly contradictory with itself or complete nonsense, thousands or even millions of people will think you are "so deep" without fail.

Edited April 21, 2013 by ErBoi

[Shaky Novel 72]

Thats completely fine, but for the sake of argument i'll ask you this. Without god or jesus or the bible (or whatever book, torah qu'ran etc.) some of the massive wars could have been avoided, for christianity, it would be the crusades and the inquisition, because if christianity didn't rule over many people, the church wouldn't exist, and if it wouldn't exist then the pop would have no reason for wanting the land... etc etc... 

 

So although some religious people do crazy crazy things... they do it for the sake of religion you know? 

 

And not to belittle your faith or anything (honestly, this is not what i'm trying to do, but i understand how sometimes i can come off as a complete D when i talk about religion) but wouldn't a more obvious and direct and REAL way to answer your prayers to just come down to earth and be like... "Sup.. i exist... so all this atheist stuff needs to go by by." instead of hiding wherever he is just so some of the people who follow science and not religion will get to burn for all eternity... you know? 

 

 

I used to be religious back when i was in middle school, but i stopped when we learned about biology and how interesting and specific the system of natural selection was, how expansive the stars and galaxies are... and i found that to be much more amazing than a book. 

 

However, i digress, i respect all religion as long as the people who believe in them don't harm others (which is sometimes the case) , and as i always say... "I love the person, not the religion" 

 

Thanks =) In the end we are all ponies at heart =D 

Of course it would be avoided. But the thing is that war is the creation of human, and not God. Let's say an author writes a book about a cruel murdurer, and then someone does the exact same thing as the character in the book. Is this the authors fault? Of course it isn't. We always have a choise, and some humans choosed to do these horrible things because they thought that was what God wanted. However, I think that they're wrong, but sure, I could be the one who's wrong too. 

 

Haha, yes, belive me, I've thought that too. Why can't he just stand in front of me and just, you know, chat a little bit? And to be honest, I haven't got a clue. But the thing that happend to me just two days later after my prayer... Well, it was amazing. I don't want to tell you what happened, because it has to do with a good friend of mine, I don't think she'd be happy if I tould you all.

 

I'm still a fan of sience you know, that hasn't changed at all. I just think it's a way to explain God now.

 

I'm not very fond of TheAmazingAtheist, but he's done a pretty great job picking this particular video apart:

From where I stand, that poem and its popularity are simply proof that if you can say stuff with a knowing look while rhyming (badly), even if what you're saying is directly contradictory with itself or complete nonsense, thousands or even millions of people will think you are "so deep" without fail.

Allright, so, as I said before.  But you have to keep in mind that these are people, humans, and not God or Jesus, which causes the problems. We're far away from even near perfection, considering all the war and such that religion has caused. 

 

I think that what he means by the poem, is pretty much what I said. Religion involves humans, and therefore problems will follow. It might do some good too, and that's why he can love parts of it at the same time. 

Edited April 21, 2013 by Shaky Novel

[rainboom_64 0]

I'm an Atheist pegasister. I try not to let that affect my friendships. I try to love and tolerate everypony, but some pony's religions I feel are shoved in my face

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

SCIENCE IS TRUE GOD AND THOSE WHO DISAGREE HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION!

What? Did you think I would say something negative about religious members?

I'm an atheist, not a jerk.

[Bigmethod 239]

Of course it would be avoided. But the thing is that war is the creation of human, and not God. Let's say an author writes a book about a cruel murdurer, and then someone does the exact same thing as the character in the book. Is this the authors fault? Of course it isn't. We always have a choise, and some humans choosed to do these horrible things because they thought that was what God wanted. However, I think that they're wrong, but sure, I could be the one who's wrong too. 

 

Haha, yes, belive me, I've thought that too. Why can't he just stand in front of me and just, you know, chat a little bit? And to be honest, I haven't got a clue. But the thing that happend to me just two days later after my prayer... Well, it was amazing. I don't want to tell you what happened, because it has to do with a good friend of mine, I don't think she'd be happy if I tould you all.

 

I'm still a fan of sience you know, that hasn't changed at all. I just think it's a way to explain God now.

 

Allright, so, as I said before.  But you have to keep in mind that these are people, humans, and not God or Jesus, which causes the problems. We're far away from even near perfection, considering all the war and such that religion has caused. 

 

I think that what he means by the poem, is pretty much what I said. Religion involves humans, and therefore problems will follow. It might do some good too, and that's why he can love parts of it at the same time. 

Well, although i understand where your coming from, i refuse to believe that science is to explain god, because in the bible contradicts everything science has told and proven to us. Nothing in science points to adam and eve, a giant flood, the red sea parting, or any sort of divine intervention. And how do i know this? Its because if you look at the millions of people to go to sacred statues that are known to "cure" people of their illness, not one of those "magical" cures has ever gave a blind man vision, it has never grown back any lost limbs, it has never given a mentally handicapped man/women the ability to think free and clearly like most... everything that this statue is "known" to have done can be explained my science... and not god. It can be explained by probability and not intervention.  \

 

Here's the problem about your statement about religion about wars, the pope himself has declared war before, he is the one who started the crusades, so saying that its not the BIBLES fault for all the blasphemy and complete and utter inhuman murder that occurs in it's fault, well i can't believe that. Because i've read the bible (more than once) and i've read the new and old testament, and the things i see in that book are things i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

 

And let me say one last thing to you, my fellow brony friend, if i were to sacrifice myself for you, and for everyone in the world, i would never want to be worshipped or praised. If a man falls down the stares and breaks his back, i wouldn't help for the notion that " i'm ganna help because i want to go to heaven and get rewarded," i'm going to help because i love my fellow man/woman. 

 

Thanks =) 

[~Lawful Jordo~ 2,064]

Atheist brony here. I grew up in a christian household, but I always kind of thought it was illogical to believe in an invisible man.

 

Religion is a device created by early man to explain a strange world. Now we live in the age of science, we actually have answers to a lot of those questions. It baffles me that people choose to believe in mythology and ignore facts.

Edited April 21, 2013 by ~Lawful Jordo~

[Matt loves Luna 16]

I'm, uh...sort of an atheist. I'm an agnostic.

 

Give it another decade or two, and I might well join the A team. (likely it will be living through a natural disaster that pushes me to it).

 

 

 

 

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

I'm an atheist brony. I was raised as Roman Catholic, then I became a agnostic and eventually an atheist. I don't believe in "God" or in anything from the Bible. I'm also annoyed my people labeling atheism as a religion. If atheism is a religion, than so are monotheism and polytheism.

Edited April 21, 2013 by AtDawnTheySquee

[Xan 22]

Haha, the first time i admitted i was atheist was around 10 years ago in highschool... i wish i got the reaction on tape. I went to a very religious school so we had a visitor from church babbling on about how everyone who doesn't follow the bible will become a "dying tree" and go to "hell" i understandable got frustrated so i started poking and prodding at him a few hard to answer questions, and the answers were mostly "read the bible more" or "Thats the way god made it", so after a good amount of questions he jokingly asks, "So many questions...what are you an atheist?" And a few people let out a chuckle.

 

I just respond... "Yes..." pretty dramatic... its almost as if i was admitting to being a murderer on a Spanish soap Oprah because i swear every student looked at me and gasped... needless to say it was pretty funny.

 

 

have a great day.

I'm sorry I just don't see where ya get this from m8. I'm in high school and I'm mostly surrounded by athirst if I say anything religious I get bullied. I remember a few years back when I use to play WoW I got cyber bullied for my religion. I just don't see any atheist getting hated on I've only seen religious people get hated on by atheist most of my life.