Atheism

Atheism is disbelief in the existence of a god or gods.

Well-known Atheists include Stephen Hawking, Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Douglas Adams, William Borden,Sam Harris, Jeremey Alliadiaere, Gary Neville and Ricky Gervais.

Atheist morality

Atheists often base their moral code upon emotion, experience, empirically derived ethics, or some combination thereof.^{[Citation Needed]} It is important to note, however, that just as many religions disagree on specific moral points, and there is sharp disagreement within many religions (e.g. denominational disputes within Christianity), atheists differ substantially from each other in the details of their moral beliefs. Thus, it is difficult at best to summarize the beliefs of the "average atheist."

Atheists typically hold that no religious text can be our only source of morality although all of them may contain useful ideas or principles. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the wishes of such deities are inherently suspect. Additionally, many atheists point out that all religious texts contain, and often ascribe to God, extremely immoral acts such as the Israelite expulsion of heathen nations from Canaan (i.e. ethnic cleansing), the stoning of homosexuals to death, questionable treatment of women and the institution of slavery. Additionally, atheists often point to a large number of prominent contradictions present in the bible and other religious texts. The presence of such contradictions challenges claims that these works are the infallible word of God.

Atheists sometimes subscribe to the secular humanist idea that it is far more desirable to do what is right because you believe that it is right, rather than because you fear divine punishment or desire divine reward. This view is illustrated by celebrated atheist Albert Einstein:

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

Atheists sometimes condemn religious desires for exclusive reward (and the punishment of others) such as are found in all religious texts.

Origins

An atheist would claim that Atheism has existed for as long as man. That man evolved, then Religion was invented by man.

A Christian would claim it can be traced back to specific date, as Adam and Eve believed in God so at some point somebody must have stopped believing.

Christian View of Origins

the route of religion lies in the pathetic need to feel special, that, unlike all other organic creatures, we do not die and rot, we are taken to a special place, by a non-existant father figure, because relious followers are weak and fear death, fear abandonment, fear the truth. They brainwash their children, so as to not have to deal with the fact of life, death is inherent and unavoidable, get over it.

you dont need a god to live you're life, or be a good person, i see more atrocities performed in the name of this "God" than i do any other cause.

relax, you are not a special or unique snowflake, you are the same decaying organic material as everything else. now was that really so hard?

from tailbone to appendix, evolution is right in front of you, they are called evolutionary markers, did you, for instance, know that at one point in the womb you have gills? yes, gills, like fish, because thats where we originated, and the tailbone, a throwback to out primate ancestors, we were all once single celled organisms, so dont tell me we came through thousands of years of evolution to reach this, religion.

but i suppose that wont matter to you, this will be deleted, most likely without being read, because the truth is just too dangerous. i hope, somehow, someone reads this and thinks, perhaps not agrees, but thinks beyond what they have bee force-fed their entire lives, The writer of the Book of Psalms knew of atheists and atheism and registered disapproval in Psalm 14: "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." I, The Militant Atheist, Say it loud and clear because, knowing the truth in evolution, i can feel safe in the knowledge that religious idiots wont be around too long.

(respect to my man Charles Darwin)

Cypher

Prejudice Against Atheists

Research by Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis and Douglas Hartman in the American Sociological Review indicates that most Americans would be more willing to vote for a gay or Muslim presidential candidate than an atheist. The same study indicates that 47.6% of Americans would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist. More recent Gallup polls confirm this finding. In addition to discrimination in voting practices and marriage, George H.W. Bush has previously stated that he does not believe atheists should be considered citizens of the United States.

However this is not the case around the world, in the Great Britain 2001 census 15.5% of the population identify themselves as having no religious beliefs 2001 Census.

The Problem of Evil

One argument against belief in all-powerful entities ('gods') is the problem of evil. First identified by the philosopher and materialist Epicurus (341-270 BC), this problem points out the difficulty created by the mere existence of evil:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

A number of responses to this logical paradox have been put forth including those which assert human ignorance as the culprit, the concept of free will and the specific writings in some faiths which discuss the co-existence of good and evil (such as the book of Job in the Christian and Jewish faiths).[1] Many Atheists, however, do not regard such evasions as convincing solutions to the underlying problem.