I saw this statement today. What do you think?

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Hmmmm
Is it the Bieng born" part that equates with weakness, in the opnion of the author of this outrageous bit of nensense? That babies might be weak compared to full grown adults or grizzly bears does not, in point of fact, make those who have been born weak, per se. And what, exactly, is the alternative?

And how are the circumstances of one's birth necessarily connected to weakness or strength?

Is one to say that, being born into a French-language environment makes you "weaker" than being born into a Swahili one? That being born in a Canotnese language home makes one less fit than being born where Russian is spoken? What drivel.

People are weak or strong pretty much across all lines.

And where oh were di this odd idea come from that anything you find in hard times must be the refuge of the weak? When I grew up the generation of my parents, of my freinds parents, had weathered the Depression -- hard times by anyone's standards. There were, certianly, both weak and strong people in that mix...but I do not think I would have wanted to tell many of them that they were "weak" beacuse during that low, mean decade, they had found some uplift in going to Church.

Sorry, I think whoever said that is hopelessly naive, and has a very superficial understanding off human nature and human behavior.

"Be seeing you..."

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Grassaf, Eolas

Religion is for the weak. One is either born into it or comes to it in hard times.

The same could be said about atheism or any other belief system.

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May your awareness be perfection

I think that while it shouldn't be, and is not intended to be, it sometimes can be...

for example, when an individual sees God (or his/her chosen 'other') as being like a Great Enabler-- like 'I don't wanna do anything for myself- so I'll just tell God to do it for me'...

or when it's used as an excuse for lousy behavior/treatment of other ppl-- such as bigotry, discrimination, beating children, etc. etc., and claiming that's what 'God' would believe was right.

in its correct context, though, it is neither 'for' the weak, nor does it 'make' ppl weak.

I think religion is for the thoughtful. As long as you are considering, researching and respecting another individual's different belief system, your mind is constantly in motion. Understanding, comparing, discussing, reasoning, concluding (even debating). These are all actions that brings one knowledge and many of us here know how powerful knowledge can be. But a religious person can become weak and just surrender their freedom of believing.


An illustration I can provide is when someone is lifting weights to become stronger. Many gym instructors will teach you how to work and move these weights to strengthen certain muscle groups. A good trainer will never tell you to pick up a barbell and just hold it for any length of time. You do not build any mass or get any results that way. The only thing you will eventually get is tired and fatigued.

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"There is one thing that organized religion is not qualified to teach and that is an individual's purpose."-GOD

I disagree, I think dependence on thinking with ones desires and whims to be for the weak.


Atheism is not a belief system.


Oh really?

We seem to be a teensy bit grumpy today, Asimov..... not sleeping well?



Peace, Love, & Light

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"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

I disagree Asmov. Atheism is a belief system. Anything we identify ourselves with is a belief system.

From Wikipedia:

Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods[1] or rejects theism.[2] When defined more broadly, atheism is the absence of belief in deities,[3] alternatively called nontheism.[4] Although atheism is often equated with irreligion, some religious philosophies, such as secular theology and some varieties of Theravada Buddhism, also lack belief in a personal god.

Many self-described atheists are skeptical of all supernatural beings and cite a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Others argue for atheism on philosophical, social or historical grounds. Although many self-described atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as humanism[5] and naturalism,[6] there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.[7]

The term atheism originated as a pejorative epithet applied to any person or belief in conflict with established religion.[8] With the spread of freethought, scientific skepticism, and criticism of religion, the term began to gather a more specific meaning and was sometimes used as a self-description by atheists.

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May your awareness be perfection

...is that atheism is an eclectic, disorganized and likely self-contradictory set of random beliefs.

Now, I admit that seems to describe the atheism that is so often trotted out here for public display, but I would have hesitated to suggest that it is what atheism IS, necessarily.

On the other hand, since you are an atheist, I guess you would know better than I.

Thanks for the insight.


"Be seeing you..."

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Grassaf, Eolas

And I disagree with you, vivamis. You must have noticed the highlighted (by me) phrase "atheism is the absence of belief." Absence of belief cannot be called a belief system, I think. The absence of metal would not be called a metalic system, so the absence of belief would not be called a belief system.

Now, it is true that atheists, along with everybody else on the planet, have things that they do believe (rather than believe in). And insofar as they have beliefs, those would be part of their belief system. For example, I believe that every human being has an intrinsic value. That is not necessarily a belief held by every atheist, so it could not be cited as part of what atheists believe.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.