Roots boosting: We are all born as atheists..

[flamingjimmy]

We're programed equally as much by our environment other than people.

 

And it's not 'some people' who go through life not questioning what we believe, it's 'all' people.

 

There are certain things that all of us unquestionably believe and there isn't a problem with that unless you have evidence to argue that that belief might not be true.

 

I unquestionably believe that my cat is alive as I watch it now, and it's not dead with an incorporeal being manipulating its movements, because I don't have evidence to suggest otherwise.

 

That belief though, is based on evidence. And as you say, if new evidence came along that demonstrated it to be false, you would no longer believe it. It's not really comparable to theism, in any of its forms.

[Forumosaurus]

That belief though, is based on evidence. And as you say, if new evidence came along that demonstrated it to be false, you would no longer believe it. It's not really comparable to theism, in any of its forms.

 

'Evidence' which is acceptable to one person is inadmissible to another.

 

A person might see Jesus in the clouds and believe that that is acceptable enough evidence to believe in God, a different person may see the same thing and consider it no evidence at all.

 

And for the record, objective evidence can't exist for this reason; no two people can be programed in the same way.

 

In response to the OP, we're not all born Atheists, in fact you're contradicting yourself by saying we're born atheists and born blank slates, an atheist is what once was a blank slate who has been influenced or 'programed' by others, his environments and his interactions with the two, and used the 'evidence' presented to him to judge that God doesn't exist.

 

In fact the only person who doesn't have to question himself is an agnostic who admits he doesn't know, he judges there to be no evidence or...lack of evidence either way to be able to make an informed decision.

 

Sorry if that's been said before the thread is tl;dr.

[MrSmith]

 

 

In fact the only person who doesn't have to question himself is an agnostic who admits he doesn't know, he judges there to be no evidence or...lack of evidence either way to be able to make an informed decision.

 

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Atheism is lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

Agnostics lacks a belief in the existence of God so by definition they are atheist.

[DaFoot]

Like a lot of words in the English language, what they are defined as and how they are used often differs. I think Atheist may well fit into that category.

 

While the definition may be "without belief in God(s)" I think most people who refer to themselves as Atheist mean they have consciously rejected the concept of God and therefore it does become a belief - a belief there is no God.

 

So the word may well be used in 2 slightly different ways and I believe ( ) it regularly is used in both ways.

[RootsBooster]

We are all born non-political also.

 

Yeah I said that in the OP, you should have a read !

[RootsBooster]

We're programed equally as much by our environment other than people.

 

And it's not 'some people' who go through life not questioning what we believe, it's 'all' people.

 

There are certain things that all of us unquestionably believe and there isn't a problem with that unless you have evidence to argue that that belief might not be true.

 

I unquestionably believe that my cat is alive as I watch it now, and it's not dead with an incorporeal being manipulating its movements, because I don't have evidence to suggest otherwise.

 

You're only ignorant if you can see otherwise, or you're able to see otherwise and you reject it without reason.

But the thread is about questioning what we are taught, as stated inthe OP, not about our environment. "You're only ignorant if you can see otherwise".

[RootsBooster]

In response to the OP, we're not all born Atheists, in fact you're contradicting yourself by saying we're born atheists and born blank slates, an atheist is what once was a blank slate who has been influenced or 'programed' by others, his environments and his interactions with the two, and used the 'evidence' presented to him to judge that God doesn't exist.

 

Really? Where did you get this information from?

 

In fact the only person who doesn't have to question himself is an agnostic who admits he doesn't know, he judges there to be no evidence or...lack of evidence either way to be able to make an informed decision.

 

No, an agnostic should also question the things he/she is taught. If you read the OP, this thread is about much more than atheism.

 

You seem to be under the impression that an atheist denies the possibility of God's existence. An atheist simply is someone without a belief in God. If this is because they have thought about it and then deny the existence of God, or even the possibility of it, then they are not only an atheist but also an antitheist.

[RootsBooster]

Atheism is lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

Agnostics lacks a belief in the existence of God so by definition they are atheist.

 

As far as I am aware this is actually true, most people tend to think if you are an atheist, you can't be anything else (with regards to belief).

 

Atheist is simply the term used for "without belief in God", an atheist can also be other things.

 

-Atheist = Has no belief in the existence of God

-Atheist agnostic = Is undecided about the existence of God, by default this means that until they have decided, they currently have no set belief in the existence of God.

-Atheist antitheist = Has no belief in God and 100% totally denies the possibility of his/her existence

 

There's also many other add-ons. For a long time I didn't consider myself atheist, I'm open minded and accept that it's not impossible for a God to exist (although highly unlikely). I'm an apatheist, which means it doesn't matter to me either way if any gods exist or not. By default, because I do not currently have a belief in God, that also makes me an atheist.

[Murphy Jnr]

This past year I've had many conversations with people where it turns out they just accept what they are told without question, be it religious views, political views, gossip, fashion trends, news etc.

 

At the beginning of our existence we are a clean slate;

 

-We have no belief in any of the many gods or deities

-We have no affiliation with any of the political parties

-We have no racist hatred (or ANY hatred of ANYTHING)

-We have no national language

-We have no suspicions of unlikely conspiracies

-Etc, etc...

 

All the above and more, we are usually programmed with (or at least influenced) by outside sources as we develop, ie. family, friends, schools, the internet, etc..

 

I realised at a young age that the things my parents taught/told me weren't always correct and that their attitudes were quite negative (also a tad racist).

 

When my headteacher avoided answering any questions about the bible (he liked to preach in assembly) I noticed this and it seemed odd.

 

I've grown up with many people who favour a political party just because their parents always voted for them. Also people who seem to echo their parents' racist comments and opinions.

 

 

In the conversations I've got into about all these topics, most don't seem to have an answer as to why they have these beliefs, or indeed don't really care. Some shrug and concur that yes, it's probably just because they were "brought up that way", still without really caring.

 

I see it between my wife's family and friends on Facebook too, in social networking. Girl #1 will say "Have you heard about Girl #2 ?" then some big shock-horror gossip goes around like a virus, but NOBODY seems to ever question the source or validity.

 

I've lived my adult life keeping it simple and it seems to work for me. I like to strip away the layers and get to the source, the root, and work my way up from there. I get on well with others, I have a fairly good life (I've had my fair share of the bad) and I have very few worries. It seems to be the opposite for people who complicate their lives with dogmas and unfounded beliefs, they seem to get frustrated easily and worry more.

 

I really don't understand why SOME people go through their lives without questioning what they are taught and exploring the benefits of any alternative thinking, do you?

 

As far as parents go i think it's largely accepted that they consider what they are teaching as the best thing for us based on the experiences of their own parents and lives. Their views may be wrong but only because they are less modern than the child is subjected to in other areas i.e. friends,school.

 

My parents were not religious in any way so I did not receive any teachings from the Bible, neither was I influenced by the Church; save for prayers at morning assemblies I had little to do with religion.

 

On forms where it's necessary I place a tick in the CofE box for no other reason than the choice was limited in the days back when.

 

I never questioned the teachers at school because it wasn't the done thing and to be honest I had no questions. I was there to learn.

 

I too have led a relatively simple uncomplicated life which as a child had love when I was good and a good deal of discipline when I was not.

 

I question things now because I can and because on many matters I have some first hand knowledge.

 

I do understand why some people do not try and unravel mysteries or question what they have been taught and I believe it's because they are happy with their lives and have no reason to contemplate upsetting the natural decorum that their life brings them.

 

Asking questions can open up a whole new world and it isn't always pretty. There are many things I have seen and discovered that I would gladly erase from my memory. Events that have gone on to reshape me as a person and cause pain I would like to see go away. Too late was the cry.

 

Sometimes it's better to leave things as they are. If it aint broke don't fix it.

[Karis]

The door is brown because we know what brown is. Someone unaware will have to rely on being shown as the colour itself cannot be described sufficiently to identify it, the colour exists regardless. To the uninitiated it could also be described as green and accepted as that until such time as they are corrected.

 

The colour blind would also perceive it as a different colour. To them, it would BE that colour and would exist in a separate reality to the rest of people (who could see the door clearly in the colour it truly was).

 

If the person would not accept they were 'blind' the true colour of the door would forever be hidden under a misguided belief.