Why are athiests and agnostics active the religious section?

To: rnealw From: joseph1949

There are more types of Buddhists then there are hairs on a dog. Their views on the soul and afterlife are over the place. They do not belive in a Supreme Being. What Buddhists think about the soul and afterlife is not the same as what a Christian thinks.

If you ask a Buddhists what is God, he will give you a book. You will open the book and you will see only a mirror. This is one big reason we atheists do not give Buddhists a hard time.

The original Buddhists were implicit atheists. In a short period of time they started to add gods, reincarnation, etc. They could not leave well enough alone. Those darn human beings!!!

Nirvana is not a place, but a state of mind.

As an implicit atheist I have no concept of a soul.

If I was to become a Buddhist it would be the old time Buddhists. They are around, but are hard to find. Most Buddhists want to beleive in a soul, reincarnation, etc.-they are only human!!!

Thank you

First of all, I’m not atheist or agnostic.

I like the religion area because I enjoy nerve-poking and staying behind the line chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Can’t always do that in real life.

To: eleni and filletspam From: joseph1949

I would like to thank you two on your responses. They were correct and to the point.

rnealw is like a number of Christians who do not understand that you can have a religion without knowledge of a supreme being.

Thank you

How about if I just state this. Devas - in Hinduism and Buddhism, are exalted beings of various types. The term ‘deva’ in Sanskrit means “shining one.” Hinduism recognizes three types of devas: mortals living on a higher realm than other mortals, enlightened people who have realized God, and Brahman in the form of a personal God. In Buddhism, devas are gods who live in the various realms of heaven as rewards for their previous good deeds, but they are still subject to rebirth. And I did Call a buddhist friend to comfirm this. so they believe in God and a living soul. Hey Jo why don’t visit the rest of the Forum here and share some of this great knownledge ( Stop rolling your eyes Captain.) with the rest of the world. We have all these catagorys Beauty & Style Computers & Technology Education & School Entertainment Food & Dining FunAdvice Community Gaming & Games General Knowledge Health Home and Garden Jobs & Money Kids Love and Relationships Music Nutrition and Fitness Parents & Family Pets Politics Real Estate Religion Shopping Travel And you may actually help someone along the way.

There are many sects of Buddhism that do not recognize the existence of gods. Some do but many more don’t. Again, you tread on thin ice when you make sweeping generalizations.The Buddha himself did not believe in supernatural beings or deities. Buddhanet.org, one of the leading sources of online Buddhism, states:

“There is no almighty God in Buddhism. There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposedly Judgement Day. Buddhism is strictly not a religion in the context of being a faith and worship owing allegiance to a supernatural being.”

As to your other question, I think atheists attack Christian dogma more often because Christianity is more prevalent and has a longer history of dominance in the world. If this world had been run by Muslims for the past 2000 years, I feel sure we’d be raising more of a fuss about Islam. In fact, I’m willing to bet that you’ll see more and more atheist critiques on Islam as we go along. It’s not that we “hate” Christianity more but that Christianity has more undeserved power and authority than any other religion.

Do you see why we need forums like this? We need to clear up these misconceptions and learn to communicate without hostility. Although many here disagree with me, I do not hate them. I hope that they will learn not to hate or fear me either.

Silverwings,

Please understand that Christianity isn’t the only religion. There are some religions that are atheistic in nature (think Buddhism). There are many more religions that don’t deify Christ at all. When you posted above, you seemed to assert that only Christians had a right to post in religion forums and the rest of us should just go away.

I understand that you feel threatened and challenged at every turn. Perhaps that’s because many of us atheists are constantly seeking out well-reasoned arguments for belief. Maybe it’s also because many atheists feel equally threatened by excessive Christian privilege in American society and want to lash out. Regardless of the reason, I think we should work to approach each other with kindness. As I pointed out, it’s one reason why I participate in these forums.

If I took your advice and never interacted with the religious communities around me, I’m afraid I might be more susceptible to bigoted and hateful thoughts. Fear of the unknown tends to do that. I prefer to get know others and learn how to relate to them. I can’t do that if I stay in my atheist closet. And I can never learn more about you if I keep my mouth shut and pretend to believe something that I don’t.

These are my reasons for being active in religious forums:

1. Religion is interesting just like mythology, fiction books, and other things that aren’t necessarily true but are really fun. Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean you don’t find it fascinating. If that were so, nobody would ever read fiction or watch drama on TV.

2. Religion matters. Most of the people in the world are religious and it’s vital to understand their mentality. It helps me gain perspective on world events and political issues. More importantly, it helps me understand my fellow man. When I talk to my religious friends, I want to be able to understand where they’re coming from.

3. Atheism is terribly misunderstood. This forum especially is rampant with misunderstandings and sweeping generalizations (like the one in the original question which just assumes that no atheist would ever be interested in religion). I want people to see me as a good person who happens to not believe in any gods. I want them to know that atheists are not sadistic monsters trying to destroy their religion and persecute them. I’d like for them to know that most of us just want to live and let live. Forums are great places for me to share my thoughts and feelings as well as listen to the fears and anger of those who don’t really know us.

Eleni you really don’t understand much about Buddhism do you. And why don’t I ever see the Atheist attacking muslums and the Quran? it’s always Christians and the Bible. . . . Hmmm maybe they are scared of the Islamic people. . . . .

Buddhist believe in an afterlife of sorts ( Reincarnation, Nirvana) so are you acknowledging a soul and what is the origin of that soul?

To: rnealw From: joseph1949

Could you please explain what is Buddhism. Please start when Buddhism first came into existence and end with the present.

Eleni would like to have your knowledge on Buddhism.

Thank you

When you say original Buddha your referring to Siddhārtha Gautama ? your aware that we have no proven authenic saying of Siddhārtha Gautama aren’t you? How can we know what he says. Buddist Theism: Varies: Theravada is atheistic; Mahayana is more polytheistic. Seems I was wrong and I am Man enough to admit it but I never heard or met a Theravada Buddist But You were wrong also in that you Generalized buddism in that all Buddist were Atheist.

To: eleni From: joseph1949

Very good, eleni. You bet me to the punch.

rnealw’s answer says nothing about the fact that the original Buddha said nothing about God, Gods, god. or gods. Some people interpet this to mean that he did not believe in God. It is a good chance that he did not believe in God.

What he did say was that we can have no knowledge of God. It would be like worm crawling over a jet airplane. The worm would not have clue about the airplane.

Yes, the original Buddhists were implicit atheists. the horror! the horror!

They thought that living one’s life based what an unknowable supernatural being may or may not like was a bit foolish. Do not worry about what you cannot know. Live by the Golden Rule!!!

thank you

no one really can understand those religions, not even the people in those religions! but I know for a fact they are feelinga hole in there lifes, and the filler of that hole in God, and when he comes and they don’t go, they will be bowing before God and find out he is the ultimate God and only God and that no-one else can be him! Those people are happy because they are living on lies that they think full fill lives!

Christianity is the predominant religion in America. I’m an American so Christianity is the religion I most often deal with. Even though I’ve read about other religions I still know more about Christianity than other faiths. I was a Christian until I was 12 so even I have a background in Christianity.

Christians often believe that they are the one true religion and by virtue of their faith’s superiority it deserves a special place. Some Christians believe that any criticism of their religion constitutes an attack and not allowing them to force Christianity on everyone else constitutes persecution. I’m afraid that I can’t go along with this line of thinking.

So why don’t Atheist talk more about buddhism instead of hacking at the beliefs of others

Actually Joseph I do understand Some are Religious without acknowledging a deity like the Satanic Church founded by Anton Szandor LaVey. I probably opened a can of worms with those who confuse Satanism ( Legally recognised by the U.S. Government) with Demon or Devil worship which is also called Satanism. Look it up for your self. . . Heres the website. http://www.churchofsatan.com/home.html

What ought to happen is for Atheist and Agnostic to make their own post, it makes it hard for the Christians to share their point, with someone that is truly interested. We live by faith, and having to defend the faith, constantly is hard, It is much easier to be able to share, in an atmosphere of faith and love, instead of being in a free for all atomsphere, where you are dodging bullets all the time. This means that Christianity is constantly under attack of some kind. Not very pleasant. Not edifying. Nothing in this that glorifies God. Wears out the patience of the believer. Makes one feel they are on a battleground. Keeps one constantly in prayer, just to stay in the right frame of mind and spirit.

But.. I guess thats the point, anyhow…

Rnealw,

You are quite right that my original sentence sounded like I was saying that all buddhists are atheists. I apologize for giving that impression when it’s obviously not true.

Again, I think atheists don’t swarm all over buddhists for two main reasons: 1) Buddhists are not so invasive in their beliefs as Christians (they tend for the most part not to proselytize so much), and 2) they are not the dominant majority religious system in America.

I do realize that the original Buddha’s teachings were handed down orally and are, therefore, suspect. But I also submit to you that Christ’s teachings were handed down orally as well and not written down until many years later. It is only through the idea of Holy Inspiration that Christians can explain why those writings should be perfect. It’s an idea that I can’t buy into.

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate your responses.

I think I’ve been more interested in religion since becoming an atheist. I have books on Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, judiasm and comparitive religion on my bookshelf. When I go out for lunch with coworkers we usually discuss politics and religion even though most of my coworkers hold the opposing view in both areas. We can disagree without thinking less of each other so we have very interesting discussions.

its what a person beleive ib that give then faith hope life and charity, but the most important of all these is love to mankind. So you show think about your self in any thoghts giving what you have to the pronciple of life on to how to sustain this world. I WOULD LOVE TO BELEIVE FOR EVEERY DROP OF RAIN THAT FULLS A FLOWER BLOOMS SO BE A PERSON WITH RESPECT O ALL UNKNOWN SBSTANCE AND MYSTERYS OF THIS WORLD. if this worl was mine I would try to make it a better place to the unknown with love I leave you all with

…there aren’t many Muslims on FunAdvice. There’s a surplus of Christians, though…