Atheism is not a religion.

Religion is not just any moral system or any philosophical system. It’s any epistemic institution that appeals to faith.

This prevents the idol worshiping of the immoral gods, that the mainstream religions are prone to follow. This makes Gnostic Christianity a superior ideology. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

So Christ was just an ordinary dude?

Let’s chat about the atheist religion.

Believers in the mainstream god religions often denigrate and discriminate against atheists, non-believers and rival religions on moral grounds. Godless mean without a moral sense to them.

I seek a solution to this problem, as the godless, statistically speaking, seem more moral, law abiding and peaceful than traditional mainstream religious believers who, ironically, claim a superior moral position, while having an inferior one. Statistics are quite clear on this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdtwTeBPYQA

As a Gnostic Christian, I get it from both sides. From believers who see me as an atheist and from atheists who see me as a believer. Both sides are wrong, given that Gnostic Christians are esoteric ecumenist and free-thinking naturalist, --- who hold no supernatural beliefs, --- regardless of the lies put into history by the inquisitors who decimated us, --- but never annihilated us. We are a religion of perpetual seekers of knowledge and wisdom, who raise the bar of excellence whenever we think we have the best ideological position.

This prevents the idol worshiping of the immoral gods, that the mainstream religions are prone to follow. This makes Gnostic Christianity a superior ideology. Perhaps this open-mindedness explains the hate towards us from god believers, as well as towards atheists and other non-believers that believers target.

Solutions to this endless denigration and discrimination are hard to come by, given that governments are not promoting any kind of dialog between the various religions and non-believers and allow religions to continue promoting vile homophobic and misogynous teachings.

To my way of thinking, be you following a theology and named god, a philosophy of a named philosopher, a religion that puts man above god and focuses on knowledge and wisdom like mine, a political tribe like Democrats and Republican, statism or any other thinking system, --- all groups named are following an ideology, --- and can thus be seem and described as a religion.

It is thus proper English to call atheism a religion. In fact, given the stats, atheism is a more moral religion than most. I am thinking that if all atheist proudly took on the religion label, --- as their atheist churches are doing, --- more god believing religionist would likely opt for atheism as their religion so as to improve their moral sense.

Take your deserved bow my atheist friends. You are now second only to my own Gnostic Christianity. We Gnostic Christian did what I advise here before the inquisitors got to us and that may be why we were known as the only good Christians.

Regards
DL — Gnostic Christian Bishop

i disagree. Why do you always post videos to back up what you say instead of articles? Do you have an article to back up your claim. I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians.

I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians. — christian2017

Certainly the Gnostic Christians themselves say that, otherwise they wouldn't stay Gnostic Christians.

Everyone thinks they are of the correct opinion and those who disagree are wrong, otherwise they would change their opinion to the one they think is correct.

I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians.
— christian2017

Certainly the Gnostic Christians themselves say that, otherwise they wouldn't stay Gnostic Christians.

Everyone thinks they are of the correct opinion and those who disagree are wrong, otherwise they would change their opinion to the one they think is correct. — Pfhorrest

true.

...and here was me thinking this might be a thread about atheism...

:sweat:

i disagree. Why do you always post videos to back up what you say instead of articles? Do you have an article to back up your claim. I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians. — christian2017

I do not know what part s you disagree with and to your last, it is not my fault that you have not gotten around enough to hear that.

Why do you think the inquisitions were used if not because we had an ideology that evil Christians could not argue against?

Regards
DL

Everyone thinks they are of the correct opinion — Pfhorrest

True. Christians thing genocide is good, given that Yahweh used it so often.

Gnostic Christians see any god who uses it as satanic. Not to insult Satan.

What do you think and why?

Moral people want to know.

Regards
DL

christian2017
I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians.[/quote]

https://www.google.ca/search?q=john+lennon+the+only+good+christian&sxsrf=ALeKk02otgMe1NTLUBJSmb1LLKWy2O3LUg:1587001922431&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiojODu6uvoAhVHU98KHQGtAtgQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1324&bih=594#imgrc=krfw1FY3YlhXDM

Regards
DL

...and here was me thinking this might be a thread about atheism... — Banno

It partially is.

What did you think it was going to be about and what were you going to say about it.

I spoke of their good side, you seem to disagree with it, being disappointed and all. Are you one of the evil Christians?

Regards
DL

i disagree. Why do you always post videos to back up what you say instead of articles? Do you have an article to back up your claim. I've never heard someone say Gnostic Christians are the good christians.
— christian2017

I do not know what part s you disagree with and to your last, it is not my fault that you have not gotten around enough to hear that.

Why do you think the inquisitions were used if not because we had an ideology that evil Christians could not argue against?

Regards
DL — Gnostic Christian Bishop

The inquisitions were done by the Roman Catholic Church. There was also the Orthodox church and later on the various Protestant churches. We also shouldn't assume everyone executed during the iquisition was relatively innocent.

The idea essential to religion is moral providence. Even Buddhism which does not believe in God believes in moral providence because it believes in the law of karma. So is atheism a religion or not? I'd say it depends.

We also shouldn't assume everyone executed during the iquisition was relatively innocent. — christian2017

What had they done, even if guilty, to deserve death?

When Christianity ran out of heretics to kill, they turned to killing witches.

How many of those do you think were real witches and deserved to die?

Regards
DL

The idea essential to religion is moral providence. Even Buddhism which does not believe in God believes in moral providence because it believes in the law of karma. So is atheism a religion or not? I'd say it depends. — Vaibhav Narula

I do not like Karma. It is victim blaming. No?

Lets chat on your last

Since following an ideology is a prerequisite of religion, atheism can be considered a religion, since atheists draws on philosophical ideologies to guide ideas, behaviors, and actions, like that of any religion. That is why atheist churches are called atheist churches.

Regards
DL

Since following an ideology is a prerequisite of religion, atheism can be considered a religion — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Necessary conditions are not sufficient conditions.

That is why atheist churches are called atheist churches. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

I’ve never heard of such things. Link?

I’ve never heard of such things. Link? — Pfhorrest

There are many. Here is one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRtJPSmI9pY

Necessary conditions are not sufficient conditions. — Pfhorrest

What else do atheists follow if not their ideology? What would or could be added?

Regards
DL

The Wikipedia page for Gnosticism and specifically the section under Christian Gnosticism refers to Christ as a divine being having taken human form in order to bring humanity back to the light. It further refers to Christ as a manifestation of the supreme being. This is the gnostic Christian tradition granted the entry says there are many off shoots of beliefs on this matter. But why don’t you clarify where your atheism is?

What else do atheists follow if not their ideology? What would or could be added? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

The point is that ideology is necessary for religion, but not sufficient for religion, so not everyone who follows some ideology is therefore religious, even though all religion is ideological.

But why don’t you clarify where your atheism is? — matt

Not being an atheist, I cannot.

I can as a Gnostic Christian and Jesus, I can.

First, you should consider all that is written of Gnostic Christianity by old sources with doubt as much of it is Christian history that was written to justify the many inquisitions sent to annihilate us.

That is like Hitler writing of what Jews believe. Lies, lies and more lies, just as Christianity lied.

This following is likely the best way to proceed. Note that the first scholar is talking of the ancient intelligentsia and their intelligent ways and that Gnostics were a large part of that intelligentsia. That does not mean that I see myself as such. It just says I recognize them and try to emulate them as their ways are my ways.

I hope you can see how intelligent the ancients were as compared to the mental efforts that modern preachers and theists are using with the literal reading of myths.

https://bigthink.com/videos/what-is-god-2-2

Further.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html

Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus, said that when asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching, while he stood on one leg, said, "The Golden Rule. That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah. And everything else is only commentary. Now, go and study it."

Please listen as to what is said about the literal reading of myths.

"Origen, the great second or third century Greek commentator on the Bible said that it is absolutely impossible to take these texts literally. You simply cannot do so. And he said, "God has put these sort of conundrums and paradoxes in so that we are forced to seek a deeper meaning."

Matt 7;12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

This is how early Gnostic Christians view the transition from reading myths properly to destructive literal reading and idol worship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR02ciandvg&feature=BFa&list=PLCBF574D

Regards
DL


.

The point is that ideology is necessary for religion, but not sufficient for religion, so not everyone who follows some ideology is therefore religious, even though all religion is ideological. — Pfhorrest

So what would you have me add. A part of their theology, which I have included in their overall ideology? It is already there.

IOW, there is nothing else that they follow.

Or ---- I repeat ----

What would or could be added? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Regards
DL

Let’s chat about the atheist religion. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

We're supposed to buy the oxymoron? This approach is akin to that approach of one TPFer some will recognize who claimed that because no one could prove the existence of God, it was thereby a 50-50 proposition that God existed. Why don't you start by telling us what you think religion is, what you think atheism is, and what you think they have to do with each other.

Atheism is NOT a religion...but it most assuredly is a "belief system"...the "tails" side of the coin of which theism is the "heads" side.

Atheists like to pretend that the reason they use the descriptor "atheist" is because they lack a "belief" (in)any gods. But I suggest that the main reason anyone chooses "atheist" as a descriptor is because that person "believes" there are no gods...or "believes" it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one.

I do not "believe" there are no gods...but I am not an atheist.

All atheists lack a "belief" in any gods...but not all people who lack that "belief" are atheists.

There are many. Here is one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRtJPSmI9pY — Gnostic Christian Bishop

That's a Christian church with a controversial minister. Don't spread bullshit.

What else do atheists follow if not their ideology? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Atheism is the lack of a (religious) ideology It's there in the name. A (not) theism (religion). You qualify as an atheist simply by not believing in a god or gods.

To spell it out: An ideology is: "a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy."

https://www.google.com/search?q=ideology&rlz=1C1CHBF_enIE831IE831&oq=ideology&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.1671j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

So, as the lack of one idea (a belief in God) qualifies you as an atheist, an ideology (a system of ideas and ideals) is not a necessary condition for atheism. Therefore, atheism is not an ideology.

If you think it is, you simply don't understand what words mean.

but it most assuredly is a "belief system". — Frank Apisa

No, it's not. See above.

Why don't you start by telling us what you think religion is, what you think atheism is, and what you think they have to do with each other. — tim wood

Be it a religion or atheists as a group, I class them both as tribal groups. Each has an ideology that they cling to. I KIS that way because of what is going on in reality.

Since following an ideology is a prerequisite of religion, atheism can be considered a religion, since atheists draws on philosophical ideologies to guide ideas, behaviors, and actions, like that of any religion. That is why atheist churches are called atheist churches.
------------
I quote ---

Atheists Are Sometimes More Religious Than Christians
A new study shows how poorly we understand the beliefs of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular.

Americans are deeply religious people—and atheists are no exception. Western Europeans are deeply secular people—and Christians are no exception.

These twin statements are generalizations, but they capture the essence of a fascinating finding in a new study about Christian identity in Western Europe. By surveying almost 25,000 people in 15 countries in the region, and comparing the results with data previously gathered in the U.S., the Pew Research Center discovered three things.

First, researchers confirmed the widely known fact that, overall, Americans are much more religious than Western Europeans. They gauged religious commitment using standard questions, including “Do you believe in God with absolute certainty?” and “Do you pray daily?”

Second, the researchers found that American “nones”—those who identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular—are more religious than European nones. The notion that religiously unaffiliated people can be religious at all may seem contradictory, but if you disaffiliate from organized religion it does not necessarily mean you’ve sworn off belief in God, say, or prayer.

The third finding reported in the study is by far the most striking. As it turns out, “American ‘nones’ are as religious as—or even more religious than—Christians in several European countries, including France, Germany, and the U.K.”

“That was a surprise,” Neha Sahgal, the lead researcher on the study, told me. “That’s the comparison that’s fascinating to me.” She highlighted the fact that whereas only 23 percent of European Christians say they believe in God with absolute certainty, 27 percent of American nones say this.

America is a country so suffused with faith that religious attributes abound even among the secular. Consider the rise of “atheist churches,” which cater to Americans who have lost faith in supernatural deities but still crave community, enjoy singing with others, and want to think deeply about morality. It’s religion, minus all the God stuff. This is a phenomenon spreading across the country, from the Seattle Atheist Church to the North Texas Church of Freethought. The Oasis Network, which brings together non-believers to sing and learn every Sunday morning, has affiliates in nine U.S. cities.

Last month, almost 1,000 people streamed into a [Atheist] church in San Francisco for an unprecedented event billed as “Beyoncé Mass.” Most were people of color and members of the LGBTQ community. Many were secular. They used Queen Bey’s songs, which are replete with religious symbolism, as the basis for a communal celebration—one that had all the trappings of a religious service. That seemed completely fitting to some, including one reverend who said, “Beyoncé is a better theologian than many of the pastors and priests in our church today.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/interna...theists-religious-european-christians/560936/

Regards
DL

Frank Apisa — Frank Apisa

Given the information just above, I agree.

There as many combinations or variants in thought that are screwing up traditional labels like atheism and religion.

I am trying to focus on the majority within the groups named.

Regards
DL

Baden
9.7k
but it most assuredly is a "belief system".
— Frank Apisa

No, it's not. See above. — Baden

SOME dictionaries may describe it that way...but dictionaries do not actually define words, Baden=, they merely tell us how the word is usually used.

I'm saying that most people...the people out on the street...when using the word atheist...are supposing someone who is denying the existence of any gods...and even ASSERTING the absence of any gods.

In fact, I am saying that I have NEVER met, nor do I know of, any person who describes him/herself as an "atheist" who does not "believe" there are no gods...or who does not "believe" it is more likely that there are no gods than that there is at least one. It IS a "belief system."

If you describe yourself as an atheist, I would ask: Do you either "believe" (you may substitute "guess") that no gods exist...or that it is more likely that no gods exist than that at least one does?

That's a Christian church with a controversial minister. Don't spread bullshit. — Baden

I mentioned that it is one of many.

Be your own bitch and provide another or ---------------

Atheism is the lack of a (religious) ideology — Baden

I can believe that you do not follow an ideology.

Since following an ideology is a prerequisite of religion, atheism can be considered a religion, since atheists draws on philosophical ideologies to guide ideas, behaviors, and actions, like that of any religion. That is why atheist churches are called atheist churches.

What do you call whatever guidance you follow.

Regards
DL

I mentioned that it is one of many. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Which is wrong. It is not one at all.



Learn what words mean. You are both embarrassing yourselves.