atheostic reblogged
It always makes me laugh/irritates me when theists be like “Atheism is bad because Stalin//Mao was atheist. uwu”.
The fact that they might have been atheist and did something bad doesn’t mean they did it “in the name of atheism”.
Absolutely! This!! That’s one of the arguments that I hated hearing even when I was still a Christian.
Especially since, if we’re judging belief systems by the atrocities committed by the people who subscribe to it, Christianity has too much blood on its hands to throw stones. So even if someone did do something in the name of atheism, that wouldn’t reflect on any other atheists. Unless Christians would like to take responsibility for the many and varied genocides they’ve funded and led.
Words for different kinds of religious beliefs (or lack thereof)
Atheism - Disbelief that one or more gods exist now or existed in the past.
Theism - Belief in one or more deities. There are several subdivisions of theism based on what kind of god(s) a person believes in.
Autotheism - Belief that divinity, whether also external or not, is inherently within 'oneself’ and that one has the ability to become godlike.
Deism - Belief that god(s) exist (or have existed in the past), but that they do not take part in our lives.
Ditheism - Belief that only two deities exist and that they are equal in power/importance.
Dystheism - Belief that a deity is not wholly good, and is possibly evil.
Eutheism - Belief that a deity is wholly benevolent.
Henotheism - Belief that there is (or may be) more than one god, but only one is the supreme.
Kathenotheism - Belief that there is more than one deity, but only one at a time should be worshipped. Each is supreme in turn.
Maltheism - Belief that a deity exists, but is wholly malicious.
Misotheism - Active hatred for a god or gods.
Monotheism - Belief that only one deity exists.
Pandeism - Belief that a god preceded the universe and created it, but is now equivalent with it.
Panentheism - Belief that god and the universe are the same and that the divine is in everything.
Pantheism - Belief that god(s) and the universe are the same.
Polydeism - Belief that multiple gods exist/have existed, but do not intervene in the universe.
Polytheism - Belief that many deities exist.
atheostic reblogged
Anonymous asked:
What's the difference between an agnostic atheist and an atheist, or is it the same ?
"Agnostic atheist" is basically a more specific label for what kind of atheist I am.
All agnostic atheists are atheists but not all atheists are agnostic.
I find that this cartoon explains it pretty well:
I hope this helps and let me know if I can further clarify it for you -- or if you have any further questions about atheism or my positions on things.
I'm happy to answer, even if you're worried the question might seem rude (Questions are good! We can't learn if we can't ask questions!)
Just because I'm using a webcomic to explain to someone the gist of what agnostic vs gnostic vs theist vs atheist means doesn't mean I haven't done my research.
I took religion courses in uni as well as philosophy courses, this just happens to be a good breakdown of the differences.
Take a chill pill.
Anonymous asked:
What's the difference between an agnostic atheist and an atheist, or is it the same ?
"Agnostic atheist" is basically a more specific label for what kind of atheist I am.
All agnostic atheists are atheists but not all atheists are agnostic.
I find that this cartoon explains it pretty well:
I hope this helps and let me know if I can further clarify it for you -- or if you have any further questions about atheism or my positions on things.
I'm happy to answer, even if you're worried the question might seem rude (Questions are good! We can't learn if we can't ask questions!)
It utterly baffles me how so many people seem to be unable to grasp the concept that atheists don't believe in any deities.
atheostic reblogged
As an Indigenous lifelong atheist being told by theist Jews on Tumblr that I have to be culturally Christian because I happen to be Latina, it feels extra gross and infuriating to me.
Especially as my tribe in particular (Nambikwara) has a long and very proud history of resistance against Christianity.
What theist Jews are saying when they say that all Latinos have to be culturally Christian regardless of their life story:
a) Indigenous culture and identity as well as other minority cultures in Latin America are invalid and/or unimportant compared to Christianity (if they even acknowledge their existence at all).
b) Latino culture is monolithic when it's anything but. If I were to say that Jewish culture is monolithic I'd be (rightfully) called a bigot, but in their minds saying that about Latino culture is a-okay. In fact, it's bigoted of me to disagree with them (complete randos on the internet) about what my culture is.
c) That Latinos don't get to have autonomy; we're required to have a hive mind because some randos who happen to be Jewish said so. And if we disagree with them then we're bigots because to disagree with a Jew regarding your own identity is bigoted, I guess.
d) They're imposing Christianity on Indigenous people, which is gross enough on its own without the added bonus that it also implies that Indigenous peoples' struggles to retain their culture are at best pointless and at worst irrelevant (if they even acknowledge the struggle at all).
e) They, complete randos on the internet, are more qualified than me to determine what my culture and beliefs are (not unlike how run-of-the-mill queerphobes claim to know better than the person themselves what their sexuality and gender are).
f) That Jewish Latinos are culturally Christian by default and don't count as real Jews.
g) That your culture is whatever the main religion in your country happens to be -- unless you're Jewish, Jewish people are the only ones who this doesn't apply to.
Well, I could at least understand the mindset behind saying someone who was raised Christian is culturally Christian, as your worldview has inevitably been impacted by the culture you grew up in. It does have some logic behind it. That being said, it kind of invalidates any work the person has put into unlearning the toxic parts of their childhood culture (which I'd imagine is extremely energy and time-consuming). So while I understand the mindset, I don't know if I would agree with it.
But this isn't even the case of what they've consistently done to me. They've said this stuff AFTER I've explicitly stated that I've never been a Christian and was raised secular.
And when I ask them if that means that Jews living in Christian-majority countries like the US and Canada are culturally Christian I get either ignored or called an antisemitic bigot.
Same goes for if I ask if Latino Jews are all automatically culturally Christian.
As an Indigenous lifelong atheist being told by theist Jews on Tumblr that I have to be culturally Christian because I happen to be Latina, it feels extra gross and infuriating to me.
Especially as my tribe in particular (Nambikwara) has a long and very proud history of resistance against Christianity.
What theist Jews are saying when they say that all Latinos have to be culturally Christian regardless of their life story:
a) Indigenous culture and identity as well as other minority cultures in Latin America are invalid and/or unimportant compared to Christianity (if they even acknowledge their existence at all).
b) Latino culture is monolithic when it's anything but. If I were to say that Jewish culture is monolithic I'd be (rightfully) called a bigot, but in their minds saying that about Latino culture is a-okay. In fact, it's bigoted of me to disagree with them (complete randos on the internet) about what my culture is.
c) That Latinos don't get to have autonomy; we're required to have a hive mind because some randos who happen to be Jewish said so. And if we disagree with them then we're bigots because to disagree with a Jew regarding your own identity is bigoted, I guess.
d) They're imposing Christianity on Indigenous people, which is gross enough on its own without the added bonus that it also implies that Indigenous peoples' struggles to retain their culture are at best pointless and at worst irrelevant (if they even acknowledge the struggle at all).
e) They, complete randos on the internet, are more qualified than me to determine what my culture and beliefs are (not unlike how run-of-the-mill queerphobes claim to know better than the person themselves what their sexuality and gender are).
f) That Jewish Latinos are culturally Christian by default and don't count as real Jews.
g) That your culture is whatever the main religion in your country happens to be -- unless you're Jewish, Jewish people are the only ones who this doesn't apply to.
You've heard of mansplaining and gringosplaining, now get ready for...
...theistsplaining, where theists (god-believers) "correct" atheists about what atheists believe and what their worldview is, and overall claim to know what the atheist believes better than the atheist does.
- "Everyone believes in God, you're just suppressing it in your unrighteousness!"
- "Atheists are atheists because they're racist and don't want to admit that Hinduism is true!"
- "All Latinos are Culturally Christian without exception because you can't escape Catholicism in Latin America!"
- "Atheists believe that the universe came from nothing!"
- "Atheists have no reason to not rape and murder!"
Atheism Mythconceptions
"Atheists worship themselves as gods."
=-=-=
People who worship themselves as gods are called autotheists, not atheists.
atheostic reblogged
Me @ every theist
On the contrary, it would likely change a lot.
For starters, people would actually become familiar with what they claim to believe and support.
Most Christians are unaware, for example, that the Bible explicitly endorses slavery. I'm constantly asked to show them where in the Bible there's any advocacy for slavery (Exodus 21 and Leviticus 25 for starters).
I've had Christians and Jews on this site insist that the Tetragrammaton is not the name of the Abrahamic god (they gaslighted me so much that I actually wrote to a rabbi [Rabbi Elchonon Kazen] to double-check; I was right).
And then there's the unintended but welcome side-effect that, as the old atheist saying goes, "the road to atheism is paved with holy books that have actually been read"
Question for Theist Jews, Christians, and Muslims
When you die, which version of you goes to the afterlife?
5-year-old you? 30-year-old you? Elderly you? You before you had brain damage that changed your personality? You after the brain damage? You before Alzheimer's changed your personality? You after Alzheimer's changed your personality?
Why that version?
Anonymous asked:
How can you be agnostic and atheist? Agnostics don’t know whether there is a God or not. Calling yourself an atheist cancels that out
Hi there, fair question.
"Atheists are 100% sure no gods exist and agnostics are on the fence" is a common misconception.
You see, Agnosticism and atheism aren't mutually exclusive.
Gnosticism and agnosticism has to do with knowledge (gnosis) whereas atheism and theism have to do with belief:
The only position out of the four that doesn't have a burden of proof is agnostic atheism, since the position isn't claiming anything, it's just the neutral* position.
So if you come across a gnostic atheist (they're rarer but do exist) then you can absolutely hold their feet to the proverbial fire regarding their beliefs since they're making a claim.
It's also worth pointing out that you can be, say, agnostic atheist in general but gnostic regarding a specific deity or deities. This is the case with me regarding the Abrahamic god described in the Bible, for example. Why am I sure I KNOW it's not real?
Because a triomni god breaks basic rules of logic, as demonstrated by The Problem of Evil, or Epicurus' Trilemma:
“If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful. If God is not aware of evil taking place he is not all-knowing. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God knows evil is taking place and is willing and able to prevent evil then why does evil exist?"
Or, in meme form:
* This is due to something in epistemology (the study of knowledge) called the Null Hypothesis, which in turn is a fancy term for the concept that not believing things until they're proven to be true or likely true is the default for everyone (though what is considered good evidence for belief will vary from person to person).
Mythconceptions
“Atheism is a religion”
Atheism is no more a religion than theism is.
Both are merely the answer to the question “Do you believe that one or more gods exist or have existed?”.
Which is why atheists have sayings like “If atheism is a religion then not skiing is a sport”.
There can be atheistic religions (e.g. Buddhism, Scientology, etc) but atheism in itself is not a religion (nor is secular atheism, which is what most people mean when using the term “atheism”).
Religions have mythologies, rituals, dogmas, and (typically) involves a belief in the supernatural. Atheism has none of that and most secular atheists are naturalists (believe that the supernatural doesn’t exist).
atheostic reblogged
Either that or an autotheist.
atheostic reblogged
Me: [points out a logical fallacy regarding the Abrahamic god]
Theists: You don’t know shit about my religion, try asking someone from the religion, you loser!*
Me: Well, I have these quotes from rabbis and theology encyclopedias that show that YOU, in fact, don’t know shit about your own religion. But okay, I’ll bite.
Me: Hey Abrahamic theists, how do you reconcile X with Y?
Theists: Ugh, you’re just trying to set up a gotcha question. Go research the religion!