Is atheism a threat?

a faith or lack thereof cannot be a threat. it is the individuals or the system which is built around an idea that is a threat when it is centered around violence.

Jesus acted in radical ways to show people of his day that the temple system and it's powerful leaders had missed the point and become violent. The "Church" of his time was actually the threat. He acted in non-violence.

As far as atheism goes, it is no more a threat than any other idea UNTIL it's followers act with violence and self righteousness. Am I calling some atheists self righteous? You bet. And every other person of any religion whose acts are driven by violence.

...And yes, there are a lot of fanatical atheists out there. like some said here it is a system of believes, almost like a religion. My best friend at high school was fanatical about it and he was the one telling people that they were the ones being ignorant for believing in those God "fairy tales".

Well it seems that for a vast majority atheism it is a threat. Im an open atheist and i feel like a jew in 15th century Spain. And im not only talking about my religious friends and co-workers that tell if im not affraid that im goin to hell, its also all those people who reffer them selves as spiritual-not-religious that tell me all the time that im ignorant, arrogant and selfish for not believing on a "higher conscience". The fact that i dont believe in any gods does not mean i believe i am GOD!. I do belive in something higher than me and that is NATURE. These people are no better morally or ethicly than me because the follow a set of rules invented by others!
OK I let all that out and now i feel better... :,)

It really bugs me when people capitalize atheism or atheist when it does not start a sentence.

The christians are all out feeding the hungry and collecting toys for tots without regard to religious beliefs, race or nationality. They are just to busy to post to this garbage.

Seriously, is everyone athiest? Where are the "christians" when we need them? I want just one person to indicate that the bible is the living word of god and their reason for living is because it says so.
Thanks

Forgive me if I missed something but I don't think Christians as an organzied lot have attacked any atheist. The article just says they got calls/mail but not state the volume of such. Individuals have expressed themselves and every group has some that may go to far.

It just seems that this time of year that this debate comes out. Most of the icons that people associate with Christmas are from nonchristian belief systems. Christmas is the holiday that is not in the BIble. In fact, the bible does not give Christ's birthday for the simple reason he did not want it celebrated. It was a compromise creation to merge non christian / christian factions in Rome to celebrate the Son for Christians and the sun for the non christian. That is example of how Christian leaders let down their followers by advocating a holiday that is palletable to a larger audience, than putting more focus on the holy day that is bible -that is the celebration of his death which is the basis of the hope.

By the way some definitions of religion (something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience) would incude atheist in it so please be careful of negative remarks about religious people.

For the comment about gays that is not appropriate here but yes it is in the bible-men who lie with men will perish. If you consider God as a benevolent creator of life, then one has to consider that he would know which activities would cause harm to us. Mankind today is ill equiped to handle the aids virus much less civilizations that were living when the bible was written.
That passage goes on to condemn a host of things that mankind does that causes harm to itself including abuses of heterosexual lifestyles as well.

Is this a joke? For centuries atheists have been chassed, silenced, often massacred for openly questioning god. who is the real threat here?

Is this a joke? For centuries atheists have been chassed, silenced, often massacred for openly questioning god. How is the threat here?

my earlier post is from my perspective.. what i was taught being raised by very fundamentalist christians i suppose..
the ongoing mission of christians is to save souls.. to witness their faith.. to talk of their salvation and invite and encourage others.. and in fact to influence public policy.. to force their ways unto others. atheists or anyone not of their faith.. needs salvation.. only through believing in the jesus story and the second coming is one saved.. and it is the influence of satan that keeps one from excepting jesus . so christians don't like to see atheism showing solidarity if you will.. they see this as a threat to the mission of getting more non believers into the fold. they want non believers to be confused and disorganized and questioning their existence .. to hear promotion of the concept that non belief is just fine and you are not alone is perceived a a threat to their mission to save souls . they are not calling atheists satan worshipers.. those would not be atheist but satanists.. and an even bigger threat .. but to a christian if you are a non believer.. you are influenced by satan and you simply don't realize .. you need only to see the light of salvation etc etc .

Excellent point maxamust. To have the belief that a god doesn't exist is in itself a belief - without empirically based proof. Atheism therefore not be necessarily based in pure reason but in a recognition of the idea of a deity and the denunciation of it. The specific opposition to such an ideal has as its intent the definition of existence that is without the presence of a god, made to be a veritable truth without any evidence behind the statement. Agnosticism is a more appropriate description of an "I don't know and I don't concern myself with it" view of that of a deity, higher power, or supernatural origin or control.

The question remains, however: Although belief does not suitably take the place of truth, does it still have its place; can it exist simultaneously or even symbiotically with truth? Where reason is important in understanding, can belief occur with the understanding that it doesn't necessary establish truth? If belief continues while it's understood not to act as dogma or fundamental truth can the inquisitive part of humanity concerning existence, death, etc. still be assuaged without blind, gullible adherence to religion in general?

Forgot about this part...

"There is exactly the same degree of possibility and likelihood of the existence of the Christian God as there is of the existence of the Homeric God. I cannot prove that either the Christian God or the Homeric gods do not exist, but I do not think that their existence is an alternative that is sufficiently probable to be worth serious consideration. Therefore, I suppose that that on these documents that they submit to me on these occasions I ought to say "Atheist", although it has been a very difficult problem, and sometimes I have said one and sometimes the other without any clear principle by which to go.

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless."

Atheism is only a threat to ignorance and our country's misunderstanding that beliefs can stand in for the truth. However, atheists claim to know something about God, mainly that he doesn't exist, which seems contradictory to their criticisms of religious beliefs as ungrounded. The problem with Atheism is that it claims to know that there isn't a god. Epistemologically, that claim is as verifiable as the claim that there is a god. Surely, though, there is a greater chance that any particular god doesn't exist. The logistics alone of an immortal soul rising into to heaven seem hard to explain, as among other things. Many people in my situation have a hard time describing if we are atheist, agnostic, or whatever label describes our beliefs. The problem is that I just don't have any beliefs. I don't believe in anything. Until further evidence arrives and we can do empirical tests, I have nothing to say on the matter except that knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of 'god' is unverifiable, and, as of right now, this knowledge is beyond the scope of human understanding. It's hard to label that. We can't even figure out how words refer to objects in the world, and you people want knowledge of a non-material and immortal god? That's a little cocky. As Bertrand Russell put it...

"Here there comes a practical question which has often troubled me. Whenever I go into a foreign country or a prison(Russell was sent to prison three times for protesting various wars and nuclear proliferation) or any similar place they always ask me what is my religion. I never know whether I should say "Agnostic" or whether I should say "Atheist".

It is a very difficult question and I daresay that some of you have been troubled by it. As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God.

On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods."

Atheism seems to be the new fad right now and I tend to ignore it. No threat to me.

As a much as I am tolerant of others, it still troubles me anytime one group goes out of it's way to insult another. Athiests seem to be on the offensive and that IS threatening,no matter how anybody tries to rationalize it. I actually believe athiests are a threat to themselves, in this life and after this life.

People can be free to believe what they want as long as they can justify their beliefs. It is only a threat if people aren't confident in their own beliefs.

Is freedom of thought a threat? Only to those who are intolerant. Every way of thinking, whether religious or atheist, can be used by the intolerant as an excuse to attack the beautiful diversity of human thought.

Personally, I like as much information as I can get (given I have the time to digest it and that it's written in a relatively intelligent manner).

In recent times, the God argument seems to have been relegated to the unknown aspects of human knowledge. The argument tends to go: "Explain [such and such]... You can't? Therefore God!"

In my view, the atheistic argument tends to confront that specific diversion by targeting the irrationality of an omnipotent, omnipresent being controlling everything. It doesn't necessarily contribute to the development of human knowledge and progress. But it's good fodder for the easily distracted.

Make sure you watch 'for god's sake' on Current 9pm 13th and 14th Dec for an indepth look at UK's religious landscape. http://current.com/items/89566482/for_god_s_sake.htm

I never really get how these sort of discussions spin out into egregiously tangential and digressive topics such as the afterlife and the notions of humanism or just plain religion-bashing. (Perhaps with such digressions as this one)

To the topic at hand, atheism isn't a threat, but many people feel as if such a campaign, around the 'holiday season,' focuses it's attention to act counter, if not antagonistically, the religious nature of the time. Many might feel that such a campaign is up now only because of the proximity to Christmas and other religious holidays (which in its advertising my just attempt to pander to a less religious crowd seeking a community such as that which their religious counterparts have a much easier access). The blog well describes how atheists are quite misunderstood and easily criminalized by others. The first comment there even goes to mention the important distinction of atheists and anti-deists as the latter is the only actively participant group attempting to threaten religion itself.

Atheism is ideal rooted in freedom of thought - 'I will think what I think as you may also yourself.' The point of the definition is merely a lack of formal adherence to an institutionalized faith in the form of religion, meaning that atheists may even believe in certain or perhaps all tenets of one or many religions if they so chose. With this understanding, it seems even ridiculous to assume that all people defined as atheists wish and seek the destruction or deterioration of religion, as some themselves might even share in the appreciation or belief in the divine.

Atheism is personal understanding not a crusading force of adherents.

This Bores me to tears. Think I will pass.

yes creating an after life is a bad thing

ha

so if you think about it what you are saying totally you agree with my thinking

so do it now take adavantage of every sitiuation

other you will be dead and broke

fuk that live for the now and not later

explore, burn, eat, live, and let the next generation do the same

I am me, and me is who I am If you do not like it FU

If we look at religion as a "choice" or "option" as some call it, they are like colors of the rainbow, is Red detrimental to blue? is yellow plotting against purple? no, They all coexist with each other to create a beautiful palette. You just can't tell unless you look at the big picture.

genius... I'm going to acknowledge your point of the pointlessness of this question and then move on to encourage its asker and answer the question anyway.

Atheism is a threat to many religions in only that it opposes their very most fundamental principle. But to what degree is it threatening is hard to say, but in all probability it's not very threatening at all.

As Delia points out atheism holds no dogma and therefore in no way does aligning yourself with atheism make your beliefs or your attitude any more threatening because it does not demand or require any action, only one, simple belief.

How about we start a group of the non-isms. You believe what you want, share if you are asked, and leave everybody else the hell alone.

Not really, it has gotten as annoying and as preachy as Christianity though.

Atheism is a threat to some believers. Atheism challenges the world view of the believer. Some believers find this challenge intolerable.

Perhaps more importantly, the more atheism is seen as an acceptable alternative, the more atheists will come out of the closet.

I only have a problem with stupid, selfish, and mean people. How do you weed them out?

Is God a threat?

How about aliens?

How about humans who act like....?

atheists themselves aren't even a threat to religion. The religious perceive them as an attack, but don't realize the attack doesn't exist. MOST atheists are quite happy being atheist, and there's no way to tell if someone is an atheist (until someone gets drunk, anyway). Then there are the "I'm atheist, therefore thou shall, too, be atheist" people. but they're an even match to the "I fear god, therefore thou, too, shall fear god." I do think, however, for the majority of people in a random population, no one really gives a crap who is what.

I perceive (hard-core) atheists as no more or less threatening than the hard-core religious.

I guess atheism, and most atheists, are only a threat to very strict interpretations of religious dogma, using god as an excuse for violence and hatred, and people who think we are worshiping satan. At least, we're a threat to those ideas, not necessarily the people who hold them.

christians are of the belief that non believers are somehow influenced by satan.. so they automatically have to respond when atheism is promoted.. their perception is that satan be kept at bay.. they are the ones who must spread the holy gospel and the way to salvation.... to them atheists are labeled as competing for souls needing salvation thru jesus christ their lord.
that the fact the atheist does not believe in satan or eternal damnation of fire and brimstone is beside the point.

there need to be more hardcore, indignant religious people on this website..... i clicked on this article expecting an intense, entertaining and possibly enlightening debate (like the ones on homosexuality). i was sorely disappointed.... STOP AGREEING WITH EACH OTHER IM IN CLASS AND ITS BORING!!

lol

I actually find the title of this article to be offensive. This is spreading discrimination asking such a vague question. I personally can not understand how Current can justify spreading this. How is this news?

I am personally not an Atheist nor do I affiliate myself with any institution. It is a personal matter and should be kept as such.

I would like the admin to take this down.

We're all atheists. Some of us just go one god further.

We might find that Nontheists have as little in common with each other as Monotheists do. What do Sunni and Mormon polygamists have in common besides a single God who by definition must be exactly the same God?

atheism most definitely IS a threat to religion. it's not a threat to people, per se, but it's a threat to many religious ideologies, fundamentalism especially. and that's overall a good thing, i think. although it saddens me when people dismiss religion outright as obsolete simply because they don't believe in god, because it has a tremendous amount to offer (speaking as an atheist).

People occasionally say either corrupt or bizarre things in the name of "science", which can occasionally be set up as the nontheist's god. The Soviet Union in the 1930s had some non-sane biology doctrines. Currently, the American Dental Association will ruin the career of any dentist who says that mercury fillings are hazardous -- I happen to think they are hazardous, and luckily I'm not a dentist.

This is not to say that various Monotheist churches always say sane things.

The only threat atheism seems to pose is exposure to the reality that so many religions fail to grasp. It seems more and more that religions need a scapegoat in order to even exist.

How is the belief in nothing a threat? Oh... because we might be right and that makes you feel scared... I get it... fear... God fearing people...
Too bad.
I'm not afraid of anything...

atheist vs christians....I see a war coming

It's amazing. The only ones threatening christianity are christians themselves.

This hard line approach on gay marriage and abortion (neither of which are in the bible, by the way) is what is killing christianity. Atheism is an alternative.

Honestly, more people should look into deism.

INTOLERANCE is the threat whether it be from an atheist or a religious fanatic.

To keep it short, No, they are no different from christians or muslims, just with an altered set of beliefs. Personal Beliefs that don't harm anyone. In many ways ahtiests are more christian than christians.

it's a threat in the same way the Right would have us believe intellectualism is a threat.

how is atheism a threat to Christianity?

well anyway i dont care!!!
you believe what you believe as long as you let me believe in what i believe. either way i see nothing wrong with Atheism:D

Atheism isn't a threat to religion, and if Atheism makes you insecure about your beliefs, you probably aren't as religious as you thought you were.

That being said, I have no problem with religious people, they should have no problem with Atheists.

Religion is the threat.

God only knows why Atheism has become such a big deal lately.
No. Wait.

Thank you, Delia.

Atheism is just another belief system, even if it's a lack of belief in a divine presence or "God". It isn't a lack of morals, philosophy, decency, education, etc. It just entails not believing in god.
It should be treated with the same respect as any other religion or belief system.

People find it threatening, but I don't think it is a threat. It's just a different way of viewing the world, and Atheism has no doctrine or dogma behind it.

I got into this whole thing yesterday about people being killed in the "name of Atheism". I had to disagree that even if people like Stalin and Hitler WERE Atheists (which is still a disputed point), no where did they ever claim murder in the name of Atheism. Indeed, I don't know of anyone who has done anything dangerous in the "name of Atheism" - no one should feel threatened in that way.

People get confused because Atheism is not it's own belief structure, so Atheists might be Buddhists, they might be Humanists, they might be Fascists or Communists- those other ideologies are at the whim of the individual.

The only way I think Atheism IS like other religions is that it's being demonized and discriminated against like pretty much any other belief on the face of the planet.

Don't worry, god believers. We're not here to kill you, destroy the country or eat babies. We just want to be represented by our government and society like anyone else.

How can it be a threat if one believes in their religion nothing is a threat, you are as strong as your faith.