Atheism is Disbelief, Full Stop

A response to a reply on Facebook about atheists (and Zeus):

 

Atheism is an ideology, one that was once referred to as dogmatic materialism. It isn't a faith in the sense of worshiping a deity, however it is an ideology that relies on faith to draw conclusions about the universe.

 

Atheism is not an "ideology" that "relies on faith." it is simply the lack of belief in god or gods.

Atheism Definition

To be an atheist is to assert that there is no creator, and that one can get something from nothing. To get an effect without a cause. Something that the universe does not actually allow, hence why you cannot divide by zero.

 

A person can not assert the non-existence of something. The assertion is coming from those who believe in god or gods and atheists simply don't agree. The argument you are using is implying that something came from nothing as well... A "creator" implies that the creator came from nothing. Or it implies you think that that the "creator" is beyond all laws and rational thinking, in which case you're asking for a GIANT leap in our logical beliefs in how and why the universe came to be, much more so than any scientific theory about the origins of the universe.

Thus to be an atheist is to place faith that the universe can do all of those things despite the logic and evidence to the contrary. It is to place faith in the limitations of human perspective and assume that this perspective, and its immediate senses alone, are enough to count for the whole universe.
Such a position is rooted in faith as it is making a conclusion about something that it cannot prove.
 
As stated earlier, atheism is nothing more than a lack of belief in a god or gods. This "faith" you keep ascribing to atheists is your dig at science. Science is our best working understanding of the universe around us as understood by some of the greatest minds of our time. Science doesn't always get it exactly right, but it is the best system we have to understand the universe around us. Science is checked and rechecked time and time again by scientists trying to prove or disprove theories that exist and they are continually working to get the best understanding they can through the scientific method to explain our world and our universe. This is MUCH more than I could say for the religious community.
 
Furthermore, there is no "atheist perspective" in reading the Bible because there are many different atheists with different perspectives regarding it. Just as there is no "Christian perspective" regarding the Bible either, because each sect varies considerably.
 
We are atheists and we're reading it from our perspective. That's pretty simple to understand I think, yeah? Besides, we invite those who have differing opinions to interact with us on our social media channels to challenge anything we discuss. We're happy to have a discussion about it in a respectful manner, which generally means avoiding the large tropes where theists are trying to prove the same unprovable crap over and over again. Sometimes through REALLY long Facebook responses that they think no one will spend the time to refute.
 

And then you went on to talk about Zeus...

 

Also, in regards to Zeus, you should study what the ancient Greek philosophers actually taught regarding him, as well as their other deities, as opposed to comparing it to contemporary religious practices.

 

The only comparison I make, with regard to Zeus, is the lack of belief that religious folks (today) have in him as a real deity. That is to say, they have no belief in him as an actual god.

 

Mythology is literally false but symbolically true, something the ancient mystics like Socrates, Pythagoras, and Aristotle understood. Zeus is an archetype, a representation of energy within ourselves. There is no obviously literal man on Mount Olympus throwing bolts of lightning and impregnating women. So what, then, does Zeus symbolize?

 

So, are you saying that you actually understand that there are no gods? No Christian god, no Greek gods, no Hindu gods? You're coming dangerously close to admitting the truth here. See, mythology includes the Christian god. It includes ALL gods. They are ALL myths used to represent a symbolic representation of morality and law.

 

Zeus is a tyrant. He lives on a mountain, meaning he out of touch with the affairs of the real world. He is always angry and always lustful, representing an inability to control oneself and primal urges.

 

Sounds a lot like OT god to me...

 

So why is this symbolism important to study? Because Zeus exists within ourselves. We all have an aspect to our human nature that craves power, that is lustful and prone to give in to our lower aspects. Thus Zeus is a warning about the need for us to guard against this energy, lest we allow it to take control of us.

 

You mean humans created a story to explain feelings they were having back in early human history??? Wow, who would have thought to do something like that?

 

Wait... That's to be completely expected. Humans like answers, they like to work through who we are and what we are. Here's a little secret though (shhh, don't tell anyone). You don't need a god to have morality and not always cater to your base desires. Gods don't dictate this, we do. We choose to get along with each other in society for the greater good. We choose to help others because we also want help. It's not a difficult concept to understand.

 

Zeus is especially important for those who seek positions of authority and leadership, as that is where power corrupts the most. Look at Trump, he has no control of his inner Zeus and acts just like him. He is not fit for any such position.

 

Now we have an "inner Zeus," awesome. All of this time I just thought it was Trump being a Narcissist. I wasn't aware that he had been diagnosed with an "inner Zeus."

 

Wow, so... I hope we all learned something today. I know I did: mute instead of respond... but sometimes it's just too tempting to snap back.