Christian Athiests

[regalkings]

I do not see how one can be a christian athiest, they follow the principles of christianity & agree with the teachings of jesus but do not believe in him or god, any athiest can live the same way as a christian, for example loving ones neighbour, anyone can do that wether a christian, buddhist or athiest. Just stick to been an athiest, I would like to say that I am not expressing my own beliefs as I believe that is something one should keep to ones self. Christian Evolutionists are also something I have difficulty understanding but then again everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, I just thought that would go against the teachings of the bible

[TAFKAL]

What you are referring to is an agnostic. An atheist believes there isn't any form of god. An agnostic kinda of sits on the fence...

Edit - as far as the teachings of the bible go. The Roman catholic church has acknowledged that knowledge has moved forward in the past 6000 years and that some ideas in the bible were there to explain complex issues that weren't understood. Now we are able to explain these things (like the earth not being the centre of the galaxy) there is no need to offer outdated explanations. There are many contradictions within the bible predating modern times...

[regalkings]

I am not reffering to an agnostic Tafkal, Im thankful for your input & hope to have healthy discussions about this subject but christian athiests claim many times that they do not believe in any form of god in any way shape or form so cannot be classed as an agnostic, an agnostic does kind of sit on the fence your right but they dont claim to believe in god but at the same time they are open to the possibilty of his existance should his existance ever be proven which is probably never going to happen, some christian athiests go as far to claim that god is dead literally even though that is only a small minority of them, there are many forms of religious athiesm, Catholic Athiesm, Christian Athiest & even Christian Satanists, the latter of which is very unheard of but they still exist

[Beat Bug]

I've always understood the term 'Christian' refers to a follower, or believer, of Christ, hence the name. So how can any Christian group say they don't believe in Christ? They're contradicting themselves!

[regalkings]

Exactly, makes no sense, you dont have to be christian simply to be a good person so the term is pointless

[RecQuery]

... An atheist believes there isn't any form of god. An agnostic kinda of sits on the fence...

Not really, the atheist opinion is that based upon the evidence then there probably isn't a god, but you can't really be 100% sure without becoming an extremist. That would be a 7 on the Dawkin's scale of theistic probability (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probability):


Dawkins posits that "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other." He goes on to propose a continuous "spectrum of probabilities" between two extremes of opposite certainty, which can be represented by seven "milestones". Dawkins suggests definitive statements to summarize one's place along the spectrum of theistic probability. These "milestones" are:


Strong theist. 100 per cent probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung: "I do not believe, I know."
De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100 per cent. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there."
Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50 per cent but not very high. "I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God."
Completely impartial. Exactly 50 per cent. "God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable."
Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50 per cent but not very low. "I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be skeptical."
De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."
Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

Dawkins argues that while there appear to be plenty of individuals that would place themselves as "1" due to the strictness of religious doctrine against doubt, most atheists do not consider themselves "7" because atheism arises from a lack of evidence and evidence can always change a thinking person's mind. In print, Dawkins self-identified as a '6', though when interviewed by Bill Maher and later by Anthony Kenny, he suggested '6.9' to be more accurate.

I'd rate myself somewhere between a 6.5 and a 6.9.

[regalkings]

No one knows for certain though until the day we day, if believers are wrong then what the hell they wont know a thing about it but if athiests are wrong then they will spend eternity burning & writhing in agony so who knows, either it will be like before we born when we did not exist, paradise or eternal anguish

[RecQuery]

No one knows for certain though until the day we day, if believers are wrong then what the hell they wont know a thing about it but if athiests are wrong then they will spend eternity burning & writhing in agony so who knows, either it will be like before we born when we did not exist, paradise or eternal anguish

Pascals gambit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager) how disingenuous. Also according to most religions a serial rapist and killer who repents and 'accepts Jesus' on his deathbed will go to heaven but a good and decent atheist who never did anything wrong would burn in hell. Even if there was a god, I'd still be opposed to him because of all of the awful stuff he asked people to do and did to people in the bible.

I have a test: if someone uses the term evolutionist(s) they're usually a religious crazy. Glad to see it's getting proven.

Anyone else find it interesting how most of these religious people just happened to be born into the one true religion?

[weezer 316]

No one knows for certain though until the day we day, if believers are wrong then what the hell they wont know a thing about it but if athiests are wrong then they will spend eternity burning & writhing in agony so who knows, either it will be like before we born when we did not exist, paradise or eternal anguish

Your an athiest too with respect to Zues or Thor. Why dont you beleive in them?

[regalkings]

Excuse me Weezer I have never said I dont believe in Zues, Thor, Ares, Posiedon, Hades & Apollo to name a few if you want to bring greek & Norse (Thor been the only norse deity in that list) mythology into things, I personally like the idea of gods casting thunderbolts from their arse & going to war simply because it please's them, I said when I opened this thread that am I am not expressing my own belief in any form of religion & im not going to, I have my own beliefs wether they be athiest, christian or any other form of religion those beliefs are my own & I am not trying to force anything down anyones throat because this thread is not based on my own personal beliefs, I just find christian athiesm an interesting subject & hoped for some sensible comments instead of people making snide comments calling me an athiest regarding other deitys when I neither claimed to believe or not believe in them

[billmoseley]

I,m an atheist. I follow no god but try to lead a good honest life based on what i think is right and wrong and the laws of the land. I also have nothing against people who do believe in god. It was very interesting when i lived down in England and worked and was very good friends with many Muslim people and they found it almost impossible to comprehend that i had no beliefs. It was almost worse that being a Christian or Jewish. But many a good debate was had on the matter.

[regalkings]

Well then your a prime example of what im talking about if you dont me saying so, your an athiest, you say your a good person with good morals, your not a christian athiest though, to me the term christian athiest is stupid

[billmoseley]

Well then your a prime example of what im talking about if you dont me saying so, your an athiest, you say your a good person with good morals, your not a christian athiest though, to me the term christian athiest is stupid I totally agree you can the principals of a christen without believing in god but like you in my book your just an atheist

[canuck]

Yes, there are what you would call Christian Athiests. Basically they believe that Jesus lived but was not divine, not God. They follow the tenets and principals of Christian teaching to the point of love and human justice. They support the church, life in community.

As to the issue of Christian Evolutionists - I'm one. But then I never had a conflict with my scientific education and my faith. Science is a very precise way of interpreting creation, the Bible offers a much broader, narrative, pre-scientific way of expressing what people observe as the interaction between humans and nature.

[regalkings]

Anybody can believe in love & follow human justice Canuck without the need for any religious background or belief but also as for your own beliefs good for you, I mean that, I dont think id be able to believe that way, I would either believe in or the other

[Alrock]

It was very interesting when i lived down in England and worked and was very good friends with many Muslim people and they found it almost impossible to comprehend that i had no beliefs. It was almost worse that being a Christian or Jewish.

I remember watching a documentary on being an Atheist in the USA a few years back... The upshot being that it is better & you get more respect being a Satanist than an Atheist since in many fundamental Christian eyes by being a Satanist you at least believe in God.

[regalkings]

Not every Satanist believes in the existance of God Alrock, only theistic satanists do, if you follow Anton Lavey's teaching God has nothing to with satanism neither does satan himself

[oldmarine]

I do not see how one can be a christian athiest, they follow the principles of christianity & agree with the teachings of jesus but do not believe in him or god, any athiest can live the same way as a christian, for example loving ones neighbour, anyone can do that wether a christian, buddhist or athiest. Just stick to been an athiest, I would like to say that I am not expressing my own beliefs as I believe that is something one should keep to ones self. Christian Evolutionists are also something I have difficulty understanding but then again everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, I just thought that would go against the teachings of the bible
Christian Atheists and Christian Evolutionists sounds like conflicting terms to me. I never heard of either one of these. But then I am not a word-smith so perhaps I just don't know.

[regalkings]

I agree OldMarine that they are conflicting terms, I do think though that Christian Evolutionists have the best of both worlds though, accepting evolution & belief in god

[gleeber]

I think those of you who dont believe in God but insist on talking about it could consider therapy to ease your confusion. Although the orgs a cheaper option it causes problems which the anti religious blame on religion. A blind man can see where the problem really lies. I blame weezerism which is a modern movement where the followers insist on talking about things that dont exist. A kind of delusion if you like but it fuels their souls. Thats the important bit. Does it matter if its real or not? :confused

[regalkings]

Well then you better get yourself booked in for some therapy, you have posted on this topic just the same as everyone else, also who says you have to believe in something in order to talk about it ? Thats your opinion which im sure not many people will care about, I dont believe in Aliens but does that mean I cant talk about them ? No it doesnt, ill talk about them & everything else I either do or dont believe in until im blue in the face if I want to

[secrets in symmetry]

I think those of you who dont believe in God but insist on talking about it could consider therapy to ease your confusion. Although the orgs a cheaper option it causes problems which the anti religious blame on religion. A blind man can see where the problem really lies. I blame weezerism which is a modern movement where the followers insist on talking about things that dont exist. A kind of delusion if you like but it fuels their souls. Thats the important bit. Does it matter if its real or not? :confusedThis is the kind of gleeber wisdom that led me to propose that he should be The next Archbishop of Canterbury (http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?172669-The-next-Archbishop-of-Canterbury).

[secrets in symmetry]

Yes, there are what you would call Christian Athiests. Basically they believe that Jesus lived but was not divine, not God. They follow the tenets and principals of Christian teaching to the point of love and human justice. They support the church, life in community.

As to the issue of Christian Evolutionists - I'm one. But then I never had a conflict with my scientific education and my faith. Science is a very precise way of interpreting creation, the Bible offers a much broader, narrative, pre-scientific way of expressing what people observe as the interaction between humans and nature.Richard Holloway (http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/714568--ex-bishop-preaches-a-kinder-atheism#), ex-Bishop of Edinburgh, could perhaps be described as a Christian atheist (although I believe he prefers the agnostic term.)

One of the strongest arguments for atheism is perhaps that "there was nothing for God to do." IIRC Dawkins has used this argument liberally, but IMO Dawkins doesn't know enough quantum gravity to be able to make this statement authoritatively. Nor does Stephen Hawking for that matter. :cool: