Whats the deal with Atheism?

lenvdbMon 28/01/08 18:28

I grew up with a real yearning for a connection to the Divine. For 30 years I attended Church. So I know the scene, the teachings the doctrines and the books.

But recently I had a change of paths. I no longer travel the path of Christianity but of the Occult.

Today my topic got trashed by a number of atheists and agnostics. And I ponder the concept. What makes an atheist different to a fundamental Christian?

The Fundies would be guilty of narrowmindedness, being dogmatic, always forcing their views upon others, bashing the unbeliever (Bible bashing), the gays and those of different faiths. They are intolerant of anyone who dares to differ from their own views.

Since I walked away from this mindset, I have learned to respect other faiths since there are many Paths and each one is entitled to the Path of his choice. This calls for tolerance and respect.

I cannot say I know of a place where you can become an atheist because you attended a seminar or course in atheism. One cannot go to college or uni and study a diploma or degree in atheism. I do not know of Atheists that gather once a week in a special Atheist meeting place to discuss and contemplate the essence of atheism.

Unlike other faiths, or philosophies or spiritual topics, one can go and study, read the holy Books and adapt the lifestyle to be a devout believer. But I have not seen one can be a devout atheist true to the path of atheism. Yet I find atheists to be amongst the least tolerant of groups.

They have earned (somehow without studying for it) the right to go and bash Christians, Hindus, Muslims etc, and they find it hard to allow spiritual or religious people to follow their own path. They have to go and intrude and trash their posts on this forum. They might know nothing about the subject matter, but hey, they are so full of themselves that they will let you have it, whether it is for them to give or not. They do not actually contribute anything positive because of their ignorance, but they will attempt to drag others down the sacred path of atheism with them.

I fail to see how this makes them any different to those who chose a Spiritual Path.

I liken them to straight people who go into a gay bar and then go bashing the gays. If you dont like gays simply dont go to a gay bar.

And if you dont like spirituality or religion, then dont go to church! Its a simple philosophy.

I once heard Nelson Mandela make a statement shortly after his release from prison: If you have nothing good to say, then say nothing.

I respect him for this and wish that people would learn from him. The world will be a better place.

In my life I chose to be with those I like. If you are an atheist of agnostic, I will not date you, shag you, drink a pint with you etc. You have nothing I want. So if you are an Atheist, you should find no interest in spiritual seminars, workshops, churches, temples and such gatherings. I do not see atheists gathering at church shouting slogans to the man on the pulpit. But its nice to hide behind the computer screen from where you can hurl your shallow emptiness.

So I want to hear from the Atheists and Agnostics here:

I like being an atheist because:

A) I get to bash the Hindus Muslims, Jews and Christians etc...

B) I get to bash those who are spiritual (Wicca, Buddists, Occult etc).

c) In my opinion they are flaky and a load of hypocrates...

D) I can say what I like about their beliefs and get away with it.

E) All of the above

If I have missed a point here please feel free to enlighten me.

I like being an Atheis because.....