What do you believe?

[theloconate]

Atheist. I hate it when my parents MAKE me go to church its annoying plus all I do is sleep in our High school Sunday school class. My mom says I need to get out of the house...what is school not getting away from the house? I may not like school but its much better than church imo.

Church is a mixed bag. Excluding the religious activities (obviously because your an atheist) some of my friends enjoy church, some hate it

[Kakerlake]

Atheist. I hate it when my parents MAKE me go to church its annoying plus all I do is sleep in our High school Sunday school class. My mom says I need to get out of the house...what is school not getting away from the house? I may not like school but its much better than church imo.

I went to a christian boarding school and we had to go to church every sunday morning. It was a pain in the butt, especially those hard wooden benches which surely were created to be as uncomfortable as possible so folks like myself couldn't sleep in church. Even history class was much better! At least I was able to sleep peacefully there
You know, you can tell your mom, that she is being contradictory to herself. "You should go outside" and going outside is going to church? I mean, there you don't talk to folks, you just sit there listening to a priest, brabbling something from the bible. Doing sports or hanging out with some friends is much better outside-of-house activity.

Actually you are an atheist. You have a common misconception about the definition of the word atheist. An atheist is anyone who isn't a theist. You are however still an agnostic, an agnostic atheist that is.

*takingalookintowikipedia*
Wiki tells me that Atheism is the rejection of any religion. I do not reject any believe, I just look at it in a agnostic (wiki roxx) way and am too lazy to go to church for the hypothetical existance of a god. Also it would be quite a bother to pray to all the gods there are, since none of them has been proven as non existant (except the flying spaghetti monster which is fiction).

[theloconate]

Actually you are an atheist. You have a common misconception about the definition of the word atheist. An atheist is anyone who isn't a theist. You are however still an agnostic, an agnostic atheist that is.

*takingalookintowikipedia*
Wiki tells me that Atheism is the rejection of any religion. I do not reject any believe, I just look at it in a agnostic (wiki roxx) way and am too lazy to go to church for the hypothetical existance of a god. Also it would be quite a bother to pray to all the gods there are, since none of them has been proven as non existant (except the flying spaghetti monster which is fiction).
[/quote]
Then wikipedia's wrong, that's just an appeal to authority. Here's what I always like to compare it to. Do you know the words biotic and abiotic? biotic means living, abiotic (because of the a- in front of it) means not biotic, therefore abiotic means not living. It's the same with atheist and theist. A theist is someone who believes in god. Therefore atheist is someone who isn't a theist (and yes that does mean that it's possible to be religious and atheist. buddism is often given as an example of this) gnostic means pertaining to knowledge, agnostic therefore means not pertaining to knowledge. So if you call yourself agnosic what you're really saying is that you're that you are uncertain of all claims to knowledge. If you put the two words together then you get the following, someone who isn't a theist who rejects any claims of certainty on the subject. Face it, you're an agnostic atheist (and by the way so am I)

[Bloodshadow]

Dude. Rapists get joy from rape, some murders get joy from murder. Rich people who are greedy are joyous.

To me, if a source of joy comes from harming others, then it does not count. The world is devoid of any "true" joy.

People may be atheist, but how many of them are actually disgusted by faith? That's the reason why I don't think the word "atheist" is strong enough to describe myself.

Oh yeah, and I believe in Science. Specifically, physics and mathematics. Pure logic is the only thing that can truly convince me.

[theloconate]

Dude. Rapists get joy from rape, some murders get joy from murder. Rich people who are greedy are joyous.

To me, if a source of joy comes from harming others, then it does not count. The world is devoid of any "true" joy.

People may be atheist, but how many of them are actually disgusted by faith? That's the reason why I don't think the word "atheist" is strong enough to describe myself.

Oh yeah, and I believe in Science. Specifically, physics and mathematics. Pure logic is the only thing that can truly convince me.

true joy? which is?

[Bloodshadow]

true joy? which is?

The warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone out without asking anything in return. Of course, that kind of joy does not exist, because you cannot afford to help anyone unconditionally. As soon as you do so, the person you helped will stab you in the back and take advantage of you.

[theloconate]

true joy? which is?

The warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone out without asking anything in return. Of course, that kind of joy does not exist, because you cannot afford to help anyone unconditionally. As soon as you do so, the person you helped will stab you in the back and take advantage of you.

you're completely right. the last time i tossed a hobo a loonie he bought a knife that he used that to steal the rest of my money

[Bloodshadow]

you're completely right. the last time i tossed a hobo a loonie he bought a knife that he used that to steal the rest of my money

Last time I gave a homeless guy some money because he keeps annoying me. He probably used that money to buy more drugs for himself. And my mom ranted at me for five minutes, calling me an idiot for giving my money to a hobo. I don't see any joy that can be experienced from this selfless act.

[pepokish]

I can prove you wrong that you think all life is precious. Have you ever taken a shower or washed your hands? You're killing germs. Also, you're alive to post this which means that you have (directly or indirectly) eaten plants. Also I sincerely hope you're a vegetarian considering what you've said in your post, if not you're a hypocrite. I assume by all life you mean just the animal kingdom (which you are also harming just by using your computer by contributing to global warming). Also, do you consider insects precious?

I didn't say I never killed anything, I said all life is precious.  I'm not going to get into the difference, because I've tried to explain it in the past and it's something that some people just can't grasp.  I don't want to argue or change your opinion (not even your strange overly-critical opinion of me).

And for the record, yes, I do consider insect and plant life to be precious as well.  Try not to jump to conclusions before you even know anything about a person.

[Kakerlake]

Last time I gave a homeless guy some money because he keeps annoying me. He probably used that money to buy more drugs for himself. And my mom ranted at me for five minutes, calling me an idiot for giving my money to a hobo. I don't see any joy that can be experienced from this selfless act.

The warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone out without asking anything in return. Of course, that kind of joy does not exist, because you cannot afford to help anyone unconditionally. As soon as you do so, the person you helped will stab you in the back and take advantage of you.

Nownow, don't think just because one person or a couple of folks don't show any gratitude doesn't mean noone does. Everyone is individual. You are right, a lot of people are selfish and don't care much about others. But there are also generous people, who like to help others. Have you never seen anyone helping out someone without gaining something in return? I'd suggest you traveled somewhere else then. Must be a really sad place where you live.

Also it is NOT a logic conclusion that you get stabbed in the back when you help someone out. Normally, a little bit intelligent folks would show their gratitude and think of them as owing you something in return, even if you don't ask for it.
Don't expect that from your average hobo or random persons on the streets though. Because most people simply do not own that kind of intelligence.

[theloconate]

you're completely right. the last time i tossed a hobo a loonie he bought a knife that he used that to steal the rest of my money

Last time I gave a homeless guy some money because he keeps annoying me. He probably used that money to buy more drugs for himself. And my mom ranted at me for five minutes, calling me an idiot for giving my money to a hobo. I don't see any joy that can be experienced from this selfless act.

I don't know what warm fuzzy feeling the you're referring to when you talk about "true joy" (I don't think i've ever experienced that). But i've certainly been happy in my life and so i reject your definition for the purposes of this debate.

[theloconate]

I can prove you wrong that you think all life is precious. Have you ever taken a shower or washed your hands? You're killing germs. Also, you're alive to post this which means that you have (directly or indirectly) eaten plants. Also I sincerely hope you're a vegetarian considering what you've said in your post, if not you're a hypocrite. I assume by all life you mean just the animal kingdom (which you are also harming just by using your computer by contributing to global warming). Also, do you consider insects precious?

I didn't say I never killed anything, I said all life is precious.  I'm not going to get into the difference, because I've tried to explain it in the past and it's something that some people just can't grasp.  I don't want to argue or change your opinion (not even your strange overly-critical opinion of me).

And for the record, yes, I do consider insect and plant life to be precious as well.  Try not to jump to conclusions before you even know anything about a person.

I understand the difference (and yes i realize why you think my objections are unfounded). And yes i guess i should have read your post more carefully. I agree with you in which i think life is precious, I'm a vegetarian, and I try to do as little harm (except for maybe if I'm doing wrestling or something) as possible.