Question from a newbie to this forum, but not a newbie Atheist.

JWDiaz comments on Jan 22, 2018:

First of all, welcome! Now to address your question: I am spiritual but not religious. Nothing wrong with that.

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 22, 2018:

But what does that mean to you, “spiritual but not religious”?

Question from a newbie to this forum, but not a newbie Atheist.

David1955 comments on Jan 22, 2018:

The word spiritual is not one I like to use myself. Some people use it in a good sense to mean an appreciation of the wonders of the universe and respect for all we don't know. Carl Sagan used it like this. Others use it poorly to mean nonsense, things they can't prove, or to pretend they are on "a ...

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 22, 2018:

Right. Does it mean you believe in god but not religion? That you believe that people (and maybe animals) have a “spirit” separate from their physical body? That you believe in crystals or psychics or ghosts? That you meditate? That you feel “connected” to people or to nature? Who knows?

I have a question for people who describe themselves as agnostic.

PeterJohn comments on Jan 21, 2018:

I do not believe in any gods until I see solid evidence of its existance.one was not needed to start the universe and one was not needed to start life on earth,energy matter and chemistry was all that was needed to start life .

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 22, 2018:

That doesn’t mean it has to be a god, though, @Megjewel . And if energy, matter and chemistry have to “originate from something,” wouldn’t the thing that they came from also have to originate from something?

I have a question for people who describe themselves as agnostic.

LennyP49 comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Simple, there are NO gods or a single god. End of discussion!

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 22, 2018:

I think that makes you an atheist, not agnostic!

If you could wipe 3 words from existence, which would you choose?

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

chihuahua

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 21, 2018:

Punting dogs!

Discussion about the latest site footer It reads "Agnostic.

Coffeo comments on Jan 19, 2018:

There are a lot of comments on this post, and I must confess to not having read all of them in detail. So if what I'm about to say reiterates anything in an earlier comment, I apologize in advance. If it is really the case that an agnostic regards the existence or non-existence of god as ...

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 21, 2018:

I would make broader categories for believer vs agnostic vs atheist. Believers have faith that there is a god, even though they may sometimes doubt their faith. atheists believe there is no god, even in the absence of certainty. Agnostics lack a faith in god but don’t feel strongly that there is not a god. I’d be curious among agnostics if they are open to the possibility of many gods or subscribe only to the possibility of a single god, either of the Judeo-Christian variety or if the non-interfering creator type. Dawkins’ scale is interesting to gauge people’s perspective, but is a bit specific for everyday labels.

If you could wipe 3 words from existence, which would you choose?

ByronSmith comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Your You`re Jennifer

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 20, 2018:

Ouch

Discussion about the latest site footer It reads "Agnostic.

A2Jennifer comments on Jan 19, 2018:

I would not expect an agnostic site to present a “balanced” view of belief/non-belief. I would expect it to be a supportive community for non-believers. Really, you don’t need to look hard to get a religious perspective, this is the other side of the coin. I assume “agnostic.com” was ...

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 20, 2018:

@kensmile4u I agree. I do not define agnosticism as a balanced “middle point” between belief and non-belief. Belief in god depends on faith - agnostics aren’t willing to declare certainty one way or the other, therefore they lack faith and thus fall on the spectrum of “non-believer.”

When should anatomy/health/sex education be introduced into a child’s life?

Jack-of-scythes comments on Jan 2, 2018:

Sex ed? That is a tale to tell. Note: my mom was a nurse. Sex Ed for me was a single class period in 6th grade. It was taught by Mr. Sikorski...ex pro football player. A film projector slide show, and questions afterward. That was in 1978. Kids are going to have sex? I think it's a load of ...

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 20, 2018:

There is no way you can no that no one got pregnant, had an abortion or miscarriage. There don’t have to wear a sign.

"GOD" IS?

azzow2 comments on Jan 17, 2018:

I like t say what deity are you referring to seeing through history there has a numerous amount.

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 17, 2018:

Maybe I should start saying, “no I don’t believe in any gods.”

State Representative Steve Alford from Kansas revived a Jim Crow era myth that African Americans are...

markdevenish comments on Jan 8, 2018:

3% of the entire population are allergic to massive quantities of MJ. resulting in full permanent psychosis if you're unlucky !!!!!!!!

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 11, 2018:

Reefer Madness anyone? Total BS.

I am pretty new to this site, but is christian slamming a normal part of things here?

marmot84 comments on Jan 2, 2018:

Not me... I would argue that though I am an atheist/agnostic I hold Christian values and culture. That is something that I am proud of. I don't mean fundamentalist crap. I mean love thy neighbor and honorable moral stuff like that.

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 2, 2018:

I heard Dan Barker(FFRF) speak and he talked about how some values are universal to all religions - helping people who need it, not killing people, taking care of your children, etc. These, he says, are HUMAN values, not religious values. This is why we don’t need religion to tell us to be good people.

How do you deal with Door-knockers?

VirginiaMan65 comments on Nov 12, 2017:

I try to be nice cause I am a door knocker myself-as a campaign volunteer for the Democratic Party I do neighborhood canvassing.....People are usually pretty nice-but not everyone is....I try to be nice to everyone who knocks on my door.....I dont like being hateful or people being hateful to me

A2Jennifer replies on Jan 2, 2018:

That’s funny - I am much more likely to take a survey now that I collect survey data!

I become very annoyed and furious when I here politicians,Government officials or anybody ...

Varn comments on Dec 30, 2017:

Same here. ...I remain a fan of President Clinton (guess I’ll never know how we’d have distinguished between ‘the two’ ), and was thrilled to listen to a live address in Seattle during his initial run. There was even a question about state/ church separation that he answered ‘expertly.’...

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 30, 2017:

More people would vote for a child molester than an atheist. And that is based on a poll from BEFORE Roy Moore.

Are you the same person you used to be? Is personality static or changing?

ksmartines comments on Dec 28, 2017:

When I was getting my BA in psychology, there was always a big fight between nature vs. nurture. It is my belief that everyone is born with predispositions. If an event happens in our lives, it can trigger these predispositions and we may see change. I have never seen the human mind as static. ...

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 29, 2017:

I also have a bachelors in psych and thought it was weird to debate nature OR nurture. They interplay together, effect each other. The brain is constantly shaped by experiences so our “nature” adapts to our environment.

Opinions wanted: my now ex has suddenly converted to Christianity??

ASTRALMAX comments on Dec 27, 2017:

As previously mentioned on here, I once knew a woman who told me that she had found god. I asked her where he had been hiding. She never spoke to me again...LOL

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 28, 2017:

I thought god must be in prison because everyone there finds him!

Any booklovers on this group? What authors/genres/topics do you like reading?

PrincessMilky comments on Oct 5, 2017:

I love reading any chance I get! Personally my favorite book might just have to be Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. I read it during my senior year of high school and it was the basis for encouraging me to really focus on historical fiction as a central theme for my own writing. Currently trying to ...

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 26, 2017:

Jane Eyre is next in my list!

Are atheists and agnostics intolerant?

Eazyduzzit comments on Dec 26, 2017:

I'm very tolerant of other beliefs. The people I love most are all Christians. I don't love the fact they're Christian, but they are. I hate the way Christians try to push the rest of us around. Trying to put up religious idols on public property, trying to tell women what they can or can't do with ...

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 26, 2017:

I understand the concerns that people have about including believers here, but I suspect that many people who identify as believers and join a site like this are questioning their faith and wanting to explore that. I would not want to create any barriers for people who are considering leaving religion.

One thing I hear with tedious regularity as an Atheist from Christians in particular are ...

evidentialist comments on Dec 13, 2017:

For the born again evangelical christians, persecution is built right into their scriptures and they are taught this from an early age. This is not quite so prevalent in mainstream christianity, but it is still there. There is a little of that in Judaism, but not much. To the best of my ...

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 13, 2017:

I would say yes, there is a war on family values - being waged by “conservatives” who fight to eliminate health care for children and programs to feed the hungry, while defending pedophiles and rapists as “good people.”

For Online Dating sites... Do you list yourself as Agnostic/Other or pretend to be Christian?

MrLizard comments on Dec 2, 2017:

I selected "Spiritual but not religious." Then changed that to something like "Neither Spiritual nor Religious."

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 3, 2017:

It seems like a lot of people post “spiritual but not religious” and I always wonder what that means. I suppose it probably means widely different things for different people.

What do you all make of kneeling for the anthem?

BucketlistBob comments on Dec 1, 2017:

If a crippled war Vetern crawled out of a wheel chair and got to his knees. Then yes on that kneeling. There's a time and a place to protest. Not on a ball field. Thats not only a disgrace to my flag, but to me and everyone on the field that has to see it.

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 1, 2017:

They are not protesting the flag, and certainly not the military. They are protesting systemic injustice that undermines what the flag stands for and the fredom and justice the military fights for. People are recasting the protests as anti-American in order to distract from the very real problems in our society.

What do you all make of kneeling for the anthem?

Bucky12 comments on Dec 1, 2017:

They absolutely have the right and I agree they have a cause worthy of protest. I do disagree with their timing.

A2Jennifer replies on Dec 1, 2017:

It’s not a protest if it doesn’t make people uncomfortable.

Thoughts on Satanism?

BobLang comments on Oct 23, 2017:

My ex-wife used to say that she didn't believe in God but did believe in Satan. I tried to explain that if she believed there was a Satan then there had to be a God. Good & evil, positive & negative, etc. I don't believe in either.

A2Jennifer replies on Oct 26, 2017:

Actually you can believe in whatever you want. People are free to believe in God or satan or Santa Claus. Or any or none of the above. You can’t apply rational logic to faith anyway.

For atheists - what makes you believe no deity exists?

SteveGee comments on Oct 19, 2017:

First we should define some terms. Atheist does not necessarily believe in the non-existence of a deity or a god[s]. Most atheists are what lay people call agnostics. Let's try it like this for defining terms: Hard Atheist- Believes no god or gods exist Soft Atheist- Does not accept that the ...

A2Jennifer replies on Oct 25, 2017:

I consider myself a “hard atheist” - I believe that there is no god. But I don’t claim to have proven it. I also don’t believe there are unicorns. I can’t prove that there aren’t any unicorns anywhere. but given that there is no evidence that they actually DO exist, and it is abundantly clear that the idea was created from the imagination of people, I am as sure as anyone can reasonably be that neither unicorns nor gods are real, given that it is impossible to prove that something does not exist.

Do you actively represent Atheists (in person or on the web)?

veRONicaMeower comments on Oct 24, 2017:

To actively represent a "disbelief" in something sounds a bit silly. If you like Metallica you wear a Metallica t-shirt, tattoo, etc. If you DON'T like Metallica do you wear an Anti-Metallica shirt?? Do you brand your skin in some kind of protest against something? No, you promote what you like or ...

A2Jennifer replies on Oct 24, 2017:

Dan Barker (Freedom From Religion Foundation) talked about how those values that are shared by all religions, like helping the needy and being kind to others, are actually HUMAN values. On the other hand, rules about what you can and can’t do or eat (that are different for each religion) are religious values.

Hello, I just signed up and am excited to join the group.

Jenn comments on Oct 23, 2017:

In Muncie there is a unitarian universalist church; I've not attended but have considered it for the community aspect. I have a neighbor who is a freethinker and seems to like it. You could try it or see if there is something like it closer to you.

A2Jennifer replies on Oct 23, 2017:

I have (atheist) friends who tried one a non-religious service at a church- they thought it was weird. It followed a church-like format, with pop songs instead of hymns and non-religious speeches instead of sermons.

did you loose faith, or gain a sense of reality?

Paul comments on Oct 22, 2017:

it was Christopher Hitchens who said you don't 'become' an atheist, you simply discover that you cannot believe god claims. I can't help it that I turned out atheist - it's just the way God made me.

A2Jennifer replies on Oct 23, 2017:

Haha!