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Atheism is just a way of clearing the space for better conversations. The problem is convincing the better part of humanity into having these better conversations. It’s a political problem, a scientific problem, and interpersonal problem, and a problem with education.
Sam Harris

Kali 4 Aug 27
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And this is the place to have those conversations but I find quite a few of the posters here still have a lingering attachment to religion.

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All of the above

bobwjr Level 10 Nov 10, 2019
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And it is a problem of fear. Atheists are brave individuals that live life without the benefit of a safety net tended by a protecting god. Atheists live life knowing there is no afterlife, and are fully responsible of their own actions. Again, that takes courage, and not very many people have that, in fact, I think that is why we are the few.

1

And you quote Sam Harris for any particular purpose???

I like the quote and I think it’s thought-provoking and I was interested in what other non-believers think and feel when they read it.

@Kali then say so.

2

Just because the space is cleared, doesn’t mean will have a better conversation.

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True Sam Harris is promoting dialogue with Buddhists faith intellectuals and youth emerging out of theocracy into Atheism and Secularism....but his condemnation of violent faiths has him in need of expensive body guards securing his public appearances.....we tried to get him to talk in the oldest part of downtown Charleston offering him 2000 and his counter request was 5 K $ 25% of our trust fund.....worst of all Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry is terrified of real American Atheists message.....there is no escaping the need for freedom FROM theocracy and pacification of global violent faiths....violent religion IS WRONG to say the least and being polite with terrorists IS FOOLISH.....another of the many reasons I left my love of South Carolina behind.....like coddling tampon terrorists at abortion clinics
.....pseudoAtheists and hUUmanists want to persuade the killers of 9 doctors and 56 clinic bombers to be nicer to women seeking a cash pap smear or low price ultrasound to end a 6 week pregnancy by pill.....CONTRAINDICATED if ectopic....facts must always destroy faith when medical/mental health is at stake

3

I sometimes think of it as more of an apathy problem. Most people I interact with don't seem to have a literal belief in god, and don't get offended by my secularism. Its just hard to find anyone who wants to talk about intellectual things like details of science or depth behind political issues. They'd rather talk about beer, cars shopping, drugs, reality tv, or sports. Sometimes its to keep the peace I guess. I talk about so much weather at work. Lucky I live in Michigan where it changes alot.

MsAl Level 8 Aug 28, 2019

Unfortunately, that’s a reality for all of us since religion and religious thought and ideas and scientific/reality ignorance is pervasive. I would guess that’s why most of us are on this site, at least part of the reason.

@Kali It exists for sure. I justt don't think that applies to most people. I lived as an out athiest in a rural setting since I started school. Only a select few ever have a problem with it. Most people are pretty apathetic. Lack of science interest runs right along with lack of interest in math or basic geography politics exc..Not caring about nerdy stuff.
I'm just saying this is a bigger hindrance to deep introspective conversations in daily life than religious denial.

I have most definitely had my share of religious bullying from the obnoxious minority though.

4

Not really being a Sam Harris fan, I definitely do not agree with this statement, attributed to him.

Atheism and atheists have no responsibility or obligation to clear any space
for "better conversations".
Atheists are not responsible for convincing anyone of anything.

I really get turned off by people who insist atheists "must" lead others to reason.

Agree, absolutely.

I agree. Let it be.

0

Today I have no gods but the was a time in my life that I believed in at least one god. There was also a time in my life that I believed in Santa Claus. The change in me is that there is no evidence for either of them.

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Atheism just is....... Nuff said

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All this means to me is reducing public policy conversations to the lowest common denominator, that being secular - which is necessary in a society that tries to respect diversity.

That a very clean and concise way to say this that any semi-reasonable person could agree with.

0

‘Convincing’ sounds coercive and no different to religious proselytism.

Where exists the “better part of humanity”?

He’s referring to not better as in ‘best’ but as in a larger percent of humanity.

And ‘better’ conversations he’s referring to conversations more about the truth and what’s really going on, reality, and trying to come up with some real solutions, instead of the circular conversations of religion, that don’t solve any problems or actually have any real suggestions of how to do so .
And he implies suggestions for solutions need to come not only from education of the masses but also real conversations in science, and politics, and in conversations between and among all of us.

@Kali Glad someone knows informed and unbiased truth then!

@Geoffrey51 Unbiased truth does not exist and the referred to conversations are attempts to search for collective truths. Since we are a collective, not just of our species but of a whole planet full of species, for which we should consider when making decisions (what happens to our sibling species affects us as well), our conversations or searches for what will work for the whole Earth/life system hopefully will come from input from a wide variety of educated humans from many disciplines, but based on reality and not delusion, to the best to our ability. And of course religion is the biggest delusion in the world today. It would be good to also understand the importance of continuing to improve our knowledge and accurate decision making abilities. Since we all can’t be experts on all topics, it would be good to rely on our collective brains, where each has different expertise and point of view, to contribute to decisions made for the entire planet. So it’s not that “someone “knows the unbiased truth, but that we all continue to have conversations with and among educated, forward thinking (those considering out to many generations in the future), open minded, humans to uncover and create pathways forward that are less volatile and damaging to us all. And hopefully then vote in leadership positions, the same forward thinking people. We then hopefully can all move into the future making decisions and changing the planet in ways to keep us all intact and creating or stabilizing the future for our descendants, and the descendants of all our sibling species .

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well, i see it a lot more simply. atheism may lead to some of those things, or not, but atheism is just not believing there are any gods, or believing there are no gods. everything else is action or reaction.

g

A person who has no gods is just a realist. There is no word for someone who doesn’t believe in astrology, such as ‘aastrologer’ or ‘ non-astrologer’ .So atheism really has no meaning to nonbelievers. He was referring to the term atheist as a way to introduce non-theism to religious believers. By using the term atheist, it clearly implies no belief in any gods, which makes it clear that the conversations are not going to include religious beliefs when confronting social and global problems.

@Kali a person who has no gods may still have other delusions; being an atheist doesn't make someone a realist all by itself. it's a realistic stance but no guarantee of being a realist overall. atheism has a definition and you can use it to mean all sorts of things but that doesn't mean it MEANS those things. i understood how he was using it. i was taking issue with that.

g

@genessa Totally true. I met an athiest who was convinced he discovered a free energy/ perpetual motion method. Just because you part with one delusion doesn't mean you've parted with them all. It does mean they made a good start though.

@HonkyBMcfunky definitely a good start. jusr not the whole journey lol

g

2

all these "better conversations" are meaningless. the die is cast. call it fate or whatever. spaceship earth cannot be manouvered or safely docked.

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