October 6, 2009 6:08:32 PM EDT
I agree, Gerald ...
In fact, I just wrote, in large part, about the same issue in another thread here - and, perhaps not so curiously if you knew me, I spent a lot more words to do it, lol ...
October 7, 2009 3:49:39 PM EDT
Hippie, I think Olli asked some very profound questions that you may have schluffed off without really thinking about them. Why don't you give those questions a little more thought because they're much deeper than 2 seconds of thought could comprehend.
Also, I would point out that no culture has been formed around atheism. Atheism is the absence of belief. All cultures have been formed around some kind of religious belief. And I think what you'll find - if you're an atheist - is that atheism forms around whatever the prevailing culture says.
So an atheist in a Muslim country will have an entirely different set of beliefs than an atheist in the U.S. An atheist in Japan or China will have a very different set of beliefs than an atheist in Finland or France.
It always amazes me how closely American atheists come to Christians and Jews when it comes to morals. They most often believe in almost the same set of morals that Christians and Jews believe in. Which are wholly different than the set of morals Muslims believe in. Yet atheists in Muslim lands will share Islamic values!
So keep in mind that if you are an atheist (and I don't know if you are - I'm just guessing) that your morals and values are greatly shaped by the values and morals of the prevailing Judeo-Christian culture around you.
October 9, 2009 10:09:57 AM EDT
All i know is that i do my best, and i try to help people as much as i can and be a good person. If thats not good enough for your god then i want no place in his heaven. Blind faith shouldn't be the most important part of religion.
