Ramanisblog

Tag: Theism

  • Atheists Theists All The Same. Study

    A recent Study has found some interesting Facts on Atheists.

    There seems to be some common factors between the theists and Atheists..

    The ten Commandments.
    The ten Commandments.

    Both believe in some principles,the Atheist in the Principle That God does not exist or at least the principle that the Theists have to be resisted.

    2.Theist Religions propagate, believe in Conversions-Hinduism is an exception.

    Atheist also do.

    3.Christianity believes in mass meetings, Atheists do.

    4.Islam, Christianity assert, that other than those who believe in Islam and Christianity are fools.

    Atheists do.

    5.Theists,religions have Symbols.

    Atheists have been working under different symbols.

    Now they have unveiled a new symbol.

    ‘Atheists unveiled the nation’s first public monument to secularism outside a county courthouse in Florida last week — a 1,500-pound gray granite bench engraved with quotations extolling the separation of church and state.”

    6.Religions have sects, different schools of Thought.

    Atheist Monument.
    Atheist Monument.,A monument erected by an atheists’ group drew Gael Murphy and a crowd of onlookers to a site near a Ten Commandments monument in Starke, Fla.
    By LAURIE GOODSTEIN.NYT.

    Atheists also have, as a new study reveals.

    “1. Intellectual Atheist/Agnostic. By far, the most common kind of non-believer, at nearly 38 percent. This group enjoys intellectual discourse, and while they’re often very certain about their beliefs, they’re not belligerent about it..

    2. This group also gets commonly accused of being dogmatic, but like the intellectual atheist, while they’re firm in their beliefs, they’re intellectually flexible and don’t prioritize attacking believers..

    3. Seeker-Agnostic. This group, which makes up 7.6 percent of non-believers, are unlikely to be as critical of religion as most other groups…

    4.Anti-Theist. This group tends to get conflated with all atheists by believers, but they only constitute 15 percent of non-believers. Like the Intellectual Atheists, they like to argue about religion, but they are much more aggressive about it and actively seek out religious people in an effort to disabuse them of their beliefs…

    5.Non-Theist. They don’t believe in any gods, but don’t think about those who do very often. In such a religious society, simply opting out of caring much about religion one way or another is nearly impossible, which is why this group is only 4.4 percent of non-believers. “A Non-Theist simply does not concern him or herself with religion,” researchers explain…

    6.Ritual Atheist/Agnostic. While you might think the anti-theist is the non-believer type that scares Christians the most, it turns out that it may very well be the Ritual Atheist/Agnostic. This group, making up 12.5 percent of atheists, doesn’t really believe in the supernatural, but they do believe in the community aspects of their religious tradition enough to continue participating. ”

    In general The Atheists have the same essential ingredients that make up a Religion, but under a different tag.

    It may be of interest to note that Hinduism accepts Atheism as a Form of Worship, knowing pretty well that Human beings need something to cling onto.,call it whatever you like, be it No God!

    Source:

    http://www.salon.com/2013/07/13/poll_six_kinds_of_non_believers_in_america_partner/

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/us/to-fight-religious-monuments-atheists-plan-their-own-symbols.html?_r=0

  • 6 (Unlikely) Developments That Could Convince This Atheist To Believe in God

    Religious beliefs are unfalsifiable?
    So are axioms in Science-three angles of a triangle is equivalent to 180 degrees,law of Causality/uniformity of nature..
    What is evidence? Evidence is a set of facts perceived by the individual conditioned by law of causality and Uniformity of nature which is not correct.
    Evidence as message-What exactly are you looking for?
    Universe itself is a message.
    Human mind sees evolution and links?
    Tell me, what is your mind? And what is Universal intention and how does one know it, much less to say it has none.
    Let us first define mind, then proceed further.
    There is no such thing as Super natural as every thing is Natural.
    Every thing we think and do is natural and you can not call something as Super Natural because you can not explain by Laws known to you.
    You can not trust senses for they lie and change;you can not trust others.But you can not deny you doubt.Cogito Ergo, Sum ,I think, there fore I am (Rene Descartes)
    The Universal principle which is being erroneously called God does not go about proclaiming its omniscience and Omnipotence.It has more important work(if it has any intentions) to do rather than proving itself to us.In what way do we arrogate ourselves that we are worth being noticed?
    Things happen in the world.it is us who try to link them hence there is no question of any necessity to prophesy.
    Probably this piece has been written based on The Bible without referring to Philosophical treatises of the West and religious systems of the East.
    Name of Bhagavad Gita has been mentioned.By the very expectation of the Gita it is evident the author has not studied it.
    While dealing with abstract subjects, it is better to study and the write.Philosophy is not pulp fiction or gossip writing.
    for details one may read the sacred texts like Bhagavad Gita /Upanishads if one wants to be enlightened. Or the least one can read my blogs filed under Indian philosophy/Religion/Hinduism.
    If one looks for tautology and intellectual masturbation -well, there is nothing to say.
    http://www.alternet.org/story/147424/6_(unlikely)_developments_that_could_convince_this_atheist_to_believe_in_god

  • Atheism and Diversity: Is It Wrong For Atheists To Convert Believers?

    Atheists can try converting people into their school of thought.This is nothing new.This has been happening since 5000 years, as Indian Philosophy states.There is no harm in in it. It makes life interesting and a chance to note the fact that with out knowing that they are limited, human beings are arrogant enough to unravel the Universe which , as far as knowledge goes,is one a billion years old and Nature is yet to give up all Her secrets.
    If religious belief makes the world drab and dull by its attempt by imposing its doctrines, what exactly are the Atheists trying to do by converting Theists into Atheists?
    It is old wine under new label.
    Yes, what is said about Christianity id true,in terms of trying to convert and imposing nonsensical religious edicts that do not agree with our basic moral sense, especially the sanctions of Papacy and intolerance.Also the concept that you are not responsible for your actions ;it is Satan that makes you to do so;that your salvation is through one individual and others are doomed to Hell.
    Christianity is not the only Religion.
    Hinduism calls for introspection and analysis of oneself and self inquiry.
    It has included theism as school of Philosophical thought.
    By systematic logic it proves that the world and the senses we have are illusory and goes on to guide one to realize oneself.
    Religion ,according to Hinduism, is intensely personal and no dogma is allowed.
    What is Reality/Too big a topic.Please refer to some of my blogs under Religion/philosophy/Indian Philosophy)

    Story:
    Do atheists hate diversity?

    Is the very act of atheist activism (trying to persuade people that atheism is correct and working to change the world into one without religion) an act of attempted conformity? Are atheists trying to create a drab, gray, uniform world, where everyone else is just like them?

    It’s probably pretty obvious that I think the answer is a big fat “No!” (Probably said in the Ted Stevens voice.) But it certainly is the case that many atheist activists, myself among them, are working very hard to persuade religious believers out of their beliefs. Not all atheists do this, of course; many have the more modest goals of separation of church and state and religious tolerance, including tolerance of atheists and recognition of us as equal citizens. But a good number of atheists are, in fact, trying to convince religious believers to become atheists. I’m one of them.

    And since many believers see this as an intolerant attempt to enforce conformity — particularly believers of the progressive, ecumenical, “all religions perceive God in their own way and we have to respect them all” stripe — I want to take a moment to address it.
    http://www.alternet.org/story/144199/atheism_and_diversity:_is_it_wrong_for_atheists_to_convert_believers?page=entire

  • Is Blind Faith in God and the Bible a Modern Invention?

    There is no such thing as Blind Faith.There is nothing like Rational Faith and Blind Faith.
    Faith is what you experience and not what you think.
    You feel the presence of Love,God, not think of them.
    Faith is of the heart not of the Head.
    Couple of points.
    1.Before trying to dissect the concept of GOD and trying to rationalise either to prove or disprove,first define ‘Mind’-then define thoughts.So far no body has defined mind but still use the term frequently as if it is the highest authority.
    Mind is not seen ,heard,smelt,felt,or tasted( the five senses);yet you say it exists.One might say it is because of the results,namely coordination of sense organs.This again is an assumption and not proven.
    You may also map the brain ,scan it, but still you can not say what the mind is.Can you declare that mind is not operative when brain is in coma?You do no know,that is the answer.
    2.How does one explain consciousness?Psychologists have a funny term’Unconscious’.If you are not conscious how come you know it?Again the result of consciousness is seen in day to day life.That is, you infer.
    Are all inferences correct?
    In logic, you take a particular instance,refer it to general statement,then arrive at a final statement.To explain;
    All men are mortal.
    X is a Man.
    Therefore X is mortal.
    Seems correct-Is it ?
    Before saying all men are mortal you should have verified all men living,dead and those who are yet to be born, know that those who are born die and then say all are mortal.
    Is this the case?
    We have not verified each case and also it is impossible to check each case.
    We do what we call an inductive leap and say and all are mortal.
    When your basic assumption itself is open to question/is wrong ,what about your conclusions?
    Nor are the senses reliable.
    You dip your hand in warm water and then keep it in cold water.Is the water cold
    immediately?
    If I am going to believe only what I am going to perceive by myself I will be a doodering idiot.I have not been to moon.I have heard of it.I believe it.What if people have have lied?
    Testimony is also open to question.
    If I were to follow what others tell me , then who has informed the first person on earth a thing is what it is?For example,I call rose a rose because it has been named thus.Who has informed the first human being thus?
    Again what is a thing we see or hear?
    I call rose a rose,because of certain qualities.say clolor,smell.If any thing smeels like rose shal I call it a rose.No.It may be a perfume.If it is because of color, there are many roses of the same color, but still we call a rose a rose.You strip a thing of its qualities;what does remain?
    Take a Man.Can you tell me what is common between yourself at 3 yrs and you at present and in between?
    I am totally different from what I was at various stages of my life when compared my present state.My physical details have changed,out look has changed.Yet I call myself the same.
    What is it by which I call ‘I’?
    These things call for introspection by the individual and no amount of writing shall solve the issue.
    Introspect and you shall know what you are.
    Both Theism and Atheism are set of principles that appeal to different groups.Let each believe what they want.
    What you want is not in Books;it is within you.
    Find it, for when you are about to die all this dissertations will be of no use, for that matter when you lie naked on the surgeon’s table for a procedure, these things will not help.
    Find the Truth in you.
    (By writing some controversial books ,people make money, Period.
    Story:
    A new book points out that the ancient Christians — and even early Americans — did not share the blind faith of today’s fundamentalists.
    If you open Karen Armstrong’s new book, The Case for God, expecting to find a list of mysterious cures, scientific curiosities, or certified miracles all pointing toward the physical presence of a divine influence in the world, you will be sorely disappointed. Armstrong has no interest in, and is in fact completely antithetical to, trying to prove God’s existence. Despite this, her book is positioned — both in marketing and from its opening pages — as a direct challenge to books like Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation, and Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. How can you make a defense of God if you’ve no interest in the existence of God? Quite well, actually, and if you do it as sharply as Armstrong, you can make hundreds of pages of what is basically theological analysis both entertaining and informative.

    Armstrong argues for an idea very similar to the “non-overlapping magisteria” that were put forward by evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould (and in fact, Gould gets several nice mentions in The Case for God). She refers frequently to the idea that, in the past, people tended to break arguments into two groups for which she uses the Greek terms logos and mythos. Logos reflects practical, immediate reasoning — how do we build that aqueduct, what can we make from this wood, which crop would grow best in that field? Mythos is more aimed at the why — what does it mean that my friend has died, how can I recapture the joy I felt in a moment of pure experience, how can I find meaning and peace among the world’s noise and violence? This sort of approach could easily fall into a gooey cheer for “being spiritual,” but Armstrong is not talking about having a nice little breathing session now and then. She focuses on the 3000 year history of monotheism and the great effort that was put into building flexible, thoughtful religions, on how those religions continue to have a meaningful role in the life of millions, and how the recent history of those religions has led to unfortunate developments that are unique over those three millennia.

    http://www.alternet.org/story/143844/is_blind_faith_in_god_and_the_bible_a_modern_invention?page=entire

  • Atheism-Not to be shunned and ridiculed.

    Atheism is a faith in itself.Just as Theists believe in God, they do not believe in God.There is no reason for one to be intolerant of them.
    Hinduism accords a a special place for Atheists .In Indian Philosophy, Atheist is not one who does not believe in God.Atheist is one who does not believe in the authenticity of the Vedas, the scripture of Hindus.One can be an atheist, yet accorded the respect due to his faith .In fact,Lord Rama,incarnation of God, discusses with Atheist monk Jabaali and imparts him Truth about Reality.He does not try to convert him to be a theist of the western sense ,that is believing in God.If one were to look into western history more harm has been done to society by the theists than the Atheists.Based on track record of Jews feud with Christians,Pagans with Christians and Jews,Crusades-all are the making of so called theists, not Atheists.Atheism, as said earlier, is a stand point.You either agree with it or do not agree with it. .Based on who has been harmful to society,it is the theists who should vacate.