Arent atheists at risk?

From http://www.adherents.com:
definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.)

1. Christianity: 2.1 billion
2. Islam: 1.3 billion
3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
4. Hinduism: 900 million
5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
6. Buddhism: 376 million
7. primal-indigenous: 300 million
8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
9. Sikhism: 23 million
10. Juche: 19 million
11. Spiritism: 15 million
12. Judaism: 14 million
13. Baha'i: 7 million
14. Jainism: 4.2 million
15. Shinto: 4 million
16. Cao Dai: 4 million
17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
18. Tenrikyo: 2 million
19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
22. Scientology: 500 thousand


3.4 billion (US billion) monotheists.
3.253 billion non-monotheists

Or if you prefer crunching a lot of numbers: http://www.zpub.com/un/pope/relig.html

I'd say that since they're all estimates, being within 10% on the split you can't claim either way. (Not to mention how to define "believer" - do you count the "Christian" who never thinks about religion, never goes to church, but considers themselves Christian since they went to Sunday School when they were small, and may or may not have been baptized/confirmed later? )
 
Hi, and Peace to All Here--

Atheists are at risk just like all of us. Oh, we can cite the idea that "I'd rather believe than not, because wouldn't that be the best? What if there is nothing other than nothing--at least I have believed in Something, and if Something exists, then I am safe."

Here's the deal--none of us believe until we believe--and none of us can really believe in anything without evidence. That is what sends us on that search for the Divine....and that, IMO, is how we find it.

InPeace,
InLove
 
(I'm an atheist)
Risk of what??? That something that doesn't exist is not going to allow us to go to a place that doesn't exist when we don't exist?

I'm not too worried. :)

BTW....
ALl you theists out there, that is just my opinion - I don't mean to offend anyone
 
hammer said:
Risk of what??? That something that doesn't exist is not going to allow us to go to a place that doesn't exist when we don't exist?
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How do ye know God doesn't exist?.How do ye know that place doesnot exist?.Have you examined all of the universe?.How do ye know ye are not going to exist after your death?

I'm not too worried.
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Your at high priority risk.


ALL you theists out there, that is just my opinion - I don't mean to offend anyone.
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We take no offense,if ye think that was offensive,ye could be bit more straight and offensive with us.We don't care.;)
 
PluckyAli said:
We take no offense,if ye think that was offensive,ye could be bit more straight and offensive with us.We don't care.;)
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Actually, I appreciate it that atheists posting here have been quite polite and respectul in stating their views. :)

peace,
lunamoth
 
lunamoth said:
Actually, I appreciate it that atheists posting here have been quite polite and respectul in stating their views. :)

peace,
lunamoth
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And I appreciate it that the theists posting here have been polite & respectful as well. Makes the moderating job easier.

... Bruce
 
Actually, I appreciate it that atheists posting here have been quite polite and respectul in stating their views.
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yes but there is more here.All the people i see here seem to be very respectful and have morals except me.I can't understand how is this possible despite serious conflicts b/w religions,science and politics.

I was once very respectful until i met some immoral and aggresive atheists and they tried their best to make me one of them.I think they succeeded(jk).
 
People shouldn't simply be atheists because it's convienient not to have morals, and many don't. Many atheists, if not most, think that they have enough evidence to prove there is no God. But if there is a God, he certainly wouldn't punish them for not "beleiving in him" (as someone said earlier) He would be much more concerned about if the person was compassionate enough in their lifetime. Also, if he made "bad" people face eternal torment, he would be an immoral, and imperfect god (therefore not God). Since that would not be justice, but something more like revenge. The way I see it, justice is something that solves a problem.

so no, I don't think being an atheist puts you at risk.
 
StarshipEnterprise said:
Many atheists, if not most, think that they have enough evidence to prove there is no God.
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Although I am commiting selection bias here, I have never met an atheist who claimed to possess evidence that god/s does not exist. My own atheism, and that of every atheist I know, is a position of lacking evidence and no reasons warranting belief in a deity.

Good post though man.
 
Jaiket said:
Although I am commiting selection bias here, I have never met an atheist who claimed to possess evidence that god/s does not exist. My own atheism, and that of every atheist I know, is a position of lacking evidence and no reasons warranting belief in a deity.
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Yes, god lacks explanatory substance in the sense that there is nothing about the universe as we know it that would be different if a god does not exist. God is a catch-all declaration, not a valid explanation that distnquishes what is false from what is true. God at best defers the mysteries it claims to answer and leaves us further from answers to those mysteries by adding an unconstrained, and thus non-fallsifiable, supernatural realm. So god belief is unjustified. However, there is some evidence for atheism also.

There is nonbelief from evil, from macro-evolution, from insignficance of earth relative to the size of universe, from consciousness being a function of brain, from lack of present day divine communication, from incompatable and illogical divine attributes, from false fact claims and inconsistency of holy books. So there is some evidence against particular gods. Also nonbelief from propensity of humans to fantasize and confuse their fantasy with reality and simliar human psychological and rational weaknesses that account for holy books, from large number of incompatable religions (historically as well as currently) and the like. So there is some decent evidence against god also.
 
StarshipEnterprise said:
... But if there is a God, he certainly wouldn't punish them for not "beleiving in him" (as someone said earlier) He would be much more concerned about if the person was compassionate enough in their lifetime. Also, if he made "bad" people face eternal torment, he would be an immoral, and imperfect god (therefore not God). Since that would not be justice, but something more like revenge. The way I see it, justice is something that solves a problem.

so no, I don't think being an atheist puts you at risk.
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But if there is indeed God, you, being less than God, certainly would not be able to tell Him what is immoral; or imperfect; or justice. The key words here are "the way I see it" which will not win out over the way He sees it. In this case you would only not be at risk if your views coincided. The chances are pretty good that they would not coincide entirely if at all.
 
Mainecross said:
But if there is indeed God, you, being less than God, certainly would not be able to tell Him what is immoral...
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Hmm, maybe this god is a Star Trek fan who nips onto comparitive religion for a little healthy debate...
 
So let me get this straight, this all-loving god is actually so petty and mean spirited that he would condemn someone to an eternity of pain just because this person thoughtfully and authentically came to the conclusion that there is no god? It's not like there's a lot of real "evidence."

I'm not sure this is a god I would want to believe in. If I'm going to believe in a supreme being, I prefer he be big enough to respect someone's sincere attempt to make sense of the universe, and not count it against him if he didn't get it right.

And what about Buddhists? Aren't they technically atheists? They live a moral life, but, oops, you picked wrong. Sorry. Off to hell with you.

The odds of there being an anthropomorphic supreme being who carries with him the same petty jealousy and self righteousness as humans seems pretty remote to me. I'll take my chances with rationally approaching the universe.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hammer
Risk of what??? That something that doesn't exist is not going to allow us to go to a place that doesn't exist when we don't exist?

How do ye know God doesn't exist?.How do ye know that place doesnot exist?.Have you examined all of the universe?.How do ye know ye are not going to exist after your death?

Quote:
I'm not too worried.
Your at high priority risk.


Quote:
ALL you theists out there, that is just my opinion - I don't mean to offend anyone.
We take no offense,if ye think that was offensive,ye could be bit more straight and offensive with us.We don't care.;)
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hey PlukyAli...

I'm no more at risk than you. I have as much faith that there isn't a god as theists have that there is. I don't believe that anyone can be certain either way....we can only think we are. I guess even for us Atheists, it comes down to faith. I HAVE FAITH that I'm not going to exist after my death, that I'm not going somewhere after my death and that there isn't a god, just as implicitly as you HAVE FAITH that you're going to exist after death, somwhere and that there IS a god. Er if you get my drift? Truth is only relative to whoever posesses it. If you're going to tell me that I'm at risk because I don't believe, then you're proclaiming that you're right and I'm wrong. I don't believe that anyone is qualified to make that judgement for others.

Take care! Peace, harmony...etc :)
H.
 
Mainecross said:
But if there is indeed God, you, being less than God, certainly would not be able to tell Him what is immoral; or imperfect; or justice. The key words here are "the way I see it" which will not win out over the way He sees it. In this case you would only not be at risk if your views coincided. The chances are pretty good that they would not coincide entirely if at all.
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I wasn't trying to tell God anything, I was rationalizing about what the nature of God would be like.
 
Why would an atheist be at risk if they live a good life?

It is the living that counts not the belief.
Surely the believer who disrespects life would be more at risk from judgement
 
suanni said:
Why would an atheist be at risk if they live a good life?

It is the living that counts not the belief.
Surely the believer who disrespects life would be more at risk from judgement
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Hi Suanni,

Good to see you here again. :)

lunamoth
 
I totally agree with you Hammer.

PluckyAli said:
How do ye know God doesn't exist?.How do ye know that place does not exist?.Have you examined all of the universe?.How do ye know ye are not going to exist after your death?

How do you know that a "God" does exist? Have you seen him? Everyone bases their belief's on their own kind of faith. An atheist simply has faith that there is no god. How does that put us more at risk then you? What if we are the only ones that are right? Does that put you at risk?


PS: i have no idea if this post worked right as I'm new!
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