Are atheists shallow?

Evidence supporting a claim is a base requirment for most people I presume. Would you be happy to accept any wierd or wonderful statement on faith?
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I am sure that even the religious mind will require proof for your sweeping, discriminatory statements.
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Wheres the proof of God? In ones heart?
 
Postmaster said:
That's the thing you see, atheists need to see proof and clear cut evidence for something to be perceived as correct. We all have a purpose, to an atheist the purpose of person is to reproduce? Whereas to a believer in a creator the purpose of a person doesn't have any limits.
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First off, Everyone (with the exeption of you i guess) needs some kind of proof to believe what they believe. Every one here be they atheist or religious has some kind of "proof" supporting their beliefs.

Secondly, let me explain to you what I, being an atheist, believe. I do not believe that my only purpose on this planet is to reproduce. I believe that it is my purpose to enjoy the time I've got on this planet, and to help the world become a better place for future generations. you obviously haven't taken any time out of your life to get to know very many atheists, you simply based your conclusions on your ignorance.
 
Secondly, let me explain to you what I, being an atheist, believe. I do not believe that my only purpose on this planet is to reproduce. I believe that it is my purpose to enjoy the time I've got on this planet, and to help the world become a better place for future generations. you obviously haven't taken any time out of your life to get to know very many atheists, you simply based your conclusions on your ignorance.
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Not all atheists think a like or like you, apart from one thing you all have in common the idea that no greater being exists (something you can't even prove). Why am I ignorant? Fair enough if you were a skeptic but for
Someone who believes that there is no God.
www.abdn.ac.uk/philosophy/guide/glossary.shtmlhttp://www.abdn.ac.uk/philosophy/guide/glossary.shtml
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makes you just as bad as me from the way you are putting things ;)
 
while yes some atheist do beleive that we exist to reproduce, they are a very small minority, most athiests i know, which happens to be qutie a few, belong to a group that believes that everyone should enjoy life as much as possible for the short time we have to do so. while you may deem such a simple idea shallow, i cant think of a better reason to live.
 
During my time as an Atheist, I did not believe that life of any form had any purpose whatsoever. Sentience was a fluke. I considered myself very lucky to be what I was and chose how to live my life based on my own personal morals.
 
Sorry to jump in the thread late, but I'm still not understanding how not believing in a god makes us(atheist) shallow? There are "shallow" and "deep" people in all aspects of life. How can not believing in something classifiy us as shallow? Personaly, I feel most atheists are not shallow, as it takes years and much research into other options before one can totally believe that there is no god. The only way to truly have faith in your own beliefs is to learn of the oppisite (sp) belief. I'm sorry, but I have to agree that you are simply sterotyping atheists.
 
I suppose if atheists are shallow that would mean some of the greatest minds of our time were shallow as well. Freud was an atheist, and I wonder what he could make of this kind of question? Surely the intent of even asking is an attempt at a "better than/less than" proposition. How could a win/lose proposition ever have a chance at uncovering a deep truth? The answer is that it cannot. If we would posit the existence of a loving, kind, all knowing, all present, Divine Source of all creation, then pointing fingers and saying this is bad, but I am good is completely antithetical.

Peace

Mark
 
I didn't say phycologists are shallow, or an astronaut is shallow, I say said an atheist may be shallow (and only that aspect of the person), because just as much as I can not prove there is a God you just as equal can not prove there isn't one. However because I have acceptances in a higher being I can justify wrong and right on a greater level then an atheist because I realise feelings, emotions and actions have deeper and more sincere meanings because some infinite creator has created these feelings and actions for a meaningful purpose.
 
Justify right and wrong on a greater level? Than what? What is Right? What is wrong? How do you justify what is right and wrong and what makes your justification "greater" than that of an atheist... or a buddhist, or an agnostic, how about a dolphin, cat, iguana, chimpanzee.....?
 
I can't, is it physical proof you need? Because I think it can't be explained...

Anyway I just want to clear that I have no problems with atheists at all, the purpose of you chosing that path is out of reasoning? I too feel the same for my monotheist path. At the end of the day it's a miracle that were all sitting on our computers communicating with each other, I refuse to put it down to chance.
 
Based on this latest argument, I would say that a Theist is actually more shallow, because an Atheist must justify everything in his own mind which often involves a great deal of soul searching and self questioning. A Theist can skip the deep thinking and just call it 'God's will'
 
Postmaster said:
Faiths say that a lack of love and devotion to God is a negative, like I said before I really wish sometimes I was an atheist, I feel my life would be easier. There's no doubt I'd still want to lead an ethical life, but when you have faith in a God everything becomes more meaningful, suddenly everything can be justified right or wrong on a higher level. I think it takes more to believe in a God then it doesn't. I'm not trying to demonize atheists, in fact I was once one (but not subconsciously). I can name all parts of the Brain, I understand on a tiny scale how neurotransmitters are passed and the names of the cells which control these functions. Science can always explain HOW as long as you search hard enough for the answers but it will never explain WHY. And all it takes is a little heart and a leap of faith to give yourself up to God. I'm not one to judge atheists, in fact I've stated many times on this forum even there role in Christianity (Greek philosophers) for paving the way for Christ. But to believe in a God and not to, certainly does bring about a clash, and although this may sound judgmental , but I prefer say more opinionated I believe maybe atheists are more shallow but then again, it's one of those things that you can't talk for everyone and talking broad and general.
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Alright, I understand your argument now. Theists think they have found the “ultimate answer to life and existence. The answer they have found is God. I believe you are saying that atheists are shallow because they have not found this “ultimate answer”



I believe the “ultimate answer” is unknowable at this time. We just don’t know why we exist, and this is a hard thing to accept, which is why I think many people turn to believing in God.
 
A Theist can skip the deep thinking and just call it 'God's will'
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But is it as simple as that? I used to think deep and hard. I realised that if everything is designed for a purpose, maybe I was designed to view life from a simplistic perspective that can be universally accepted by all levels of intelligence, Theists also recognise there own sovereignty and some even souls, so we don’t put all weight on God. My reasoning lies in my acceptance and faith, whereas for others it lies in evidence and materialism.
 
Perhaps the conflict comes in when we use words like "shallow" because of their pejorative connotation.
After giving this a little thought it occurs to me that this question is posed in the spirit of honest inquiry. If so then the answers given by so many erudite souls should provide quite a bit of food for thought.
If I may sum it up:
We see that both the theist and atheist are capable of deep thinking about cosmology and question the approach to our method of understanding the nature of existence or ontology.

By methods of debate, reason, logic and awareness of the subjective experience we can share our insight, but not necessarily provide empirical evidence to prove our point. The best we can do is argue our case well.

As long as both the theist and atheist approach debate in the spirit of honest inquiry both are edified and a win/win condition will result.

Peace

Mark
 
I'm sorry, but you've lost me. How can you state that:

Postmaster said:
just as much as I can not prove there is a God you just as equal can not prove there isn't one.
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And then

Postmaster said:
My reasoning lies in my acceptance and faith, whereas for others it lies in evidence and materialism.
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and not contridict yourself? :confused:

Surely if we atheists can not prove that there is no god, just as you can not prove that there is, then we are taking our own beliefs in faith the same as you. We have no hard proof for our beliefs, just as you don't have any for yours. Therefore both our beliefs are based on faith, and just as "deep".
 
I'm sorry but I can't see the contradiction..

As long as everyone tries to respect people the way they wish to be treated and remain positive as much as they can I respect them regardless of Muslim, Atheist, Jewish, Christian. But of all belief systems I fear Atheism the most, because if you believe after death there is nothing, to me means no balance, no ultimate justice, never see your loved ones again and the ability to justify negative actions without punishment. Anyway I'm not hear to preach but, think this will be my last post on this thread cause I'm not looking to convert just opinions and I see some people feel very strongly.
 
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