The 2010 Global Atheist Convention Melbourne, Australia

[qwe]

For all this talk about science and reason, atheists sure have a lot of faith in their belief that there is no god. How can you possibly know that for sure?

this is a fundamental misunderstanding. christians assume that atheists have an organized rigid belief system (involving things like communism and marx, terrorists, 8)) just like christians. when in fact a population of atheists is so different from a population of christians that the christians can't even understand the atheists

and so they assume that atheists have the same sort of worldview as the christians, that athiests need to defend at all cost. like a "demonistic antichrist anti-you anti-family way of life"

when in actuality, an atheist is ANYBODY. some have rigid beliefs, some have rigid beliefs that no god exists. but most of the attacks lobbed against the atheists.... it's pure PROJECTION

 

[Roger&Me]

The only people who annoy me more than atheists are religious people. I think both are extremist positions.

 

[The Real Fatman]

not all of us atheists are pushy bastards, and some have as much blind faith that there is no god as the most pious people out there. to me it just seems more plausible that there is no god and the universe is just one big coincidence

 

[azzazza !?]

it is ironic to note though, that when faced with a very dire situation, such as an imminent possible death, many an atheist will start praying for his life.
ah, the hubris of control

 

[sponger]

it is ironic to note though, that when faced with a very dire situation, such as an imminent possible death, many an atheist will start praying for his life.
ah, the hubris of control

As the saying goes, "There are no atheists in foxholes."

Prayer is a coping mechanism. A fav example of mine is the patron saint of assassins that the Columbian cartel hitmen are known to pray to.

Even if I was a theist, I'd have a hard time believing there's really a patron saint of hitmen. I think it's really a case of people believing whatever they have to believe to cope with difficulties.

Correction: that's the "Virgin of the Assassins" as mentioned in this article. Sorry about the mix-up.

 

[punktuality]

The whole "There are no atheists in foxholes" thing is ridiculous and false.

My thoughts on death are that i simply die.

However as an atheist this CAN actually be a completely spiritually fulfilling idea as I know that all the molecules and atoms in my body that billions of years ago where formed in exploding stars will decompose and over enough time spread through the earth and become molecules that are part of other animals and plants, part of the earth and the water that will sustain future humans. Eventually when the earth is gone those atoms will still exist and spread through the universe that made them in the first place.

To me that is a much more beautiful and fulfilling idea than going to a cloud land where I have to hang out with my relatives.

I promise you when I die I certainly will not be thinking:

"oh shit! the apple! the flood! the god who made a virgin give birth to himself and then let himself die and come back to life again!!! its all true!!!

and as for no atheists in foxholes... tell that to these guys:

 

[azzazza !?]

To me that is a much more beautiful and fulfilling idea than going to a cloud land where I have to hang out with my relatives.

I promise you when I die I certainly will not be thinking:

"oh shit! the apple! the flood! the god who made a virgin give birth to himself and then let himself die and come back to life again!!! its all true!!!

while those may be the 'popular' images of christianity (and theism is more then christianity you know), they should not be taken as hard facts or at face value. for me these stories describe certain 'ideas', and/or 'eternal movement patterns between ideas' if you will. the literal stories are a way to 'ground' those in a way that everyone understands and thus has access to. when taken literally, these deeper meanings actually become seriously hampered in shining through.
when you die, you might not be thinking those stories, but perhaps in you will suddenly understand what they are ment to represent. you might see that stories of other religions may aim at the same things. you might find your own story as a representation of 'it'. considering what you mentioned of your own spiritualism, i believe that you may find many a valuable thought in theist religions. but look beyond the surface. you shouldn't dismiss it only because of the mass product.

 

[rpm]

It is not agnosticism...

If GOD came down and looked me in the face and showed me the secrets of the universe of course I am going to change my mind, but until then I have decided that there is no evidence whatsoever to even suggest that there might be a god. That does not make me agnostic.

I think most of the athiests at that confrence would have to disagree with you. They do not believe that people who experience god first know that god exits. Therefore they cannnot say that if they experience god first hand they would know that god exits. If such a thing where to happen to you you would have to say that you where mistaken in your experience in some way. As azzazza says, I think you should look beyoned the orthodox organised religion and look at the connection between the spiritual understanding you describe and theasim, rather than taking the straw man version of religion as the subject you object to.

 

[L2R]

punktuality, you really have a narrow and somewhat distorted view on theism. those ideas you've mentioned a few times in this thread don't make any sense when taken literally. if you feel that atheism is the rejection of that literal interpretation, well then you can call me atheist too, along with a great majority of theists.


edit: what azzazza and rpm said. but just to reiterate

If GOD came down and looked me in the face and showed me the secrets of the universe of course I am going to change my mind,

It doesn't work like that. You need to change your mind first and THEN god will look you in the face and show you the secrets. The spirit does not come from without, it comes from within. it's the classic glass half empty/full question. you choose what you see. you are entirely responsible for the the way you perceive reality. stop waiting for something else to guide you. it simply won't happen because with your reluctance, you won't even notice those guides are all around you.

not all of us atheists are pushy bastards, and some have as much blind faith that there is no god as the most pious people out there. to me it just seems more plausible that there is no god and the universe is just one big coincidence

actually, i wish more atheists were like you. just because our conclusions differ doesn't mean that we do.

 

[punktuality]

I think most of the athiests at that confrence would have to disagree with you. They do not believe that people who experience god first know that god exits. Therefore they cannnot say that if they experience god first hand they would know that god exits. If such a thing where to happen to you you would have to say that you where mistaken in your experience in some way. As azzazza says, I think you should look beyoned the orthodox organised religion and look at the connection between the spiritual understanding you describe and theasim, rather than taking the straw man version of religion as the subject you object to.

Let me correct myself...

Should God come down to multiple people who could all verify the event and then provide incontrovertible proof that is testable and repeatable then of course I would change by beliefs.

Fixed.

 

[sponger]

The whole "There are no atheists in foxholes" thing is ridiculous and false.

I agree that it's ridiculous and false. I was merely pointing out the existence of the old expression for the sake of conversation.

But, those were great pictures. Thanks for posting them.

 

[college_dropout]

No that view woud an agnosticism. An athiest believes that god does not exist (ie. "I deffinatly know there isn't a god).

You've mixed the two up there. Atheism pertains to belief. Agnosticism pertains to knowledge. You can be an agnostic atheist, which is what most atheists are, including the god of the godless, the all powerful Richard Dawkins. I think I'd put myself in that category.

 

[Shakti]

Headline: Atheists Gather for Communion in Sydney

Lol.



LMAO! I clicked on the thread juuuuust to find this name.

Sorry, I don't have much more to say.

i hope that dick dawkins visits sydney, i'd sure love to debate the twat.

(But yeah, as soon as I saw Richard Dawkins in that list, I stopped reading.)

Oh, thank goodness other people realize how much of a small petty and blind individual dawkins is. The zealotry of some atheists is truly a testament to human ignorance of self.

 

[Portillo]

- The Australian Parliament still says compulsory prayer and the start of every sitting.

- Prime Minister Rudd has made multiple trips to the Vatican to talk with the pope about making Mary Mackilop a saint.

- Australia is one of the only countries left in the western world that still gives tax exempt status to 'profit making businesses' owned by religious organisations.

- Gays are not allowed to marry because Christian ideals influence policy.

Jah bless Australia.

 

[punktuality]

Oh, thank goodness other people realize how much of a small petty and blind individual Dawkins is. The zealotry of some atheists is truly a testament to human ignorance of self.

I really think the Dawkins hate is misplaced. I do understand that he can come across as somewhat arrogant however as I heard another person put on another forum "Just because you have a well thought out reasonable argument that makes your opponents argument look ridiculous by pointing out there is no basis for it whatsoever, that does not make you arrogant, simply right."

Besides his stance on religion he is also one of the worlds leading evolutionary biologists and is responsible for clarifying that the gene is the smallest driving unit of evolution as well as describing how altruistic behavior is compatible with the individually selfish force of evolution. Dawkins also coined the term "meme" which anyone on the internet would be familiar with, to describe how social systems can be effected by Darwinian evolution. His contribution to Science is enormous and if he comes across as angry and arrogant it is simply because small minded individuals have tried to undermine science and education by trying to teach 'intelligent design' as a Science in schools. If I had dedicated my life to furthering science as Dawkins has then I would be awfully pissed too!

 

[L2R]

^Dawkins' work on evolutionary biology is spectacular. I loved his books "the blind watchmaker" and "climbing mount improbable". But i do think that he is suffering from a severe case of selectively focusing on the trees instead of the forest. His area of speciality requires this perspective, and I see no problem with him having that point of view, but he's making a huge mistake by confusing that point of view as fact.

He really should stick to what he knows.

 

[punktuality]

Interesting to note that the Convention website was down yesterday due to a targeted DDOS attack on it and other affiliated sites.

Someone doesn't like us...

Oh well it only got more publicity for us anyways.

 

[L2R]

i hate that shit. everyone has a right to gather in common interest groups. the fuckers trying to jeoparsise this are saying more about their own insecurities than anything else.

 

[Sentience]

"There are NO atheists in fox holes" might be an exaggeration. I dont know of any credible statistics, but I do know that people who dont generally have any faith will try prayer when their life is in danger and they are afraid. I cant give you any hard scientific numbers, but it does happen.

 

[thujone]

"There are NO atheists in fox holes" might be an exaggeration. I dont know of any credible statistics, but I do know that people who dont generally have any faith will try prayer when their life is in danger and they are afraid. I cant give you any hard scientific numbers, but it does happen.

those people are called agnostics. by very nature, atheists would never waste an idle moment in prayer because they're certain god is bollocks and furthermore recognize the extreme unlikeliness that any potential god, however remote the possibility, would be anything like the representations they've been morphed into by the mainstream religions seeking more sheep willing to pay for a part in the congregation