The Atheist Bus

[abyssofdreams]

What makes an Atheist any better than a Christian, if he/she decides to show off an advertisement to redeem them self or be prideful of their belief? Why can't everyone just fuckin hold their beliefs to themselves and stop spitting fire down everyone's throats?! Sorry, but I feel that for the most part Atheist and Christians are both the most prideful people you come across. Extreme opposites always wanting to fight in arguments that go nowhere. Why would there to need to be more anti-religious campaigns if you can't buy into religious campaigns? They won't buy yours.. Guaranteed. Put a member of PETA and the NRA in the same room and watch them go. It looks like a bunch of immature babies who can't grow up and accept that people have different beliefs. That's what this battle looks like. BTW I'm Deist. (Go ahead waste your time an tell me why Deism is stupid :Smug Take Care!

It is people like you who motivate me and make me go out and a least try to show them a perspective that is much more uplifting and logical.

If you want to be ignorant, fine. I do not see why I should respect the view of people who do not seem to care for a better world. I feel offended by them. They're unnecessarily limiting themselves and don't want to use their brains, why would that be good? Certainly, it doesn't have to be bad in all cases but it is irrational and completely superfluous. Just like homeopathy and believing in supernatural powers. Agnostic atheism is the next logical step to raise our consciousness. Those who believe atheists are just trying to get their point across have no idea what they're talking about. Atheism is not a religion! So is evolution not a theory but a theory of the most accurate facts we have nowadays and it is refined on a daily basis.

Anybody who ignores that and disagrees with that I cannot respect intellectually. If you want to believe what you want believe, that's fine. But keep your mental disorder to yourself, atheists need to come forward and defend the sanity of the human mind.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Infecting the crypts....

 

[abyssofdreams]

Personally I don't see the need for this campaign. The reason being that I feel people should explore and analyse everything for themselves. This message here tries to bluntly state that it is pointless worrying about God, which, in my eyes, could lead to many careless and unstable people who would be influenced by this to turn to a more hedonistic approach to life. Instead of 'enlightening' people, this campaign will only serve to either cause a rancour amongst the religious communities, befuddle younger people who are still learning about religion further than they already are and turn psychotic individuals into more psychotic individuals.

Personally, I don't see the point. It is as if atheism is some kind of a fad. Will this turn it into the IN thing? In my opinion, a person must really process and come to a long drawn conclusion before he can pronounce himself an atheist (like I eventually did). There must be a concrete reason, even though at the end of the day it is quite easy to comprehend why such a conclusion has been drawn....(it's been discussed countless of times so you all know what I mean).

I read this quote somewhere by Ralph Waldo Emerson where he said, "Every Stoic was a Stoic but where in Christendom are the Christians?"

I believe that the same goes for true Atheists. Their minds have been made and they have stolidly stuck to their beliefs because they have been convinced and have further convinced themselves. I find that this campaign belittles the idea of thinking for yourself, which is exactly what every school or institution which enforces religion is doing and any religious group who advertises publicly. I shall bring Christians up because they have been used in this quote and I too have been brought up a Christian until I decided for myself in my early teen years. I feel that if you had to ask a Christian what makes them so, most of them will reply simply with what they have been fed and in truth do not practice its values. Yes, I see it all around me.

Why resort to the same means if those means are deplorable? Next thing you know you've got twelve year old kids on every street corner doing all the shit they feel like because they "know" there is no god. Why? you may ask them; because they saw it on the side of a bus.

very good post. I agree, this campaign could be interpreted somewhat misguiding. it should make you think. it should not simply claim that there is something or there is nothing. then again, if it could grab your attention and you are interested in digging deeper it served a good purpose. people who take that statement and blatantly accept it are stupid anyways, it won't make things worse just because some groups might consider it hip and trendy but it certainly can be a motivator for people to open their eyes and try to get a piece of clarity into the big picture.

 

[_Brutalism_]

Touche Abyss. Being there as something which could open your eyes and delve further into the debate is probably the prime aim of the advert. I was too convinced on its possible negative outcomes to look at the purer purpose of it.

 

[dan weapon]

Why resort to the same means if those means are deplorable? Next thing you know you've got twelve year old kids on every street corner doing all the shit they feel like because they know there is no god. Why? you may ask them; because they saw it on the side of a bus.

I completely disagree with that last point I'm afraid. 12 year old kids are far more likely to be raping and stabbing each other whilst injecting smack into their eyes if they have been brought up in an unstable environment, or for any of the other billions of reasons or variables as to which why people may end up living a hedonistic, morally indecent or selfish lifestyle.

Good morals and values are largely ingrained through environment and situational context (and even through genetics) rather than because adverts suggest that there is a high probability that god doesn’t exist or such like.
It’s like playing violent computer games or watching violent films or listening to Cannibal corpse; in some cases kids utilise those mediums to influence or justify sick acts, but if the computer games/films/music weren’t there to be a catalyst, then there’s a massive chance that something else would inspire them to do so anyway.

Furthermore if children are being brought up to be religious and being indoctrined week in week out, then they are hardly likely to change their mind on the back of a bus advert…


HOWEVER...
I do agree with you that people should think for themselves on the matter… but exactly the same should apply to those of a religious nature. Seriously, how many of them have actually sat down and thought to themselves; “well, I have absolutely no experience of the good lord whatsoever and I’m pretty sure dinosaurs existed… it appears all evidence overwhelmingly points to there being no god. HOWEVER, I like to believe in the idea of God either because; 1) it’s nice to have faith in something, 2) I can’t explain certain things logically, 3) because I was brought up this way and told it is because it is and I don’t need proof.”

A few thousand years ago humans couldn’t explain the sun or the rain. So they attributed it to God(s). We now know how retarded that is because of what scientific evidence and fact tells us about weather. Believing in God because you just can't explain something is no different to the above.

As negative as all that sounds, I’m actually still open to the idea of there being a massively powerful entity of sorts, purely because there is so much shit that the finest minds on the planet can’t explain, never mind me trying to comprehend it for myself.

However, let’s assume there is a “god” - I highly doubt he wants you to kneel and praise him/pray to him once a day/week, or whenever you are in a time of need. If he does actually listen to prayers he sure as hell (interesting turn of phrase there&#8230 answers them selectively. There is so much messed up stuff in the world that he either, a) left this place a long time ago, or b) is clearly NOT a benevolent god. In which case, praising him purely so you don’t burn in hell is akin to painting a swastika on your forehead so that Hitler doesn’t send you for an early shower.

FUCK ME. I just compared God to Hitler. But then again, if god didn’t actually want millions of people to beat the shit out of each simply for differing religious opinions, all he’d have to do is pop his head up and say “Hey guys, it’s me – God. Fancy stopping the wars and all that? I DO exist, I DID create everything, the Muslims and them are all wrong. Sorry about Avenged Sevenfold and Africa.”

Which leads me to my final point. There are many major religions. They can’t all exist. Therefore 95% of them are bullshit. Seems a little arrogant for each religion to assume only theirs is correct…

 

[SocialNumb]

Yes! The bus started yet another religious thread. I think we are gonna need another sub forum.

"Why God Sucks" or something.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Dudes....

This has turned into the AndySneap/Godmayormaynotexist Ultimate Metal Forum.

WHERE IS THE ORDER!!!!

 

[Felix Neumann]

However, let’s assume there is a “god” - I highly doubt he wants you to kneel and praise him/pray to him once a day/week, or whenever you are in a time of need. If he does actually listen to prayers he sure as hell (interesting turn of phrase there&#8230 answers them selectively. There is so much messed up stuff in the world that he either, a) left this place a long time ago, or b) is clearly NOT a benevolent god. In which case, praising him purely so you don’t burn in hell is akin to painting a swastika on your forehead so that Hitler doesn’t send you for an early shower.

FUCK ME. I just compared God to Hitler. But then again, if god didn’t actually want millions of people to beat the shit out of each simply for differing religious opinions, all he’d have to do is pop his head up and say “Hey guys, it’s me – God. Fancy stopping the wars and all that? I DO exist, I DID create everything, the Muslims and them are all wrong. Sorry about Avenged Sevenfold and Africa.”

Which leads me to my final point. There are many major religions. They can’t all exist. Therefore 95% of them are bullshit. Seems a little arrogant for each religion to assume only theirs is correct…

One of the best posts ever. I agree 100% with that.

 

[abyssofdreams]

As negative as all that sounds, I’m actually still open to the idea of there being a massively powerful entity of sorts, purely because there is so much shit that the finest minds on the planet can’t explain, never mind me trying to comprehend it for myself

That sounds interesting. You seem to know of something that I don't know of.
Care to share some examples? What is there that we cannot explain that could be addressed to those powerful entities, hypothetically speaking?

 

[abyssofdreams]

And Dan, I agree mostly with your post but I really hope you didn't mean paranormally labeled stuff because then I couldn't take you serious anymore

some crop circles might be unexplained, some natural phenoma might be unexplained. but the source being some über-powerful entities? come on...
I'm not saying that it is impossible but I have to refer to Russell's teapot analogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot

 

[dan weapon]

That sounds interesting. You seem to know of something that I don't know of.
Care to share some examples? What is there that we cannot explain that could be addressed to those powerful entities, hypothetically speaking?

Dude... there is loads we don't know and can't explain. Take possibly the most obvious candidate: the universe. It either; a) existed for infinity and will likely continue to do so, or b) became physical matter at a given point in "time", which means that before that event it was "nothing". Yet absolute "nothing" is impossible to fully comprehend. As far as the human mind is concerned, nothing is still something. And for something to magically appear out of nowhere seems ridiculous.

I'm very much into the idea of atoms, particles and energy evolving into what we can now see and understand. But even if the universe was originally just a single particle, then what created that particle? If a "god/entity" created it, then how did that god come to "exist"?

All I'm trying to say is; as much as I don't really believe in there being an all encompassing super being that created the universe - I don't feel I am qualified enough to COMPLETELY rule it out, on acounts of not having the evidence to do so. As much as I don't believe there to be a "god", to categorically state that there definitely isn't one is not that different from Christians saying that there definitely is one.

 

[Felix Neumann]

@abyss

There are certainly unanswered questions in the world. For example I don´t know, why I dream some shit..haha. I´m not a friend of parapsycho shit, but do you think, there will be a time in the future, where all questions are answered? As long this is not fact, some people will believe in higher power or "something between earth and heaven". I love Science. But I would not be a good scientist, so I better let you guys discuss this things

 

[Executioner213]

There is a billboard between my town and the next one over with a kid pointing a gun towards your general direction (as if it was towards you), and says "If god doesn't matter to him, do you?". It works on the same level as the pic in the first post: there shouldn't be ANY advertisement towards ANY belief structure and you should have the freedom to decide for yourself what religious beliefs are going to be your own.

 

[dan weapon]

And Dan, I agree mostly with your post but I really hope you didn't mean paranormally labeled stuff because then I couldn't take you serious anymore

some crop circles might be unexplained, some natural phenoma might be unexplained. but the source being some über-powerful entities? come on...
I'm not saying that it is impossible but I have to refer to Russell's teapot analogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot

haha.

No, maybe didn't explain myself clearly enough... I love the analogies such as there being a teapot, pink invisible unicorn, flying spaghetti monster etc etc. They perfectly sum up my opinion on religion and the paranormal.

But I like to base my opinions and judgement on logic and fact, and the unfortunate fact is... we don't know all the facts! But we're getting closer to knowing some of them. Think of what we know now compared to say even 100 years ago. Now think we what we will know in 1000 years time. I don't know if universal knowledge will increase exponentially, or whether it will suddenly hit a plateau where we can learn nothing new.

But I'd love to find out.

 

[abyssofdreams]

Dude... there is loads we don't know and can't explain. Take possibly the most obvious candidate: the universe. It either; a) existed for infinity and will likely continue to do so, or b) became physical matter at a given point in "time", which means that before that event it was "nothing". Yet absolute "nothing" is impossible to fully comprehend. As far as the human mind is concerned, nothing is still something. And for something to magically appear out of nowhere seems ridiculous.

I'm very much into the idea of atoms, particles and energy evolving into what we can now see and understand. But even if the universe was originally just a single particle, then what created that particle? If a "god/entity" created it, then how did that god come to "exist"?

All I'm trying to say is; as much as I don't really believe in there being an all encompassing super being that created the universe - I don't feel I am qualified enough to COMPLETELY rule it out, on acounts of not having the evidence to do so. As much as I don't believe there to be a "god", to categorically state that there definitely isn't one is not that different from Christians saying that there definitely is one.

Absolutely correct, I didn't say that there is not a lot we don't understand yet, all I'm saying is that it is somewhat weird to think that something more powerful could play a role here. Think about people 100 years back. They had more stuff that they couldn't explain themselves, hell they couldn't even imagine that we could ever fly and claimed it would be impossible. We sure can understand it nowadays. And we have more and more answers each day, also according to the universe. Just because our mind isn't able to comprehend or visualize certain things doesn't mean we cannot explain them, e.g. take the 4th dimension and tesseracts. There's a good Carl Sagan snippet on Youtube explaining this, look it up, it is very entertaining.

People use the supernatural as an excuse because they don't know better. We all don't know better as of yet. But there is no evidence for any god or higher entities so I don't take that into account, I exclude it because it is not researchable also. You cannot search for god scientifically.

 

[abyssofdreams]

@abyss

There are certainly unanswered questions in the world. For example I don´t know, why I dream some shit..haha. I´m not a friend of parapsycho shit, but do you think, there will be a time in the future, where all questions are answered? As long this is not fact, some people will believe in higher power or "something between earth and heaven". I love Science. But I would not be a good scientist, so I better let you guys discuss this things

Dreams are still being researched, I would have to look it up, I'm not up-to-date there but I'm sure it is nothing paranormal also.

And it doesn't matter, if there will be a time when everything will be answered, that's not really the point. I myself am angry because of the stupidity that has too much power in this world and these people simply take too much for granted and do not progress. And religion and such helps these people to make them believe they have a right to do this and that, often with really bad results that have global impact.
Religion also thwarts science in many ways which is basically the worst part. Just because we don't understand things... should we stop looking for answers?

 

[abyssofdreams]

"To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy."
David Brooks

 

[SocialNumb]

A challenger appears.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2008/11/calling_islam_launches_bus_ads.php

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I don't see the difference between that bus and a sign that says "Jesus love you".

They both have a shitty agenda that makes me go "go fuck off".

 

[abyssofdreams]

But even if the universe was originally just a single particle, then what created that particle? If a "god/entity" created it, then how did that god come to "exist"?

That's part of the dilemma. And I'd say it is the limited thinking we are forced to be slaves of. The brain is still evolving. What you describe is linear thinking. There must be a start, there must be an end...that's the limit of the comprehension, however I can give you an example of infinity.

Take mathematics. You draw a line and make a point on that line, you define it by giving it a number. You can divide that number further down, take this number and divide it further down... you get the picture. You can keep doing this into infinity. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So take that analogy and look at the universe. It never started to be, it was always there and it will never end to be.

Yes, that is mind-blowing but it is logical.