Debate Are religious people somehow weaker than atheistic people?

[Cloud7]

No religious people, if anything, might have more fortitude due to their conviction and faith. But they may place praise and blame and causation where its not really accurate to place it.
For example, the doctor saves blind child with cancer. Praises jesus for it. And will attribute it to jesus or god even though we dont really know if that is the case. All we can be thankful for is that the child did better. And may lead to weird conclusions such as faith healing which doesnt really work.

Atheist people will be usually more doubtful.

Although this is more actually depending on personal characteristics.

 

[real expert]

Many people are atheists because of their upbringing or education, or because they simply adopted the beliefs of the culture in which they grew up. As a result, there isn't always a logical explanation or a rational reason for why people are or become atheists. Furthermore, a lot of atheists are under the illusion that they are "strong" because they have it all figured out and don't need "God"—thus, they are very cocky and have a condescending, if not rude, attitude toward other people who believe in God. For most of human history, being religious was the norm, and people who made a difference believed in God or in a higher being. In any case, many people are or become atheists for a variety of reasons, including disappointment and suffering, feeling restricted or excluded, unanswered prayers, being exposed to anti-religious content or biblical criticism, and so on. And then there are countless religious people who struggle with doubts and lack of faith. Others are not truly grounded and secure in their faith, whereas others have a firm belief because they have put it to the test. The bottom line is that in our very advanced, postmodern world with postmodern relativism, it takes a lot of strength to still believe in God. It is then a decision to believe, not just a feeling or a need, or simply a part of your culture and identity. In my opinion, the claim that religious people are weak-minded is an atheist trope. Moreover, many atheists are completely unaware of the many ideas in which they blindly believe. Just because you don't believe in supernatural things doesn't mean that you have a critical mind that always engages in rational and logical reasoning.

 

[amandarogers]

It's hard to say, but I think no. Weakness is not about religion, it's about personality.
I don't think that religion can make you stronger, it's like a placebo

 

[Tautalus]

Was an atheist capable of blowing himself up for his faith? I do not think so.
There are religious people who do it because they believe they will go straight to paradise.

The kamikaze pilots of World War II sacrificed themselves in the belief that they would be reborn in another life.
As bad as that is, we have to recognize that strength is needed for that.

Religion is capable of leading a person to commit acts that a non-believer would not commit.

Adopting an atheist position is not synonymous with strength. It depends on the person's personality.
There are strong and weak religious people and strong and weak atheists.

But in the limit the two positions are somewhat similar, in the first line I spoke of the faith of the atheist, and both, religious people and atheists, are people of faith, even if that faith is in the antipodes.

Both belief and disbelief in God are a matter of faith.
An atheist is a person of faith, like a Christian, because the existence or non-existence of God will never be proven, so believing or not will always be a matter of faith.

The most rational position about the subject is the agnostic position which says that it is impossible to obtain knowledge about God, because whether he is fantasy or reality, he is beyond the objective reality that we can know.
This may or may not be a position of strength, but it is certainly a position of good sense.

 

[firetown]

Atheism in itself is a religion as well. There is no proof that there is not a higher being. It is not based on science and does require faith to commit to.

 

[Tamakore]

Both belief and disbelief in God are a matter of faith.
An atheist is a person of faith, like a Christian, because the existence or non-existence of God will never be proven, so believing or not will always be a matter of faith.

The most rational position about the subject is the agnostic position which says that it is impossible to obtain knowledge about God, because whether he is fantasy or reality, he is beyond the objective reality that we can know.
This may or may not be a position of strength, but it is certainly a position of good sense.

Is belief and disbelief in Satan also a matter of faith? His existence or non-existence will also never be proven.

Must we also take the agnostic position on any fantasy that is beyond objective reality? Sprites, ghouls, demons, imps, fairies, spooks and spirits? There are thousands of fantasies out there, both new and traditional.

An atheist doesn't have to have faith in anything, or to express an opinion about other people's beliefs. By definition, he or she simply lacks faith in God or gods and is prepared to say so. A lack of faith is not the same as being certain that gods don't exist. Some atheists may express that certainty, but most atheists just don't want to waste time thinking about implausible things for which there is no evidence.

Good scientists also don't have faith in anything. They accept that even their most cherished theories, the ones that are best supported by the evidence to date, may one day be overturned by new evidence. Even some existing evidence may later be exposed as flawed or fraudulent. The scientific approach should be to regard all evidence based "truths" as probabilistic and provisional, subject to revision. Science is the road to objective reality, but we're not there yet, and may never be.

 

[TwinkleToes7]

Probably not. Their blind faith will take them either far or will lead them continuously in a delusion.

 

[Tautalus]

Is belief and disbelief in Satan also a matter of faith? His existence or non-existence will also never be proven.

Must we also take the agnostic position on any fantasy that is beyond objective reality? Sprites, ghouls, demons, imps, fairies, spooks and spirits? There are thousands of fantasies out there, both new and traditional.

An atheist doesn't have to have faith in anything, or to express an opinion about other people's beliefs. By definition, he or she simply lacks faith in God or gods and is prepared to say so. A lack of faith is not the same as being certain that gods don't exist. Some atheists may express that certainty, but most atheists just don't want to waste time thinking about implausible things for which there is no evidence.

Good scientists also don't have faith in anything. They accept that even their most cherished theories, the ones that are best supported by the evidence to date, may one day be overturned by new evidence. Even some existing evidence may later be exposed as flawed or fraudulent. The scientific approach should be to regard all evidence based "truths" as probabilistic and provisional, subject to revision. Science is the road to objective reality, but we're not there yet, and may never be.

“Atheist comes from the Greek atheos, which is built from the roots a- (“without”) and theos (“a god”). Atheism is the doctrine or belief that there is no God.”
“An atheist is one who denies the existence of a personal, transcendent creator of the universe, rather than one who simply lives his life without reference to such a being”.
“In philosophy, the atheist is not just someone who doesn’t accept theism, but more strongly someone who opposes it.” In other words, it is “the denial of theism, the claim that there is no God”.

Atheism in not simply the lack of faith in God, is the positive denial of God existence.

https://www.britannica.com/summary/atheism

Belief in God typically falls within the realm of religion and spirituality. Belief in these other entities is generally associated with folklore, mythology, fairy tales. Is not typically connected to religious or spiritual frameworks, but rather seen as part of folklore and imagination, although belief in demons and spirits can also exist in a religious context.

The greatest philosopher of the XX century, Ludwig Wittgenstein , said that the world is the totality of facts and language the totality of propositions (words, signs, sounds) that signify such facts. Thus, language is the logical figuration of the world. A proposition has meaning if it expresses the possibility of a fact. A fact is expressible in language, which makes language valid, that is, endowed with meaning, the language itself, guaranteeing its agreement with the world.

The existence or non-existence of God cannot be definitively established through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Thus, beliefs about God would be considered matters of faith or personal conviction. The question of God's existence is not a meaningful one that can be settled through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Metaphysical propositions are nonsensical because they go beyond what can be meaningfully expressed. These propositions are attempts to express the inexpressible and fall outside the realm of meaningful discourse.

Scientific propositions are different, they correspond to a version of reality. And they are genuine because they represent facts about the world. A scientific theory is an instrument that allows a better or worse understanding and manipulation of nature, of reality, of objects, depending on their correspondence with the facts. And they are constantly evolving because our knowledge of the facts is always evolving.

 

[torzio]

“Atheist comes from the Greek atheos, which is built from the roots a- (“without”) and theos (“a god”). Atheism is the doctrine or belief that there is no God.”
“An atheist is one who denies the existence of a personal, transcendent creator of the universe, rather than one who simply lives his life without reference to such a being”.
“In philosophy, the atheist is not just someone who doesn’t accept theism, but more strongly someone who opposes it.” In other words, it is “the denial of theism, the claim that there is no God”.

Atheism in not simply the lack of faith in God, is the positive denial of God existence.

https://www.britannica.com/summary/atheism

Belief in God typically falls within the realm of religion and spirituality. Belief in these other entities is generally associated with folklore, mythology, fairy tales. Is not typically connected to religious or spiritual frameworks, but rather seen as part of folklore and imagination, although belief in demons and spirits can also exist in a religious context.

The greatest philosopher of the XX century, Ludwig Wittgenstein , said that the world is the totality of facts and language the totality of propositions (words, signs, sounds) that signify such facts. Thus, language is the logical figuration of the world. A proposition has meaning if it expresses the possibility of a fact. A fact is expressible in language, which makes language valid, that is, endowed with meaning, the language itself, guaranteeing its agreement with the world.

The existence or non-existence of God cannot be definitively established through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Thus, beliefs about God would be considered matters of faith or personal conviction. The question of God's existence is not a meaningful one that can be settled through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Metaphysical propositions are nonsensical because they go beyond what can be meaningfully expressed. These propositions are attempts to express the inexpressible and fall outside the realm of meaningful discourse.

Scientific propositions are different, they correspond to a version of reality. And they are genuine because they represent facts about the world. A scientific theory is an instrument that allows a better or worse understanding and manipulation of nature, of reality, of objects, depending on their correspondence with the facts. And they are constantly evolving because our knowledge of the facts is always evolving.

one can believe in God, but not believe in religious institutions ..............these people will not pray to false Gods ( religious institutions ) ...........this belief in Australia is noted and under the term of no-religion in the peoples census ( every 10 years )

 

[Tamakore]

“Atheist comes from the Greek atheos, which is built from the roots a- (“without”) and theos (“a god”). Atheism is the doctrine or belief that there is no God.”
“An atheist is one who denies the existence of a personal, transcendent creator of the universe, rather than one who simply lives his life without reference to such a being”.
“In philosophy, the atheist is not just someone who doesn’t accept theism, but more strongly someone who opposes it.” In other words, it is “the denial of theism, the claim that there is no God”.

Atheism in not simply the lack of faith in God, is the positive denial of God existence.

https://www.britannica.com/summary/atheism

Belief in God typically falls within the realm of religion and spirituality. Belief in these other entities is generally associated with folklore, mythology, fairy tales. Is not typically connected to religious or spiritual frameworks, but rather seen as part of folklore and imagination, although belief in demons and spirits can also exist in a religious context.

The greatest philosopher of the XX century, Ludwig Wittgenstein , said that the world is the totality of facts and language the totality of propositions (words, signs, sounds) that signify such facts. Thus, language is the logical figuration of the world. A proposition has meaning if it expresses the possibility of a fact. A fact is expressible in language, which makes language valid, that is, endowed with meaning, the language itself, guaranteeing its agreement with the world.

The existence or non-existence of God cannot be definitively established through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Thus, beliefs about God would be considered matters of faith or personal conviction. The question of God's existence is not a meaningful one that can be settled through empirical evidence or logical analysis.
Metaphysical propositions are nonsensical because they go beyond what can be meaningfully expressed. These propositions are attempts to express the inexpressible and fall outside the realm of meaningful discourse.

Scientific propositions are different, they correspond to a version of reality. And they are genuine because they represent facts about the world. A scientific theory is an instrument that allows a better or worse understanding and manipulation of nature, of reality, of objects, depending on their correspondence with the facts. And they are constantly evolving because our knowledge of the facts is always evolving.

As you noted, the Greek root a- simply means "without". Just as atonal music means music without tonality, atheism means "without theism". I agree that Ludwig Wittgenstein was a great philosopher. One of his best known maxims was that "the meaning of a word is its use in the language". How is the word atheist used by the majority of people who use it (including the majority of atheists)? I contend it is usually used in the broad way that corresponds to the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition: "atheist - a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or gods: one who subscribes to or advocates atheism". Note that advocating atheism under this definition merely means trying to persuade others to share their disbelief in gods. The Penguin dictionary definition of atheism is short and sweet: "disbelief in the existence of a God".

Some definitions describe different varieties of atheism, such as positive atheism and negative atheism, or soft atheism and hard atheism. The only thing these different forms of atheism have in common is that they are all non-theist (which is an alternative synonym for atheist). They all share a lack of faith in God.

Belief in Satan surely falls within the realm of religion and spirituality. He is a significant figure in both the Bible and the Koran as God's evil twin. To be consistent, shouldn't an agnostic say that the existence of Satan, like God, can be neither proven nor disproven?

 

[Tautalus]

one can believe in God, but not believe in religious institutions ..............these people will not pray to false Gods ( religious institutions ) ...........this belief in Australia is noted and under the term of no-religion in the peoples census ( every 10 years )

“One can believe in God, but not believe in religious institutions”. That is true, that's why I talk about religions and spirituality. Spirituality can be expressed outside a religious framework or outside a religious experience.

As you noted, the Greek root a- simply means "without". Just as atonal music means music without tonality, atheism means "without theism". I agree that Ludwig Wittgenstein was a great philosopher. One of his best known maxims was that "the meaning of a word is its use in the language". How is the word atheist used by the majority of people who use it (including the majority of atheists)? I contend it is usually used in the broad way that corresponds to the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition: "atheist - a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or gods: one who subscribes to or advocates atheism". Note that advocating atheism under this definition merely means trying to persuade others to share their disbelief in gods. The Penguin dictionary definition of atheism is short and sweet: "disbelief in the existence of a God".

Some definitions describe different varieties of atheism, such as positive atheism and negative atheism, or soft atheism and hard atheism. The only thing these different forms of atheism have in common is that they are all non-theist (which is an alternative synonym for atheist). They all share a lack of faith in God.

Belief in Satan surely falls within the realm of religion and spirituality. He is a significant figure in both the Bible and the Koran as God's evil twin. To be consistent, shouldn't an agnostic say that the existence of Satan, like God, can be neither proven nor disproven?

According to Merriam-Webster disbelief is the act or state of disbelieving: mental rejection of something as untrue. Fundamentally it implies a belief, that something is untrue.
So the lack of faith is not merely a negative or passive thing. It implies a positive belief, that this faith is false.

As I said before, beliefs in metaphysical propositions (God exists | God does not exist) , whether positive or negative, are groundless, meaningless.

An agnostic neither affirms nor denies the existence of God. He has no faith, nor lack of faith. He does not claim that it is true or not true. He says that any claim about God is without proof and essentially meaningless.

Neither the Bible nor the Koran places Satan on the same level as God. Satan is not divine, but a fallen angel in Christian culture.
However, there are religions, such as Zoroastrianism, which represent the supreme principles of good and evil by the twin brothers Ahura Mazda, who is the God of good, and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), who is the God of evil. So, to maintain the consistency of the argument, yes, its existence or non-existence cannot be proved. As with the question of God, affirming or denying him is essentially meaningless.

We may disagree on theories, but we are, I think, in agreement in practice. I mean, one needs to live a full life without worrying about these issues.

 

[Tamakore]

We may disagree on theories, but we are, I think, in agreement in practice. I mean, one needs to live a full life without worrying about these issues.

Yes, I also think we are in agreement in practice. Neither an agnostic nor an atheist would say "I have faith in God" or "I believe in God", but for different reasons. For agnostics, the statements are meaningless, so would not be said. Atheists would not make those statements because they have no faith in God and no belief in God.

I struggle to see the difference between having no faith in something and lacking faith in something, but that may be a semantic quibble.

The only worry I have about these issues is when people who think that God is on their side use their faith in God as justification for their political activities, particularly violent activities. As Bob Dylan sang "If God's on our side He'll stop the next war" ("With God on Our Side", 1963).

 

[TaktikatEMalet]

Yes atheists are superior. If you want to follow strict rules do something useful like become vegetarian or vegan, religions have nothing to do with god