Do you want to report "I am a proud jamaican and an atheist ... I have not met may Athesit in Jamaica .... I'm just curious what are your god beliefs?"
They exist. I’m gay, atheist and I love philosophy.
I don’t subscribe to pseudoscience or anything superstitious.I know couple atheist, they’re common with people in the science field and people who like and study philosophy but still not enough.
I’ve grown to dislike religion so much because I see it as a big scam, really inconsistent and not needed anymore in our modern times. Especially Abrahamic religions, they’re the worst.
I really believe as black people especially, we should really rid ourselves of that colonial indoctrination.
Edit: I’m into various schools in philosophy. I’m an existential nihilist, I like the school of stoicism and cynicism to some extent. I’m into science as well.
>I really believe as black people especially, we should really rid ourselves of that colonial indoctrination.
Couldn’t agree more, they used the Bible and Christianity as a whole to justify slavery and colonialism. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs but it’s strange how as black people we just lapped up these concepts that were used as a cudgel against us for so long.
>they used the Bible and Christianity as a whole to justify slavery and colonialism
Literally had someone told me this and I was shocked when I asked them about slavery… This is a good video for black Christians:
Everyone can believe what they want is something I can’t say I agree with … Like what if you believe that white are superior to blacks and that blacks should be slaves…. Is that something that we should just be ok with?
Or what if someone believes that they can fly and want to jump off a building … Should we just allow them to jump?
I’m generally of the school of thought that you can believe what you want as long as it isn’t causing harm.Belief is something that guides our actions so we do need to pay keen attention to them.
Beliefs aren’t something you choose. I’m an atheist, not because I’m choosing to not believe, but because I don’t believe. My car is an atheist, he also doesn’t believe in a god.
We should allow someone to believe whites are better than blacks, or blacks are better than whites, or cars are better than motorcycles. It’s the actions someone takes that we should act on. If a racist harms someone or treats them differently, that crime should be addressed. If it’s not a crime but someone is acting racist, we should call them out. If someone in a car intentionally runs into someone on a motorcycle, that’s the action that we punish - not the thought that cars are better.
You can choose your beliefs…. Everything you do is a choice.Your cat being an atheist is something we could never confirm as we can’t get your cats opinion… We don’t know if you cat has a god belief or even if it is capable of forming a god belief.
When it comes to race .. yes people do choose to be racist, people choose to ignore the facts about race issues and stick what what makes them feel comfortable… So yes it is a choice …
My stand point is if your choice is causing harm to people we should ensure that you are aware of that and give you the opportunity to change…. If you don’t change then you should be held accountable for your choice.
Your thoughts inform your actions so if you think blacks are better than whites you are more likely to be prejudice towards whites and even hurt them… It’s better to ensure that everyone is aware of how their actions/thoughts can lead to harm….
It seems like you are going more into the morality of a person’s actions.. which is a different topic.
No I’m saying you don’t choose what you believe. Someone can choose to associate himself with books, people, churches, or activities that influence their beliefs, but those beliefs themselves are inherent. If you can choose your belief, surely you could choose to believe you’re actually cold when you go outside in the sun, right?
If someone has never heard of the Christian god, they don’t believe he’s not real - but they don’t believe in him. It’s not a choice, it’s the absence of the belief.
You also reinforced my point - hold people accountable for their ACTIONS that harm others, not the beliefs themselves.
You said people can choose to ignore facts. Yes, this is true. But they can’t choose how the lack of facts make them feel. You’re agreeing with me.
How you feel about it is not what you believe.. that’s the distinction I am trying to make.You can choose what you believe…. You can’t choose how you feel but you do have control over what you believe.
But yes generally I do agree with you.
Actually yes I can choose to believe that color is called blue.
If my whole life I was told that color is blue .. then it’s blue, and it would take a whole lot for you or anyone to change that.
I could also say that to you it is red but to me it is blue … I call it blue.
The color we call red isn’t “red” … Red itself is a concept.
Using the same logic a theist can insist that you believe that there is a God but are just saying you don’t.
The issue we are facing is the issue of objective truth (Truth) … It doesn’t exist.
That would be interesting. It really depends on the atheist. As normal people, they have various beliefs and all that XD
So a bag a people with just atheism as their commonalty.
Some really just float around and are nonchalant.
If you’re planning to make it, I can join.
Yeah .. it would be more about community building than anything else … A place where we can promote positive Atheism …. A place where we can reinforce that being godless doesn’t mean you are evil, your actions do.
But mainly a place for Athesit to interact without fear of being judged or put down…. I’ll post the link in a few
Yeah, it really can spiral into an endless loop. I have a spiral block though. I’m in a philosophy society and we discussed this. Following what life set out to do from the first single cell organism. To live and set up for the next generation.
Life is beautiful, so many things to do, so many creatures to be kind to, so many things to enjoy in such little time.
That’s why I think people in general should express their ultraism.
Let’s see how I do after taking shrooms though :P
Well good luck on your shrooms journey lmao.
I agree with you on the “life is beautiful” thing. Meanwhile, at the same time, life itself, is a nihilistic existence in and of itself. After mulling through, rather candidly, to myself after morning prayers, I find it odd as creatures that we rely on the existence of a higher power in the first place.
It seems we were built to surround ourselves around it. At the end of the day, the question of “Why did God make us this way?” (which I also ask myself “Why are we made this way?” when thinking in an atheistic point of view) is paramount to understanding.
I think whichever path, in my opinion, is more valid is based on which of two paths, theistically or atheistically, affects us objectively more than the other.
Oh I see. Since I was young, I was really skeptic about Christianity and the idea of God. I knew from a young age that no god affected the outcomes of anything. Things just happen. Then couple years later, although I was religious at some point, I really didn’t feel the need for a higher being. Especially since liberating myself from theism, I really don’t feel the need for any higher being whatsoever.
I just love my fellow earthlings and try to protect them. So being good to good humans, advocating for the ecosystem.
Otherwise, I know that I’m just a mortal human that will die eventually, whether tragically or peacefully, I’m in a small island country on a very small planet that’s on the quiet side of a galaxy that’s within a cluster of other galaxies in an infinity sized universe. Having that alone in my mind is very humbling.
I know that I matter and I really don’t matter at all at the same time. I’ve accepted mortality and I know the default of the universe is chaos.
Check out this video about why humans tend to need religion:https://youtu.be/ge071m9bGeY
I understand all of that and share the same sentiments to a degree. This would need a more in depth conversation. If you are willing, we can swap social media or contact via DM so we can talk more about this more.
… interesting… I’d like to speak with these people … I really want to know how many Atheist are in Jamaica … My experience says not many …. But we do have a larger amount of people who are upset with the church….. Let me know if you are interested.
If you’ve ever met more than one person in Jamaica you’ve met an atheist. People don’t have to go around yelling there is no god to be an atheist… only here in the “1st world” or at least on reddit do people make atheism seem like a belief system itself. Atheism is lack of belief, it’s void, it’s apathy. It should be unnoticeable. I know all the Jamaicans you’ve met aren’t either hailing Christ or Selassie
I’d argue that the majority of people I have met are not affiliated with a church which doesn’t mean they are an Athesit. People will quickly tell you that they are a christian why is it weird if someone clearly says they don’t believe in any Gods?
The truth is that there is alot of stigma attached to lack of belief, I for one just want to let Atheist know that they are not alone and that they can be proud of not believing in any Gods.
I personally didn’t tell people I was an Athesit, I also can’t tell you the times that I have been asked which church I go to or got told I look like a nice christian boy … As if being a good person is synonymous with believing in god …
You don’t operate your life on 100% certainty. So I don’t simply hedge my bet on that … I hedge my bet on the fact that if there was a god and that God wanted us to know about it then it would have the responsibility to let us know …. If we are talking about the Christian god then it has the power to give me the answers I seek….. To be honest agnostic is simply about knowledge… As in do you have the knowledge of the existence of god or can you get the knowledge of the existence of god.So are you an agnostic theist? … Meaning you think there is a god but you are sure about how to show/find the evidence/gain the knowledge of/for a god.. or are you an agnostic athesit …. Meaning you don’t think there is a god but if provided with the knowledge of/evidence for a god you would change your mind?
Perhaps Agnostic is too vague a description.. I am merely “skeptical” of established religion, and I remain in denial of the need to prove or disprove anything either way, but when I contemplate on life itself, I struggle to answer all of the WHYs’:
This all leads me personally to believe there is a “design”, or “mind”, as from my human understanding -
If I designed life, I would design it such that it were adaptable; In this sense it could take on millions of different forms, but I would still be the designer of life itself;
Think about artificial intelligence, and learning algorithms.
I define “design” as something which is created with purpose, intent, reason;
Though I’m not sure that there is proof of god, I am also not sure that there isn’t already proof of god either; Existence itself could be overwhelming proof of god also, in which case we may already have all the knowledge we need.
If I were compelled to logically prove one or the other, I’d be biased towards proving mindful creation, because I am a mindful creator. And because I’m not sure where to start with how to prove that the universe was not created. So maybe I’m just a full-blown closet theist. lol
We can not confirm purpose or intent …. AI isn’t alive …Honestly it sounds as if you are a theist with doubts …. So you are at most an agnostic theist … There are alot of ifs there and to me honestly there shouldn’t be if there is a god that actually cares and wants us to know about it then it would ensure we have the answers … This would seem trivial to it ……..
You might actually be a deist.
-we can’t answer this until we know if something is created?
We do have a purpose… But we are the ones who define what that purpose is.
I like this question… To me life is when a being “respires”/multiplies… ( I think viruses are alive). Consciousness is the label we use to describe our brains ability to recognize patterns.
time started with the big bang so I’d say I doubt it … I don’t get why is it … What do you mean why is it?
there can never be nothing …. If we are able to describe it then it’s something …
How did you get to creation is due to cause? ….
So I haven’t been back to Jamaica since I came to the states at 12 (I’m now 37). But what I remember about my upbringing in regards to religion is how committed the Christians in church were. I remember going to church on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Although I am not super religious, that consistency in religion from my childhood has influenced my beliefs as an adult. Church and is familiar to me. Maybe I am still viewing religion from a little girl’s perspective. But I remember there seemed to be more people who go to church on Sundays than those who do not. And if you are raised in church the way I was it’s as familiar as smelling curry as an adult . Hope that makes sense
I’m a yankee boy of the diaspora. I’m bi and in limbo between Islam and Agnosticism. There is much more to us than commonalities. It is very hard to find a Jamaican who understands or even appreciates Islam. Many are hard bent on Christianity and defending it even when it doesn’t need to be.
As for my beliefs, I am friendly towards all walks of faith including those without. Some of us know more than others, and are more aware than others, and are more conscious than others.
I’ve gotten more contention with my mother, especially during Ramadan’s past, whenever I fast that I am still expected to perform to the same duty and magnitude as I would on any regular non-fasting day. Our differences in religion and belief tend to clash, but I assume that has much to do with culture and the cultural cling that Christianity has on the island and its people.
The religions are similar in makeup but the theology is completely different. There is more of an emphasis on tawheed, the oneness of God and the refutation of there being a man incarnate of God. Plus other things too.
I don’t believe in the supernatural in any shape or form. Technically, that makes me an atheist, but I don’t use the term because I feel a lot of atheists take atheism as a their new religion and mi nuh inna dat… I just don’t business about religion at all and don’t see the need to have arguments about it.
I usually just tell people I’m not religious. Lots of people try to drag me to church to save my soul, which is annoying.
Especially overseas I have met atheists who always want to argue with religious people or ‘convert’ theists to atheism. I just don’t see the point of that. I don’t really care what other people believe and I don’t feel any need to justify my lack of belief.
I don’t view not believing as a key point of my personal identity.
Oh. I honestly like exchanging ideas as much as possible so I will engage with Christians from time to time, but it isn’t like the main thing I do. If you don’t want to engage with religious people no-one can force you to. For some people in the Atheist Community in the US the engaging with theist is entertaining. For some (myself included) it is done to learn more, to expand my knowledge, to ensure that I am looking at all the information that is available.
Honestly we should not be afraid to say who we are proudly and loudly, Christians do it all the time and they cause more harm than anything else.
