This might be a controversial topic but my type of spirituality is just as valid as any one elses so here it goes. I am an atheist and I see beauty all around me, I do not see some cosmic game but the fluidity of natural law, I do not see beings looking down at us from the heavens but the beauty and vastness of space. I am curious if any one else on this forum happens to be an atheist and I was wondering your thoughts. It's hard for me to put down what I believe and how I see the world and this video sums it up nicely, I suggest this video to just about every one I can when talking about the subject [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdRCPjXn1DY]YouTube - This Remarkable Thing[/ame] Thanks to you all, I can already tell this conversation is going to be civilized (unlike other places where I have brought this topic up)
I am not an atheist but I totally see where you are coming from. This earth, this universe, is a beautiful, mindblowing thing. Just think about what humans are. Look at yourself in the mirror. Look at your ears for a while, then your eyes, then nose, then mouth. Really think about each one seperate from your face and body. How strange they are! Look at your arms, and legs and hands and feet, and head, all branching off of this lockbox of vital organs called the "torso". Look at the color of your skin. What an odd color for skin to be! Look at the trees, the grass, the oceans, the mountains, and see that the earth is a giant living organism! Look at the ancient wonder and majesty of all of these things. What an earthy place earth is! Look at all the living creatures, and how strange they look, and how beautiful their existence is. What an alien planet we live on. We are aliens. Look at the stars, and galaxies, and nebulas, they are something out of a science fiction movie. I could go on and on but this is how I see the world, regardless of the existence of a higher power. It never ceases to amaze me.
Wow brother that was an excellent post! I feel the same exact way. Whether there is a creator (i think there is) or not, the universe is a beautiful place. The universe and our own Gaia is so beautiful that it is literally incomprehensible. - peace, joy, love, and light
I agree. Even as an agnostic I see the universe as amazingly complex and unique. Even if there is no higher power just the fact that evolution was able to occur naturally and stabilize itself enough to create natural laws and self-conscious beings is nothing short of fucking incredible.
The religious people in my life say that religion inspires and gives people hope. Why do they need religion for that? Does the beauty of everything near us, far from us, all around us not inspire or provide hope? It does for me. If you think about it, even the most basic of things are really more complicated then we can even begin to comprehend.
Why don't more people realize this? I find it so beautiful. Although I believe in a creator, it doesn't add or take away from the breathtaking reality of the universe. It's outside the the expression of words. - peace, joy, love, and light
Right, I never meant for this post to say "only atheists can feel this way" it's just that from what I see if you are not bound by the stories in a book (scripture) you can more easily let your mind wonder the the observable beauty all around us. As the video I posted states, we are energy beings who exist simply because our existence is possible. We may not be able to understand even the most simplest of things completely but we are able to delve into the inner workings of the universe we find our selves in, we are a self questioning universe, where equations balance and logic just seems to work. We can understand why things work and why they don't, we may be less then a blip on the universal radar but we can begin to understand more then any of us will ever see directly. We can look into the past millions or even billions of years simply by looking up during a stary night. No offence but to me that's even more extraordinary then the stories we tell our selves during sunday school(though if you do believe in a god you can look into the night sky and look at the equations learning about gods creation *an act I'm sure he would value more then blind faith*).
Yes i agree with all of you! Religion is nice for those who rely on it. However, atheism is also nice because we are able to think of the universe as a free everlasting infinite piece of space; but without having to feel guilty about the "predestined" world that God had planned out and singlehandedly made. I think it's amazing and liberating thinking about the vastness of the universe, it's truly fascinating and mind-blowing but very uplifting. However, sometimes it makes me frustrated that some people opt to be drama-filled and making themselves busy all the time. I feel like we, ourselves individually, are of no importance or relevance to the entirety of the galaxies and universe. Simply breath-taking. The essence of nature is its endlessness and indescribable visual appeal as well as the overwhelming feelings. We should be glad that chance has gone so well for our planet earth where we live in. However, with all the pollution and its effect of global warming, it will be all over- but not in any of our generations. Sorry I didn't mean that negative. But on the bright side, we have all these great forms of art, which never ceases to surprise and/or amaze me- which is the same case for nature. I am glad that every individual has their own preferences and ideas so they could make such great forms of art. I think there should a book written about the Art of Nature and its contrast to Nature of Art. Probably not, they seem to go hand-in-hand. I think they bounce of each other. So maybe a book written about the teamwork of nature and art. I'm rambling now but being high gives way to such interesting topics and unanswerable questions that can't have a definite conclusion. Okay, I'm listening to The Velvet Underground right now and they are so good. They got "art rock" down. It's actually venturing into psychedelic folk/rock. Damn, they are raw.
So you celebrate the fact that you do not believe in god like the rest of the world does. I am not religious, Do i believe in god? WHAT'S GOD LOL. the explanations make god seem like a person with super powers who will punish you if you don't go it's way. For god to rule all would be the way humans think, humans have ego. How about super natural forces, instead of a creator who will send you to hell for not following a certain book, how about we focus on all the amazing things around us for example water and music. Religion does not explain anything to us, I have studied it. It tells us to pray to an entity named god, Who made you and everything and you will live a good life Well guess what religious people are still miserable. It's time to think for yourself. I lol about the concept of hell, Oh since you did not believe in me and follow my ways, I am going to send you to hell for eternity, That is not the word of a supposed super being, that is the word of a person who wanted everyone to follow their train of thought. Hell does not exist, you do not burn in fire, relax people, everything is about love, which most don't realize. Once you realize what love is, you realize there is no hell or ever will be a hell. Hell is on earth, it's called karma.
First of all go to Philhellenes channel. He is amazing. Then I would suggest you watch Thunderf00t, TheThinkingAtheist, or brettppalmer depending on what video style you prefer.