Atheists in the Okanagan.

[zzontar]

^^ Agreed, but the majority of atheists believe in the big bang or that everything came from nothing.

[Pat-Taporter]

Hi.
I'm a new member here in the forum.
I'm an Atheist. I welcome all other Atheists to say 'hi' and maybe we can join each other for a coffee or beer sometime. I'd like to meet up with other Atheists or Agnostics, you ex-Christians, Humanists, Skeptics, Free-thinkers, etc.

It's nice to know you have a community of likeminded people to chat with.

We have the Internet and sometimes it's nice to imagine that could live in a world where we are a majority. Here in the wee Okanagan, we are not! Norway has 37% believers, 39% Atheists and 23% "I don't know's" (Agnostics). No one there is made to feel weird for not following their countries predominant religion. Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to be a Atheist in Saudi Arabia? Here, you might just get shunned. There, you get a death sentence.

Anyway, YOU are not alone. There might be 30 to 40% of us who are ex-whatever's but we just stay silent to appease parents, grandparents, in-laws, etc.

WELCOME!

Hi Healthyskeptic,

So, as to meeting, would you be interested in something like this?

Sunday Assembly | The Atheist Church




The Sunday Assembly

Celebrating Life Together

Inspiring Events and Caring Communities in 70+ Cities Worldwide

http://www.sundayassembly.com/


Or in counterargument, be interested in just meeting informally.

Sunday Assembly and Why I'm Never Going Back

[Donald G]

Arguing about religion vs atheism is like arguing about what existed before the big ban or .... where did any of the 2000 gods that have existed throughout history came from before they evolved into images in people's minds ??

[Pat-Taporter]

Sorry, although Healthyskeptic brought up the possibility of meetings, is anybody else interested in exploring the possibility of getting a Sunday Assembly going here in the Okanagan?

Here's a sample meeting (also sorry 'bout the audio quality).

[Pat-Taporter]

Bump to Donald G

Arguing about religion vs atheism is like arguing about what existed before the big ban or .... where did any of the 2000 gods that have existed throughout history came from before they evolved into images in people's minds ??

[OREZ]

Again, I don't think that most atheists mock and ridicule religious people.

I agree, I don't think that most atheists ridicule religious people or there beliefs as a rule. I'm sure there are times when they all do, in private or amongst other atheists, but I don't believe that most of them pursue opportunities to mock and ridicule but some seem to do so compulsively and are advised to do so by other high profile atheists.

But, I do think that most religious people take any comments mocking or ridiculing their beliefs as a personal attack.

Unless you personally wrote the bible, invented the story of Jesus or claim to have found gold plates sent by angels - it is not a personal insult.

I'm sorry but I don't buy that explanation at all. Telling someone that what they believe are fairy tales and ridiculous stories or that they must need their imaginary friend in the sky are just very thinly veiled personal insults. In essence, you're saying that the person is intellectually stunted, immature or simple minded or naive or all of the above and yet it's obvious that there are a great many highly educated, intellectual people who are believers, some of whom have a background in science and have written books on the subject so having faith obviously has nothing to do with lack of intellect.

Those sort of comments would never be considered polite or respectful things to say to someone in person and I don't believe that you would speak to someone in that manner if they were a person whom you liked and or respected. In addition to all of that, it's completely unnecessary and simply isn't conducive to a good discussion so I can only assume that people who do it aren't interested in having a good discussion and are only interested in mocking and that, I cannot understand or respect.

[Rosemary1]

Are religious people so insecure or blinded by their own religious dogma that atheists frighten them?

There are far fewer atheist trying to convert others to their ideas than there are religious zealots putting themselves on pedestals and trying to push their beliefs on others.

How many wars, inquisitions, persecutions and injustices wars have there been launched by atheists against religious groups and how many have been launched by one religious group against another?

[kgcayenne]

In the Okanagan?

[OREZ]

Are religious people so insecure or blinded by their own religious dogma that atheists frighten them?

How could anyone generalize about all religious people and presume to give you an answer to that question? Or, did you mean to address that question to me, specifically? If so, I'm sure as hell not afraid of atheists and I'm not blinded by dogma of any kind. I don't even consider myself at all religious. I study and research the Bible like I study and research many topics.

There are far fewer atheist trying to convert others to their ideas than there are religious zealots putting themselves on pedestals and trying to push their beliefs on others.

Again, huge, sweeping generalization. Not all people of faith are trying to convert people and put themselves on a pedestal just like not all atheists are wasting their energy looking for believers to mock.

How many wars, inquisitions, persecutions and injustices wars have there been launched by atheists against religious groups and how many have been launched by one religious group against another?

I'm not sure, how many people did Stalin have killed. Quite a few, I believe. Remember the killing fields in Cambodia? That was another atheist regime called the Khmer Rouge. Nasty. Does that mean I would never vote for an atheist simply because he/she was an atheist? Not at all.

[Donald G]

How did we get off on this completely false notion that being an Atheist or a Christian or a Muslim completely defines a person??

IMO people are far more accurately grouped by what they think regarding the 1001 separate aspects that collectively define a person OUTSIDE of their religious beliefs. Defining a person completely by their religious beliefs is like professing to be able to define people by their country of birth, or the shape of their head or the type of shoes they normally wear.

[Pat-Taporter]

Pardon me for breaking in again, but the OP suggested community and meetings, and this just came to mind.

The Sunday Assembly has a community atheist mission to perform philanthropic projects.

[Healthyskeptic]

Nothing ironic at all. Science says time and the big bang couldn't have started without an external force. That's where the religious theory could make sense. Why do you find it so easy to believe the universe has no beginning?


http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/did_the_u ... om_nothing

A singularity isn't necessary. Ask scientists.

[Healthyskeptic]

Are religious people so insecure or blinded by their own religious dogma that atheists frighten them?

There are far fewer atheist trying to convert others to their ideas than there are religious zealots putting themselves on pedestals and trying to push their beliefs on others.

How many wars, inquisitions, persecutions and injustices wars have there been launched by atheists against religious groups and how many have been launched by one religious group against another?

And how much other suffering at the hands of the 'religious'?

Slavery, crusades for centuries, loss of property and life for countless European Jews, subjugation of ALL of the people of the New World, child abuse cases through the centuries, second class status of women, justification for wife abuse and brutal childbirth because of Eve, witch hunts and burnings, deaths to mentally ill because they were 'possessed' ....

Did I miss anything??

[zzontar]

A singularity isn't necessary. Ask scientists.

Which scientists, the ones who believe there was a beginning or the ones who don't?

[Healthyskeptic]

Scientists who value evidence. Not the ones who believe in talking snakes and magic apples.