Assisted dying

[mexico1970]

Each to there own, but...
Aethism is a belief system. in that respect It is no different than a religion. It's adherents claim that those who are not aethiests believe in sone sort of sky fairy.
Some aethiests believe those who are not aethiests are heretics, whereas some believe each to their own so long as they don't impose their belief on others or injure others in the process of following their belief.
Do try and prove me wrong if you want - but maybe that should be in a different thread.

I take this stance, and explained in a way that everyone can understand.

Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion.While there are some religions that are atheistic (certain sects of Buddhism, for example), that does not mean that atheism is a religion. To put it in a more humorous way: If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby.

What is Atheism?

Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods. It is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about a person.

www.atheists.org

 

[halfcenturyup]

Each to their own, but...
Aethism is a belief system. in that respect It is no different than a religion. It's adherents claim that those who are not aethiests believe in sone sort of sky fairy.
Some aethiests believe those who are not aethiests are heretics, whereas some believe each to their own so long as they don't impose their belief on others or injure others in the process of following their belief.
Do try and prove me wrong if you want - but maybe that should be in a different thread.

Nothing personal, but I prefer to listen to views on complicated intellectual issues from people who can actually spell the words they are trying to define properly.

 

[BlueAnorak]

I take this stance, and explained in a way that everyone can understand.

Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion.While there are some religions that are atheistic (certain sects of Buddhism, for example), that does not mean that atheism is a religion. To put it in a more humorous way: If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby.

What is Atheism?

Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods. It is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about a person.

www.atheists.org

Aethiests try and deny that "lack of belief" is a belief system but that's like saying people who don't vote don't have a political opinion.
Simply put, If you criticise others for their belief then at that point aethism clearly BECOMES a belief system.
Each to their own.

 

[mexico1970]

Aethiests try and deny that "lack of belief" is a belief system but that's like saying people who don't vote don't have a political opinion.
If you criticise others for their belief then it clearly IS a belief system.
Each to their own.

Not the same mate not even remotely, people who are religious try to label people who aren't religious they always have done, in the modern world they can't just scream BLASPHEMER at them and have it stick.

It's all genuinely semantics anyway and in the great scheme of things it doesn't matter, religious people and flat earthers are cut from the same cloth IMHO.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Nothing personal, but I prefer to listen to views on complicated intellectual issues from people who can actually spell the words they are trying to define properly.

Ah the grammar and spelling police are out in force. Some folks are dyslexic but aren't thick you know.
No offence but that post was attacking the individual not the message.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Not the same mate not even remotely, people who are religious try to label people who aren't religious they always have done, in the modern world they can't just scream BLASPHEMER at them and have it stick.

It's all genuinely semantics anyway and in the great scheme of things it doesn't matter, religious people and flat earthers are cut from the same cloth IMHO.

You think criticising religion is different than religious folks criticising folks who don't follow their belief?
Think again.
There is no difference - asside from spitting hairs of course. Or counting angels dancing on the head if a pin.

 

[mexico1970]

You think criticising religion is different than religious folks criticising folks who don't follow their belief?
Think again.
There is no difference - asside from spitting hairs of course. Or counting angels dancing on the head if a pin.

What I am saying is that believing in something as unprovable as religion (Not faith religion) is akin to believing the earth is flat.

Me thinking that people believe in something nonsensical to such an extent they would put that before their own family is bloody madness.

 

[SkyBlueFlux]

Each to their own, but...
Aethism is a belief system. in that respect It is no different than a religion. It's adherents claim that those who are not aethiests believe in sone sort of sky fairy.
Some aethiests believe those who are not aethiests are heretics, whereas some believe each to their own so long as they don't impose their belief on others or injure others in the process of following their belief.
Do try and prove me wrong if you want - but maybe that should be in a different thread.

Like you say - not sure it's the thread for such a substantial topic, so I'll simply state my position. Atheism is basically a default stance, there's no consistency or common belief requirements for atheists. And it doesn't make any statement on religion at all. It is simply - as the name suggests - categorising you as "not a theist" i.e. not somebody who says they believe in god. That's it, there's no other pre-conditions. You don't need to think any of the things you've stated above to be an atheist.

Many atheistic people are members of religions - like some Buddhists or new age spiritualists - so in this instance you're suggesting those people would have multiple religions, which doesn't make much sense to me. You can have agnostic atheists, who are the woolly "I'm not sure" people. You can have anti-theists (which are the type of people you are describing above). None of these people believe in a god, so they are not theists, ergo they are atheists - you are either one or the other. If atheism is a religion then it suggests that the definition of religion being used here is very loose to the point of being useless, as it is describing an incredibly broad group of people who may have completely conflicting belief systems, lifestyle, culture etc. and zero common cause.

I’d guess that the vast majority these days are agnostic.

That's kind of my point, I would estimate the vast majority of atheists are agnostic. They just don't care, or haven't thought about it, or they have but decided they haven't got a strong opinion on it. I consider myself as both an agnostic and atheist. In a colloquial sense, that would make me what people call just "agnostic". But really these are two different statements. There's this strange ardency out there of people thinking atheists are making a positive assertion that there is no god (gnostic atheism). That's not necessarily true, they just don't believe in a god. These are two different things, and part of the problem is people talking across each other using different definitions.

The whole thing is founded on the fact you can't prove a negative. So you can never prove god doesn't exist. You can only say that based on the evidence we have, you haven't seen proof that he exists. Which is by definition agnostic atheist.

 

[stonerblue]

Suicide has not been a crime for many years now but assisting suicide is still illegal, though the DPP has advised prosecutors not to press cases where the victim is terminally ill and there is evidence that they wished to die. Assisting, subject to safeguards, is what would be legalised, especially for doctors faced with the dilemma.
Frankly, the failure to provide the conditions for this is not civilised. After all, I had my ill cat put to sleep when he was suffering. Why can I not do this for a loved one?

It's the negative connotations around the word 'suicide' i object to.

 

[BlueAnorak]

What I am saying is that believing in something as unprovable as religion (Not faith religion) is akin to believing the earth is flat.

Me thinking that people believe in something nonsensical to such an extent they would put that before their own family is bloody madness.

Whist I agree with the 2nd statement. I can sort of see where those of a Romam Catholic belief come from.
As to the first statement I sort of see where you are coming from but as soon as you promote aethiesm as a life choice, or criticise those with faith then you are being an advocate for aethiesm as a belief system and criticism of faith is moving well into the space occupied by religous zealotry.