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I believe if you're honest with yourself and follow the secular lines of reasoning you will arrive at deism pretty easily I think atheists are just people who

I believe if you're honest with yourself and follow the secular lines of reasoning you will arrive at deism pretty easily I think atheists are just people who refuse to accept the natural conclusions. So I don't see any need to hide your atheism really. We're all prone to folly, pride and irrationality and inconclusive thinking. Honestly, if an atheist came to my Church and was open about it, that's fine with me. I confess doubt all the time too... It's not like I'm perfect. If the number of times my atheist friends have sincerely prayed before a big exam are any indication, I'd think most atheists have periods of extreme fervor. But, when I've been more of an atheist, I've still found amazing value in religion, so I guess I'm probably just weird.

bittercynic 5y ago
As I've grown up and become secure in my atheism, I realized that I have not come to my beliefs through any kind of logic or based on evidence. It's just what I believe - or don't, and the beliefs we have on matters we can't directly observe are formed in ways I don't fully understand. I cannot account for my atheism, and I don't think I have to. Similarly, I don't think you can account for your belief in God, but you also don't have to. It's a BELIEF, not a theorem to prove. It's not like I go around thinking "there is no God", it's just not part of how I find meaning and make sense of the world. This is not a moment of folly, just like your belief in God is not a moment of folly. It's just part of how I, and you, make sense of this confusing situation of coming into being on Earth for a little while, knowing that we won't be here for very long.
gilbetron 5y ago
Deism requires rejecting all rationality - it's literally the point of almost all religions. Secular lines of reasoning results in science and all of the progress that has come with it. Being honest with ourselves leads to an understanding that there is no evidence of any sort of a deity - it is when we are fearful that we reach out into the void looking for someone to help us.
- iammisc 5y ago
  > Secular lines of reasoning results in science and all of the progress that has come with it Unless you have some unknown faith by which 'progress' is good, I fail to see how you can come to that conclusion. Especially when various secular lines of reasonings reject 'progress' as a useful metric, or even a desirable thing at all. > it is when we are fearful that we reach out into the void looking for someone to help us. That is not true. A benevolent God is a requirement of Christianity being true. It is not a requirement of deism, which is simply the belief that there is a divine. You're conflating two things. IMO, that there is a divine is incredibly obvious. Christianity requires more of a stretch.
  - gilbetron 5y ago
    > IMO, that there is a divine is incredibly obvious. There is absolutely no evidence of such a thing, in fact, all major religions require that lack of evidence, it's a fundamental feature of them.

bittercynic 5y ago

As I've grown up and become secure in my atheism, I realized that I have not come to my beliefs through any kind of logic or based on evidence. It's just what I believe - or don't, and the beliefs we have on matters we can't directly observe are formed in ways I don't fully understand. I cannot account for my atheism, and I don't think I have to. Similarly, I don't think you can account for your belief in God, but you also don't have to. It's a BELIEF, not a theorem to prove. It's not like I go around thinking "there is no God", it's just not part of how I find meaning and make sense of the world. This is not a moment of folly, just like your belief in God is not a moment of folly. It's just part of how I, and you, make sense of this confusing situation of coming into being on Earth for a little while, knowing that we won't be here for very long.

gilbetron 5y ago

Deism requires rejecting all rationality - it's literally the point of almost all religions. Secular lines of reasoning results in science and all of the progress that has come with it. Being honest with ourselves leads to an understanding that there is no evidence of any sort of a deity - it is when we are fearful that we reach out into the void looking for someone to help us.

iammisc 5y ago
> Secular lines of reasoning results in science and all of the progress that has come with it Unless you have some unknown faith by which 'progress' is good, I fail to see how you can come to that conclusion. Especially when various secular lines of reasonings reject 'progress' as a useful metric, or even a desirable thing at all. > it is when we are fearful that we reach out into the void looking for someone to help us. That is not true. A benevolent God is a requirement of Christianity being true. It is not a requirement of deism, which is simply the belief that there is a divine. You're conflating two things. IMO, that there is a divine is incredibly obvious. Christianity requires more of a stretch.
- gilbetron 5y ago
  > IMO, that there is a divine is incredibly obvious. There is absolutely no evidence of such a thing, in fact, all major religions require that lack of evidence, it's a fundamental feature of them.