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> Many atheists do believe in higher powers, though. No, they don't. Unless you are actually talking about human power structures, in which case, of course w

> Many atheists do believe in higher powers, though. No, they don't. Unless you are actually talking about human power structures, in which case, of course we do. Doesn't make us "religious". > I put it to you that much talk of "spirits" is far more aligned to the kind of higher power that you already believe in, rather than the dualistic way of seeing spirits as some kind of invisible smoke hiding inside living creatures. This kind of thinking is a curse of our modern age, handed down from the likes of Descartes and the "Enlightenment". I don't believe in spirits or souls or any of that. I'm an atheist, stop making up versions of "higher powers" or "something that exists outside of an individual, and across multiple individuals" and insisting I believe must believe in them. I assure you I don't.

trees101 5y ago
I don't insist that you believe anything, I just tried to pick an example that you might already believe in, and draw analogies to belief in spirits so you can better understand the more nuanced view of spirit that is actually what a religion such as Christianity talks about https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/6.htm https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/6.htm. I think that we live in a time where our understanding of what a spirit is, is very different to what religions traditionally believed. We only think of some kind of ghostly person which might be in some kind of other dimension which science has yet to discover. But I think that the way we think of Patriarchy is actually much closer to the way that a spirit was thought of in the past. It's not exactly the same, and it lacks some aspects, but it is a much better starting point for a secular person to understand what a spirit is, rather than childhood memories of caspar the friendly ghost.
- Ensorceled 5y ago
  > so you can better understand the more nuanced view of spirit that is actually what a religion such as Christianity talks about So, you're proselytizing? This is pretty common reaction when I say I'm atheist. An assumption that I'm just ignorant as to the true nature of God or Spirituality.

trees101 5y ago

I don't insist that you believe anything, I just tried to pick an example that you might already believe in, and draw analogies to belief in spirits so you can better understand the more nuanced view of spirit that is actually what a religion such as Christianity talks about https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/6.htm https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/6.htm. I think that we live in a time where our understanding of what a spirit is, is very different to what religions traditionally believed. We only think of some kind of ghostly person which might be in some kind of other dimension which science has yet to discover. But I think that the way we think of Patriarchy is actually much closer to the way that a spirit was thought of in the past. It's not exactly the same, and it lacks some aspects, but it is a much better starting point for a secular person to understand what a spirit is, rather than childhood memories of caspar the friendly ghost.

Ensorceled 5y ago
> so you can better understand the more nuanced view of spirit that is actually what a religion such as Christianity talks about So, you're proselytizing? This is pretty common reaction when I say I'm atheist. An assumption that I'm just ignorant as to the true nature of God or Spirituality.