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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by Nobody: 9:13am On Aug 16, 2016
KingEbukasBlog:


Albert Einstein was a deist . He rejected the idea of a personal god which is a religious concept but admitted to the existence of a supernatural being or creator . Read up deism , some scientists are deists .
albert einstein moved between deism,atheism and pantheism one thing was certain my brother he wasn't a christian or a believer of the abrahamic faiths

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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by KingEbukasBlog(m): 9:15am On Aug 16, 2016
stephenmorris:
albert einstein moved between deism,atheism and pantheism one thing was certain my brother he wasn't a christian or a believer of the abrahamic faiths

Einstein was a deist .End of story . He was never an atheist

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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by Ranchhoddas: 9:18am On Aug 16, 2016
KingEbukasBlog:


Albert Einstein was a deist . He rejected the idea of a personal god which is a religious concept but admitted to the existence of a supernatural being or creator . Read up deism , some scientists are deists .
He believed in Spinoza's God. That's pantheism.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by Nobody: 9:21am On Aug 16, 2016
KingEbukasBlog:


Einstein was a deist .End of story . He was never an atheist
Agnosticism, deism, and atheism[edit]
Einstein stated in his final letter: 'I am not an atheist.',[19] explaining at one point: "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal god is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being."[1] According to Prince Hubertus, Einstein said, "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."[20]

Einstein had previously explored the belief that man could not understand the nature of God. In an interview published in 1930 in G. S. Viereck's book Glimpses of the Great, Einstein, in response to a question about whether or not he defined himself as a pantheist, explained:

Your question is the most difficult in the world. It is not a question I can answer simply with yes or no. I am not an Atheist. I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. May I not reply with a parable? The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza's Pantheism. I admire even more his contributions to modern thought. Spinoza is the greatest of modern philosophers, because he is the first philosopher who deals with the soul and the body as one, not as two separate things.[21]

In 1945 Guy Raner, Jr. wrote a letter to Einstein, asking him if it was true that a Jesuit priest had caused Einstein to convert from atheism. Einstein replied, "I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist. ... It is always misleading to use anthropomorphical concepts in dealing with things outside the human sphere—childish analogies. We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of this world—as far as we can grasp it, and that is all."[22]

In a 1950 letter to M. Berkowitz, Einstein stated that "My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment."[23]

According to biographer Walter Isaacson, Einstein was more inclined to denigrate atheists than religious people.[24] Einstein said in correspondence, "[T]he fanatical atheists...are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who—in their grudge against the traditional 'opium of the people'—cannot hear the music of the spheres."[24][25] Although he did not believe in a personal God, he indicated that he would never seek to combat such belief because "such a belief seems to me preferable to the lack of any transcendental outlook."[26]

Devoutly religious[edit]
Einstein characterized himself as “devoutly religious” in one specific sense as in the following statement:

The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all true art and science.
He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.
To know that what is inpenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and
the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—
this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.
In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong to the rank of devoutly religious men.[27]

Determinism[edit]
source -wikipedia
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by Nobody: 9:24am On Aug 16, 2016
In a letter to Eric Gutkind dated 3 January 1954, Einstein wrote in German, "For me the unaltered Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most primitive superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."[14][15][43][44] sorce -wikipedia kingebukanaija you do hear am if you don't trust wiki go and make ur research
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by mekkfreshboy(m): 9:36am On Aug 16, 2016
Seun:


Einstein's response to the claim that he believes in God:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Albert_Einstein

Albert Einstein's religious views have been studied extensively. He said he believed in the "pantheistic" God of Baruch Spinoza ( Baruch was Jewish), but not in a personal god, a belief he criticized. He also called himself an agnostic, while disassociating himself from the label atheist, preferring, he said, "an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.

He was not an Atheist, He believed in Intelligent design. I refer to what you call God as the "Eternal" or "Divine" and my concept of a Divine creator is different almost akin to Spinoza's view but not the same( I am Jewish). I believe that the Creator placed certain Laws and boundaries in the Universe. I am skeptical about magics and miracles purported today by self acclaimed men of God in Nigeria and based on my understanding of the physical properties of the Earth I know for sure that the so called called witches in Benin city where I reside are incapable of defying the Laws of gravity etc unless they can prove me otherwise. We have our limitations as Humans and so does Science.


I also reiterate that I am a proponent of making the world a better place for mankind to live. I am more interested in your actions than on what you believe in. whether you are Atheist or Theist try as much as you can to contribute in making the world a better place and living a moral life.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by Nobody: 1:41pm On Aug 16, 2016
mekkfreshboy:


Albert Einstein's religious views have been studied extensively. He said he believed in the "pantheistic" God of Baruch Spinoza ( Baruch was Jewish), but not in a personal god, a belief he criticized. He also called himself an agnostic, while disassociating himself from the label atheist, preferring, he said, "an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.

He was not an Atheist, He believed in Intelligent design. I refer to what you call God as the "Eternal" or "Divine" and my concept of a Divine creator is different almost akin to Spinoza's view but not the same( I am Jewish). I believe that the Creator placed certain Laws and boundaries in the Universe. I am skeptical about magics and miracles purported today by self acclaimed men of God in Nigeria and based on my understanding of the physical properties of the Earth I know for sure that the so called called witches in Benin city where I reside are incapable of defying the Laws of gravity etc unless they can prove me otherwise. We have our limitations as Humans and so does Science.


I also reiterate that I am a proponent of making the world a better place for mankind to live. I am more interested in your actions than on what you believe in. whether you are Atheist or Theist try as much as you can to contribute in making the world a better place and living a moral life.

you talk about einstein as if he was GOD lol,its normal,,,,,,,,,he been a great scientist will make one equal him with god sometimes ,,,,,i will just tell you einstein could have been wrong ,isaac newton was proven wrong too ,so its not about einstein talking about intelligent design its about knowing man is a being capable of making mistakes dats all bro,i hope you took my previous advice seriously

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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by mekkfreshboy(m): 7:49am On Aug 17, 2016
stephenmorris:
mekkfreshboy what do u want brother,do u want a life whereby you will take full responsibility for your life if that is it, then you are on the part of atheism or freedom of religion ,its your choice and choose wisely know the consequences of your actions and move on with life ,all i will say is i won't choose for you but i hope you make a decision that will affect your generations yet unborn positively.
and if you ever choose atheism or freedom from religion get a copy of Ralph waldo Emerson book titled ''self reliance''


Thanks man but I have no intention of making such choice. Atheism is not the solution.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by PDBonline: 8:13pm On Dec 22, 2016
DeSepiero:


That's a good response Sire
except that EVERYTHING in your life makes perfect sense. That's a statement in ecstasy. If that's true what's the cause of high suicide rate among atheists?
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by LaDolceVita: 8:37pm On Dec 22, 2016
annunaki2:
@OP Albert einstein was not an atheist, he believed in 'intelligent design'.

Atheism is certainly not the way, it just doesn't make sense. Agnotism or deism could be tolerated though.

Einstein didn't believe in intelligent design what are you on about. He was an atheist. A simple google search can resolve this i don't know why people just choose to believe a warped reality that suits their prior beliefs.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by DeSepiero(m): 9:01pm On Dec 22, 2016
PDBonline:

except that EVERYTHING in your life makes perfect sense. That's a statement in ecstasy. If that's true what's the cause of high suicide rate among atheists?
What's your argument?
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by akintom(m): 9:03pm On Dec 22, 2016
mekkfreshboy:


I oppose religious extremism but my QUESTION remains “Is Atheism the way forward? How exactly can lack of belief in a Divine creator add meaning to your life and make the society a better place. What exactly do Nigerian Atheists believe in?

Atheists in the House should please enlighten me. Thanks

I align with the atheistic concept called "new atheism". This concept of atheism is of the view, that the very lack of belief in god, is a responsive position, to an all pervading and ubiquitous religious beliefs system.

This religious beliefs system, irritates, harasses, oppresses, and conditions the human mind to accept ideas, that the rational minds know as mythical, legendary, superstitious, illusionary and delusionary. And all there's to support these beliefs are ASSUMPTIONS.

What possible value can religious beliefs/god idea add to my life? When such ideas essentially engenders and introduces the following pollutants and irritants into human experience:

*irrational fears,
*optional and debilitating ignorance,
*hatred,
*division,
*extremism,
*terrorism,
*persecution
,
*victimization,
*segregation,
*cognitive inhibition,
*acting without and against reasons etc.

Knowing that i and i alone is responsible for how my life turns out, is exciting, healthy, stimulating and rewarding for me.

Who doesn't want to see and live in a society devoid of the pollutants and irritants introduced to human experience by god idea?
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by PDBonline: 9:32pm On Dec 22, 2016
DeSepiero:

What's your argument?
Responding to the statement that everything makes sense when one becomes an atheist. That's a statement far from reality.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by DeSepiero(m): 9:47pm On Dec 22, 2016
PDBonline:

Responding to the statement that everything makes sense when one becomes an atheist. That's a statement far from reality.

Hahaha interesting! Who made the statement? Kindly refresh my memory.
Maybe you're misunderstanding the speaker's perspective, maybe. That statement has a point though.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by PDBonline: 3:55am On Dec 23, 2016
DeSepiero:



Hahaha interesting! Who made the statement? Kindly refresh my memory.
Maybe you're misunderstanding the speaker's perspective, maybe. That statement has a point though.
Oga of Nairaland himself
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by pressplay411(m): 5:52pm On Dec 26, 2016
mekkfreshboy:




I am familiar with the basics of EVOLUTION and Cosmology and the FACT is that you can not logically prove beyond reasonable doubt that the universe happened by chance neither can you provide proof to support your claim on the non existence of a Divine creator.

Atheism does not always mean rationality and critical thinking, I have read threads on Nairaland where professed Atheists believed that some figures mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures were aliens from another planets and all sort of gibberish.

And just like Winner01 said "Theists ushered in the very rational thinking that atheists seek to be affiliated with". My religious traditions does not in any way hinder me from been rational, critical and analytical on life decisions that I make which are in basis with reality. I am as much as objective and logical minded as you are, but where we path ways is that I believe in Intelligent Design and in a Divine creator, My idea of an Eternal creator might be different from most people's concept of God. I am not superstitious, I dont believe in magics.

I am aware that there are a lot of gullibility in this part of the world. Most Black Africans are not enlightened hence Religious Houses here exploits their ignorance for their own selfish gains. Politicians exploits our ignorance as well because majority of us are not enlightened.

Enlightenment is what I feel Nigerians need and not Atheism. I hope you do have respect for traditional institutions. Religion is a very personal thing. Atheism is diverse, I do not know which group in Atheism you fall into. And I see nothing wrong in a Woman who wears hijab, She has the right to do so if that is part of her religious obligations, It is better than a woman walking about scanty dressed. Personally I dont eat Pork.
Science has little to do with morality but Religion addresses the issues of morality.

I follow your threads and read most of your write up. Do you really want a society where sexual promiscuity are promoted? where girls are free to walk about dressed half dressed?

We need ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE MIND.

Interesting thread.

The Truth is there are no Answers, only Choices.

As a kid, choices were made for you. But ss an adult your choices are your sole responsibility.

The pendulum back and forth between Theists and Atheists didn't start today and will remain inconclusive till eternity.
Why?
Because until God presents a physical proof of his existence, I mean until he appears in 5D in the sky or inside the sun or "judgment day" arrives or a relative of yours who's been dead for years reincarnates or resurrects with a complete detail of what heaven or hell looks like, you will never have proof beyond all reasonable doubt.

The Choices;

-You can choose to conform to society and accept the dominant religion in your region and live the acceptable life. All that matters is your Belief and Faith in your chosen Religion.

-Or choose to tread the path of Knowledge. An endless quest for the Truth and Reason behind existence. It's the most daring and liberating path. And yes, Faith still applies.

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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by mekkfreshboy(m): 10:28am On Dec 27, 2016
LaDolceVita:


Einstein didn't believe in intelligent design what are you on about. He was an atheist. A simple google search can resolve this i don't know why people just choose to believe a warped reality that suits their prior beliefs.


Einstein was not an atheist, get your facts right.

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Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by ScepticalPyrrho: 12:35pm On Dec 27, 2016
It depends on your definition of atheism or understanding of the different variations of atheism.

Atheism in simple terms is the lack of belief in the existence of a God. It is difficult to give a clear-cut demarcation of the believe in an intelligent design or a supernatural being. A person may hold on to a believe in an intelligent Designer yet do not ascribe to any supernatural or spiritual ramifications.

In all this complexities it can be said that Deism is the mid-point, but it begs the question of the nature of the being - God.

Is it spiritual or physical?
Does it have a creator too. Or are there other parallel universes created by other gods?


Do these gods have a supreme creator?

The questions are endless.


The fact still remains that no one has answers and I have settled to live with that.
I'm a sceptist, an agnostist, and it is good enough for now.


You really don't have to belong to any of the categories that claims to know something out of our reality.

You live with the uncertainties.

Our problem as humans is that we always feel we have to belong somewhere to give meaning, explanations, and answers. But where the questions are still begging, it is cowardice to hide under one group just to 'belong'.

Until we have definite evidences, convincing proofs, real contact with these gods we are going to keep making things up just to make sense of our reality.

Bottom line: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DONT KNOW!


We are here, right now, and right here, let's make the best out of our short lives.
We tend to doubt our senses since we realize the inevitable destination of our present reality. We live and we die, period. You can seek eternal life, or wish it, or feel like it isn't fair. Yes, we are all going to die like all other animals on this planet whether you believe it or not, it changes nothing.


If you find solace in believing in a universe where all the billions of stars are placed for your sake, that's your choice/wish.
But don't claim you know anything, just acknowledge your beliefs as it is rightly called. Don't condemn others and don't carry up arms to defend mere beliefs.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by mekkfreshboy(m): 1:42pm On Dec 27, 2016
I Look at the way politics is run in Nigeria and at the way religion is practiced here, the hypocrisy, corruption, our level of enlightenment, the moral decadence. and then at the new Nigerian atheism, I see a correlation between Nigerian atheists and Nigerian Christians. The former and the latter aren't much different. it like thinking that APC is newer and better than PDP where as they are the same. Same people. Our approach to everything Western is laughable. We are ready to murder our language and culture for it.

Atheism is not new, it has always been around. It predates the renaissance. Rationalism didn't birth Atheism. This a fact. Atheism only has a new clothing this time.

I don't want to imagine a world ruled by atheists governments. Look at what the German scientists did to the Jews with their gas chamber experiments. Smh
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by menxer: 6:36pm On Dec 27, 2016
winner01:
It is perfectly rational to believe in the existence of an Almighty Creator. Every Single item in our world was intelkigently designed. In reality, time and chance does not create anything. Atheists got it wrong in the most basic way: "If the universe has no meaning or reason for existing, we should never have found out that it has no meaning".

Atheism is not a system of thinking, it is a "lack of belief", at least as the atheists claim. It has nothing to do with rational thinking. Theists ushered in the very rational thinking that atheists seek to be affiliated with. Rene Descateres was the first mordern rationalist, Sir Francis Bacon (the founder
of applied science) inspired the mordern scientific attitude that favours skepticism, systematic observation and verification of
claims by independent empirical observations, and many other theists. The fact that critical thinking is parroted by atheists severally does not make it so.



Religion has almost all the moral structures all over the world built around it, it is also not a system of thinking as you put it, it is the internal realization of more permanent values. Religion can be used for anything ranginging from peace to violence, just the same way politics, entertainment etc can be used for the same purposes. It is easier to get rid of the latter than religion. Religion is a part of humanity.

Good philisophy, it also stems from religion. The problem with atheism is the lack of basis for morality. Seun was talking about scholars who were working on ways to acheive better human relationship but failed to give reasons why people should listen to fellow humans. Not everyone wants to "live and let live", how do you handle such people?.
The power of religion can never be estimated and that is why it will continue to grow.


Intelligent Design is the default position. Everything we see in actuality is intelligently designed even when we do not know their designers. Those who blame the "flaws" in nature exhibit infinite knowledge i.e I do not know why this was created and so its a flaw. Its like doing the same thing they accuse theists for i.e I do not know how the universe got here but God must have created it. The only difference is that one position makes more sense than the other.
If i'm presented with a car engine, i may not know why it looks so dirty and oily or even the functions of certain parts, but it would be irrational to call it useless. On the other hand, If I'm presented with the same car engine, it would be irrational for me to say it came to existence by time or chance or accident or probability or fission of older metals etc.
Intelligent design is the default position, if atheists will convince the world otherwise, the must provide evidence, and it wont be some half-baked assumptions, fantasy or wild guesses backed by zero evidence.

Every normal person opposes extremism. Atheism is not the way forward. Atheists themselves cannot tell you what atheism has to offer. The best they can do is to side with irreligion, science etc.
History has shown that when you believe that religion is a disease that must be cured, there are extremism tendencies. Religion is a part of humanity. To seperate man from religion, you must be willing to exterminate in democidal quantities. (you can check some of my topics for proof.) Atheists are only angry that they are minority, and their number has been predicted to even fall over the next 50 years.

Be careful who you call on to "enlighten" you, for a blind person may not recognize the direction of light.
Re: Is Atheism The Way? I Am Searching For Answers by orunto27: 7:02pm On Dec 27, 2016
The way starts from The Cross(Jesus)Road. You're now there, seeking to proceed, but most atheists have not gotten to the Crossroad.

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