Controversy about the Atheism - Essay Example

Your F. 16 April Atheism Atheism is defined as the denial of an existence of a God or any gods. There are manycausal factors of this as a religion. Ancient ancestors who did not believe in pagan gods were once labeled as atheists even though they believed in a Christian God. Several scholars such as Socrates, Albert Einstein and Baruch Spinoza believed in a God. However, they believed that God did not have a personality or human like ideals but instead incorporated the cosmos as a whole. Many atheists believe that there is no strong presence of a god (Conservapedia). Many of the most intelligent people in the past have identified as atheists. It could be that they think in the tangible sense that anything that exists must be able to be proven. Many highly intellectual people need proof and evidence of something to ever believe in its being. Some philosophers and sociologists are not this way as they create a thought and see how society relates to it or use philosophy to explain something. Religion in some ways, is a philosophy. Religion could be seen as a way to keep going in life. To have faith in something that is unseen often gives people a meaning to their point of being. People use religion to talk to a God or to ask for help from angels in hopes that there is something out there to help them through. One would think that a life without some sort of spirituality or religion would be a life that has no meaning. For many, having a God or something to believe in is as essential as breathing. Varying religions contradict each other so much. Hundreds of religious views are followed by a group of people. Is religion a form of brainwashing? Religion and a belief in a higher power could just vary so much because for each person, that is what works for them and it is what they have come to know. Not that all people who believe in religious views are naïve. Those who are atheists, certainly are not naïve into believing that there is some other power that is accountable for all that is incorporated into being. They are not willing to turn their lives into something that they cannot see, hear, feel or touch. To have faith in a god is to believe in something that cannot be felt among any of those senses but to only read teachings of those that came before us. There is controversy about the actual term atheism. The word is of Greek origin of a combination of “a” and “theos.” The true meaning of “atheos,” though is questionable. “Atheos” could mean “no God,” “without God,” “lack God belief” or “God does not exist,” depending on ones interpretation. Early Christians were only referred to as atheists because they did not believe in Roman or Greek Gods (Mariano). The changed definition of atheism is much more contemporary than that and atheists are recognized as not believing in any God or gods at all. Buddhism is a type religion that is similar to atheism in the fact that there is no higher deity that serves as Creator. Many argue that atheism is not actually a religion. Instead it is a lack thereof. Atheists also are non-believers of spirits, divine intervention or any type of supernatural beings. Instead, they are categorized as metaphysical naturalists. This makes many contradict the theory that atheism is not a religion but that in a sense, it actually can be considered to be because it is a particular series of belief systems that are intertwined into a persons lifestyle (Smartt). Atheism is broken down according to different types of beliefs. There is strong atheism, weak atheism and antitheism. Each has its own description about a lack of god. Strong atheism or positive atheism is defined by the concept that a person truly believes that there is no existence of God at all (Mariano). Weak atheism, also called negative atheism, is the thought that they do not believe in God. This is most similar with being agnostic. They do not believe in a God because it has not been proven. Antitheism refers to an atheist who believe that any God is just the result of superstition and ignorance. They seek to abolish the concept that there is a God at all and wish to remove it from all aspects of culture. They are also labeled as militant atheists ( Mariano). Also, it is thought of the development of western Atheism philosophy that Charles Darwins theory of evolution made it more possibly to be “intellectually fulfilled” by the concept of development and the formation of life. Darwin suggested that evolution began out of the big-bang concept and that everything started from nothing but the cosmos. Humans are just another species of animals on the planet, all of which started out from a collision in space (Smartt). Many atheists may also believe that life is actually meaningless. Living in a godless world, there is no obligation to abide by morals. People should be able to do whatever they want. Supernatural entities do not exist now, never have and never will. This is a theory of naturalism as adopted by many atheists. Naturalism implies that once a person is dead, there is no afterlife. Death “marks the permanent end.” Each persons views vary slightly but naturalism is a thought among the general consensus of atheists of what is to be true (Wielenberg, 2). People from all over the world even have follow the concept of atheism. The concept of atheism has been present in society for hundreds, even thousands, of years (Murray). In atheism, many people question the influence of evil. People and animals suffer daily. If God were truly at work, he should not allow such suffering. Suffering on earth is not justified (Rowe, 335). Being an atheist does not mean that one is satanic or demonic in their worship. Many people do believe that for a person to be an atheist is the work of devil. The devil creates a temptation to eliminate the faith and belief system that there is a God. Many times, that is not true at all. Life just is. A person sees what they get and get what they see. There is no reason that people are on earth other than through particles combining and developing energy at the start of the university. Humans have evolved and are just another species of animal but there is no link to the devil. There certainly is no link to God or a series of gods. There are no good rewards after this life on earth but there are no bad ones either. Life is over and done upon death and there is no divine intervention in the daily operations of ones life and there are no miracles. When it comes to becoming an atheist, where does it stem from? Atheism could be imposed by the belief system of parents. It can also be something that comes from a lack of religion or spirituality in the home. Atheism could also come from continued blows to a persons life that causes them to realize that there is no God that loves them and they then create a barrier which keeps a God out and they decide denying him is the way to live. This theory rejects all views of Christianity. However, it also rejects any other monotheistic religions as well. Atheism is a way of life. As with any other type of lifestyle, it is not for one to judge. When the end comes, only they will know. No one else knows either. Others just have faith in something that they believe could be true. Atheists do not. Works Cited “Atheism.” Conservapedia. Conservapedia. 2012. Web. 19 April 2012. Mariano. “Atheism.” Creation Ministries International. Creation Ministries International, 2011. Web. 19 April 2012. Murray, Robert. “Jesus v the Atheists: A report for 2000.” Quadrant, Vol. 44, No. 3, Mar 2000: 36-43. Web. 19 April 2012. Rowe, William L., “The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism. American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 4, Oct. 1979: 335-341. Web. 19 April 2012. Smartt, Daniel. “Atheism: A Religion.” Creation Ministries International. Creation Ministries International, 2010. Web. 19 April 2012. Wielenberg, Erik. “Value and Virture in a Godless Universe.” Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. Read More