Athiest?

[KyaK]

This is purely out of curiosity, but for you atheists to answer if you will. I know atheism means you don't believe in God but what does it mean as far as believing in having a soul, life after death, spirits etc?

I'm also asking because I don't believe in God in the way religion talks about God, but I do believe there is something more. Does that make me atheist or not?

 

[Vesta]

I'm not sure if there's an 'official' definition. But I consider myself an atheist and don't believe in god, souls or the afterlife. I wouldn't really think of someone who believes in an afterlife as an atheist.

 

[sparkle_1979]

I don't really believe in god but I do believe I'm classed as spiritual as I believe there is something more than we understand

 

[Banshee]

I consider myself an atheist and I do not believe in god, an after life, spirits or anything like that. I think when you are gone you are gone unfortunately. When my mum died I really wished that I believed in an afterlife as I could see the appeal but unfortunately it doesn't fit with how I see the world.

 

[mummylove]

I think when ur gone ur gone

 

[cherrylips100]

Op, you're agnostic rather than an atheist.

 

[moomin_troll]

I was also about to say ur agnostic. Don't believe in god per say but believe there could be something.
I don't believe in god, but I do believe in the afterlife as there are things I have witnessed that make m believe

 

[Pirate]

Another vote for agnostic. I consider myself agnostic.

 

[BigLegEmma]

I think you don't need to find a label; just find your own connection to the Universe/Infinite Design and your experience as an extension of it.

 

[Varenne]

An Atheist by definition simply does not believe in god. So yes, you are an atheist. It is possible to believe in other things and still be one. It's a common misconception that you must be an agnostic if you believe in anything else or don't definitely say there is no god. It's a simple misunderstanding. Agnostic simply means that you don't know for sure one way or the other. Atheists can be agnostic. I am an agnostic atheist because I wouldn't say there is no chance at all that there is a god, I simply think it's highly unlikely so I don't believe in it.

Atheists vary hugely in what they do believe, although a common route to becoming an atheist is questioning that which we have no evidence for, therefore making it likely that an atheist has also questioned things like the afterlife.

Personally, I base my beliefs on that for which we currently have evidence. I'm open to the possibility that there is an afterlife, but as the evidence we have at the moment shows that we need our bodies in order to function at any level I do not believe in one. If such evidence arose I would change my beliefs to be in line with the change.

Evidence requires repeated testing and cannot arise simply from anecdotes, so the system I base my beliefs on also doesn't allow for ghosts, spirit guides or anything else that hasn't been proven to exist. This doesn't mean that I think they definitely don't, although such an extraordinary claim would indeed require extraordinary evidence and I would be very surprised if that came up.

Anyway I'm rambling on. Atheist= no believe in any gods.

I don't really tend to use the word. As I've heard pointed out, you don't have a word for not believing in fairies or goblins or a giant purple squid ruling Mars, so why have a word for this? It doesn't really define me any more than the fact that I don't like mustard or I don't eat meat.

 

[KyaK]

Great answers thank you! I guess i'm trying to figure out what I believe. My dad died recently and I really want to feel that there is something after all this, so I don't know if i really do believe or if i'm clinging to the idea because of my own grief.

 

[moomin_troll]

Sorry to hear of ur loss. It's a tough time
I've always believed in the afterlife or ghosts from things I have personally experienced, so then when my oh died I thought I'd be sure he was still here but still second guessed everything I heard, saw and then I met a medium, it was a great experience

 

[XcupcakeX]

I consider myself agnostic.. I don't have a clue what to believe! I'd like to think there is a god but I just find it so hard to believe..but I think here's got to be SOMETHING ? I'd say you're probably agnostic.

 

[emyandpotato]

I don't believe in the God in classical theism. It's simply not something that I can accept, and I certainly can not accept the confines of any one popular theist religion based on their confines. that's not to said I don't agree with and believe in a lot of what they teach, and I respect them and accept them as sources of comfort and moral guidance (for others) no less than a theist would.

As for an afterlife; no, I believe when you're dead you're dead; and I find the way in which religions bribe and blackmail using the afterlife immoral in itself. For example, some 'morals' are not moral at all, and have been exhausted of all intelligent reason, simply because their religion marks it as a moral or immoral behaviour and uses the idea of an afterlife to impose it's necessity. Gay emotions, relationships, marriages being a good example of such.

But to state that there is no God is ridiculous; 'God' can fit so many different definitions. I've heard speeches from groups who believe that God is something within them, and who use conventional religion as a rough metaphorical guide to life. And although I disagree with the overtly humanised ideal of God and all the creation ideas, I think that is someone truly believes in a higher power then they exist- what exists for one does not have to exist for another.

Is there 'something else'? Like I said before, for some people, yes there is. For others there isn't. For me? No, I simply try and be kind and open minded. I don't feel I need moral guidance from a source other than the examples of others around me.

Spirits and souls I don't believe in personally.

 

[emyandpotato]

Great answers thank you! I guess i'm trying to figure out what I believe. My dad died recently and I really want to feel that there is something after all this, so I don't know if i really do believe or if i'm clinging to the idea because of my own grief.

Of course there's something after life. His self is very much a part of you and all those who loved him. You'll see him in your own self, not only in memories and anecdotes but with your behaviour, your quirks, your ways of seeing the world. He's your dad; he's made you the person you are. It's not for me to say whether there's an afterlife in the conventional sense, but if you decide that you are in fact only clinging to a comforting idea then please remember that he is indisputably a part of you and your family still. Also, this may not be a comfort at all, but it's been proven that at the point of death the brain releases chemicals that make the individual experience euphoria and total peace, which lasts for what feels to the dying person to be a long time.

 

[KyaK]

Great answers thank you! I guess i'm trying to figure out what I believe. My dad died recently and I really want to feel that there is something after all this, so I don't know if i really do believe or if i'm clinging to the idea because of my own grief.

Of course there's something after life. His self is very much a part of you and all those who loved him. You'll see him in your own self, not only in memories and anecdotes but with your behaviour, your quirks, your ways of seeing the world. He's your dad; he's made you the person you are. It's not for me to say whether there's an afterlife in the conventional sense, but if you decide that you are in fact only clinging to a comforting idea then please remember that he is indisputably a part of you and your family still. Also, this may not be a comfort at all, but it's been proven that at the point of death the brain releases chemicals that make the individual experience euphoria and total peace, which lasts for what feels to the dying person to be a long time.

Thank you for this. I have experienced a lot of pain wondering if he suffered in those final moments.

 

[KyaK]

Sorry to hear of ur loss. It's a tough time
I've always believed in the afterlife or ghosts from things I have personally experienced, so then when my oh died I thought I'd be sure he was still here but still second guessed everything I heard, saw and then I met a medium, it was a great experience

Thank you. I'm sorry for the loss of your OH x