NationStates Jolt Archive

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe. I also believe in reincarnation because nearly everything in life is cyclical and I don't see why life and death should be different.

So am I an atheist?

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe. I also believe in reincarnation because nearly everything in life is cyclical and I don't see why life and death should be different.

So am I an atheist?
No. You sound like a spiritual Buddhist somewhat. Difference between spiritual Buddhists and regular Buddhists? Spiritual Buddhists believe in reincarnation and take Buddha as thier god.

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe.

You seem to be a Jedi.

No, you are not an Atheist. I suggest looking into Buddhism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism).

No, you are not an Atheist. I suggest looking into Buddhism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism).
Hey! That's what I said...

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe. I also believe in reincarnation because nearly everything in life is cyclical and I don't see why life and death should be different.

So am I an atheist?
Probably theist or general deist

If you don't believe in God you are atheist. That is all Atheist means.

You can be both an Atheist and a Buddhist. Likewise, you could be a Theist and a Buddhist.

No. You sound like a spiritual Buddhist somewhat. Difference between spiritual Buddhists and regular Buddhists? Spiritual Buddhists believe in reincarnation and take Buddha as thier god.
Regular buddhists believe in reincarnation and veiw Buddha as semi-devine (unless they are chinese, in which case he is actually a god, amongst many others). I though 'spiritual' anything is just the no strings attached version of the orthodox original, wishy washy wishful thinking crappe.

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe. I also believe in reincarnation because nearly everything in life is cyclical and I don't see why life and death should be different.

So am I an atheist?
You seem to be confused. I may be wrong, but it appears that you beleifs are inspired purely from wishful thinking (not that any other religion isn't, but this is your creation). Rather than asking "why wouldn't life and death be cyclical?", ask yourself "Why would it be cyclical?". I know it would be nice, but try to be realistic.
Are you an Atheist, depends on the definition. Strictly speaking, I would say no, as to me Atheism rejects all supernatual beleifs. However, going by the word itself, you could be, seeing as you don't believe in a god. I would still say no, though.
My recommendation for you depends on what you are after. If you want to satiate your curiousity/desire for truth, I would recommend pursuing atheism. If you want a sense of security/belonging/meaning, go buddhism (as the religion requiring the least amount of philosphical work on your behalf).

If you don't believe in God you are atheist. That is all Atheist means.

You can be both an Atheist and a Buddhist. Likewise, you could be a Theist and a Buddhist.

"Atheism, in its broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods, and those who make no claim about whether gods exist or not."

So, it really comes down to one's definition of a god. It is widely accepted to be "The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being."

Then we must define being. "In ontology, a being is anything that can be said to be, either transcendantly or immanently."

Now, transcendence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendence_%28philosophy%29) and Immanence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanence).

I leave the rest up to Wikipedia and your own individual conclusions. Too many definitions associated with god.

but try to be realistic.

But what is reality. And 'yes' I did watch The Matrix yesterday.

you arent an atheist but ur kinda just floating there like i was. i think u shud think about budhism. maybe look into it a little. i was an atheist for a while b4 i decided that i was a satanist, and now i follow the laws of satan. but for u i think budhism would be the right choice.

You shouldn't worry so much about what label is most approperiate to assign to you. People will label you as something-or-the-other anyway, so just let them and get on with thinking for yourself.

...and I don't really believe in a god but...

I'ma guess that's the non-definitive version of not believing in a god, so yeah, most likely Atheist.

You are whatever you want to be. Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, vague Spiritualist... Pick any name and it will suit you as much as it does anyone else.

With regards to identifying your ideas, however, I would dub them Pantheistic and suggest you look to the far East; be prepared to have your very way of thinking put to the test if you do so, though.

OK, so I don't follow any religions, or at least any mainstream religions, and I don't really believe in a god but a powerful force that creates itself and the universe. I also believe in reincarnation because nearly everything in life is cyclical and I don't see why life and death should be different.

So am I an atheist?
Nope, um You DO believe in God...in a sense. My veiws match your's EXACTLY in this matter, and I don't consider myself an atheist.

You are whatever you want to be. Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, vague Spiritualist... Pick any name and it will suit you as much as it does anyone else.

With regards to identifying your ideas, however, I would dub them Pantheistic and suggest you look to the far East; be prepared to have your very way of thinking put to the test if you do so, though.
Oh please. It isn’t that mind blowing at all if you aren’t a complete simpleton. It's just as much hogwash as anything the West has thought up.

To the OP: As someone else said, your belief system centers around wishful thinking and has no reasonable basis. People like you, that is the wishy washy spiritualists, sometimes irritate me more than Christians. At least Christians work within a warped view of reality that their feeble minds hold as truth. A spiritualist rejects reason seemingly arbitrarily.

The term Buddha, in Buddhism, gets used to represent several different ideas, which tend to get confusing. Primarily, for non-Buddhists, Buddha refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, Prince Siddharta Gautama, who lived in India around 2500 BC. For Buddhists, Buddha can refer to any number of Buddhas that have existed. Buddha is actually a title, meaning "Enlightened One" and it is also a state of infinite wisdom and compassion that is inherent in everyone. The practice of Buddhism is meant to make that state manifest.

If you don't believe in God you are atheist. That is all Atheist means.

You can be both an Atheist and a Buddhist. Likewise, you could be a Theist and a Buddhist.

No. An atheist believes solidly that there is no god or diety or whatever.

I had thought that thinking "hey, there may be a god or not, whatever," was agnostic, but I recently heard that agnostics do believe that there is some force and what I was describing was something else, only now I don't remember what. If anyone could help me out, that would be appriciated.

First, forgive my typos here. there will be a lot of them. Also, I just got off work, so I appologize ahead of time for rambling.

OK. With this question you will get many answers and many povs.

Are you atheist? Well, what do you think? Only you can be the one who says if you are or not. As someone said earlier, it is the absence of a belief in god(s). For me it is a state of who I am. I am atheist. I do not believe that there is a creater or a "thing" that directs us around (atheist). I do, however think that there may be something that started everything off. Was it a supreme being? I doubt it. I think it may have been something that is associated with this universe. I could be wrong. Maybe it is a god as people say it is. I don't think it is, but I could be wrong (agnostic/diest).

Unlike some atheists, I do not believe that we simply cease to exist. I believe that we are made of several different aspects. The two major ones are physical and (for the lack of a better term) spiritual. I believe that our physical body lives in a universe (what we can see and touch and use our other basic 5 senses in). When the physical body diess, all that is left of the essense of energy that some refer to as a soul. Once detached from the physical body, this spirit can traverse to other dimentions (or universes) previously unreachable in physical form.

This is where reincarnation comes into play. The spiritual essence is able to look back into the previous life and see what has been learnes, and what has not been. At that point in time, this spirit chooses to come back into a new life and try to learn from the mistakes in tyhe previous lifetime. (That's when you start getting into karma and all that.)

I have thought that this may be similar to some buddist beliefs, and I can see how that is, but I actually fit into more of a pagan role. I joke areound and say that I am an atheistic pagan. I believe that there are a lot of truths to the way that some oft hese ancient belief systems swork, but I don't believe that they are ruled by a god figure. To me, they are just inhearant to the universe we live in and are actually "normal.' Just because we don't totally understand what something means (ghosts, lay lines, reincarnation) doesn't make them religious. It just makes them not totally understood.

Anyway, that's my little thought on this. Hopefully I didn't create more qs for you.
Sphinx