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[Ampersand]

So a few weeks ago, I discovered that right here in Austin there is a public access call in talk show run by the Atheist Community of Austin. Not only do they store away every single episode for the past several years in OGG, and MP3, (since 2008) and Google Video (Since 2004, at least until that service closes), but every Sunday, starting a bit before 4:30, they start broadcasting live over Ustream to the internet for all the world to watch. You can find many clips on youtube, as they encourage fans to post clips there, as it has drawn several new viewers.

They will frequently get callers from overseas, and around the country, though they do have a preference to callers from the Austin Area.

Entertaining, highly recommended.

http://www.atheist-experience.com/

[Nilocy]

Atheism should be treated as a Religious minority. Get all the rights we do, the church of Atheism exists i believe... euuurgh.

[Ampersand]

But it's not a religion, and it's not a shared belief system, it's the lack of a belief system. The self titled Church of Atheism is rejected by the vast majority of us because it's an institution that wants to dictate beliefs, which is exactly contrary the definition.

[Electronic Phantom]

Rar!!  Offended!

Not really.

And...

But it's not a religion, and it's not a shared belief system, it's the lack of a belief system. The self titled Church of Atheism is rejected by the vast majority of us because it's an institution that wants to dictate beliefs, which is exactly contrary the definition.

<bold> No.  Atheists have a belief system, it just happens to not include the belief that God, or any other god, exists.

-(e)EP

[Sergius]

Having a common belief doesn't make a shared belief system. Just like all the people that like cabbage aren't suddenly members of the cabbage religion.

[viskaslietuvai]

No.  Atheists have a belief system, it just happens to not include the belief that God, or any other god, exists.

-(e)EP

I like to imagine myself an atheist and I don't think I have a belief system that is in any way coordinated with other atheists. The only common factor is the belief that there isn't any kind of deity. We don't get together twice a month and collectively decide how to not believe in a god, we just don't. There isn't really any organization or "system" that dictates how atheists must behave or not believe. There is no canon nor holy text. On the Origin of Species, by the way, is a paper discussing a scientific theory, not a statement of religious truth. It is not equatable to the Bible. I don't understand why some people, atheist and religious, seem to think that Charles Darwin is the atheist version of Muhammad.
I do, however, agree that the theory of evolution is the closest guess we have as to why there is such diversity in species.

[G-Flex]

No.  Atheists have a belief system, it just happens to not include the belief that God, or any other god, exists.

-(e)EP

I like to imagine myself an atheist and I don't think I have a belief system that is in any way coordinated with other atheists. The only common factor is the belief that there isn't any kind of deity.

The thing is, you don't even have to make that concession either.

The only thing "atheism" necessarily implies is the lack of a belief in gods, not necessarily the belief in the lack of gods.

[kuro_suna]

I don't understand why some people, atheist and religious, seem to think that Charles Darwin is the atheist version of Muhammad.

Mostly its just religion trying to paint science as a religion so the can fight it on equal terms instead of having to explain why bacteria gaining resistance to antibiotics isn't evolution.

[Ampersand]

Back on topic, this thread is mostly here to draw attention to the existence of the show, rather than discuss religion. It's streaming over Ustream at the moment.

[¿]

As soon as a common belief system becomes coordinated, it's a religion or a cult.

[Gorjo MacGrymm]

I think a few of you have almost hit the mark with Darwin, collectively, I think you nail it.

case in point:

...
I do, however, agree that the theory of evolution is the closest guess we have ...

combined with:

...trying to paint science as a religion ...

the problem is moving it from theory/best guess to "scientific fact".  Then "evolution" does become the religion.  Do things evolve?  Absolutely!  Do they evolve out of their own "Kingdon,Phylum,Class,Order,Family,Genus,Species" is unproven.  An adaptive bacteria is still a bacteria.  Darwins original theory didnt go so far as to really suggest that all life evolved from one single organism/cell/microbe/etc.  He would have been horrified by that concept.  He theorized that the species adapt themselves to their surroundings, and in doing so, begin to differentiate themselves from other members of their own species, but they still inherently remain what they are.  That is the Origin of the Species in a nut shell.  Its probable he might have believes it went further than that and was just afraid of bucking the accepted idealogy of his time too severely.  But, Darwin himself not being an "Athiest", provokes some interesting questions as to what he really meant.

hmmmmmmmm, prolly tl;dr for everyone huh?

___________________________________________________________________________

oh, wait, semi back on topic:

I like to imagine myself an atheist and I don't think I have a belief system that is in any way coordinated with other atheists. The only common factor is the belief that there isn't any kind of deity. We don't get together twice a month and collectively decide how to not believe in a god, we just don't. There isn't really any organization or "system" that dictates how atheists must behave or not believe.

doesnt the fact that a group of people getting together at the same time every weekend to broadcast their "beliefs" "lack of beliefs" to their "followers" "fans" smack of a religion?

So a few weeks ago, I discovered that right here in Austin there is a public access call in talk show run by the Atheist Community of Austin. Not only do they store away every single episode for the past several years in OGG, and MP3, (since 2008) and Google Video (Since 2004, at least until that service closes), but every Sunday, starting a bit before 4:30, they start broadcasting live over Ustream to the internet for all the world to watch. You can find many clips on youtube, as they encourage fans to post clips there, as it has drawn several new viewers.

They will frequently get callers from overseas, and around the country, though they do have a preference to callers from the Austin Area.

a named organization, taking calls every week from around the world, to discuss their "belief system" lack of a "belief system".....sounds like a religous show to me. 

As soon as a common belief system becomes coordinated, it's a religion or a cult.

umm, what he said.  lol, i prolly didnt have to post anything after all......

[G-Flex]

I think a few of you have almost hit the mark with Darwin, collectively, I think you nail it.

case in point:

...
I do, however, agree that the theory of evolution is the closest guess we have ...

combined with:

...trying to paint science as a religion ...

the problem is moving it from theory/best guess to "scientific fact".  Then "evolution" does become the religion.  Do things evolve?  Absolutely!  Do they evolve out of their own "Kingdon,Phylum,Class,Order,Family,Genus,Species" is unproven.

That honestly doesn't make any sense.

The "kingdom, phylum [...]" taxonomy you're talking about is manmade. There's no magical force that stops two populations of the same organism from diverging enough that we have to consider them a new species. Of course, if we're talking species, you can define that as any members of the group still capable of interbreeding freely (with viable, fertile offspring) but even that falls apart with things like bacteria.

It's moot though, since speciation has been observed anyway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speciation)


Oh, and a theory isn't really a "best guess" or at least I wouldn't characterize it that way. A theory is the best explanation given the available evidence, that's stood up to review.

doesnt the fact that a group of people getting together at the same time every weekend to broadcast their "beliefs" "lack of beliefs" to their "followers" "fans" smack of a religion?

Wait, so because people happen to share one idea, and have a show about it, that automatically makes that idea a "religion"?

Do you even know what "religion" means? If you're going to water down the definition so much that it includes any loose group of people getting together to talk about one idea about religion they happen to share, then I really don't know what to say.

It couldn't be a "religion" anyway because these people don't necessarily agree about ANYTHING. All that they have in common is that they don't believe in this one particular thing that a bunch of other people happen to believe in. There is no defining dogma, text, or belief to it.

[Gorjo MacGrymm]

I bet the Athiest Community of Austin HAS a collective Dogma text, considering its a title to a group of people in an organization.

http://www.atheist-community.org/  WOW, I was right!

its not a guess/theory, but a best explanation?  thats splitting hairs.

When people consciously gather together to seperate themselves from others due to beliefs, and then consciously attempt to promote their beliefs to others, they are participating in a religion.  See above link, then tell me if you "really don't know what to say".

happy spiral tantrum!

GMcG

[inaluct]

Gorjo, do you even PLAY DF? It's not "spiral tantrum."

[Ampersand]

You're being ridiculous. First of all, a theory in science is defined as "A logical structure that enables one to deduce the possible results." And nothing more.

Evidence: A is A.

Theory: A is always A.


Secondly, the Dogma you have submitted doesn't actually contain anything beyond a website with contact information and what that specific organization does as a Non-Profit Organization. It is no different from, for example, the SPCA. And if you're going to call the goals of the SPCA a religion, you're a fool.