Atheists: Time to Come Out of the Closet!

You use this phrase often.Can you list some mindful natural processes and how we can tell the difference between mindless natural processes and mindful natural processes?

Nope, that's your projection only. There is no atheist perspective. All an atheist is is someone who doesn't believe in god(s). You can't say anything else about them.I suspect most think no more about it. Luckily for us, the jails are not full of serial killers but sadly they are full of career criminals and the majority of them are Christians. Whether they match your personal definition is irrelevant.
​ Total bollox, you're just making excuses.
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As an atheist, you believe/accept that a mindless natural process that has no goal, purpose or direction produced all life on earth.
Such a process is meaningless, yet you claim that human life can have meaning.Please explain how a meaningless process can produce something that has meaning.

I think some of us are finding your use of the term "mindless natural process" confusing. I was hoping you would answer Tanypteryx's question, but since you haven't let me ask it in another way. Does your use of the term "mindless natural process" imply that you believe there's such a thing as a "mindful natural process"? If not then the "mindless" modifier isn't necessary since all natural processes are mindless.As Tangle has explained, an atheist is just someone who doesn't believe in God or gods. Believing that natural processes have no "goal, purpose or direction" isn't part of the definition. Some atheists might think that way, some not.Your terminology is also somewhat anthropomorphic, which is problematic since it makes your meaning unclear. Does the Higgs field have purpose, to provide mass? Do natural processes have a direction, toward increasing entropy? It is people who give life meaning. That's why everyone believes that how we treat other people is what's important. Some people think they need God to tell them that, some don't.--Percy

Okey dokey.How Meaning Came into the WorldFirst there was no universe, then there was.After that instance of becoming, the universe unfolded to its current state according to natural processes.First there was no life, then there was.After that instance of becoming, life thrived in many forms. From among those forms emerged ours -- becoming ever more aware of the natural, predictable foundations of our existence.First we had no idea where we came from, then we did.Looking up from our stories of creation to our present views of it from 13 billion years away, we have found nothing that requires intervention from outside the natural order, nothing that requires mindful purpose.First there was no meaning ...From our knowledge of our astounding origin in the stars, to our discovery of empathy, morality and a sense of fairness in our primate cousins; from the experiential fusion of the rose's beauty and our understanding of its secrets (and the secrets of the worm), and from the firmament of human love and compassion that connects us -- through all these wonders we pass, and our understanding grows.We have become mindful. We have purpose: we endure, we know things, and we love each other, and that's how meaning came into the world.We made it.

You're in a terrible mess about this.Atheists do not believe in god(s) that's all. They do not believe in something else instead. Just like you not believing in elves doesn't mean that you're required to believe in fairies.Most atheists I know don't even think about it, they just accept that the religion they grew up with is nonsense and get on with their (meaningful) lives. God may or may not exist, but as he/she/it is totally absent, he/she or it is totally irrelevant to their lives.Personally, I do think about these things but I still don't accept your premise. I accept that evolution 'created' the plethora of species that exist on earth. As does your pope. You're just playing with words. We create meaning. Totally inanimate objects can be given meaning, teddy bears, heirloom jewellery, rosary beads, homes. Meaning is a human invention made possible by the meaningless process of evolution which evolved consciousness.I take it that you've given up on your assertion that only atheists can be criminal.

Atheism is just a response to a claim: is there a god?Theists/Deists say "Yes".
Atheists say "No".That is the limit of the discussion. There is no aspect to that reply that makes any statements in regards to purpose or a goal. It is no different than asking someone if they think bigfoot exists. It is a straightforward answer to a straightforward question.Regarding anything beyond the original ask: that now delves into the realms of religion and philosophy. But note that there are religions out there that have specific beliefs and "meaning", but they don't have gods associated with them. Many eastern religions for example focus more on life energies (Chi) or reincarnation without any notion of a god or an afterlife associated with them. So these are "atheistic" religions yet they have the concept of purpose.That is why ascribing added arguments to what an atheist "believes" makes no sense any more than me making arguments about what your particular religious faith believes. Because theists may all agree that there is a god, but they disagree on the meaning, wants and tenets of that god. Even among Christians, there is no consensus. And when you spread that out to alternate religions like Islam and Judaism, the meanings differ even more.And we haven't even gotten into the discussion about polytheistic religions like Hinduism, Pagan Greek or Pagan Norse. You believe in Yahweh and they might believe in Odin, Thor, Zeus and Hera.

The picture you paint is unfortunately one of delusion and fantasy. To argue that meaning and purpose arose from a meaningless and purposeless universe is so irrational it could only be the result of mental illness (it's sadly reminiscent of the argument that life arose naturally from non-life ... a distorted view of reality which is also the result of mental illness).If all life is the product of some mindless (meaningless, purposeless) natural process, humans are no more than a collection of atoms - atoms don't have meaning. That being so, the life of a human has no more meaning than the life of a worm or a virus.

Descartes once discussed a proof of God's existence, then claimed that as long as it was mentally rehearsed, one could not doubt -- a sort of belief through self-hypnosis, I suppose: a mind chained to the same words over and over.Maybe if you shut down that tape loop in your head, you could hear something different, and your faith of love and redemption would not fill you with sour bile.But probably not. Good luck with your demons.

It's always seemed to me that if a god designed the animals on this planet it would have added the waste recycle system right into each, rather than have to deal with shit. Sewage is really nasty stinky stuff, why would god create shit and then have to turn around and design something to get rid if it.Shit doesn't make any sense from a creator's point of view.

And why is the waste disposal system right next to the playground?

Yep, that one is always in my top 5 list of stupid design!

Is God perhaps more expansively playful than commonly believed, or is it just a trap for the wicked?--Percy

And how did God arise?Also, your arguments are baseless. The casting of disparaging names carries no weight. Anyone can do it about anything, e.g.: "To argue that meaning and purpose could not arise from a meaningless and purposeless universe is so irrational it could only be the result of mental illness."See?Do you have any fact-based arguments for your position? Regardless what you believe, almost everything we are made up of and that we normally come in contact with is made up of electrons, protons, neutrons and photons. If there's meaning in the universe then you will have to find it there, because that is all there is.(Yes, space is seething with a fantasmagoria of subatomic particles flitting in and out of existence, and zillions of neutrinos are passing with no interaction through our bodies every instant, and there are other particles in the menagerie, and then there's who knows what else that we haven't discovered yet, but I'm trying to keep this simple. Keep your hopes up, though - maybe they'll discover a meaning particle.)--Percy

Well reading the Bible is enough evidence to show that the writers were pervs and seemed to be well aware of some pretty major kinks.