Is Athiesm responsible for the tryants of the 20th century?

[Aussiegunner]

Thats a bit extreem. I can't believe that eliminating the word from our vocabulary would make any difference to anybody, only make it difficult to describe those who don't believe in God.
Granted there is no such word as A-astrologer, I would think mainly due to the fact that there isn't much of a need for it. But, due to the prevalence of people who dont believe in a theos, the word "Atheism" is needed.

It is really a matter for the individual as to what they choose to call their belief system and it is rude of anybody else to presume to lable them in any other way. I think there is a hell of a lot more to the fact that I believe in reason and humanity than the fact that I don't also believe in a God/Gods/Nirvana or whatever and don't want to be stereotyped as such.

[zara]

Those of the atheist/agnostic/antithiest persuasion don't like to be grouped or pigeonholed. Religious people (Diests aside) do like congregate under an umbrella, hence the various churches. Organising Atheists is a bit like trying to herd cats.

There was a rather obnoxious attempt to label atheists as 'Brights', but I think most people rejected it.

[Parihaka]

Personally I far prefer to be called heathen or barbarian. At a pinch if someone really insists I'll go for GODLESS heathen or barbarian.

[captain]

Personally I far prefer to be called heathen or barbarian. At a pinch if someone really insists I'll go for GODLESS heathen or barbarian.

I seem to remember my mother saying things like "come here you little heathen" we she could not round me up to go to Sunday school after about ten years of age.

I must have taken that salutation to heart.

Cheers.

[Bigfella]

Personally I far prefer to be called heathen or barbarian. At a pinch if someone really insists I'll go for GODLESS heathen or barbarian.

I'll take GODLESS heathen (though I self-describe as agnostic). It serves as an amusing counterpoint to my status as an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church.

I've already created my first saint.

[Prof]

Those of the atheist/agnostic/antithiest persuasion don't like to be grouped or pigeonholed. Religious people (Diests aside) do like congregate under an umbrella, hence the various churches. Organising Atheists is a bit like trying to herd cats.

There was a rather obnoxious attempt to label atheists as 'Brights', but I think most people rejected it.

Zara:

Weird. "Brights."

Shortly after I was old enough to drive I was heading south on a local county road when several of the approaching cars blinked their lights. I checked mine & they were off. I had another guy in the car with me, so I said something like "Why are all these assholes blinking at me?" He said, "Maybe there's a cop up ahead." Sure enough, there was, lurking just over the top of a hill in a speed trap. That's the first time I had ever heard about that pleasant little example of communal altruistic anarchism, which was apparently decades old at the time & known to every driver on earth but me, but it was also the first time I noticed a phenomenon that I've experienced hundreds of times since then. That is, once your attention has been first called to a phenomenon you begin to run into it all the time.

Believe it or not, the first time I ever saw or heard the word "Brights" used to refer to the God-Lite or God-Free set was last week, when it was used in print (The Atlantic Monthly Letters to the Editor?). Already, just in the last few days, I've run into it three times. Your reference is the 4th.

Obviously the term hasn't run its course. It's infelicitous verging over the line into "dumb as a rock" in my opinion, but NewSpeak euphemism usually is. The phenomenon itself, though, is one of those little things that keeps me on the agnostic side of the agnostic/atheist fence. My version of "antitheism" keeps me simultaneously pugnacious & well-grounded in reality.

Yours in playful but irritable godless heathenism,

Prof

[zara]

maybe the term is gaining notoriety then. I first came across it in Dawkins 'The God Dillusion'. He seemed to be advocating its use. I thought it was a little self-ingratiating.

Hitchens was pretty scathing of the term in 'God is not Great' and Harris as mentioned before was dismissive of the need for such a term in the 'end of faith'. In fact the word 'Atheist' didn't appear once in his book.

[eshcol]

Well there is a prevalence of people who don't believe in astrology either. I think he uses this argument to highlight the absurdity of religious belief - when there is an absurd proposition we don't grant that proposition undue legitimacy by defining ourselves in opposition to it.

Sorry. my mistake. I always seem to get astrology and astronomy mixed up

[eshcol]

Those of the atheist/agnostic/antithiest persuasion don't like to be grouped or pigeonholed. Religious people (Diests aside) do like congregate under an umbrella, hence the various churches. Organising Atheists is a bit like trying to herd cats.

I know many who are proud to be known as atheist.
But try grouping all religous people together and it will be like herding cats with explosives strapped under their fur.