Atheism/Theism/Agnosticism on the dope. A Poll.

In My Humble Opinion
101

On behalf of jjimm, I thank you for your input.

Does anyone actually read these threads or, like me, do you read the OP and the first few replies, skip to the last one, read that, post a reply and then lose interest?

102
  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?

Technically, I am agnostic, but if you ask me what I truly believe (with no evidence, although I cannot imagine what evidence there could be), I am an atheist.
2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?

  1. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?

My parents, although Jewish by birth, had no religious practice and I never had any religious belief. When I was 11 years 8 months my parents realized that their parents expected a bar mitzvah and I went through all the hoops but never believed any of it.
4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?

  1. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.

It is not possible to explain why I don’t believe in something I find there is no evidence for.

  1. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?

  2. If not, why?

  3. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?

Only when I was bored in a hotel room and the Gideons thought to include a copy of the old testament.

  1. ditto, the koran?

No.

  1. ditto, the torah/talmud?

The Torah is essentially the old testament. The Talmud, no.
11. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?

A.B., Ph.D.

  1. Do you like Animals?

Yes.

  1. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?

Yes.

  1. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?

Yes.

  1. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?Ther

It is a proposition based on evidence for which it is imaginable that some contrary evidence might refute it. Equivalently, it makes predictions of future evidence and the more successful its predictions are, the more it looks like a scientific law. However there are in fact no scientific laws since any theory could be refuted.

Incidentally, a mathematical theory is an entirely different animal. The theory of, say, euclidean plane geometry are the axioms of Euclid as extended by David Hilbert

  1. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.
    [/QUOTE]

Too many already.

103

Depends how long the thread is. I read all of this one (after posting, so as not to color my answers) but it was only a page long at the time.

If it’s longer than three pages, you can bet I didn’t read all of it.

That applies to any thread, really. Except picture threads and maybe one debate thread in 1000.

104

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Atheist.

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?

  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    Once and for all, about fifteen years ago, at the age of 31.

  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    There was no single event - I thought about athiesm alongside of many other religious and philosophical ideas for many years. I was raised in a traditional Presbyterian family, and for a time, my parents were quite hopeful that I would find my calling as a Presbyterian minister. I became a born-again Christian for a time, went to atheism, called myself a Buddhist for a time. It was, as I said above, much later in life that I came down firmly on the side of ‘there is no God’.

For all that, I still find religion fascinating and I read mythology, folklore and religious texts. I also deeply miss the musical experience with the church. We had a very good choir, as well as a youth choir and a handbell choir. We were also encouraged to perform as often as possible on whatever instruments we wanted. There weren’t many other places where I could have played mandoline and vibes at the age of 14, but they were happy about it.

  1. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.

  2. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?

  3. If not, why?

  4. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    Yes.

  5. ditto, the koran?
    Not entirely, but about a third of it.

  6. ditto, the torah/talmud?
    No.

Side note - I’ve also read the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Bagavad-Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and some of the Upanishads. Also a couple of sutras. For what that’s worth.

  1. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
    Not yet. I’m 47; I don’t like to rush these things…

  2. Do you like Animals?
    Yes.

  3. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    Yes; I’m a very lucky person.

  4. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
    Yes.

  5. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    An idea that provides answers to the data we have collected thus far, and that predicts data that has not yet been collected.

  6. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.

If you became an atheist after growing up with a religious background, is there anything you miss about your former church life?
ETA: and now, to read the rest of it…

105
  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?

Theist

  1. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?

Christian Protestant. Presbyterian to be exact.

  1. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?

Have I thought about reading it? Yes. Read it. No

  1. If not, why?

Not enough time.

  1. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?

No

  1. Do you like Animals?

Yes

  1. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?

Yes

  1. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?

Yes

  1. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?

Theory is a scientific idea that hasn’t been proven 100% but certainly is an educated guess.

  1. What is the meaning of life?
106

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Theist.

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?
    I’m a Methodist, if that’s what you mean.

  3. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?
    No

  4. If not, why?
    I guess I’m just not interested in it. Kind of like ballet.

  5. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
    Do BA, MBA count? They don’t with my wife. I’ve never succeeded in getting her to call me “Master”.

  6. Do you like Animals?
    Most of them. I absolutely love dogs. I’d like cats a lot more if they didn’t make me sneeze. We have 1 dog and 2 cats.

  7. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    Yes

  8. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
    I believe so. My father was a biochemistry professor at a medical school and therefore science was a strong part of my education.

  9. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    I think it can vary somewhat. For the most part I take it to be “Something for which we have much scientific evidence which doesn’t rise to the level of proof.” I say that it varies because we still speak of the Theory of Relativity even though I believe that the amount of evidence for it would qualify as proof.

107

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic? Atheist

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to? N/A

  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one? Age 13

  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it? Two things led me to this way of thinking (did not cause it): perceived hypocrisy of religious teachings against money, when I believed that 99% of the people in the church would give their eye teeth to be rich; Ayn Rand’s Playboy interview - the interviewer asked “Do you believe in God?” and she said “Of course not”.

  5. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic. N/A

  6. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins? N/A (not interested in reading it either as an atheist)

  7. If not, why? (basically N/A but I will say that I don’t need the kinds of populist arguments against religion and belief in God that I have understood to be presented in that book.)

  8. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible? Some parts in Sunday School as a child, other minor bits as they have found their way into the literature or culture.

  9. ditto, the koran? None except little bits as quoted relevant to news stories.

  10. ditto, the torah/talmud? Isn’t this part of the old testament? Same answer as #8.

  11. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name? Nope.

  12. Do you like Animals? I like them very much, generally. It’s unfortunate that I am so allergic to them.

  13. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake? Yes.

  14. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection? I think that I do.

  15. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you? A testable proposition intended to explain natural phenomena, capable of being disproved, not capable of being proved.

  16. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.

  17. Discuss your family’s religious orientation. Where does it fall on the scale between the most skeptical atheism and the most passionately committed spirituality?
    Roddy

108

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic? Agnostic

  2. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic. Organized religion is patently ridiculous. I was (loosely) raised Catholic, and the whole business is absurd.

  3. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins? Not a theist, but reading it now. Incidentally, it’s flying off the shelves of my religion display at the library.

  4. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible? An agnostic, but yes, almost entirely parts that are “unpopular”. Also the Book of Job in its entirety.

  5. ditto, the koran? None, except parts which been pointed out to me by fellow non-believers, that I’ve looked up and found disgusting

  6. ditto, the torah/talmud? Same as #8.

  7. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name? BA for now, DDS in a few years.

  8. Do you like Animals? I hate anything that’s creepy-crawly, but I love dogs and like cats.

  9. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake? Why certainly.

  10. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection? Indeed.

  11. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you? What Lobsang said: I fully understand that a scientific ‘theory’ is a system of understanding that is almost certainly true.

  12. Discuss your family’s religious orientation. Where does it fall on the scale between the most skeptical atheism and the most passionately committed spirituality?

Where to start…they’re both physicians, and both immigrants. My mother was raised Catholic, but found out just two years ago that her father was Jewish. My father was raised a Hindu, and seemingly never really bought into much of it. He’s an ardent beef eater now, but lies to his family about it. He won’t kill bugs in the house, and does believe in reincarnation. My mom is pro-stem cell research, choice, believes in evolution…you get the picture, not a real Catholic. Both sets of my grandparents refused to attend their wedding, because of their different religions, as both of my grandmothers are/were extremely religious. Up until a few years ago, both of my parents donated money to their respective religious institutions.

They agreed to raise the kids Catholic. Regardless, the Catholic didn’t take. I never went to Sunday School and went to church sporadically as a kid. Essentially it seemed like they were irreligious but not non-believers, but were afraid of their kids growing up godless. I think the Catholicism especially didn’t take for me because of the whole “non believers are going to hell”. It’s tough for a kid to think one of their parents is going to hell. Plus, I couldn’t (and still can’t) see any physician - whose life is literally other people’s health - going to hell.

I went to church a lot my first semester of senior year of high school, after meeting my first atheists at a pre-college program over the summer. Although my beliefs were agnostic at the time, I was firmly in denial and and terrified of admitting what I was. So I tried to kick the reason out of my head and become religious. The denial and church going ended a few months later. So I’ve been going on 5 solid years now.

109

What about a quack physician who intentionally gives people overdoses of drugs like MJ"s doc?

110

There will always be a few bad apples He was on probation/in trouble with the medical licensing board for all sorts of stuff anyways. The vast majority are saints - and I don’t meant bedside manner, I mean are good at their jobs - yet unsurprisingly are largely not included with the health care debate.

(end hijack)

111

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Atheist

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?
    Not theist, but am a Buddhist amongst other things

  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    Around 23

  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    No one thing

  5. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    Yes

  6. ditto, the koran?

Yes
10. ditto, the torah/talmud?
Torah, Yes, Talmud, only bits
11. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
Yes
12. Do you like Animals?
Yes
13. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
Yes
14. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
Yes
15. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you**?
A consistent set of observations on, and consequent rules to explain, a set of phenomena.**
16. I didn’t get a question, so I’m recycling this one:Discuss your family’s religious orientation. Where does it fall on the scale between the most skeptical atheism and the most passionately committed spirituality?
Loosely Christian only in the weddings & funerals sense. Some siblings became more religious later in life - two Anglican, one Catholic (by marriage), one Rastafarian.
17. Do you think you’d have come to the same faith/lessness if you’d been raised in a completely different (modern) culture, like say India, or South America or something?

112
  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Functionally atheist. I don’t see any evidence or need for gods, but I like to hedge my bets. So maybe agnostic.
  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?
    When I tried to be a theist, I tried to be Lutheran.
  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    Sometime in my mid-thirties when it finally dawned on me that I could believe whatever I believed, and to hell with what other people expected me to believe.
  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    Not one event, but a gradual realization that maybe the reason I wasn’t able to perceive God is that God doesn’t exist, not because I am fatally flawed with a chronic lack of faith. However, I do recall a moment in 7th grade when I was sitting in church and suddenly thought “Wow, I believe this stuff.” Up until then, I don’t think it had occurred to me that I couldn’t believe it. That was the beginning of the end. Of course, it took years and years to dig myself out of the religious quagmire.
  5. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.
    Problems committing, I suppose. I like the idea that I’ll see my grandma again. I have zero evidence and no real faith that there is such a thing as an afterlife, however.
  6. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?
    N/A
  7. If not, why?
    N/A
  8. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    Yes. Quite a lot. Back in the day, I used to attend church and bible study regularly. 
  9. ditto, the koran?

No, although I keep meaning to.
10. ditto, the torah/talmud?
No. But I read the Book of Mormon, does that count?
11. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
Ph.D. Totally useless degree, but I’ve got it.
12. Do you like Animals?
Love animals. Have three dogs and a cat.
13. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
Mostly, yes. When I tried to be a believer, I was very troubled and eventually deeply depressed. Chucking all that has helped my mood considerably.
14. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
Reasonable grasp. Biology degree and some armchair reading since then make me fairly acquainted with the concept.
15. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
Hey, I didn’t realize this was a test! Um… something to do with a testable hypothesis. Something that explains observable phenomena.
16. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.
If you are atheist, do you disbelieve all gods equally? I, actually, find that I don’t. I still give the Judeo-Christian Gods a little more credence than, say, Zeus. Silly, but there it is.
17. Do you think you’d have come to the same faith/lessness if you’d been raised in a completely different (modern) culture, like say India, or South America or something?
Tough one. Maybe not. I think my access to information on evolution was definitely a tipping point. Plus, it took me over 20 years to break with Christianity in a fairly free society where women are encouraged to think for themselves. I don’t know if I could have done it in a different, more paternalistic culture.

113

I’d like to answer this one too:

Yes, I really miss the holiday services, especially Christmas and Easter. I used to love the pageantry, the extra decorations, flowers, candles, seasonal vestments, hymns and carols, and the large congregations on just those days packing the church. I know it seems silly, but joining together with people to speak and sing the liturgy, to look around at all the colors and lights and hear the organ playing, to feel the ancient wonder of life after death – whether the dying year or the dying god – all that ceremony had and still has meaning to me, even if I don’t believe in the doctrine.

I miss it. It’s not the same showing up once or twice a year and celebrating with a group of strangers.

114

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Atheist. Not that I can prove that there is not god, but that the question is not worth pursuing given what we know.

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?

  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    Somewhere around 8th grade.

  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    The realization that having a god judge who goes to heaven or hell was immoral.

  5. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.

  6. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?

  7. If not, why?

  8. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    Enough to find it silly and contradictory.

  9. ditto, the koran?
    Nope.

  10. ditto, the torah/talmud?
    No.

  11. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
    No.

  12. Do you like Animals?
    Love animals. Have 2 cats.

  13. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    Probably not. The rejection that has come with who I am still stings even as it fades into the background.

  14. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
    Fair grasp.

  15. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    I don’t think I can do the concept justice in this space.

  16. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.
    Too many here.

  17. Do you think you’d have come to the same faith/lessness if you’d been raised in a completely different (modern) culture, like say India, or South America or something?
    Hard to say. The judgmental nature of Christianity was a major factor in my decision. It seems from afar that some modern cultures lack this element, but I’ve not studied them enough to say that for certain.

115
  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?

Agnostic with a hard lean toward Atheism.

  1. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?
    **
    I’m not a theist, but I am a Buddhist.**

  2. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?

When I was 18, at approximately the time I discovered the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche.

  1. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?

The pain and suffering I experienced my senior year of high school, and my feeling that philosophy, particularly existentialism, had more to offer by way of explanation than Christianity did.

  1. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.

I am Agnostic because being 100% sure there is no God makes just as little sense to me as absolute Theism. It seems more rational to say there is little evidence for an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God. And just because that kind of God doesn’t exist doesn’t mean some other kind can’t.

  1. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?

From age 10 to 16 I was a devout fundamentalist Christian. So, yes. Repeatedly.

  1. ditto, the koran?

No.

  1. ditto, the torah/talmud?
    **
    No.**

  2. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?

Why yes, that’s olivesmarch4th, B.A. to you. (I’m a current grad student.)

  1. Do you like Animals?
    Of course.

  2. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    80% of the time I am very content. The other 20% of the time I struggle with depression and anxiety, but I’m basically happy.

  3. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?

Fair, yes. I understand that species change over time based on what’s most advantageous to their survival as a species. Things with not advantageous traits tend to die, so the organisms with desirable traits survive to pass along their genes. That’s about as complex as my understanding goes.

  1. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    A hypothesis about how something is, or how it works.

  2. Discuss your family’s religious orientation. Where does it fall on the scale between the most skeptical atheism and the most passionately committed spirituality?

It’s all across the board. My Mom isn’t really Praise Jesus type but she believes in God and due to a near-death experience when she was 4 she is really adamant about the existence of an afterlife. My stepfather was an atheist. My grandfather is an atheist but pretends not to be for the sake of my grandmother, who is very religious. My Aunt is agnostic and thinks religion is silly.

  1. Do you think you’d have come to the same faith/lessness if you’d been raised in a completely different (modern) culture, like say India, or South America or something?

I imagine my experiences would have been very different, therefore my beliefs also would have been. I think there is a higher probability that I would believe whatever the majority believes, particularly if my country of origin had a highly interdependent culture.

ETA additional question: Umm. Were you ever forced to attend church or a religious congregation, and if so, did this contribute to your current religious belief?

116
  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic? Atheist
  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to? N/A
  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one? Day one
  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it? N/A
  5. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic. N/A
  6. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible? I’ve seen a few sections, can’t say I’ve read much
  7. ditto, the koran? No
  8. ditto, the torah/talmud? No (is that still in print? Whoda thunkit)
  9. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name? CEO
  10. Do you like Animals? No. They all annoy me, although I’ve come to tolerate ants.
  11. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake? Yes
  12. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection? Yes
  13. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you? “Breaking with past explanations, with more data than those prior”
  14. Discuss your family’s religious orientation. My parents and children and ex wife are all atheists. My brother and sister talk of “spirituality”, but nothing specific.
  15. Do you think you’d have come to the same faith/lessness if you’d been raised in a completely different (modern) culture, like say India, or South America or something?
    Yes. And I’ll say the same for my parents and kids and ex. But my siblings are more persuadable, and would probably have just joined the local club.
    And I’ll add a question:
  16. If you are a believer, do you think all the other believers in the world consider you to be a believer? Do you think they think all religions are basically the same?
117
  1. Theist
  2. Christianity
  3. I’ve read it, and as I’ve posted before, no book other than the Bible and Orthodoxy has done more to convince me of the correctness of Christianity.
  4. B.S. in computer science, M.A. in mathematics.
  5. Yes. They taste great. (In all honesty, I do like animals.)
  6. As long as I’m with other people, I’m nearly always happy. Luckily, I now spend most of my waking hours with other people.
  7. Yes. In fact I’ve read The Descent of Man and most of The Origin of Species.
  8. It can mean anything from an established and proven body of facts to useless speculation.
  9. My father was a militant atheist. My mother was the same when I was a child, but has since because a lukewarm liberal Episcopalian–she does not believe in the divinity of Jesus. As for my brother, I can’t really say. He was a hardcore atheist growing up, but experimented with some form of Buddhism in his early 20’s, and I honestly don’t know what he believes right now.
  10. I believe that no matter where I was born, Jesus Christ would have called me to be His disciple.
118

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Atheist

  2. If you are theist, which religion do you belong to?
    n/a

  3. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    My parents never raised me in any particular religion, they never prayed, never went to church, etc., so you can pretty much say I was raised atheist.

  4. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    **n/a
    **

  5. If you are Agnostic, explain why you are Agnostic.
    n/a

  6. If you are a Theist, have you entertained the idea of reading “The God Dellusion” by Richard Dawkins?
    n/a (is that his book about Dell computers, btw?)

  7. If not, why?
    **n/a
    **

  8. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    parts of it but certainly not in full.

  9. ditto, the koran?

no

  1. ditto, the torah/talmud?
    no

  2. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
    yes. I can even put some in front of my name if I like.

  3. Do you like Animals?
    sure.

  4. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    I guess so.

  5. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
    I would say so.

  6. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    A theory is a coherent set of general propositions about the world, all of which are falsifiable.

  7. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.
    Did you see the Inglorious Basterds film? How did you like it?

119

  1. Are you Atheist, Theist, or Agnostic?
    Atheist

  2. If you are Atheist, When did you become one?
    I wasn’t raised in any particular religion, although my parents encouraged me to explore and decide for myself. So I suppose I’ve always been one, even though I test-drove a few different belief systems.

  3. If you are an Atheist and if there was one thing/event that caused you to be an Atheist, what was it?
    No one event, but I remember one shocker moment when I was pretty young. I was fascinated by mythology, and was amazed to learn that some people actually believe in some of the myths I’d read about (Christianity).

  4. If you are an Atheist, have you read the Bible?
    No. Most of my biblical knowledge comes from my art history classes.

  5. ditto, the koran?
    no

  6. ditto, the torah/talmud?
    no

  7. Do you have any qualifications that allow you to put letters after your name?
    I have a BA, but I don’t put it after my name.

  8. Do you like Animals?
    Very much so.

  9. Be honest here: Do you consider yourself contented for more than half of the time you’re awake?
    Yes

  10. Do you have a fair grasp of the concept of Evolution and Natural Selection?
    Yes

  11. What does the word ‘theory’ in the scientific context mean to you?
    An idea that needs to be tested and verified.

  12. Because I like doing this: Add your own question for the following poster.
    Did you see the Inglorious Basterds film? How did you like it?
    Not yet, but plan to.

  13. For the next poster: Do you feel uncomfortable talking about your lack of belief with others?