We've had several threads dedicated to Atheists, and I have responded in each thread, because I don't believe in a supreme being. To me, the definition of atheist is very simply "without god."

I am spiritual (perhaps not the best word to use, but it will suffice) in the sense that I feel very connected to the natural world, and I have picked up certain philosophies from various religions that I carry around with me, the main one being Taoism. To me, that absolutely does not conflict with the title of atheist. I think that this is a point that non-atheist people don't normally understand: Atheism doesn't negate the concept of spirituality and religious philosophy.

My questions for this thread are specifically directed at the Atheists of the board, but everyone else is certainly welcome to chime in.

1. What is your definition of atheism?

2. Do you have any spiritual beliefs (again I use the word spiritual loosely, for lack of a better word) of your own that coincide with your atheism?

1. What is your definition of atheism?
As you put it, without god(s). Rather simple.

2. Do you have any spiritual beliefs (again I use the word spiritual loosely, for lack of a better word) of your own that coincide with your atheism?
I don't cling to any "spiritual" beliefs in particular, though I too am fond of Taoism. I frequently read through the Tao te Ching and, the more I hear about it, the more appealing Buddhism seems to be. While I like these belief systems, I don't foresee myself adopting any one system alone.

I do think you are right, Cyan, in saying many theists have a difficulty understanding the beliefs atheists do adhere to. I'm not saying this applies to every theist, but it appears many assume that by being an atheist one has no beliefs or purpose what-so-ever. As you point out, though, and as I imagine others will as well, there can still be a sense of "spirituality" without any adherence to the concept of a god. Or as is clearly evident in the natural world, there can still be a purpose for living and non-living entities alike without a god.

Cyan,

I define atheism as a denial of any higher being. No spirits, no soul. When you die, poof, you're gone.

Your definition better fits agnostic, which means that humans cannot understand the higher being or that cannot make up their mind whether or not there is a God.

If you say "there is something out there" then I would say agnostic.
If you say "there is absolutely no higher power (i.e. science can explain everything) I would say atheist.

While cyan can certainly speak for herself, I'd like to comment, since I too am somewhat a fan of Taoism -- the religion referenced by cyan.

Taoism doesn't really point to any supreme being but rather to reality, and all entities within it, being part of a web. The Tao Te Ching, for example, mentions a "Great Mother" which seems to indicate some kind of supreme being. But yet, throughout, people are also referred to as "masters." The being of the Great Mother is not perceived to be separate from anything else, nor in anyway superior. With Taoism, it's essentially pluralism and equality. The wood and tools for the house are no better and no less than the empty space within it. The "unnamable" force of the tao is no greater or less than the entities within it, if even they are within it, since all things are also perceived to be the tao.

As far as agnosticism goes, I'm actually atheist via agnosticism. I can't say for sure that there isn't a god of some sort, but I choose not to accept it myself. Agnostics, in my experience, tend to say that there is some higher power, but they can't identify it, so they don't subscribe to any particular interpretations of such a being. Atheists can hold spiritual views (such as Taoism) that hold to a more egalitarian philosophy without any higher, supreme entity. I see this as being distinguished from agnosticism.

But I'm not saying that there is a "higher power" out there. I'm just saying that I feel very connected with nature in a spiritual sense. Again, I feel that's not quite the word that I'm looking for since it denotes the presence of the "spirit," but I don't have a better word for describing those emotions at this moment. I can look at nature with awe, and I can appreciate both things that can be explained by science and those that can't at present. I feel connected to the entire cycle, including the idea of death, and I don't necessarily believe that we transcend death in any way other than our energy being recycled back into the system. When I feel out of balance, I merely need to get out into nature, and it puts me back in place.

This has nothing to do with theism, but it's not entirely devoid of meaning, and I get the feeling that a lot of theists view atheism in that manner.

Edited to fix my quotes.

Are you saying you are absolutely sure there is a god? I'm a sun worshiper. Sun worship involves no praying, church, rituals, killing, violence, karate, or ganja. Sometimes you play basketball or eat pizza for the glory of the sun but that's pretty much it.

I think atheism means, as you said, believing that there is no ultimate God. Maybe it's more honest than agnostic. I am a Christian, myself, but have always wondered about the spirituality aspects (of atheism) you describe here. IOW, are spirituality and atheism mutually exclusive? You answered that in your post, thanks.

I hope you don't mind if I ask you a question, since it is related to the 'spiritual aspect' of atheism you describe. Is there any concept of 'fate' or 'destiny' in your perception? I have seen things that would defy any explanation of reasonable coincidence, at least in my opinion. Is everything simply coincidence, or is there some sort of underlying consciousness which brings it all together?

I don't know if you were speaking to anybody in particular or simply to any and all atheists visiting the thread. At any rate, I'll answer your question from my point of view, mrspigpen.

I do not accept the idea of fate or destiny. I think it is indeed all random and coincidence, with us establishing some kind of pattern to it after the fact. It's very easy for me, or anybody else, to survive a car crash on Wednesday and rescue our friend's 2 year-old daughter from drowning on Thursday, and in retrospect form some connection to view the incident as fate. The same goes for many (if not all) other situations.

Humans are very good about seeing patterns where none actually exist. I have read in several books that this can be explained through studying the evolution of our psyche. Just as some people may see a spiritual leader in a water stain or a half chewed bagel, some people too can look at events along a timeline and create a pattern.

That's my view on it anyway....

Thanks, Abs...
I was speaking to you, or Cyan, or anyone who wants to answer

I understand your meaning. Actually, I was raised by atheist parents who thought everything had a logical explaination. One thing I never understood were some of the amazing events in their lives which they just took to be chance. My dad once ejected out of an airplane, and his seat went through the parachute, leaving a hole. He closed his eyes (heading towards the middle of a big lake) and when he opened them he was sitting in a tree. There just happened to be a huge tree by the side of the lake, the wind directed of his fall, and there were no other trees around for a great distance. He just thought of himself as a lucky sonofabitch. Maybe he's right, who knows for sure?

Some friends of mine met at Mardigras in New Orleans. They were from two separate colleges, with mutual friends. The woman was starting medical school the next year. The man was going into pilot training. His friends said there was a girl in the other group they wanted him to meet. He wasn't really interested, so that afternoon he headed out on his own to watch the parade. He was drinking and started chatting with the first pretty girl he saw. They got along, he put her on his shoulders and walked around looking for his group of friends. When he found them, they were amazed because the girl on his shoulders was the very one they'd brought him to meet! If you have ever been to Mardigras, you know what the odds of this are. I'd say the lottery is better. They've been married for about 15 years now, with a couple of kids.

Anyway, the whole scenario behind the coincidences of how my husband and I met even beat that story, but would require a lengthy explanation and a lot of very person details of my life. Suffice it to say, I was convinced (even though I had never believed in fate or anything like that until we met). I used to think believing in fate was cretin, like believing in Greek gods from Homer's tales. I think you can believe in God, and not really accept the concept of fate. But, I am curious if it is the other way around, too...Can you believe in fate and not God?

Abs pretty much summed up my personal feelings on fate. The odds of certain things happening aren't high, but that doesn't render them impossible without the presence of a supreme being, and as Abs said, it's easy for humans to see patterns after the fact.

I'm sure that there are atheists out there that do believe in fate or destiny, though. Atheists come in as many varieties as Christians do, and while the explanations for such a concept would be quite different, I don't think that the two concepts, atheism and destiny, are completely incompatible.

Although I dont believe in Supreme Being as an entity that watches over us, judges good and bad, punishes, ect, I work with 'spirit' and 'energy' all the time, often it is the only 'faith' I have, much needed.
I believe that there is a connection in all things, even inatimate things. Even science teaches that all things are connected and interdependant. To me this is a miracle to observe.

In native sweat, prayer is given to the grandfather rock, the basis of all things, and the fire, water, earth and the ancestors. This theory and prayer is the best I can come to as far as GOD goes. I thank my goddess mothers for watching over me, and they have done well.

I hate to see a negative reaction to earths beings, because I think we need these creatures much more than they need us, and all things deserve respect. I dont even kill bugs/spiders in my house but put them outside, but I kill mosquitos when they land on me and I dont give a crap about their lives, practically the only thing.

I have seen spirit work in the real world. I have come to realize that somehow we all, even agnosticss and atheists have faith in one way or another. Many have rejected the way of certain organized religions, with good reason, but even the most hardened believe something. Karma etc. Some faith in something.

Once I was in Yosemite for only three days over Christmas. Yosemite had always been sacred to me. In a youth hostel a woman was listening to things I said about my life and travels. She was not sure she was correct, but asked me several questions, confirmed by me about my mother and brother.
She said she was my cousin. I did not know my uncle had any children. I had been living abroad for 10 years, I was newly arrived back to the States and went to Yosemite for some relief from very hard times.
This was so much of a coincidence it was truly uncanny, the chance was about a million to one that she would 1) Be there together 2). Know about me and put it together in a situation such as we were in. I am 10 years older and known to be in Spain.3) in the mountains in a hostel, on Christmas Eve of all times. Had she not been curious or coherant to details, we would have passed each other and never known.
There was very little information to base such a recognition, but somehow she KNEW.
I found connection with her and many similarities, and she helped me understand some of my family and work through problems I had with them from childhood, including her own father. We are friends today, a great help for me who was globe trotting, alone, and not interested in family

Although I lean towards agnostic in ideas in classical religion, I feel I am so connected to some force and guardianship that I cannot deny, if not to do a great disservice to its protection, provided me all these years. Considering all the trouble Ive gotten myself into, I should by all averages be dead.

Allow me to add what might be seen as the "extreme" atheist/materialist position here.

1. "Atheism" to me means the opinion that there is no god. It is on a par with my opinion, for example, that there is no form of intelligent life beneath the surface of the planet Pluto. In both cases, it's hard to offer "proof" of this negative belief, but I hold the belief strongly. I also hold the opinion that no form of the supernatural exists.

2. Hence, I deny that there is anything "spiritual." There are certainly emotions (brain activity) which are perceived as "spiritual" but this is strictly metaphor to me. In a similar way, you might say "That music was magical!" to indicate a particular emotion, but this does not alter the fact that magic does not exist.

As far as amazing coincidences go: It seems to me that this is inevitable given the unimaginably huge number of events that occur; the vast majority of these will not be perceived as amazing; some, inevitably, will be seen as amazing. To put it in simple terms: If one billion events occur, one of them will be a "one in a billion" event that will amaze everyone. This is inevitable. When you consider that the number of events which occur on this planet is much, much, much higher than one billion, incredibly amazing coincidences must occur.

Yes, but its freaky when it happens to an atheist.

I feel forces at work when I watch animals in the wild, or study ecology, physics, biology. the fascination of how the human body works, the eco-system, or see the telepathy that occurs with humans. I still dont believe in GOD as its been sold to the world. There is a distinction.

Spirituality does exist for me, but its very personal, not religious and in now way organized. I think I believe Im a simple human, to unevolved to know what is out there, but my intuition has led me to believe there is much more than I can understand going on with the 'unknown', and therefore dont discount possibilities.

The one thing I am sure of is that there is no big white man in the sky deciding for us and judging everything that goes on here.