Hello, all

[Dmitri]

Hello, everyone. My real name is no ones concern but mine but you can call me Dmitri. I was born Christian but I eventually found religion and the supernatural to be irrational and I turned to Atheism (I also disagreed strongly with Christianity's views on Pagans,Muslims,Wiccans,Women and Gays). I have been interested in topics such as the Paranormal, Demonology and Occultism my whole life but after becoming an Atheist I never believed in them again. Then I became caught up in some things that made me reconsider many of these views. That's where I am now, stuck between the rational worldview and the spiritual one. Other than that I am also an Anarchist, an environmentalist, a writer (not published and don't want to be),a musician,an amateur filmmaker, and way too nosy for my own good.

[Nahemah]

Hello and welcome to the forum. [grin]

[Dmitri]

Thank you.

[dodaive]

Welcome dmitri
I also do a lot writing, for no one else , but myself. [thumbup]
So atheism is the belief that the world ends at the material world is that correct? I am actually interested in hearing more about atheism, because i don't believe I have a grasp on it yet. I have also seen the term used as a reactionary anti-belief to established religion. I would like to understand the specifics though.

[Dmitri]

Thanks for the welcome. To attempt to answer your questions about Atheism, yes it is the belief that life ends after death and that there is no God. And unfortunately, Atheism is often used as a tool to attack religion. I believe that the group of people who use it these ways are a small minority thankfully, and I have always interpreted Atheism as choosing not to believe in any God or afterlife but respecting those who do believe in such things, always keeping an open mind about everything. I hope this helps answer your questions.

[dodaive]

By material world, I mean can everything in existence be defined by the elements on the periodic table. If the world goes beyond the material elements what do atheists use to study and understand it? The word "god" for me is almost impossible to define. Some people would define god as the big "R", or the absolute truth that can never be fully known and that is unaffected by any personal opinions. There is way too much happening, right here in front of me, on this racetrack of life (in the here and now), to even care remotely what happens to me after I die.

[Dmitri]

There is way too much happening, right here in front of me, on this racetrack of life (in the here and now), to even care remotely what happens to me after I die.

Beautifully said dodaive. And I agree with you as far as focusing on the present and not worrying about our ultimate fates goes. As for your your other question: no, I guess I don't think that everything can be defined by what we know about science at the moment, but I do think that science has the potential to unlock the secrets of the very workings of our universe. Whether or not our minds are capable of handling the truths that science is capable of unlocking is another question entirely. Of course I will not rule out the possibility that there are some things that cannot be defined within the realm of science. I have certainly seen and heard of things that seem to defy logical explanations.

[dRider]

Howdy Dmitri. Welcome from me, too. Interesting discussion, wish I had time to formulate a real reply.

[Dmitri]

Thanks.

[Xion]

By material world, I mean can everything in existence be defined by the elements on the periodic table. If the world goes beyond the material elements what do atheists use to study and understand it? The word "god" for me is almost impossible to define. Some people would define god as the big "R", or the absolute truth that can never be fully known and that is unaffected by any personal opinions. There is way too much happening, right here in front of me, on this racetrack of life (in the here and now), to even care remotely what happens to me after I die.

Well even by scientific standards, and I'm no expert, not everything in the material world is defined by the elements. Elements themselves are self-defined as a particular type of atom (with type being defined by atomic composition) which itself can be broken down further. Not to mention the untold array of not-necessarily elemental phenomena including energy, space-time, etc.

But even today, though acknowledging memories exist and have some biochemical basis, it's impossible to directly study these things at all except through our cognizance.