h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is it good to be atheists? Are atheists afraid of death? What moral values have atheists? Why do people become atheists?

Being slightly facetious, it appears you are trying to take a very general term and attribute certain cliched properties to it. You might as well have said

Is it good to be bald? Are bald people afraid of death? What moral values have bald people? Why do people become bald?

It would make about as much sense.

Is it good to be a window cleaner? Do window cleaners treat their kids well? Do window cleaners favour sunday trading?

Yes. Depends on the atheist. Same again. Check out the alternatives...

sprout

I thought people were born atheists So they don't really become one; rather they can either remain atheists or revert to atheism.

we atheists usually eat barbed wire for breakfast, and butcher a few christians for lunch. and at night we go to the theatre to see christians fight with lions

ah yes, and I myself like .. but not all atheists are like that

I think your question may have received something of a backlash due to the term Atheist being considered mildly pejorative, as a result of the activities of, so called, militant atheists - see any thread about Richard Dawkins for an example.

So:
- No. It is however good to forego a belief in sky faries.
- Fear of death is a continuous variable, I'm not certain that belief affects it.
- Whatever they choose.
- Because the alternative is crazy.

"Is it good to be atheists?"
Sure feels good... sometimes... sometimes it feels lousy... but you get to eat Bacon which is good and not worry...

"Are atheists afraid of death?"
I ain't afraid of nuffin... who told you I was? who? who was it?

"What moral values have atheists?"
You know... the useual stuff... we think eating babies is good, murder is fine... just the same old same old...

"Why do people become atheists?"
err... don't think you relaly 'becomme'
atheist... you just are...
Waht a strange bunch of questions...

"at night we go to the theatre to see christians fight with lions"

I've recently found this place they let the lions have machine guns. They give the bullets to the Chritians, and they have to fight to see who gets a gun and bullets together first.

It's great entertainment, and so modern!

(just in case anyone can't tell)

The big difference between theists and atheists is that atheists don't have a holy book or religious leader to tell them what to do. Atheists think for themselves.

There can be two ways to interpret this:

1. I don't have to justify myself to any god/book/leader, so I can do what I like.

2. I don't have a god/book/leader to make decisions for me, so I must think about them hard and make respectable, decent decisions based on fact.

Most people go with 2.

Being an atheist is fantastic for some, and troubling for others.
It places the burden of decision making squarely on your shoulders. You can't say "...but my god/book/leader says I should do x!". You have to take responsibility for your own actions, and face the consequences when you are wrong. It's wonderfully freeing, however, because you don't have a god/book/leader telling you one thing whilst reality is telling you loud and clear that that is obviously rubbish.

Personally I'm not afraid of death, just of actually dying. After you're dead, you won't be around to notice.

I thought people were born bald So they don't really become bald; rather they can either remain bald or revert to baldness.

no comment

Hiya Igor. This is the third or fourth question you've posed for the community but I've yet to see you share your own views.

So what do you think about atheists?

We're not all born bald...

Both of my progeny had hair.

sprout

Yes, Igor, you've asked similat questions on other forums (myspace) so you must have started to form some opinion even if you didn't have one before....

Hmmm...there´s still a bit of a problem.

Theists: "I BELIEVE there´s a God."
Atheists: "I BELIEVE there is no such thing."

Believers, both of them - and I´m wary of believers; they tend to clobber you over the head to make you see the light.

No. that is utterly wrong and entirely missed the point. Atheists are not believers. believers are believers.

atheists look at the avilible evidence and see that there is none suggesting that 'belief' in a 'god' is logical position to adopt, so they chose not to believe. That is a very differnt situeation from the only way in which it seems 'believers' can look at the world, they just can't seem to understand that adopting the 'atheistic' position, means your just not* a believer. Rather than meaning you are* a believer in I guess what the theisits would view as and alternative theology...

None of which, of course, explains the price of potatos... which is quite worrying.

Well, 2legs, I blame you for any confusion, of course. Probably having to fight Vatican Swiss Guards tomorrow morn because I believe one needs cheap potatoes...

Some people are born bald, some achieve baldness, others have baldness thrust upon them.

@ the Pit of post 16.

Agnostic Atheism/Weak Atheism -- a lack of belief in gods without a claim to absolute knowledge that this the reality, e.g Richard Dawkins.

Gnostic Atheism/Strong Atheism -- claiming to know there are no gods, e.g Buddhist religion.

Default/Implicit Atheism -- lacking a belief in gods as one has no knowledge of the concept or otherwise have had no cause to take a position, e.g. young children.


Most people who have arrived at their atheism through careful thought are not strong atheists.
Those who claim to be neither atheist nor theist but agnostic need to realise that if they don't have an active belief in a god then they're an atheist too.