Why Atheism Is A Religion

Buddhism IS a Religion and also doesn't have a Deity. Please don't make the silly mistake of saying that Buddhism isn't a Religion. Literally the most uneducated point that I've read.

 

Yes it does give an idea of the kind of person behind the message, but what does that have to do with anything?

Of course you agree with it! Because you're an Atheist

Christians also agree with their signs...

 

it's just hilarious how one could actually feel other than that Buddhism is a Religion. Is there any Scientific proof of Buddhism Rebirth, Nirvana, etc.? Is there a founder? Is it taught in University Eastern Religion classes? Does it have millions of followers? Are there temples? Are there tenets and ethics?

 

In the first sentence you are saying that using your own definition is a fallacy, and then in the quote that you posted, you are arguing that using the true definition is also a fallacy. So your point is hypocritical.

 

I will post this again. It was even ruled a Religion by the Supreme Court http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/07/for_first_amend1087481.html

 

How's this thread doing in that department? If you're looking for atheists who are respectful and don't try and squeeze people into labels, you're just looking for a mature person. One has nothing to do with the other; there are immature idiotic rude atheists and there are mature brilliant respectful atheists, just as with theists. I recommend the writings of Carl Sagan and Sam Harris if you're looking for sophisticated mature dialogue above the level of name calling.

Here in your post you commit the same fallacy as chinacat, which is to say "The error that all atheists have in common is that they categorize people under umbrella terms". Rather ironic and silly on the surface of it, as this whole thread is. Atheists are an extremely heterogenous group, just as the term "theist" covers anything from Osama Bin Laden to my grandmother.

 

^reads but does not really hear anything i say.....

not that I am a man, but I like what this says....

 

That's all fine and dandy. What does it have to do with whether it is or isn't a Religion? Just because everyone is unique despite their beliefs, if anything this is only validating the existence of the beliefs of the Atheists, and why they're a Religion.

 

I misunderstood, you said "they", which could refer to religious people judging and labeling atheists. Your use of the pronoun was ambiguous

 

I know how that goes.......and i was a bit intense, too, earlier...had alot on my mind....sorry....

 

No worries, these threads have a way of getting under one's skin.

Interesting that your post is adorned with a single "like", from none other than Asmo, our local safe-space-referee and censor of perceived misunderstandings. Irony so thick it's going on my toast for breakfast.

I don't like that meme either . . . one does not "preach" to those who share one's opinions . . . one discusses those opinions amongst one's peers, and social validation, whatever that means, is nowhere on the list of why I would discuss those opinions on an internet forum.

 

You are right, Buddhism is a Religion, no one can deny it.

 

Buddha and Jesus were both holy prophets of God who appeared in their own times for the spiritual rejuvenation of the people to whom they were sent. Buddha appeared in India about six hundred years before Jesus. In both were found a purity of life, sanctity of character and patient endurance under fierce persecution. It appears that they were both very near in resemblance as suggested by the following analogies.

1. Jesus was born of a virgin without carnal intercourse. (Matth. Chapter 1)
   Buddha was born of a virgin without carnal intercourse. (Hinduism by Williams, pp. 82 and 108)
   
   
2. When Jesus was an infant in his cradle, he spoke to his mother and said: I am Jesus, the son of God. (Gospel of Infancy)
   When Buddha was an infant, just born, he spoke to his mother and said: I am the greatest among men. (Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, pp. 145-6)
   
   
3. The life of Jesus was threatened by King Herod. (Matth. 2:1)
   The life of Buddha was threatened by King Bimbarasa. (History of Buddha by Beal pp. 103-104)
   
   
4. When Jesus was a young boy we are told that the learned religious teachers were astonished at his understanding and answers. (Luke 2:47)
   When sent to school, the young Buddha surprised his masters. (Hardy's Manual of Buddhism)
   
   
5. Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. (Matth. 4:2)
   Buddha fasted for a long period. (Science of Religion by Muller, p 28)
   
   
6. It is believed that Jesus will return to this world. (Acts 1:11)
   It is believed that Buddha will return to this world. (Angel-Messiah by Bunsen, Ch. 14)
   
   
7. Jesus said: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not to destroy but to fulfill. (Matth. 5:17)
   Buddha came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. (Science of Religion by Muller, p 140)
   
   
8. Jesus taught: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you. (Matth. 5:44)
   According to Buddha, the motive of all our actions should be pity, or love for our neighbour. (Science of Religion by Muller, p 249)
   
   
9. It is recorded certain of the scribes and pharisees answered, saying, Master we would see a sign from thee. (Matth. 12:38)
   It is recorded in the Sacred Canon of the Buddhists that the multitude required a sign from Buddha that they might believe. (Science of Religion by Muller, p 27)
   
   
10. It is written in the New Testament that Jesus said: If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and caste it from thee. (Matth. 5:29)
    A story is related of a Buddhist ascetic whose eye offended him so he plucked it out and threw it away. (Science of Religion by Muller, p 245)
    

(Reference : alislam.org)​

 

Yeah. A lot of people on these forums seem to have a hard time grappling the notion that Buddha and Jesus are both Sages and that there are lots of similarities.

There's a strain of Atheists on this forum but who also claim to be Buddhist, and they don't want to be considered Religious so much that they're actually willing to make the stretch and argue that Buddhism isn't a Religion.

Thank you for showing these examples of similarities between The Buddha and Jesus, which I have tried to do but have failed to get through. It also shows now how similar that Buddhism, Christianity, and all Religion are.

And if an Atheist can call himself a syncretic Buddhist as well, well, then maybe Atheism itself a Religion.

 

I liked it because I recognize the feeling that she got how you misinterpreted her all too well. Sometimes I would almost conclude I am misinterpreted deliberately. So when she reacted in her own way I thought I let it know I fully understand where she was coming from there.
I sometimes have the same thought as you when I see some of those likes on a post of you. I think I will leave the name out, as this is the same dribble I prefer to leave behind.

Just because I criticize you and other agitating atheists on here doesn't mean I don't acknowledge I am subject to the same range of emotions and impulses, Writer. It's not like I think I am better than you or something. The irony can just as easily be projected on you or relaxxx when you repeat your dogmatic remarks about organized religion and dubious stereotypical conclusions about christians and then confront China with the fact he's overly hypothetizing or not acknowledging certain things in reality that prove his theories wrong At least I am not coming from a complete dislike for a certain group or how they think or believe, and acknowledging the problem that I would have with them is mainly my own problem, and not those of the believers you verbally poop on.

 

I don't see the issue here really. What does it matter on itself that a certain kind of buddhist doesn't see buddhism as a religion? It doesn't say much on anything else... right? What does it matter?

Maybe. At least you're not claiming it as fact here I would ask after this sentence of yours: if this atheist is buddhist and buddhism is a religion, how does it make atheism a religion exactly? (i've the feeling we've already been there in this thread but this is what I think and ask after reading your post)

 

There is ZERO historical evidence of Jesus or Buddha.

Science of religion... pfft, talk about an oxymoron

 

It just shows that a real stretch is being made to keep Religion in no way related to Atheism, so those Buddhist Atheists are trying to argue that Buddhism isn't a Religion. That's what it seems like anyway.

In response to your second question, to me, it would be like saying I'm partially Christian and partially Buddhist. That's completely fine. It's called Syncretism. Atheist and Buddhist also sounds like Syncretism as well to me. You could argue that someone could be Conservative and Buddhist, and that Conservative isn't a Religion, but Atheism is dealing with a belief in regards to certain existential truths. Politics is only dealing with social issues. This existential aspect I think is why Atheism can't escape the realm of Religion.