Atheists who still hang on to metaphysical thinking

I guess I always assumed that when one throws off a belief in God, a belief in a spiritual metaphysics would go out with it. But come to think of it, there are Atheistic religions. Buddhism (Hinayana) is the most obvious example. Wicca is another. I suppose the deity Brahman in Hinduism is not really a theistic deity, either, though all of the rest of the Hindu pantheon are. One could argue that Christian theologian Paul Tillich's God, which he described as "the ground of being" is almost perfectly analogous to the Hindu Brahman. Chinese religions have a strong atheistic tendency as well. Taoism, Confucianism, and Chan (=Zen) are religions without personal gods.

I feel that if one is to clear one's mind of the theistic nonsense, one should get rid of metaphysics as well, especially the spirtual kind, by which I mean spirits, souls, and ghosts.

What do you think?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jewelz on September 4, 2011 at 3:58am

My transition from theist to atheist was not like a light switch. Actually, I'm not sure I ever "really" believed but I definitely went through the motions as a young child. Realizing religion was bullshit and there was probably no god happened very early in life for me, but it didn't happen overnight. Realizing how many other things are complete bullshit took quite a few years after that.

I think getting rid of wishful metaphysical thinking is more often than not the last step on the path. Humans are kinda wired to see purpose and meaning in things that have none and to want to be connected to our ancestors and loved ones and hold out hope that we'll see them again. We were that way long before religion arose and we'll probably be that way long after it's gone.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Unseen on September 4, 2011 at 9:02pm

More grist for the mill. This article recommended in today's Sunday School:

Progressive Religious Believers' Big Hypocricy

It's about how many liberals essentially treat religion as a cafeteria of beliefs, picking some views they like and trying to forget that the other ones exist as well.

Much like the way some atheists will reject the Christian theistic deity and yet hang onto equally irrational and scientifically unsupportable beliefs (former lives, reincarnation, astral projection, psychokinesis, astrology, feng shui, etc.).

Apparently, adopting a 100% rational belief system is hard even for many atheists.

▶ Reply

‹ Previous
1
2
Next ›

RSS

Welcome to
Think Atheist

Get Started Now
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

What's new today

1	I want to get off now.
2	Accosted
3	America - "Love It or Leave It"
4	Bipolar Disorder and Art
5	4,200 Religions- Wow! That's a lot of options!
6	'Smite Club'
7	Here lies an Atheist. All dressed up and no place to go.
8	Christian Man Claims Native American Statue On License Plate Violates His Freedom Of Religion, Sues Oklahoma
9	Bill Nye Boo'd In Texas For Saying The Moon Reflects The Sun
10	"Once We Free Ourselves of the Shackles of Religion, and Bible-based Big Bang Theology...