Atheism is abnormal human behavior

[Givemeareason]

The realization there is no God is not really very profound.  And identifying as an atheist is not either.  It is usually a transient view for most of us on the way to believing something else just as ridiculous.  So the real issue is not god but just us.  And atheists often reach their views not because of rational observation but because we are still looking for something to believe in. The reason we are here is so we can still retain some sense of belonging while behaving just like the religious do.

"Researchers who study the psychology and neuroscience of religion are helping to explain why such beliefs are so enduring. They’re finding that religion may, in fact, be a byproduct of the way our brains work, growing from cognitive tendencies to seek order from chaos, to anthropomorphize our environment and to believe the world around us was created for our use."

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/12/believe.aspx

[Mike Cl]

The realization there is no God is not really very profound.  And identifying as an atheist is not either.  It is usually a transient view for most of us on the way to believing something else just as ridiculous.  So the real issue is not god but just us.  And atheists often reach their views not because of rational observation but because we are still looking for something to believe in. The reason we are here is so we can still retain some sense of belonging while behaving just like the religious do.

"Researchers who study the psychology and neuroscience of religion are helping to explain why such beliefs are so enduring. They’re finding that religion may, in fact, be a byproduct of the way our brains work, growing from cognitive tendencies to seek order from chaos, to anthropomorphize our environment and to believe the world around us was created for our use."

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/12/believe.aspx

Not sure I agree with you.  If, as your study indicates, that religion is a byproduct of the way our brains work, then realizing there is no god is profound and going against how our brain is built. 

Historically, professing to be an atheist is most profound--it could and usually would, cost you your life.  It was and is still far from the norm.

And the real issue has always been us and not god, since we, as humans, invented god.  Of course humans want to create order out of chaos---wow!, what a revelation!  In the past, without the aid of science, religion was the easiest way to do that.  Now, we don't need god to revel his secrets to us, we can discern them ourselves.  God is a vestige of what we used to need and use to make sense of our surroundings; now religion is an anchor, or worse, to us understanding how nature really works.  So, it is quite profound for us to shuck religion and rely on science instead.  And yes, science has already revealed to us that we do belong as one on this planet--that there are no races, and we are, indeed, star stuff--all of us, and everything on this planet--, and that we need to start acting like we belong and that we can destroy this planet if we don't act like we belong.  And religion is one of the major institutions that keep us apart.  There really is no 'us vs them' that religion constantly pounds into us is the case--'We have the truth, and the others do not.'  There are no 'others', only 'us'.   

You suggest--"The reason we are here is so we can still retain some sense of belonging while behaving just like the religious do."  And I say bullshit!!!  Atheists are not just another belief system.  It is not based on any part of faith.  It is not another word for a religion.  Atheists do not walk lock-step on any issue.  Proof?  Read any thread on this board!  I don't come here to 'belong', but to read and exchange ideas with a sane batch of people.  People with diverse ideas and thoughts; ideas I like to read about, even if they are not my thoughts; maybe because they are not my thoughts.  This is not a board of a bunch of 'yes' people.  If they smell bullshit, they will tell you about it.  Good.  If my ideas or thoughts need to be refined, then this is a great place to bring and share them.  I hope you stick around long enough to do likewise.

[doorknob]

"And atheists often reach their views not because of rational observation but because we are still looking for something to believe in. The reason we are here is so we can still retain some sense of belonging while behaving just like the religious do."

um what?

I don't think any of us are still looking for something to believe in. I'm not. We just simply don't need to believe anything. Religion is a superstition created by ancient people who did not have science to explain the world to them. We don't need religion any more. And no one here behaves like the religious do.

You don't see atheists crashing planes into buildings or protesting gays at funerals or many of the other crazy shit religious people do in the name of religion.

Other than a lack of belief in god there is no other subscription to being an atheists.

We all have different ideas and different thought processes.

[Termin]

 Atheism is not a behavior, therefore it cannot be a abnormal behavior:)

   And that article just seems to point out that religion was invented by man as a coping mechanism.


  Now I just wish I choose A B normal as a user name and used this as an Avatar :)

[doorknob]

I believe you can still change your avatar.

[Solitary]

  What else can you expect from the new inquisitors?  :fU: How many people have to suffer because they don't believe in the same thing as the psychiatrists psychologists and religious nuts, until people realize religious psychologists and psychiatrists are no different than witch doctors, shamans, and that even religious neurologist support their assumptions with neurology by interpreting the results to support their prejudices and bigotry just like religious people pick and choose from the bible to do the same thing? They can't even define "NORMAL" behavior, but they know what it is in their minds. I had six different psychiatrists say I wasn't insane, but abnormal because of the results of their tests at an out clinic in Phoenix Arizona.

They even accused me of being a Scientologists because I was good in science and math. And they had a field day looking at my paintings, and the fact I was a musician that practiced, practiced, and practiced more, showing I was obsessive compulsive. And when I told them I was an atheists they rolled their eyes and knew for sure I wasn't normal---"SO WHAT?" I AM WHAT I AM, AND I KNOW WHAT I AM---A HUMAN BEING THAT IS DIFFERENT AND PROUD OF IT. Solitary aka Kiang, Bid Daddy, Wild Bill, and the best kisser in the West that can be verified by Rock Stars, female that is. 

[Desdinova]

Atheism is not a behavior, therefore it cannot be a abnormal behavior:)

   And that article just seems to point out that religion was invented by man as a coping mechanism.


  Now I just wish I choose A B normal as a user name and used this as an Avatar :)

If you like we can just think of you as A B Normal.  Most of us here are anyway.

[Solitary]

I'm an ABC abnormal according to my Catholic wife that is still upset about an affair I had 20+ years ago. And of course the reason I did, was because she could feel it at the time, and because of that she became frigid with me, but not with a fellow Mormon worker I should have met because I would really like him. I love this forum, it's where I go for my talk therapy which makes me feel better.  Solitary

[stromboli]

Adults also tend to search for meaning, particularly during times of uncertainty, research suggests. A 2008 study in Science (Vol. 322, No. 5898) by Jennifer Whitson, PhD, and Adam Galinsky, PhD, found that people were more likely to see patterns in a random display of dots if the researchers first primed them to feel that the participants had no control. This finding suggests that people are primed to see signs and patterns in the world around them, the researchers conclude.
People also have a bias for believing in the supernatural, says Barrett. In his work, he finds that children as young as age 3 naturally attribute supernatural abilities and immortality to “God,” even if they’ve never been taught about God, and they tell elaborate stories about their lives before they were born, what Barrett calls “pre-life.”

People tend to search for meaning and are primed to see patterns in the world around us. And in primitive man without the means to understand, seeking a rational explanation in the supernatural makes sense. But in a modern world where experience and science can provide explanations and reasons, not so much. Scientists by and large tend to towards atheism, not religion. Don't know what you call that- higher brain function? In any case, we have the capability of learning and explaining those drives; which is exactly what the article does.

[Termin]

I believe you can still change your avatar.

Oh I know, I just haven't found/made one that really "fits" for me yet. So Ill leave it blank for now :)

If you like we can just think of you as A B Normal.  Most of us here are anyway.

  I'm sure ill get that reputation soon enough :)

  I better leave this thread, lest I derail it further ....

[Mike Cl]

The realization there is no God is not really very profound.  And identifying as an atheist is not either.  It is usually a transient view for most of us on the way to believing something else just as ridiculous.

The more I read this the more pissed I become.  Are you a theist trying to be in disguise?  Realizing there is no god is extremely profound!  How could it not be??!!  Are you fucking blind?  Can't read history???  And identifying as an atheist is also profound.  Most atheists historically were atheists quietly for fear for their social status or life.  Being atheist is not an old and venerated way of thinking.  It is relative new; much newer than religion.

What are you implying when you say: " It is usually a transient view for most of us on the way to believing something else just as ridiculous. "  Are you suggesting that atheism is simply a waystation of philosophy?  That the really mature thinkers end up 'believing' in something?  So, we atheists are simply children wandering in the wilderness until we find a more mature way of thinking?  You, my man, are so full of shit it is coming out of you typing fingers!  Since you feel that way, why don't to find some nice theist board and confess to them about your childlike beliefs.  You fucking make me sick!  At least when a person who is a theist comes here they identify themselves as such.  I have to had it to them, that does take a little courage (unless they are only a dirve-by) and the longer they stay the more courage they display.  Misplaced, but courage nonetheless.  I don't know what you display--hopeless stupidity??!!

[the_antithesis]

The realization there is no God is not really very profound.

What's a god?

[aitm]

Oh yeah...good ole dr barrett.. a real non biased report:


Barrett is described in the New York Times as a "prominent member of the byproduct camp" and "an observant Christian who believes in “an all-knowing, all-powerful, perfectly good God who brought the universe into being,” [and] “that the purpose for people is to love God and love each other.”

More bull-shit falling off the trailer of bull-shit.

[aitm]

The realization there is no God is not really very profound.    It is usually a transient view for most of us on the way to believing something else just as ridiculous. "

well, please by all means enlighten us as to what can possibly be "more ridiculous" than gods that man has created by the thousands.

[Feral Atheist]

We are all born without the knowledge of any god, thus atheist.

The programming to become a theists typically begins before potty training is started.