And what do you think of this?

[Ransom]

"Atheism. The belief that there was nothing and that nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason what so ever into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs. Makes perfect sense."

I love this quote. I've never got a single Atheist to sum up his entire beliefs on the beginning, mainly because they have no idea what they're talking about. Does this adequately "sum up?"

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I think that the problem that we all run into when discussing why there is something rather than nothing is that none of us have a clue.  If we say that it was created by God, then the next question is "where did God come from?" If we say that it all arose by natural processes, then the next question is "where did the natural processes come from?"  None of us have any real evidence of what happened on the other side of the Big  Bang, so it's really impossible to come to any conclusions one way or the other.  You can't resolve this issue logically or empirically at this point in human history.

[Recusant]

Yes, that's an amusing (if woefully inaccurate) quote: Atheism is not a belief about the origin of the universe. It is a lack of belief (or disbelief) in a god or gods. It can also be a belief that gods do not exist.

An atheist might well believe that the universe is a giant computer simulation, or a science experiment that got out of hand, or any number of other un-evidenced hypotheses. Neither of those that I mentioned are inconsistent with atheism per se. For that matter, your quote is not inconsistent with atheism, since it does not mention any deity. None of these hypotheses are inherent in atheism either. I repeat: your quote is a completely inaccurate definition of atheism.

You assert that atheists don't know what they're talking about when they talk about the beginning of the universe, and that you've never got an atheist to sum up their "entire beliefs on the beginning." The first is accurate enough, because nobody knows what happened at the very beginning of our universe, nor do they know that it had a beginning, as we understand beginnings. Cosmologists have come up with descriptions of the early eras of our universe that are consistent with the evidence available, but none of them would say that they can accurately describe anything about our universe previous to Planck time. Creationists are happy to tell us what they believe they know about the beginning of our universe, but that knowledge is not scientific knowledge, and I see no reason why anybody but a fellow Creationist would find it convincing.

I'll take you at your word when you say that you've never got a single atheist to sum up their "entire beliefs on the beginning." Let me see if I can rectify that situation, since although I prefer to call myself an infidel, I also qualify as an atheist:

I believe that I don't know how our universe began. I don't even know that our universe actually did begin, depending on what definition of the word "universe" is used.

Yep. I'm just another atheist that doesn't know what he's talking about. Surprise!

[Sandra Craft]

I believe that I don't know how our universe began. I don't even know that our universe actually did begin, depending on what definition of the word "universe" is used.

And the word "begin".  Count me in as another atheist who has absolutely no idea how the universe began, and is completely comfortable with not knowing it and with admitting that.  It seems to me that the problem some Xtians have is they think that because they truly believe they know the answer and we don't accept their answer, we must believe equally strongly in a different answer -- apparently an answer that's simply the opposite of theirs.  The concept of accepting that we do not know what's unknowable doesn't seem to occur to them.

Atheism is not a belief about the origin of the universe. It is a lack of belief (or disbelief) in a god or gods. It can also be a belief that gods do not exist.

I think that a god or gods may or may not exist, depending on how "god" is defined, but it's another one of those things that's probably unknowable and certainly unprovable.  In any case, I find all the personal gods I've been told about so far both improbable and suspiciously self-serving for the people telling me those stories.

[Gawen]

Does this adequately "sum up?"

No.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Does this adequately "sum up?"

No.

This.

Atheists may have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the creation of the universe, but neither do theists. The only difference is that most atheists are willing to admit their ignorance.

[Gawen]

Does this adequately "sum up?"

No.

This.

Atheists may have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the creation of the universe, but neither do theists. The only difference is that most atheists are willing to admit their ignorance.

Precisely.

[znk666]

Whoever came up with that statement in the first place,misunderstood the concept of atheism entirely.

[xSilverPhinx]

'A Universe From Nothing' by Lawrence Krauss

Krauss is a cosmologist.

[Ali]

Does this adequately "sum up?"

No.

This.

Atheists may have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the creation of the universe, but neither do theists. The only difference is that most atheists are willing to admit their ignorance.

Exactly. 

I always find it amusing when believers think it's a big point in their favor when atheists admit that they don't know something, like admitting that you don't know something is a show of weakness.  In my mind, it's far preferable to simply admit that I don't know than to make up a story about it (hello, Genesis.) 

[Whitney]

"Atheism. The belief that there was nothing and that nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason what so ever into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs. Makes perfect sense."

I love this quote. I've never got a single Atheist to sum up his entire beliefs on the beginning, mainly because they have no idea what they're talking about. Does this adequately "sum up?"

No...it's a stupid summary from someone ignorant of the naturalistic position.  There is nothing wrong with not knowing how all that is came to be....it's the only honest position at this point (even from theists because you don't know how god got there)

[Firebird]

Does this adequately "sum up?"

No.

This.

Atheists may have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the creation of the universe, but neither do theists. The only difference is that most atheists are willing to admit their ignorance.

Exactly.  

I always find it amusing when believers think it's a big point in their favor when atheists admit that they don't know something, like admitting that you don't know something is a show of weakness.  In my mind, it's far preferable to simply admit that I don't know than to make up a story about it (hello, Genesis.)  

Well said. Part of my whole turnoff to religion is that they claim to know when they clearly do not, because no one really knows. And that doesn't scare me one bit. I find the idea of exploring our universe to try and figure that out extremely fascinating.

Also, apologies on the double-posting, I wrote in the quote-box originally by mistake, then ended up posting again when I was just trying to edit the first one. Pretty shameful since I work in IT

[ThinkAnarchy]

You assert that atheists don't know what they're talking about when they talk about the beginning of the universe, and that you've never got an atheist to sum up their "entire beliefs on the beginning." The first is accurate enough, because nobody knows what happened at the very beginning of our universe, nor do they know that it had a beginning, as we understand beginnings.

I agree with everything you have said except the above quoted part. You can see how the world originated in the video below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbNtlS69HhU

[Too Few Lions]

plus I really do think this is a case of Christians in glass houses blindly throwing stones. Their idea of 'the beginning' is that the universe was created by certain western Semitic god(s) based on the 3000 year old writings of some priests of El or Yahweh who thought the universe consisted of a domed heaven above a flat Earth...

[Crocoduck]

and then nothing magically exploded

I think it's the Christians who believe magic was involved.

None of us knows how we got were we are today. When I was a Christian I thought I did but had no good reason to believe that.