Is intelligent design science?

Most people who call themselves atheist aren't technically atheist. You may not believe in god or Jesus, but if you celebrate Christmas because of family or something, you don't count as an atheist any more.

 

Why is celebrating a winter solstice festival with elements derived from both monotheistic and polytheistic mythologies indicative of a belief in gods?

 

It isn't, but most surveys of atheism seem to think it is.

 

Then Christians who celebrate Christmas are blasphemous (using your logic) because Christmas is a pagan holiday?

Christmas is a cultural thing nowadays. For atheists, it is simply a time to enjoy the company and gathering of relatives/friends while sharing gifts with one another. Just because it is labeled religiously doesn't mean it is.

 

That makes no sense. I celebrate Christmas because it is a cultural tradition that makes me happy. That does not mean that I believe in a god nor does it mean that I back down from my assertion that there is not a god. To me, almost all religious holidays have been so consumerized they are not religious at all anymore.

 

Wouldn't "rationalist" be a better fit for that definition?

 

No its not and what htey believe in is there beliefs.

 

Everything is science.

 

Alchemy is science? Witchcraft is science? Astrology is science?

Get a clue what science is, please.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science

 

Well, as a coward is "A person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things", and 77% of the US military are Christians, your argument that they are cowards has been disproven.
As to whether they have mental disorders, which mental disorder in the DSM would you categorize as believing in religion?

Which ethics, exactly? I generally agree with the "Judeo-Christian Ethics", but that has nothing to do with the religion or the miracles presented to be true.

 

I can't agree with you more. While christmas has become a cultural holiday, Most studies of Atheism I have seen claim that celebrating any holiday with a religious origin associates that member with religion, disqualifying them from atheism. This is why some studies show 15% or less atheist population in the US.

 

What? Atheism is defined by the person calling themselves an atheist. Much like how you could call yourself a Jew just because your mother was a Jew even though you went to church. Celebrating a religious holiday non-religiously does not mean your not an atheist as long as you still believe that there isn't a god or more openly, you do not believe in a god.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design

No it is not science.

Intelligent design is the crap religious idiots want to teach in public school. They are butt hurt about evolution being taught because it contradicts their "beliefs".

 

I won't move off into the tangent of whether being a US combatant today is courageous. It certainly takes more courage than anything I've ever done and probably anything you've ever done. Most of the guys fighting the Americans are also religious. There are countless examples of religious people being courageous; I think your other argument is much stronger.

I agree the belief would be delusional, but I would also state that each person alive must be somewhat delusional in the way that they view and fear death. Everyone, religious or non-religious, looks for answers in his conscious or subconscious regarding an afterlife and whether death is permanent or even exists. I think the idea of a higher power was originally created by the fear of death, and personalizing the belief of an afterlife is what many religions do. I do however agree with you that people who believe in religion are delusional.

 

Fighting in the military takes some level of courage (or stupidity) to do. Christians I would have to say have a much easier time getting over their fear as they believe they are doing good and thus if they die they go to heaven. Those who do not believe in an afterlife must overcome the fear of death with no happy cheery shit making it easier.

 

I agree with Sythe when he say's religious people are cowards. I think what they fear is finding out that they are wrong and that the answer to everything isn't "God". And also I don't think that they will ever open their eyes to what is in plain sight. Their beliefs will just be modified as we progress technologically and scientifically, such as in the book Rendezvous with Rama when humans colonize Mars and a new religion forms that believes God came from somewhere deep in outer space. I know that it is fiction but it shows what I am getting at.

 

It takes a level of courage or stupidity to do if you are on the international front line.

Otherwise, you just sit in an office and earn good wages.