Unless Ben Peter Terpstra has specific financial interests in any of those businesses called religions, he would be better to stand aside.

Religions are packaged set of opinions sold to scared people.

The very contemplation of the mystery of life is all that we can call religion.

Let no charlatan take from you that mystery and its stupendous contemplation

No man is an atheist when faced in situations of dispair .

Skeptic: Author here. Your critical-thinking skills seem to be resting. This idea for, example, that spiritual aboriginal people have a “packaged set of opinions” is ludicrous. Are they all charlatans?

But if that’s your position, feel free to alert the atheists, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, because according to my knowledge, Zen and Judaism are also religions.

I wonder how you arrived at your fundamentalist contemplation theory too (by faith, my guess). In any case, also feel free to encourage atheist Julia to stop praying.

“No man is an atheist when faced in situations of despair.”

Good point Philo. There aren’t many atheists in foxholes, I’m told.
It’s odd. In war situations, many of them experience diarrhea panic and a newfound belief in God (their new best friend!).

It only takes Gillard one election, however. -BPT

As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous [ AA ], although its "12 Steps " refer several times to "God "and also to a "higher power " , I am perplexed , at every meeting ,by attendees who are hostile to believing in God [ unless , they say , it means "group of drunks "or "good orderly direction "]. They then say that every day , they hand over their will and their lives to the care of this group of drunks or good orderly direction and they pray to this "god " to help them .
When I say that they cannot act in accordance with the 12 Steps , unless these are amended , by deleting the references to God , the non - believers object that the 12 Steps cannot be changed .This a type of non - religious fundamentalism , which exists elsewhere . Then , they claim to have a higher power , but they do not know what it is . They claim to have spirituality , but do not know what it is , except that it is not religion .

It is , of course , possible to have spiritual beliefs , which are not religious [ e.g ., love of one's family or fellow human beings , arguably the better type of patriotism ] . However , it is more honest for a person , who does not believe in a god or supreme being , to say that s/he is an atheist , rather than claiming belief in some nebulous concept of "god " or higher power .
Non - believers should not insist in having funerals for themselves or deceased friends / relatives , in a church , conducted by a minister of religion .

Yes, good point Philo. It just goes to show that religious belief is based on fear and not evidence and reasoned argument.

From the article: “Atheism isn’t great, or convincing.”

Who ever said it was “great”? What could possibly be so great about an opinion (or lack thereof) that wouldn’t exist had it not been for others choosing to adopt a particular belief system?

Atheism - in its strongest form - is the rejection of a claim as unsupported by evidence. So to say that it’s not convincing (particularly when those who have the burden of proof have not yet supplied the slightlest shred of it) shows an astonishing level of ignorance.