I have read Ayn Rand's books and found that she believed in the "Spirit of Man." I'm not sure she meant a "spirit" as in an inanimate force or not, but to be an "atheist" is to believe in no purpose for anything. She promoted a purpose for living as in "We, The Living." To be an athiest is to be a hedonist.
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Dear Joe,
"Atheist" means you don't believe in God. Nothing more, nothing less. There are atheists that believe in the soul, reincarnation, and karma. They're called Buddhists. Tell me with a straight face that Buddhists believe there's no purpose to life just because there's no Angry Sky Pixie.
Then I guess that Rand, no matter what she thought or wrote, wasn't a true Scotswoman ... oops, I mean atheist. Either that, or you merely skim-read her books.
Do not presume to tell me what I believe.
To be Ayn Rand is to be a hack.but to be an "atheist" is to believe in no purpose for anything "
No, that's to be a nihilist. I think all kinds of things have all kinds of purposes. I think countless lives are meaningful.
"To be an athiest is to be a hedonist. "
You should meet some atheists, or at least look up some statistics. An atheist could just as easily be an ascetic as a hedonist. In fact some religious people have made such a comparison, noting the difficulties (both social and psychological) they perceive atheists putting up with in the name of intellectual honesty.
First of all, though I don't agree with some of Ayn Rand's ideas, she was far, far more intelligent than you appear to be. Second, to be an atheist is to be one that does not believe in God.
I had a feeling about this guy...
The Puritans were believers that NOTHING that we did on earth could affect salvation. One was either one of the "elect" or damned. That philosophy should have produced hedonism, given its stance. Instead, we still use the word "puritannical" to describe the attributes that the Puritans projected. Makes ya wonder, don't it.
Playboy: "Has no religion, in your estimation, ever offered anything of constructive value to human life?"
The whole "atheist = nihlist" stems from the fundie Christians essential belief that since God is everything, not believing in God is therefore not believing in anything. It's the very essence of word redefinition, based on the fact that your average fundie can't even conceive of someone not believing in God. The are convinced that atheists actually do believe in God, they just hate god so much that they refuse to admit they believe in him.
OMG, stop deciding what other people think, or what they "really mean." You can redifine athiets anyway you want, but the fact will remain: some people do not believe there's a god.
Hey, a Fundie who doesn't worship Ayn Rand! I haven't seen that in awhile.
Oh and please, most atheists are nothing like Ayn Rand.
> I'm not sure she meant a "spirit" as in an inanimate force or not
Please reach for your dictionary (OK, go to a library and ask a librarian for a dictionary) and look up the root of the word 'inanimate'.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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