The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

My question I want to pose is: Do you think someone can be an atheist and believe in ghosts?

Going to leave this open for now- hoping a discussion is made out of what should of been a poll.


:)

No I think its absolutely ridiculous, there is no proof of said unearthly specters of unnatural power someone challenge me otherwise. . . (leaves the rest to smarter people)

this is a contradiction in itself kind of like the spiriment gum commercials can a albino be a lifeguard lol

i'd say no

Most atheist are skeptics, and accept ghost as illogical.

The term "atheist" simply means one who does not believe in God/Gods. Now, whether this be interpreted as having no belief in God-like entities or Creator(s) or whether this be limited to not believing in "God" as defined by religion (I am decidely of the latter category), yet nothing in the term "atheist" states or implies anything regarding ghosts.

Therefore, logically, one can be an atheist yet still find cause or evidence to believe in the possibility of life after death and, therefore, the possiblity of manifested spirits of those who have died (i.e., ghosts).

I agree with Upir^

Just because you don't believe in God or any such religion doesn't mean you can't believe in ghosts. Ghosts aren't connected to religion.

It depends a bit on what one thinks a ghost might be too.Are they spirits? Or are they a product of infrasound and /or electromagnetics .

Upir stole my words lol. I agree, atheism is the non acceptance of Deity, not the non acceptance of ghosts or spirits. So I too would also say yes it is indeed possible to be an atheist and still believe in ghosts.

I have to agree that I think it is possible to be an atheist and yet believe in ghosts. Regardless of how you look at what ghosts are.

It can also go the other way around...to be theist and NOT to believe in ghosts.

sure...one can believe in cars but not in the materials they are made from.
in my experience many beliefs (both from the religious and the irreligious) are held by people that defend them adamantly even if there were to be evidence to the contrary. one can prove ghosts i think (i have seen them myself), but god? prolly not. not provable (at least with our level of tech) and not disprovable.
it is interesting to consider tho, no?
~W~

Ghosts do not necessarily prove an existence of a particular God or deity in general

But wouldn't ghost prove life beyond death, not just you live then you die and everything is over

Yes... "ghosts" do prove that life survives death. Yet this does not prove that "God"/"Allah"/""Jesus"/"Isis"/"Zeus"... etc. (all man-made terms for man-made, man-defined entities) is real, now does it? ;)

Ghosts exist on a spiritual plane that differs from ours, but just because of this it does not prove the existence of higher beings, it just proves that somehow, somewhere we do live after death, some people just can't talk to or see us.

If atheists don't believe in god, I can't see them believing in anything else of a supernatural nature. Atheists don't believe in god, because there is no actual evidence of the existence of god, and they would think the same way with spirits. The only way to search for the truth is to investigate.

Just means they don't believe in a God. Doesn't mean anything about the after life. I'd say yes.

Atheist are rational people, and believing in ghost (Sprirtualism) is irrational. Especially when one takes in the whole spiritualism movement.

Most of what the believers offer is anecdotal at best. I know many atheiast that didn.t make-believe Santa to their kids.

Being an atheist doesn't mean you cannot believe in anything beyond theology. It means you do not believe in a god/gods/religion. You can still be an atheist and believe in things irrational or out of the ordinary.

for a fair while i labeled myself as athiest yet i still believed in ghosts now i have been able to research through religions/beliefs i have sided more towards paganism as i seem to fall into that catogory most so i would say that regardlessof religious belief anyone can believe in ghosts it all depends on the individual not the individuals relgious siding

Actually, Dabbler, I don't believe there is anything that makes atheists somehow inherently rational. Whether you are theist or atheist, both do rely on an unwavering commitment to either extreme of an unanswerable question: Do you believe in a God/Creator?

Both sides require that one state a belief. Neither can claim to logically know...yet both are equally...vehemently ... even fantastically certain that their side of this question is correct.

This is why the only logical response to the question is the truthful and accurate: I don't know.

Hence, the most rational position is neither Theism or Atheism... but instead, Agnosticism. ' Cuz we just... don't know, yet.

Atheists would be opposite to a theist, because basically theists would beleive in a creator god, and atheists would not believe in a creator god. Atheists can beleive in the big bang theory, because a atheist tends to look for evidence, that's why atheists tend to look more towards science. Atheists have developed the belief that god does not have any existense in the Universe.

A spirit is a supernatural being in the same way as gods and goddesses, I think atheists would disbelieve in all supernateral beings, since they have no physical existence. There would be no actual evidence to prove the existence of a god or a spirit, so a atheist would not believe in them.

Magic25UK: Atheists can beleive in the big bang theory, because a atheist tends to look for evidence, that's why atheists tend to look more towards science.


Actually, it was a Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Georges Lemaitre, who first proposed the Big Bang theory in 1927, on the basis of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Albert Einstein, by the by, was a Theist, also.

Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Kepler, Da Vinci, Pascal, Boyle, Leibnitz, Lavoisier... Theists, all. (Antoine Lavoisier, the Father of Modern Chemistry, was also a Catholic Priest.) In fact, the most prolific scientists of the past several hundred years were all theists, not an atheist among them.

Sorry... I get miffed at being told by atheists that theists don't value science when, in fact, they have theists to thank for just about ALL of it.

i think after reading those replys tht an athiest can make up their own mind about wether or not they belive in ghosts but its like many of u said u dont have 2 believe in god 2 believe in ghosts

You mean I'd have to be religious to come back as a ghost to have anyone believe in me? That sucks... No really... Ghosts don't have to connected to religion for atheists to believe in them. It's kind of a ridiculous question if you think about it. Why would they have to be? It's lumping one thing into one category and saying that it HAS to belong there and saying that it couldn't possibly exist in any other plain or have any other explanation at all.

I think I'm rambling. I'm not sure that made much sense even to me. I'm kind of dizzy with fever yall.. forgive me.

I think anyone can believe in ghost... or spirits so to speak.

I knew a atheist that never beleived in anything supernatural. He never beleived in god and neither spirits, angels or demons, because he beleived they never had any real existense in our Universe. He also disbeleived in life after death. He was like a total atheist, and he thought spirits were just imaginery.

Interesting and at the same time a complex question. Ghost are creature of something that exist in a pass life, while Atheist are those who do not follow a specific dogma of religion. Frankly, an Atheist can believe in ghost, because after the exhaling of the last breath, they also can become a ghost. Point clear...Ghost are part of a different plane, and from time to time, they cross into our side...most like an intergalactic traveler.

I don't see a connection between the two. That is, there is no religious foundation to belief in ghosts. Most of the "research" into spectral visitations has focused on non-religious aspects: chemical traces, etc.

Any person with any belief system can believe in the spirits, ghosts, etc. Religion has nothing to do with actual spiritual/psychic phenomenon.

Quantum Theory would be a discussion point here, as the ethereal/ghostly dimension is relevant and not theology or God's. Two different existent areas.

Atheism is the belief that all heavenly beings do not exist. A ghost however, is not heavenly. So yeah an atheist can believe in a ghost i suppose.

Most atheist are also skeptics so I would venture no.

Upir, you stole my post brother. *LOL* Anyone can have a belief in the "para-normal," w/o the direct faith in a Deity body or supreme ruler.

Since I'm atheist and know ghosts are real I say its totally possible. You don't have to believe in a god to know that something is real. If it was like that then I'd like to see how people plan on proving their god is real.

upir...damn you man, your logic here is just making me like you more and more! LOL
better stop it or ill be inviting you over for an absinthe party...



that said i do believe in ghosts (seen some even...)

there is alot of evidence that there is something after death based on experience of people that clinically died and were revived.

my background in physics and research of both quantum mechanics and string theory do not rule out some sort of "over being" or beings.

ergo, im not an atheist. im a sort of an agnostic in which i think that ones personal beliefs , as long as it helps to improve you in some manner is fine no matter even if you happen to worship a lump of putty (found in your armpit one midsummer morning).....

much of that which is religion provides comfort to people, is fun, and asks questions that should be answered. should it replace science? absolutely not. are the beliefs of religious people possibly all crap? yup. are the beliefs of religious people potentially possible? yup.
is it possible that the hindus have it right (or at least pretty close) in that the universe itself is a being, and we are a part of it? yup.
are we likely to know during our lives? nope.
are we having fun along the way?
THAT (for me at least) is the question!
~W~

A true atheist is a person the denies the belief in a supreme being. If there is no supreme being how can there be ghosts? The concept of a ghost means death is not final, therefore, the ghost has to go somewhere when they are no longer on this plane of existance. How would they get there if there was no supreme being?

My answer is you cannot be an atheist and believe in ghosts.

ShalinaChay: If life here can exist without "God," why can't life also exist likewise, hereafter?

Mel and LordWolf: Thank you both so much; I am honored to be found in agreement with others of such intellect.

Your remarks and those of others here do help to make a bit easier having to watch my "Honor" rating constantly taking hits thanks to those who, lacking such intellect or honor, can now so easily and anonymously damage others' ratings with impunity and without any accountability. (It has been confusing to me why Cancer would have instituted such an "Honor" system so designed as to deliberately enable and, in fact, encourage just such anonymous and mean-spirited sniping.)

The problem is that people try to catagorize themselves mentally speaking. That itself can be a contradiction for one's perception can change at any given point in time depending apon circumstance and event.

If someone says that you cannot be Atheist and believe in ghosts too are retarded.

You do not have to be religious or believe in a God to believe what you notice around you. What you sense, what you feel that is energetically different, even if it is a spirit, does not mean you have to believe in a God or heaven or a hell for that matter. That is just how most people have been "taught" to believe rather than rely on their own definitions and logic of what IS real around them based by action which is what i do personally. Just because it's dark and shadowy doesn't mean it's a demon or dark-natured. Maybe it's because we can only SEE it that way on IT's plain of existance, but it really look another way on that side of the fence.

Books are great for exploring the mindsets of the masses, but things get a lot more clearer when you don't cloud your judgements with everything written under the moon and sun by others who have their own ideas of what things are.

An Atheist (as explained to me by an Atheist) is someone who believes what they see. If they cant see it, or there isn't any proof of it then they feel it doesn't exist. So if an Atheist is a witness to seeing a ghost then it is possible. But if they never seen one then they would say no it isn't possible.
I agree with some of you above. An Atheist is a person who doesnt believe in a higher power/deity/god/gods, etc. Just because one doesn't exist doesn't mean the other doesn't.
I say if you can prove it to an Atheist go for it, but if not why argue about it. Have you ever argued with an atheist LOL it gives me a headache LOL