A very short diary, I promise, as DKos seems to recently have an excess of diaries on philosophical discussions on the nature of reality, which most of us don't come here for. We've got more important things to worry about, like getting our ass to work so we can put food on the table, pay the rent, make the car payment. But there seems to be confusion over what atheism means. Most theist - Christians, or whatever theistic religion you practice - seem to think if one doesn't believe in a God, then one must automatically think we have no life force, no spirit or soul. They are very mistaken.
Theists believe in a God and/or multiple Gods. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, and many other religions are all theists.
Atheist comes from the Greek 'without God', but as used today most atheist believe not only that there is no God, they also believe there is no life force, no spirit or soul that continues to exist after the death of a life form. They believe life is nothing more than something like a chemical reaction, at death we fade to black and then there is nothing.
Nontheists believe there is no God, no great fatherly figure in the sky, but most believe there is a life force, a spirit or soul, that continues to exist with awareness after the death of our bodies. Buddhists believe there is no God, but very much believe there is a spirit/soul that continues to exist after we depart this current life, they believe in reincarnation - until we achieve Enlightenment. Then we become a part of all that there is. There are several other religions which don't believe in a God or Gods, but believe we have a spirit and a soul.
I am a nontheist, I describe myself as a 'Buddhist leaning agnostic'. 'Agnostic', as in I don't claim to know anything for certain. 'Agnostic' comes from the Greek 'without knowledge'. 'Buddhist', as in I believe in reincarnation and Enlightenment, and the concept of karma guides me in how I live this life - you get back what you put out, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
That is it, please continue on with your daily lives. For me, Wednesday is a day off, so I'm going to finish reading my library copy of "The Grand Design" by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow - a great read for those interested in such things.
Ok, I'll yield to temptation and leave something for those who believe life is nothing more than a chemical reaction something to consider: A chemical reaction is a form of energy, so that would mean life is a form of energy, right? Then consider this:
"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another." - Albert Einstein
Smart fellow, that Albert Einstein.