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Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? - Religion - Nairaland

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Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 6:06pm On Jun 27, 2012
This is the argument that I am getting from religious people here on Nairaland. I humbly disagree. Atheism is a worldwide phenomenon.


The people that make this argument are the religious people (christians and muslims) in retaliation to the annoying fact that Islam and Christianity are both foreign religions that came with slavery of black people in Nigeria. The statment that atheism is a foriegn religion is a shameful act of revenge on the part of religious folks who can not accept that their religions were not meant for them and existed hundred of years ignoring them in West Africa.


Here is my rebuttal

1) Atheism is not a religion. Anyone can be an atheist, anywhere. It is a disbelief in God. No rituals or customs or baptism or conversion, just a disbelief.

2) There have always been people that have been doubters of God or gods in every race, religion or group of people at any time. They were killed for their doubts in the past but now humans have mostly evolved past that stage. Of course, atheism is always in the minority or are mostly invisble because people dont want to be killed for being outsiders. The Japanese say "a nail that sticks out will be hammered"

3) Following point number 2, even in our African pagan history, there were men who went against the oracles or the gods. Some of them were banished from villages or beheaded. Some of them won wars without the oracle and became gods themselves as kings. There are people in the villages who are born to pagan households but dont believe in the pagan idols or religion. My grandmother is one of them



4) My grandmother from southern Nigeria in the village was an atheist or at least, a skeptic. She was born to a pagan family and retained the pagan status but she never threw things in the river or did any of the customary practices of her pagan religion.

When me and my siblings asked her about Jesus when she visited us in the city, she asked us why she should believe in Jesus that she is more concerned about her children and grandchildren who she has raised without Jesus. Furthermore, there was an instance in which she proved her disbelief in the pagan religion. In my mothers village, it is forbidden to write on the ground (sand). As children from the city, we did not know this and we were playing with clay and writing on the ground. A woman came to shout at us and stopped us from writing on the ground. We ran inside to tell my grandmother who was furious and came outside but the woman was gone. My grandmother said that we should not mind the villagers with their useless superstitions.



Atheism is a worldwide phenomenon and not a foreign religion. Agree or disagree?
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by Ptolomeus(m): 6:33pm On Jun 27, 2012
Dear friend:
Atheism is not a foreign religion, simply because (point 1) is not a religion.
I agree with the aterísmo is a global phenomenon.

I let my discrepancies raised with the treatment of paganism.
I suppose that, as elsewhere, there must have been people opposed to paganism. I do not know if they were decapitated, or were not.

Regarding your grandmother let me tell you something (and I do it amicably, for I appreciate you)
Write on the ground may seem silly (no more nonsense to kneel before a statue of plaster, or imagine a paradise with 20 virgins).
You wonder why this woman did not agree to write down? Some pagan acts may seem silly (not more silly that many acts of Christian or Islamic), but they have their explanation.
You may not agree with this explanation (I did not ask you to share it) but it certainly is part of a philosophical and a tradition. There is no ignorance.
Let's see: I'm not contradicting your statement, but I am saying that not all acts are stupid and ignorant heathen.

A big hug!
y... vamo arriba la celeste hermano!
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 6:38pm On Jun 27, 2012
Ptolomeus: Dear friend:
Atheism is not a foreign religion, simply because (point 1) is not a religion.
I agree with the aterísmo is a global phenomenon.

I let my discrepancies raised with the treatment of paganism.
I suppose that, as elsewhere, there must have been people opposed to paganism. I do not know if they were decapitated, or were not.

Regarding your grandmother let me tell you something (and I do it amicably, for I appreciate you)
Write on the ground may seem silly (no more nonsense to kneel before a statue of plaster, or imagine a paradise with 20 virgins).
You wonder why this woman did not agree to write down? Some pagan acts may seem silly (not more silly that many acts of Christian or Islamic), but they have their explanation.
You may not agree with this explanation (I did not ask you to share it) but it certainly is part of a philosophical and a tradition. There is no ignorance.
Let's see: I'm not contradicting your statement, but I am saying that not all acts are stupid and ignorant heathen.

A big hug!
y... vamo arriba la celeste hermano!

jajaja

Writing on the ground is forbidden in my African Village. Do you have this rule in Uruguay paganism?
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 6:50pm On Jun 27, 2012
...double post
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by Ptolomeus(m): 7:04pm On Jun 27, 2012
logicboy01:

jajaja

Writing on the ground is forbidden in my African Village. Do you have this rule in Uruguay paganism?

No. We dont have that rule.
That kind of taboo, are generally local, and due to local conceptions.
In many African peoples, there is a prohibition against eating certain animals. For pregnant women, perform certain acts ... but not everywhere the same. I can not judge whether it is good or bad each of these things, but I can say is that they have a reason, it is not witchcraft or anything satanic (Christians would say jajajaja!)
But if you one day have a chance, ask at your village the reason for this tradition. Share it or not, you will see that is part of a tradition that aims to respect something.
This is not something whimsical.
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by emofine2(f): 7:15pm On Jun 27, 2012
logicboy01: Atheism is a worldwide phenomenon and not a foreign religion. Agree or disagree?

I agree logicboy. Atheism is not a product of any nationality but it may be strongly promoted by specific nationals. It’s as absurd as saying that homosexuality is a product of the west.
Just because certain societies may choose not to recognize something doesn’t mean it doesn’t or never existed. Moreover there are and were people who operated undercover for fear of rebuke or ostracism.
At best one may say atheism is not a traditional African concept.
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 7:32pm On Jun 27, 2012
emöfine2:

I agree logicboy. Atheism is not a product of any nationality but it may be strongly promoted by specific nationals. It’s as absurd as saying that homosexuality is a product of the west.
Just because certain societies may choose not to recognize something doesn’t mean it doesn’t or never existed. Moreover there are and were people who operated undercover for fear of rebuke or ostracism.
At best one may say atheism is not a traditional African concept.

Good, I 100% agree with you.

There are atheists everywhere. Africa is a very spiritual continent but that doesnt mean we dont have skeptics
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 7:33pm On Jun 27, 2012
Ptolomeus:

No. We dont have that rule.
That kind of taboo, are generally local, and due to local conceptions.
In many African peoples, there is a prohibition against eating certain animals. For pregnant women, perform certain acts ... but not everywhere the same. I can not judge whether it is good or bad each of these things, but I can say is that they have a reason, it is not witchcraft or anything satanic (Christians would say jajajaja!)
But if you one day have a chance, ask at your village the reason for this tradition. Share it or not, you will see that is part of a tradition that aims to respect something.
This is not something whimsical.

Okay, I will find out! I will ask my uncle
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by lagerwhenindoubt(m): 7:36pm On Jun 27, 2012
logicboy01:

Good, I 100% agree with you.

There are atheists everywhere. Africa is a very spiritual continent but that doesnt mean we dont have skeptics

When you say "skeptics" it looks like you are saying there is still room for belief in theism - to keep an open mind
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 7:52pm On Jun 27, 2012
lagerwhenindoubt:

When you say "skeptics" it looks like you are saying there is still room for belief in theism - to keep an open mind


There is always room for brainwashing
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 12:31am On Jun 28, 2012
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Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 8:50pm On Jun 29, 2012
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 2:25am On Jul 05, 2012
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by lagcity(m): 2:50am On Jul 05, 2012
We African atheists are ubiquitous. But we are closet atheists because we know that religious African zombies will hunt us down and kill us grin. "Holy" religious ppl killing nonbelievers; isn't there something wrong with that picture? I thought Godless atheists are supposed to be the savages. undecided
Re: Atheism Is Not An African Thing?? A "European/foreign" Thing??? by logicboy01: 3:07am On Jul 05, 2012
lagcity: We African atheists are ubiquitous. But we are closet atheists because we know that religious African zombies will hunt us down and kill us grin. "Holy" religious ppl killing nonbelievers; isn't there something wrong with that picture? I thought Godless atheists are supposed to be the savages. undecided


How sad but true. When you take religion to an extreme place, the religion becomes even more extreme. African atheists are mostly in the closet because they do not want to die at the hand of extremist religionists

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