Well, I'm an atheist. I have reasons for my beliefs and I'm not just some punk kid trying to go against the grain of society. I just don't believe in God.

But I have always believed in the existence of spirits and ghosts. Not necessarily associated with heaven or hell, but that they exist.

This just struck me as odd as that God is a supernatural entity, yet I completely reject the concept of him/her/it. I was thinking that perhaps its not necessarily the idea of God that I reject, but the way that religion has been used in the past.

Anyone else have any thoughts about any of this?

I am a Christian so you know that we have a completely different view on things. However, I agree with you that the religion has been used in the past and the way it is still being used today in some situations is extremely... distorted. I have had some very bad experiences with religion and honestly there are really to many examples to explain.

As far as ghost and spirits go I believe they can fit into my believes and into your's. It all just depends on how you look at it. I tend to take a much more spiritual approach to supernatural events. But again, a lot of this can be contributed towards some personal experiences I have had.

I have to say I respect you for pursuing this line of questioning. Like Lil-trouble, I am a Christian, and I also feel no compunction to force you to agree. If you ever have questions, feel free to ask.

I respect you, however, because so few people choose to question themselves in this manner. Most of us choose simply to live at the level of belief -- whether belief in God, belief in ghosts, or belief in the Abominable Snowman -- without exploring the consequences of that belief.

I agree with you, and with LT, in that I've had bad experiences with organized religion -- and even more with people who use their religion to excuse their actions. And Christianity hasn't had the most stellar record over the years, though it did foster a number of things (like higher education and medical services) that at the time were areas no one had interest in touching.

As for ghosts, I think they can fit in either world view, though I would contend that your current line of questioning is warranted. If there is such a thing as a soul, a supernatural part of a person that can survive after death, then one must consider the potential existence of other supernatural entities.

Have you had time to explore your thoughts further? I'd like to know what you think.

Would-be pastor here. Not really good at evangelism, though, I'm afraid.

Anyway, I also believe in ghosts. There is room for them even in a Christian world view. We don't understand them, but there they are.

I'm agnostic. I don't believe in a certain God nor do I believe in Heaven and Hell.

I do believe, however, that there's probably a higher power, and that there is another side to which souls go after humans pass.

I'm a wiccan and I'm practising. Part of a covent too.

A friend and I were discussing this a few nights ago. He is an atheist, believing that humans are purely biological, but has seen ghosts more than one occasion. He doesn't know how to reconcile these two ideas.

How can the idea of ghost/spirits fit into an agnostic or atheist world view?

Posted by memory_machine How can the idea of ghost/spirits fit into an agnostic or atheist world view?

I think it could fit in an agnostic world view, because the agnostic basically admits "I don't know, but I doubt." The atheist says "No way" to the existence of a divine being, but not necessarily spirits of other sorts, although many atheists do not believe in them either of course.

Both of these views would probably say, in an open-minded mood, "There must be a naturalistic explanation for what I saw. It hasn't been discovered yet, but it is only a matter of time."