Atheists observe Lent

Published: Tuesday, March 19 2013 3:00 p.m. MDT

Summary

A group of young atheists have taken up Lent without the religious context. They seem attracted to the idea of giving up a bad habit and replacing it with a good one.

A group of young atheists have taken up Lent without the religious context. They seem attracted to the idea of giving up a bad habit and replacing it with a good one. But they make it clear, they are observing the Christian practice, intended to spiritually prepare believers for Easter and a new beginning, because they want to, not because God told them to. Still, the story in the Christian social justice website Sojourners points out that the exercise has exposed "a divide in the nontheist community between older atheists who see religion as inherently evil and younger atheists who are more open to interactions with religious belief."

Read more about this group of atheists who are observing Lent in this article on Sojourners.com.

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The Skeptical Chymist

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

@samhill

The way I understand things, an "agnostic" is someone who does not know whether god exists or not. An "atheist" is a person who does not believe that god exists (a-theism would literally mean "without belief More..

7:13 p.m. March 19, 2013
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Tyler D

Meridian, ID

Samhill – “Does the phrase above, Atheists claiming something to be "inherently evil", strike anyone else as fundamentally goofy?”

No, why would it? I guess it depends on how you define “evil” but More..

10:22 a.m. March 20, 2013
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als Atheist

Provo, UT

Sam Hill,

Let's make a deal. I won't define your religious belief for you if you will refrain from defining my non-belief for me.

Agreed?

6:33 p.m. March 20, 2013
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