I think this is a really interesting board.

[divisionbyzero85]

HI there. I came across The Vegan Atheist while browsing YouTube. Particularly I watched a criticism of Matt Dillahunty. I thought the video was well argued.

I have a huge fascination with the Egyptian religion and spend a lot of time mostly lurking religion related forums. This is the first time I've seen one with a Vegan spin. So I'm looking forward to see what I can learn from you all.

[garrethdsouza]

Hi welcome to the forum!

Heres an interesting intersectional article regarding questions raised by prominent atheists on veganism: http://vegetarianfuture.blogspot.in/201 ... chard.html

Veganism is about preventing avoidable suffering and I generally recommend watching earthlings (on youtube) as a definite prerequisite to discussing veganism in more detail. It focuses on the actual suffering of the powerless group of domestic animals which is right at the heart of the issue.

[EquALLity]

Hi.

Are you religious?

[Lightningman_42]

Welcome to the forum, divisionbyzero85.

This is the first time I've seen one with a Vegan spin. So I'm looking forward to see what I can learn from you all.

Glad to hear that you're interested in veganism. I also recommend seeing Earthlings to learn about the ethical aspects of veganism as well as some of the environmental aspects.

I'd also recommend Gary Yourofsky's 2010 Georgia Tech speech and Q&A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5hGQDLprA8 (Speech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PR64HGJoyk (Q&A)

These are also good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4HJcq8qHAY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0VrZPBskpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-g9D9tFpLw

That last one by the Israeli activists has a ton of interesting information about how powerful the meat, dairy, and egg industries are in influencing dietary guidelines presented to the public.

To learn more about the dietary aspects of veganism I'd recommend Forks Over Knives. I'd also highly recommend Dr. Michael Greger's YouTube channel (and website of the same name), nutritionfacts.org.

If you'd like to learn some tasty vegan recipes I'd recommend:
-vegweb.com
-vegkitchen.com
-veganeatingout.com
-www.findingvegan.com
-CookingWithPlants (YouTube channel)
-The Vegan Zombie (YouTube channel)
-VeganBlackMetalChef (YouTube channel; the most entertaining cooking show in the world)

To find vegan restaurants in your area:
www.happycow.net
www.veganfoodiseverywhere.com

[brimstoneSalad]

Welcome division, ancient Egyptian religion is fascinating. Do you describe yourself as polytheist, or are you just 'searching' now?

Did you know they were mostly vegetarian?

[divisionbyzero85]

Thanks for the responds everyone! I am definitely not religious but I find religion to be a form of psychology and so I find it fascinating.

As for my take on gods, I describe myself as non-theist. To most that basically means i'm an atheist. I make a distinction that I found meaningful though. I think gods are unconscious constructs so while I don't "believe" in any of them I think they symbolize very real things for the mind. I believe when people speak of gods they are actually talking about their (or even an society's) unconscious constructs. I believe this is true whether a person realizes this or not. So I'm a like Carl Jung on the matter of gods.

[brimstoneSalad]

I agree on the point about gods often being literary manifestations of human psychology; the same is the case often for heroes as well as monsters. Where people go wrong is in believing that they're physical or real supernatural beings.

As you described your belief, that qualifies as atheist.
Interestingly, there are some Wiccans who believe the same about deities. You might find some of their writing interesting.

[divisionbyzero85]

Exactly! I actually dated an atheistic Wiccan once. She was really fascinating.