"Can we choose to believe that we are separate from the ultimate Source to which we are connected?"

Yes, we have free will to choose whatever we want.

More importantly...can we ever be completely separated from that ultimate source?

I choose to believe not...no matter how far we may seem to stray, I think we're always connected.

Can we choose to believe?
That is the beauty of anything we have in our reality ,awareness, our lives.
It is the things we choose to believe.
Can we choose to believe that we are separate from something higher than ourselves?
Yes.

peace

No,,,, many atheists I have talked to( including my best freind) do not say that they do not believe in a creator, they say they have no hard core proof either way. In all fairness that isnt a fair question because as you know not all of them think alike. I know many christians. some of them believe that to judge and to discriminate against everyone, who do not believe as they do, is a christian thing to do. Others ( which is the group I agree with) believe that they should follow their teachers teachings (Jesus) and love and accept everyone, whether they agree with them or not. As I am sure you know not all of ANY group will EVER agree on one thing . it is sad in one perspective that as a race we cannot agree on anything but it is also refreshing to see that this is what makes us so great , the differences , no matter how large or small . :-) love n light, rob

As one who's been brought up in a strictly atheistic household and had been one until quite recently I can tell you that we are unable to choose to believe that we are separate from the ultimate Source to which we are connected. How? simply because you're unable to choose something when it isn't even an option. How can you choose when you don't know what is out there to choose from? The fact that you're brought up by loving, tender parents who teach you to depend strictly on yourself and loved ones sets the boundaries and the blinders for you. The things that don't have a scientific/logical explanation are dismissed as superstitions.

My conscious was the equivalent of what people thought of as God. Say I hurt another, it would constantly torment me by replaying in my mind's eye the hurt look of that person. I couldn't run away from such images or the guilt and heartache they caused me. The only solution was making up for the pain I caused. So, my so-called conscious was as close to being connected to source as I got,without my knowledge of course!

thank you, namaste

yes atheist is believing in nothing! so they blind them self to the truth it is the reverse of believing! on the veil of the mind someone that see something is belief can stop him from seing part of the truth! but atheist is a complete eye shutter they believe in nothing! the best is drop belief and experiance!

there is no worse blind then the man that does not want to see!

Here is a quote from Harry Palmer "We experience what we believe unless we believe we do not, in which case we don't, which means that we did."

In other words choosing to not believe in something is a personal choice of belief so it is replacing one belief for another. Example Man A believes in God, Man B believes there is no God. So both are expressing their own personal beliefs and living by and experiencing the results of their own personal beliefs.

♥It is very hard to understand what you are asking here; your question is worded in such a way that makes it hard to understand.

Let me rephrase the question the opposite way, to clarify: "Do you think that Atheism is considered to be a lack of faith?" This question, the opposite, asks if I consider Atheism to be a lack of Faith. Since atheism says that there is no God, it implies a lack of Faith in a God.

When we consider the opposite point, which is what you are asking, we see that what you are trying to ask is if Atheism means that One has no Faith. I believe that some Atheistic people have certain Faiths- the Sun will always rise; the Earth will always turn; we are sure to die; in fact, all things die; and so on.

It would be impossible to function if one could not depend on some certainties in life. A person would have no frame of reference for life- all would be chaos in the mind if those certainties as listed above were not there in the Mind.

This is a sort of Faith. It is a Faith in the physical world, and as such, it is Faith. Believing in the LOA and Manifesting implies a sort of Faith, with or without a God.

To my mind, then, Atheism is a sort of belief system- or, if you rather, a type of religion of its own. People may disagree, but I have met Atheists who believe in what they believe more strongly than any Muslim or Christian.

So, yes, Atheism is a sort of Faith of its own. The word "Faith" does not necessarily mean that God is the object of one's Faith.

I have left my own beliefs out of this discussion.

Blessings,

Jai ♥