Socrates said that atheists are people that have no invisible means of support?

Being an atheist is heroic

Are you serious? Socrates never wrote anything, but it was a disciple of Socrates (i.e. Plato) who wrote things and attributed them to Socrates. (Plato's earlier stuff is believed to be genuinely from Socrates, while the later stuff is believed to be Plato's ideas attributed to Socrates.) Any way, the term "atheist" was commonly attributed to anyone who did not believe in the Graeco-Roman pantheon of deities. Even early Christians were accused of being "atheists" by pagan Rome and executed because of it. (An interesting account of this written in an early church document called The Martyrdom of Polycarp, a.k.a. An Encyclical Epistle of the Church of Smyrna.) Moreover, based on the writings of Plato, both Socrates and he (based on earlier and later writings attributed to the teachings of Socrates) believed in a divine being of some kind that was in many ways different from the Graeco-Roman pantheon of deities that were being worshiped. Since Plato expressed these teachings in a round-about way and Socrates had already been put to death by poison, the governing authorities apparently did not persecute Plato.

So really, you cannot use Socrates to argue for modern atheism because he (and Plato) did not believe in that kind of a worldview.

Whatever else I might add on this matter has already been covered (more or less) by someone else, so I need not reiterate it.

Okay genius, read what Socrates says in 31c of Plato's Apology:

"I have a divine sign [daimonion] from the god which… began when I was a child. It is a voice, and whenever it speaks it turns me away from something I am about to do, but it never turns me towards anything. This is what has prevented me from taking part in public affairs, and I think it was quite right to prevent me. Be sure, gentlemen of the jury, I should have died long ago otherwise."

I.e., he believes he has an inner spirit, a gift from the god, which helps guide his decisions by telling him what not to do. The daimon or deamon is thought by philosophers to be that which the early Greek Christians derived the notion of pneuma (literally "wind"), or spirit, from.

The entire premise of your rambling refers to the Abrahamic Christian faith - something that neither Socrates nor Plato ever mention in writing. No context exists therein to support your argument.

Also, your presupposition is that religion is a crutch. This is the way you see it, subjectively, which can, at best, only be a qualitative measurement...i.e. it's useless and has no weight.

Additionally, you are assuming, for whatever reason, that someone of the Christian faith does not possess the capacity to make his or her own decisions with his or her own mind. What? How can one not use one's own mind? Does the Christian remove his or her mind and replace it with something else? Can you even describe to me what a "mind" is (my guess is no)?

Furthermore, you are again inserting presupposition as de facto argument when referencing the bible. Again, this is subjective and qualitative. Unless your fundamental moral values are bass-ackwards from the vast majority of Americans, then chances are you have, at least partially, a moral code which is adopted from the Judeo-Christian faith. Sure, other religions have similar moral and ethical codes, but the country was settled on the premise of Judeo-Christian values, both from the English on the east coast as well as the Franciscan Spaniards who settled Alta California.

Lastly, I would venture to guess that you know very little about the bible. For example, you call it a 2,000 year old book when in fact it is collection of individual works with many authors, most of which pre-dates the common era (the A.D. or After Death era which our current Gregorian calendar is based on). I would venture to guess that you do not even possess basic biblical knowledge such as what the Jewish diaspora is, or where the New Testament Samaritans came from (hint: they are linked). For someone who has little to no knowledge of a subject, as Augustine said, you make yourself look like a fool by acting as if you do.

In closing, what in the world is that last question supposed to mean? Whereas with prayers...what? Please write more clearly.

He didn't. It was John Buchan who said “An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.”

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, was a British novelist who wrote, among other books, the Richard Hannay thrillers like "The 39 Steps".

First, let me say that Socrates had a very cool sense of humor.

I have always loved that quote.

Then...I was not aware that Wiccans are atheists?? I thought you guys believed in the goddess?? At least, every other Wiccan I know of believes in the goddess...what's up with you??

Socrates was an intelligent man.

Good post- clear and succinct.

Senior atheist

What if someone tried to argue against this by saying "Socrates lived before Jesus, he doesn't count!"

That's fine and all and I agree with you, but what's your question sir?

"Faith is believing something that you know ain't so" - Mark Twain

So, true...