What is wrong with atheists?

I ask a simple question to you out there on ATS at your computers: What is wrong with atheists?

By "atheist" I mean an individual that lacks belief in god(s). nothing more, nothing less. Atheism is a religion in the same way bald is a hair color and not collecting stamps is a hobby. If you want to discuss this, I made a thread over here about that, so that the definition is here to stand. I doubt any of the other atheists on here object to what I call "atheism" being defined as it is.

Anyway, I hear so many people speaking out against atheists that I simply wonder, what do you think is wrong with us?

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


I dont think there is anything wrong with it. I think we are usually level-headed individuals.

When I need something to happen, I dont pray..I make it happen.
I see this as a good quality.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul
I have no problem with atheists.

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort. If you don't believe in any deity, why try to convince someone who does that they are wrong?

Arguing about truth and religion is silly anyway, it is an unprovable argument.

reply to post by butcherguy

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort. If you don't believe in any deity, why try to convince someone who does that they are wrong?

Hey, religions are much guiltier than Atheist/Agnostics of converting people. At least they don't go to third world countries and offer help if they convert! Hmmm! Your beaten there!

As for proving religion fails because they can't prove Jack & then present you with BS Faith concepts. and thus they think it silly !

Originally posted by phatpackage
reply to post by butcherguy

 

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort. If you don't believe in any deity, why try to convince someone who does that they are wrong?

Hey, religions are much guiltier than Atheist/Agnostics of converting people. At least they don't go to third world countries and offer help if they convert! Hmmm! Your beaten there!

As for proving religion fails because they can't prove Jack & then present you with BS Faith concepts. and thus they think it silly !

Yes.

But I am still looking for an answer to my question.

Well OPs
There is a difference between a hard atheist, and a soft atheist.

I consider myself a soft athiest. I do not believe in any religion (as you may have noted), but I am open to speculation overall...and I do enjoy giving myself the luxery of some beliefs that are not proven yet...

I see a hard atheist as pretty much religious. The ones that know there is no God, that know there is no afterlife, the ones that you see often on youtube saying "there is no such thing as ghosts,unicorns,ufos,god,etc).

No evidence does not mean it doesn't exist, or cannot exist...just that until there is evidence proving its existance, it is a unfounded belief...may or may not be real.

Hard atheists give atheism a bad name in the same way that religion gives spirituality a bad name

reply to post by SaturnFX

Hard atheists give atheism a bad name in the same way that religion gives spirituality a bad name

I like this line. Star for that.

Question though, Does Buddhism give spirituality a bad name?

There is nothing inherently wrong with those that reject the belief in God. It is my belief that we were all created equally by him and are all perfect in our own way, just as God created us. That's not to say we will all travel the same road as we are unique and will find our own way. That's the beauty, we have free will, we are not created to be robots. I was a non believer for many years and am now a follower of Christ because of the windy road I traveled in my 40 years.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Well, there are two implied questions there, but I'm guessing that you are asking "what do theists have against atheists that causes them to go off on them"?

For myself, nothing, really. I don't view atheists, as a group, any differently than any other group. There are certain behaviours which annoy me, and I do tend to "go off" on some of them, but when people are respectful and tolerant, there's no reason not to treat them the same way. Truth be told, as a Christian, I should treat people that way regardless of how they treat me, and I do try to remain civil and polite, but it's not always easy.

If there is one particular approach that bothers me the most, it is belittling another's beliefs for no seeming reason other than appearing to want to seem "superior". I watched Penn & Teller's show for a while and enjoyed it, but gradually it (or my perception of it) got to the point where they were simply making fun of people for something that was very important to that person. If you want to expose a scammer or someone who is taking advantage of other people, that's one thing, but if all you want to do is make fun of the beliefs of people who disagree with you, that borders on bigotry, in my mind.

Some atheists, just like some theists, seem hell bent on evangelism and winning people over to their cause, and that's fine, but understand that evangelism is just flat out annoying, regardless of who's doing it. So, if one is an evangelical atheist, you'd better have a dang good argument (and I've yet to see one, though Astyanax gave a pretty good one a while back) or I'm kicking you off my front porch along with the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.

The best advice that my Dad ever gave me was to consider that everyone has an opinion and a perspective, and that is as important and vital to them as your own is to yourself. There's nothing to say that you can't disagree, maybe even try to persuade them to see things your own way, but when you refuse to respect their right to believe in something, and to find solace, joy or anything else in it, you've lost the right of respect for yourself.

reply to post by butcherguy

Originally posted by butcherguy
I have no problem with atheists.

Good to know.

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort.

It's not believers of any sort, it's believers of a specific sort. Though I do think moderate religious individuals are guilty of enabling certain extremist groups or at least from preventing proper critique of them, that is an issue for another thread.

If you don't believe in any deity, why try to convince someone who does that they are wrong?

Because sometimes that wrongness leads to people getting hurt.

Arguing about truth and religion is silly anyway, it is an unprovable argument.

Well, I wouldn't say it's unprovable. Religious claims, if they were true, should have ample evidence.

reply to post by SaturnFX


But you don't really see those sorts anywhere. There aren't many people going "I know there is no god" (again, many. There are some, but they're ridiculous individuals).

I fall into the category of 'medium' atheist. It's more about skepticism overall for me. I reject all the claims you listed, though I am open to proof. I see very few (again, very few, because there might be a few ridiculous individuals) outright claiming to reject assertions that put forth evidence that they happen to believe in.

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

Hard atheists give atheism a bad name in the same way that religion gives spirituality a bad name

I like this line. Star for that.

Question though, Does Buddhism give spirituality a bad name?

edit on 6-12-2010 by butcherguy because: (no reason given)

My personal thoughts about buddism...it is less of a religion and more of a suggestion for personal spiritual awakenings as a person
however, admittedly, I have not studied buddism as much as biblical religions..so I may have been given the 2nd grade understanding of it without seeing the major flaws in its thinking...one day I will sit down and attempt to get an in depth understanding of this "religion".

I understand wiccan more than buddism...because I know more wiccans than buddisms, so it effected me more to study up on it.

reply to post by butcherguy

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort.

If this is your question well Atheists don't "Go to War" as you put it.organised religion is everywhere & pushed in your face. It's a bout having an equal say. There is not equal say. So why is religions push their agenda everywhere & other beliefs are not entitled to it.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
I reject all the claims you listed, though I am open to proof. I see very few (again, very few, because there might be a few ridiculous individuals) outright claiming to reject assertions that put forth evidence that they happen to believe in.

Its why I mentioned youtube and not ATS.
youtube is filled with nonsense and trolls. you suggest something and you will get tons of people matter of factly stating there is no such thing as X or Y.
It happens alot in threads here also, but hell...I jump on them before anyone else..(often with the brilliant retort that I am an idiot for believing in such stuff...never said I believed in anything, I just get agatated when someone matter of factly dismisses something because they personally do not believe and there is no evidence).

It has been my experience, outside of ATS, that there are more hard athiest trolls than there are religious trolls...but this is simply on the internet. Go out in public and you will find most people have some sort of religion. I often wonder if religious post anonymously around the net trollish hard athiest comments just to annoy everyone and cast athiesm as some sort of breathless angry religion.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Hello again madnessinmysoul, Peace to you.

I only have one problem with atheists. This one problem I have with atheists is the same problem I have with religious people. This problem is not at all based upon belief or understanding. The problem I have is the superiority complex. I'm an atheist, I'm right you're wrong. I'm Christian, I'm right you're wrong. I'm ____, I'm right you're wrong. The condescending, the insult, the ridicule. The absolutes and failures to stand on different but common ground. I am not saying all atheists or all religious people are this way. But it's the only problem I have with atheists.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul

what do you think is wrong with us?

Not necessarily that I think anything is "wrong" with you folk, just really dumbfounded as to why you speak more about your disbelief in God than theists speak about their faith in God.

That's just really odd to me.

atheist: n, one who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God

From ; National Dictionary - Self Pronouncing - Based on the Principles Established By - Noah Webster - and including a practical guide to Business English----1936 Edition.


Now that is a fair playing field definition of your stand.

With that said we must define believes

believe: to place credence in and accept as true, upon the ground of authority, testimony, or logical inference apart from personal knowledge; place confidence in' expect or hope: v.i. to have faith; be more or less firmly persuaded of the truth of anything; think or suppose

credence n. belief; trust

So your faith lies with others that believe that others believe that others believe that there is no God...........

Yet even if everyone that ever lived was before you, you would not have enough knowledge to know for certain that there is not a God.

You deny the truth willingly that is all the evidence is before you daily yet you fight it.

Your heart knows it is true, your spirit knows it is true, it is just your carnal mind that denies the facts that there is know way you are here by random happenstance.

I don't think there is anything wrong with you, in fact, I like you. I'm glad you've made a distinction between, light, medium and hard atheist. My husband was always a light atheist and liked to argue/debate with me. He never pushed my buttons too hard and I always reminded him that he's lucky because I'm in - he's in. He never said anything mean about God/Jesus but without any supporting evidence he had no reason to believe.

But things change. Our little girl (18) died last January in a freak accident and so much has happened before during and after the..... accident - he now totally believes. He actually goes to church more than myself. I go sometimes, but I have a hard time sitting there listening to hell-fire preachers. I was just telling my sister the other day, that I would like to find me a good Messianic Judaism Synagogue and try it out. Anyways, our daughters funeral started at 11:00 am on the 10th of January and where she was so young, there was standing room only. I'm sitting there between my husand and our son (he's 23) and my husband bent down and whispered in my ear, that he just saw my dad. My dad has been dead for 10 years. My husband said that he is positive in what he saw and my husband is not prone to telling tales. He said he was panning the room looking at all the people and as he panned past the double doors leading into the room, he saw my dad in a blue suit walking through the doors. He said he kept panning and thought to himself "Well! There is J.R.!" He turned his head back to the doors and he was gone. It really shook him up. He had seen some other things before, but this was different. And he's seen things since. My point is, that you never know what could happen that could change your mind.

I don't want anyone to have to go through what we are going through to get knowledge of the truth, but you never know what life is going to deal you. God said that he never meant to be sought in vain and when the time is right, it will happen. But even if it doesn't you are going to be alright. All of you are going to be alright. People will sit on thrones and judge and do you know why they get to? Because they know how to extend mercy and compassion because it was once extended to them.

I gave Adjenson a star cause I really liked what she/he said.

Originally posted by phatpackage
reply to post by butcherguy

 

I don't understand why some atheists find a need to 'war' with believers of any sort.

If this is your question well Atheists don't "Go to War" as you put it.organised religion is everywhere & pushed in your face. It's a bout having an equal say. There is not equal say. So why is religions push their agenda everywhere & other beliefs are not entitled to it.

There was only one sentence in my first post that ended with this punctuation...."?". That would make it THE question that I referred to. I'll put it up here so that you know which sentence it is.

If you don't believe in any deity, why try to convince someone who does that they are wrong?

What I find funny is that you have already decided that I am religious. The fact that I said that I don't have anything against atheists doesn't mean that I am religious. I also don't have anything against agnostics.

I do have something against believers of any sort that try to force their beliefs on others, that includes most organized religions AND atheists.

Want to try guessing what I am again? Or can I just be me, without the tags?

reply to post by NOTurTypical


I spend the majority of my time not talking about my atheism. I spend less time talking about atheism than most people spend talking about their theism. I don't repeatedly praise atheism, I don't thank atheism for the safety of individuals, I don't ask atheism for favors, I don't gather with a group of people once a week to praise atheism.

Sometimes I post about it on a conspiracy forum. I do more discussion of evolution than I do atheism.
..no, evolution has nothing to do with atheism.

reply to post by ACTS 2:38


Snipped the definitions, as I already provided a definition for an atheist. One who doesn't believe in god(s)

So your faith lies with others that believe that others believe that others believe that there is no God...........

Nope, it's a lack of faith. It's a null position. I do not believe. You believe. I do not. I'm not buying what you're selling, but I'm not selling anything of my own.

Yet even if everyone that ever lived was before you, you would not have enough knowledge to know for certain that there is not a God.

I never said I was absolutely certain. I'm fairly certain. I'm at like...95%. I'll look into claims of it, I'll accept arguments for it, but I'm not going to be so bold as to state that I know.

And you cannot know for certain that there is any god.

You deny the truth willingly that is all the evidence is before you daily yet you fight it.

Wow, that's ignorant.
What truth?
What evidence?

I don't regularly fight these things. I regularly ask for evidence for all claims. It seems that the evidence itself is lacking.

Your heart knows it is true,

Let me check what my heart says:
"pumppumppumppump"
...that's about all it's saying.
And I have a bit of acid reflux causing it a bit of pain, ate a donut a bit too fast.

Your heart knows nothing, it's just the mind that knows anything.

And again, I do not know it's true. If I knew it were true I would accept it.

your spirit knows it is true,

I do not believe in the 'spirit', that one I'm fairly certain about as well. It doesn't make sense nor does it add anything meaningful or true to reality by believing int.

it is just your carnal mind that denies the facts that there is know way you are here by random happenstance.

No, there is definitely a way I'm here by random happenstance. It makes a lot more sense than having more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all beaches in the world and yet this speck of dust is more important than the whole of the cosmos.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul



You asked: "What is wrong with US", not you. I took "US" to mean Atheists in general. To which my observation still stands.

Why do you folk talk so much about something you don't think exists? I can't think of anything that I believe doesn't exist that I spend a great deal of time discussing passionately.