Atheists Explain Yourself

[The Neo Nerd]

It seems to me that there is a lot of theists out there that have a very negative image of atheists. Some of the more extreme views are that we are paedophiles, we eat babies or that we are in league with the devil (which is kinda stupid because if we don't believe in any gods then we cant believe in the devil)

So i think we should give the atheists a chance to "try" to explain to those theists out there that we are actually nice, moral, benign people.

Now i can only speak for myself in this so here goes:

I don't believe in any gods not just the yours, so please don't take it personally. I have never seen any gods or any proof of them. I don't deny the existence of gods as i have yet to see anything to deny.

If a god popped up and said hello to me then i would have to believe in him or her because to do so would be ignorant.

Furthermore i am a nice person. I don't cheat, i don't steal, i donate both time and money to charities, i'm am currently studying to become a counsellor and i plan on devoting the rest of my life to helping people.

I believe much like theists that there is something greater than us out there, there is evidence of this. However i don't believe that it resides in some kind of sentient being.

So that's my story, i invite other atheists to post their views on their atheism. I also invite theists to ask us questions about our beliefs (but please don't ask questions the "why do you deny the existence of god" questions as this is rude in an atheism section)

-Q

 

[Madhuri]

Something I used to find really annoying when debating with atheists was that even in the hypothetical situation that God presented himself to one of these atheists they would still refuse to believe that it is God unless they were able to stick him in a lab and do tests on him (which is rediculous). Otherwise you know, they are probably just having a psychotic episode and imagining him. Personal observation/experience is not valid enough. It seems a bit silly to me because then no matter if God exists or not, these guys will refuse to believe it!

Of course, these people I refer to were a specific bunch on a different web site.

 

[Metempsychosis]

This is not mathematics ,GOD cannot be proved(bcos of its supramental nature).Realizing this is upto u,no one gonna force u.

 

[whereismynotecard]

Okie dokie. If anyone has a problem with Hannah because she's an atheist, they can ask some other people on this site if I'm a "terrible person," I cannot say if I am or not, since there is really no scale to tell who is nice and who isn't... But there are things I think are mean, like rape, murder, and abuse. (although I don't have a problem with murdering rapists, murderers, and abusers) I don't think you should steal things from people who will notice they are gone or need the things you steal, but I don't have a problem with people stealing from people who won't even notice a difference. For instance: I wouldn't steal $10 from my poor friend, but I would steal a pack of pens from walmart. Walmart won't notice.

I, like everyone else on earth, have some negative qualities, or qualities other people may feel are negative. Some people don't like that I steal. Some people don't like that I think people should be able to smoke pot if they want to. Some people don't like that I think rapists and child molestors should be murdered... But that's who I am, and if anyone of any religion thinks they are perfect, they are a *********.

 

[Vile Atheist]

Something I used to find really annoying when debating with atheists was that even in the hypothetical situation that God presented himself to one of these atheists they would still refuse to believe that it is God unless they were able to stick him in a lab and do tests on him (which is rediculous). Otherwise you know, they are probably just having a psychotic episode and imagining him. Personal observation/experience is not valid enough. It seems a bit silly to me because then no matter if God exists or not, these guys will refuse to believe it!

Of course, these people I refer to were a specific bunch on a different web site.

Personal experience to "prove God" cannot be relied on for a few reasons, namely so many different concepts of God exist and it's very difficult to discount psychological processes as the probably cause.

The first point is simple to explain why this is a problem. If I ask you what your concept of an apple is, it's going to be pretty much identical to everyone else's concept. Now ask someone about the God(s) they believe in. God is love. God is omnipotent. God is nature. God is a 'force'. God is energy. God is the universe. God is omnimax. Easy to see how conflicts arise.

The second one is a lot more difficult if you are unfamiliar with those processes. I just YouTubing lectures by Dr. Andy Thomson. The lectures are usually about an hour, but very informative as to how the religious mind works, why we believe, how religion develops, etc. He can explain it much better than I could ever hope. It's very difficult to discount culpability of these processes.

I'm not saying I would not discount an experience as evidence, but it would have to jump many hoops to get accepted. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

First of all i want to emphasize that i am not an "atheist".
I abhor that term.

Its an absolute no go for me.

That being said i am not a theist so I guess i could qualify for the group of people you actually ment to talk about

I do not need to explain myself in any way. I wouldnt even know why I should.
I see no moral superiority in theists and if there was one then it would be up to THEM to show the world where that superiority is.

When i look at history, when i look at the scriptures and when i look at the daily life of people (theists and others) i see no reason to explain myself.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

Very true.

However there is this hatred amongst theists for atheists. It can't be just we don't believe in there god. There has to be something else that causes such vile hatred.

I'm just trying to get them to see we are decent hard working people just like them.

-Q

 

[Alceste]

Something I used to find really annoying when debating with atheists was that even in the hypothetical situation that God presented himself to one of these atheists they would still refuse to believe that it is God unless they were able to stick him in a lab and do tests on him (which is rediculous). Otherwise you know, they are probably just having a psychotic episode and imagining him. Personal observation/experience is not valid enough. It seems a bit silly to me because then no matter if God exists or not, these guys will refuse to believe it!

Of course, these people I refer to were a specific bunch on a different web site.

I can relate to that POV. It's not simply being stubborn - it's related to the I think. I can imagine "God" presenting himself to me in great detail and tell you what my most likely reaction would be, and it's important to me to tell you honestly. If s/he looked ordinary, I'd think "well, look at that - it's a person who thinks s/he's god". If s/he was glowing or something, I'd think "wow - for some reason I perceive this person who thinks s/he's god as radiant with light - I wonder why that is?" If s/he told me stuff nobody but me knows to prove his/her omniscience I'd think "wow - it's an omniscient person who thinks s/he's god - I wonder how that works."

You see where I'm going with this? My mind would always default to the minimal, simplest conclusion that can be based on empirical evidence in front of me, and there is a predisposition to presume intense special effects (like glowing people) are purely psychological - because that's the most plausible explanation, and because I've often induced purely psychological special effects so I KNOW they are possible.

I think I've said before, the only thing that would persuade me God exists is to wake up one day with an unshakeable belief in God. Maybe God still wouldn't really exist, but if I woke up one day as a believer, what else could I do but believe?

 

[Metempsychosis]

Very true.

However there is this hatred amongst theists for atheists. It can't be just we don't believe in there god.

-Q

yes this very bad behavior by theists.They think that i am atheist when they see my name.

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

Very true.

However there is this hatred amongst theists for atheists. It can't be just we don't believe in there god. There has to be something else that causes such vile hatred.

Perhaps you should take a look into their scriptures. then you would easily see why atheists are considered bad.

One reason why i do not use the term at all for myself.

There is the female comedian who once spoke about their parents reaction when they found out she had left christianity.
Something like:
"An atheist? Well not believing in God is one thing but ......being an ATHEIST, how could you do that?"

 

[The Neo Nerd]

Perhaps you should take a look into their scriptures. then you would easily see why atheists are considered bad.

Yeah but there's gotta be something more than that, it would be the height of stupidity to hate a whole of people because the don't believe in your god. It's so extreme.

-Q

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

Yeah but there's gotta be something more than that, it would be the height of stupidity to hate a whole of people because the don't believe in your god. It's so extreme.

-Q

If your god tells you that a bunch of people is inherently evil, then you hate them. Its as simple as that.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

If your god tells you that a bunch of people is inherently evil, then you hate them. Its as simple as that.

But that's stupid, they don't even know us.

-Q

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

But that's stupid, they don't even know us.

-Q

God knows, God is absolute, hence they know too. Because God told them so.
Of course no other information can be as valuable as information comming directly from God.

You get the trick ?

 

[The Neo Nerd]

You get the trick ?

No i don't.

I'm a really nice guy, i'm intelligent, kind, caring and patient.

To hate me based on my beliefs, that's bigotted.

 

[Madhuri]

You will also find that feeling hate at all is contradictory to Jesus' example but since when do these people actually live by his example? Not many.

 

[ThereIsNoSpoon]

No i don't.

I'm a really nice guy, i'm intelligent, kind, caring and patient.

What you say is irrelevant since of course God knows better and thus every believer too.
You must be a liar or deluded or influenced by Satan.

To hate me based on my beliefs, that's bigotted.

Now you call God bigotted.. What a blasphemy.
God and pray to God for forgiveness:shout, throw yourself into the dirt in the hope that he will release you from the sins:bow:


PS: Of course i believe nothing of this! Just playing around with the excuses i have heard already.

 

[MSizer]

Most atheists are moral people (the exceptions being sociopaths, psychopaths and unconcious people and some people suffering of dementia). Religion is just a part of culture, and atheists, unless they live completely alone, are cultural too. Morality is the product of some inherent human traits and cultural influences. Therefore, unless a person is an exceptional case due to mental illness or partial death, s/he is a moral agent, regardless as to whether s/he believes in god.

 

[rojse]

A nice thread idea, Quaxotic. Frubals (when I can give them out again).

Well, to give a short overview of my opinions and beliefs...

In regards to myself, I am an atheist. All that means is that I don't believe in God. Anything else beyond that is my opinion, and mine alone. If another atheist agrees with me about anything at all, that's just a coincidence.

The reason why I am an atheist... I haven't had any religious experiences that I could only be explain by invoking the name of God. I didn't grow up in a religious family, and religion didn't make much sense to me when I started to look into it as an adult. It still doesn't now.

That said, I respect the beliefs and opinions of theists, even if they don't agree with it. The only exception to this is if they wish to impose their morality and beliefs onto others. Otherwise, I have no problems.

As for my opinions and beliefs - I think people should be free to do whatever they wish, as long as they are not harming anyone and those involved in what they are doing are consenting adults. As this is an extremely short summary of my view on life, there are some exceptions to this, but by and large, I agree with that summary.

As to the morality of atheists, I consider myself quite moral. I've done a lot of charity work and the like (and no, it wasn't due to a prison sentence). I stopped doing it for a while (too much on my plate and life got in the road) but I hope to get back into it soon.

 

[Metempsychosis]

As to the morality of atheists, I consider myself quite moral. I've done a lot of charity work and the like (and no, it wasn't due to a prison sentence).

As to the morality of atheists, I consider myself quite moral. I've done a lot of charity work and the like (and no, it wasn't due to a prison sentence). I stopped doing it for a while (too much on my plate and life got in the road) but I hope to get back into it soon.

Atheist have always had higher morality than religious fundamentalists.Moreover,they have been pretty tolerant too.Atheists not gonna create problem like religious fundamentalists in the future too.