Atheists, so WHY are we really on a 'religious' forum

[Caladan]

So why do you feel the need to justify being here? You are like the kid that is trying to explain why he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Random makes a good point. The atheists that I have observed on here do nothing more than demean anyone that disagrees with them. And they tend to do it in herds.

Members of RF who are atheists have nothing to justify, and its tragic to see some 'believers' take this thread out of context and off topic. this forum was created for your convenience by an Atheist, does the founder of RF need to justify his presence here?

 

[Revoltingest]

So why do you feel the need to justify being here? You are like the kid that is trying to explain why he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Random makes a good point. The atheists that I have observed on here do nothing more than demean anyone that disagrees with them. And they tend to do it in herds.

Piffle! You should do a better job of observing. I am the epitome of friendly-to-the-fundies.
I should get one of those bumper stickers....I BRAKE FOR XTIANS

 

[it's_sam]

Working towards understanding these religions on any kind of one understanding would be taking away their heritage. Each religion and political standing is due to what their people endured, or pushed onto others. Like people they have to be personal understood in its own way. It would be like saying i sleep with whores because i live in America and its legal in some areas, but from our side we know its just certain states (areas). Both states have their side and their right and before recently these were settled with a bloody battle instead of a passive divergence. Over time people observe the self worthe they are missing and work back toward a greater good but its just slow. Religions will have to meet somewhere and conclude on some kind of system for people to have complete and total faith in but it is literaly going to take every side to pull it off, it would have to be as alive as the thoughts bringing it together or the people won't give it life. I have a question for you Caladan because i too am a curious animal. As who you are today in all that you know would you honestly say you would have rather had everyone saying "we don't know" over "it's possible that ___"? saying it's possible for anything is what opens possiblities, if we all stood around saying "we just can't figure it out" we wouldn't have the structures we do now that hold societies together. I understand this might not be your possition but proclaiming your athiest associates you with that understanding and that is the group you are representing and influencing by example. Wich in your case i do see as a good thing due to your background in religions, but to most athiest knowing about religions is what they are trying to avoid. You use a structure for your influence, be it honor or morale, your religious history has given you that edge on yourself. Wich is being able to avoid cycles of your mind that can otherwise dabilitate you. We can focus our thought to be stronger then any influence we just have to find the drive and to find ourselves we have to drive that all the way home.

 

[mho123]

Since this question seems to be haunting us on the forum, maybe its about time we hear it straight from the horse's mouth, and see what atheists have to say on this topic.

I'll start with a modest presentation.
if you notice, the main directory of this forum is titled Religious Education Forum, and this is a main reason for me being here, education.
We live in a world in which religion is an intense factor and a phenomenon which has shaped much of our history and is shaping our reality today.
I'm here because I am deeply concerned by the political and social tensions in our societies and on the world stage in which religion is a major player. whether we dicuss global terrorism, the influence of religion and international politics, homosexuality and religion, the theology of religions, or the mysticism of the world religions, all of these issues are highly relevant for anyone who wishes to 'stay in the game', and to understand current events. we are all directly influenced by religion, and we can all directly influence affairs in which religion is a player, we have the duty as citizens to understand our society and the world, and some of us also have the desire to learn for the sake of learning, in order to sharpen our mind and be informed.
religion is involved in too many issues to count in our societies, from the emergence of the New Age in the west, to Buddhism in the US, to the importance of issues of Christianity in the US, to the debate between secular Europe and Islam in Europe, to Islam in the middle east and outside the middle east, and to understanding religious movements in the US, such as Wicca, neo-paganism, and the different branches of Satanism or the Left Hand Path.
As an atheist, it is crucial for me to understand all of these tensions in order to find my place in the world, and in order to manifest the interests which I have decided that I want to see take place in society.
to me atheism is about education and being as much informed as you can about religion.

So, lets hear it from our atheist members. here is your chance to clear the misconceptions.

I am here because I am greatly worried about the future ( forgive me for my poor English )
when I look around I only see fanatics of all kinds getting more and more extreme .
We are supposed to be civilized but most of us still live by the prehistoric fairy tails , totally brainwashed , so much so to kill innocent people and believe that it's for a good deed .
I only see hatred , wars , terror . And most of it caused by religion .
I am here because I am scared from humanity and where it is going .
Thanks

 

[Caladan]

Working towards understanding these religions on any kind of one understanding would be taking away their heritage. Each religion and political standing is due to what their people endured, or pushed onto others. Like people they have to be personal understood in its own way. It would be like saying i sleep with whores because i live in America and its legal in some areas, but from our side we know its just certain states (areas). Both states have their side and their right and before recently these were settled with a bloody battle instead of a passive divergence. Over time people observe the self worthe they are missing and work back toward a greater good but its just slow. Religions will have to meet somewhere and conclude on some kind of system for people to have complete and total faith in but it is literaly going to take every side to pull it off, it would have to be as alive as the thoughts bringing it together or the people won't give it life.

If you maintain that religious communities should be isolationist, then as long as they influence the life of the expanded society, people have a right to study their agendas and their traditions. further more it would be unconstructive not to understand the people around you, especially when you are part of these people.

I have a question for you Caladan because i too am a curious animal. As who you are today in all that you know would you honestly say you would have rather had everyone saying "we don't know" over "it's possible that ___"? saying it's possible for anything is what opens possiblities, if we all stood around saying "we just can't figure it out" we wouldn't have the structures we do now that hold societies together. I understand this might not be your possition but proclaiming your athiest associates you with that understanding and that is the group you are representing and influencing by example. Wich in your case i do see as a good thing due to your background in religions, but to most athiest knowing about religions is what they are trying to avoid. You use a structure for your influence, be it honor or morale, your religious history has given you that edge on yourself. Wich is being able to avoid cycles of your mind that can otherwise dabilitate you. We can focus our thought to be stronger then any influence we just have to find the drive and to find ourselves we have to drive that all the way home.

I have never claimed that human beings should be satisfied with 'we don't know', I think that today more than ever human beings have the ability to know, to explore, and to study, we can go a great distance and KNOW, and yes in some cases admit 'we don't know'.

 

[it's_sam]

My problem here Caladan is i see no athiest in you. I see someone doing the best he can for the people around him and then some. I see you fighting with the honor of God in your heart because you see in your eyes what God see's and it pains us all that can feel it. You do works for others and only expect equal respect in return. Even if your calling your religion athiest you are more religious then most people i know. I retry the question what did you find in athiesm?

 

[it's_sam]

Also about the isolationists what im saying is they have been exactly that untill recently. only now are times and religions colliding on a even playing field.

 

[Revoltingest]

My problem here Caladan is i see no athiest in you. I see someone doing the best he can for the people around him and then some. I see you fighting with the honor of God in your heart because you see in your eyes what God see's and it pains us all that can feel it. You do works for others and only expect equal respect in return. Even if your calling your religion athiest you are more religious then most people i know. I retry the question what did you find in athiesm?

It's the no-true-atheist fallacy.

 

[LuisDantas]

I must say, it is funny to see people refusing to acknowledge others' atheism and sincerely believing that it is a sign of respect to do so.

The image of a Protestant claiming that some Catholic friend of his "does not really believe" in the Virgin Mary comes to mind.

 

[Darkness]

Hubris. :areyoucra Sheer. What makes you think you have any say in what direction society takes?

I am guessing you are not a fan of democracy?

Oh I see, Israel. Well, that explains it so...

Perhaps the hubris was in your suggestion that an atheist could possibly have anything positive or relevant to contribute to the direction of society.

Humanism is our greatest contribution to society. While it is true that many early humanists were deists, deists and atheists generally have the same outlook on society. That is, atheism, agnosticism and deism are philosophical cousins.

Melodramatic.

Religious Forums, despite the name and the pretensions for "Education", is really a net-renowned place for smug, self-satisfied and highly conceited atheists to mock, demean and bully theists and other assorted believers; each new believer being fodder for the atheist clique on here who frubal each other furiously for every sarcastic jibe and dismissive demure as the believers are chewed up, spat out and eventually leave in despair and misery. Some new one signs up soon after, and so on it goes.

This is its reputation outside of these confines; I personally am not judging, I sort of like it here, but I'm just saying - and it needs to be said.

To be fair, the Atheists on this forum mostly get ****** off when theists spew venom about how evil gay people are.

So why do you feel the need to justify being here? You are like the kid that is trying to explain why he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Random makes a good point. The atheists that I have observed on here do nothing more than demean anyone that disagrees with them. And they tend to do it in herds.

I am an Atheist and I don't go around demeaning theists.

 

[it's_sam]

When did i say he doesnt call himself an athiest? What i am saying that from what ive gathered from athiests from many long lines on conversation is that they dont want to be involved. Hence believing in neither side being differential to any conclusion without the proof to back it up. It's not my fault that i don't see this in caladan, it was simply observed and mentioned. I did mean everything i said out of respect to Caladan because of what i see in him and not because of what i want out of him. Like the sides of states passive indifference can lead to conclusions and sometimes faster then wars.

 

[ChristineES]

I've asked the question "why do atheists post on a religious forum?" before on a Christian Bible site once (not this site, because the name of it answers it already), not because I believe that atheists didn't belong there but because I was interested. They gave me answers that were perfectly logical, such as "although I don't believe in it, I want to study it" and such answers.

 

[Quagmire]

So why do you feel the need to justify being here? You are like the kid that is trying to explain why he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Nah, it's more like an atheist taking the time to explain because so many "believers" here have their head stuck somewhere else (and hey guys? That's not chocolate you're smelling).

Members of RF who are atheists have nothing to justify, and its tragic to see some 'believers' take this thread out of context and off topic.

Tragic but predictable.

 

[it's_sam]

I know you dont have any background on what my conceived notions are of God, and im not claiming i have any for that matter. I too go off of facts, and the facts to me show that if you do the right thing or good thing. Generaly the outcome is likewise for you if not always for them. When good is done as a society it builds that society and holds it together through its up and downs, similair to how gravity holds us together through our ups and downs. To me they are so close its hardly distinguishable, its just one holds our bodies together and the other our minds. You can call this God, or Allah, or woody the woodpecker for all i care, but as long as i see the spark in people i will call it out because we all deserve to know our good deeds are seen if not understood.

 

[Smoke]

I must say, it is funny to see people refusing to acknowledge others' atheism and sincerely believing that it is a sign of respect to do so.

It's a form of rudeness and condescension to which believers are particularly prone.

 

[Caladan]

I appreciate that we want to stay on topic, just keep in mind that this thread was meant to provide a platform for a specific topic, I didnt mean to target religious people in here. I think we can clear plenty of misconceptions here, if people of faith can understand where atheists are coming from, who knows, maybe it will further enhance our discussions, as we do have some intense debates raging ATM.

 

[Revoltingest]

It's a form of rudeness and condescension to which believers are particularly prone.

To be fair, some of our ilk are snarky little *****heads too.

 

[tarasan]

To be fair, some of our ilk are snarky little *****heads too.

I know but believers kinda like that it only reinforces that our opinion is more reasonible.....

that is until the fundie Christian comes along...

 

[Rakhel]

Didn't think you were targeting one group over another. Or, at least, I didn't. Can't speak for anyone else, though.

 

[Smoke]

To be fair, some of our ilk are snarky little *****heads too.

Believers who tell you you're a Christian at heart, or things along those lines, aren't being snarky. They genuinely think it's a compliment, like white people who "compliment" a black man by saying he's very clean and articulate. It's the assumptions that lie behind the remark that are insulting.