Why atheists and agnostics come to this forum?

[Mock Turtle]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?
Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

For me, it is a bit pointless going to a forum where most are in agreement with one's own views (just twiddling with details so often), such that at least one can get many different views and beliefs in a forum such as RF. And as others have pointed out, we do all live in societies where a very large majority do seem to have a religious belief of one form or another, such that here we do get to see how and why so many have such beliefs. This is especially important for many of us without such beliefs since we have to live in such societies yet all too often are at odds with the views expressed. I'm not sure we get any answers that have much meaning but we do seem to spark off each other.

Mostly I have found it is best to have confrontations that challenge one rather than those that reinforce one's particular views, which is why I am often alarmed when so many seem to think that studying or dissecting religious texts is not indoctrination, when all too often it is. That is, many don't seem to look outside of their religion for different perspectives.

I gave up looking for anything spiritual when I accepted that I (and all of us) might never know the truth about our reality. I can live with doubt, and accept such things as death, and I think it takes a deal more courage to do so rather than accepting what I consider to be the easier options - of having a religious belief - and of accepting the doctrines of such handed down from some authority.

 

[Revoltingest]

I started out on the Mythbusters Forum. It got to be a bit of an addiction.

Unlike this place?

 

[LuisDantas]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?

Why, because religion is much too significant a subject matter to be left for theists alone to take care of.

Our connections to the Sacred are just as real, as significant and as necessary as any others. If anything, we may well have more to contribute than theists, not least in the much necessary department of challenging the worth of any misguided views.

Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

Sometimes. Very rarely.

You should however keep in mind that belief is not only not spirituality and not a prerequisite for spirituality, but also not at all helpful for healthy spirituality.

Mostly, we "kuffar" are interested in saving theists (and ourselves) from the lack of opportunity for learning better.

Peace.

 

[Subduction Zone]

.Unlike this place?

I am still hooked after all of these years.

 

[Revoltingest]

I am still hooked after all of these years.

And you're only a newbie!

 

[SigurdReginson]

I can only speak for myself, but I would say my journey to atheism hasn't been a straight shot "always been" kind of thing. About 6/7ths of my life was very religious, and only over the past few years has that changed. I still have questions, and I still have an open mind. I care about the truth and I value the opinions of people I don't agree with or understand all that well.

When it boils down to it, I'd say my reasoning is that I just want to gain a better understanding and to pick up the useful bits as the wheat is separated from the chaff.

 

[Tiberius]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?
Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

Why do so many young earth creationists go to the evolution discussions? Perhaps they are also secretly believers in evolution?

 

[Left Coast]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?
Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

I used to be a believer, and philosophy and theology have always deeply fascinated me. Aspects of religion still do appeal to me on an emotional level, but intellectually I can't cross the gap to believing things that don't have good evidence anymore. So I come here in part out of interest in the subject and in part for the intellectual stimulation of mixing it up with people who have different worldviews.

 

[McBell]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?
Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

I was invited to join

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Despite not believing in it, I find that many atheists find religion an interesting subject nonetheless.

 

[dybmh]

Why they come to religious forums?

Because they have a lot of knowledge. And I appreciate the learning opportunity.

 

[Riders]

When I first came to the forum, I was very deeply involved in Communist ideology and I wanted to see how my ideas could survive in online debate against a range of opposing views, whether they be political, philosophical or religious. There was also the deeper reason that I had sympathies with State Atheism and the forcible elimination of religious beliefs but I wanted to be sure that I was right by spending time around religious people and trying to understand them better. In a sense, I was a "seeker" but probably not of the kind of truth most people had in mind.

In being here on religious forums, I have had to concede I was effectively wrong on both counts as my beliefs weren't as solid as I believed they were and there was no reason I could find to justify supporting the persecution of religious beliefs or believers simply for not adhering to an atheistic-materialist worldview. (Putting a name, a face or a story to a belief system by meeting people on here can really make a huge difference). Based on the amount of time I spent researching Marxism and Communism, I still think strongly along these lines even if I no longer accept their validity in all cases.

I don't believe in god, but I do believe in people. So, to the extent that spirituality and religious can be experienced by anyone as a set of profound process of emotional depth and reflection, I do take an interest in them and whether I can attain a certain level of knowledge and insight other religious may have to offer. There is much to learn to put it mildly and, for all it's short-comings, this is still the best place to try.

And thereare many spiritual Atheists who take to meditation and chanting or philosophy!

 

[Riders]

Sense there are so many Atheists, I imagine they also come to congregate or talk to each other support each other,.

 

[Riders]

I think of Dharma or nature as being God, Dharma is a Buddhist term one meaning of Dharma is the community around me. whats going on around me now,now is Dharma God.I also believe in the inner Godself, sometimes I say my inner girl power or inner vampire slayer from my favorite scifi show.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Respect and love to my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters. Why they come to religious forums?
Isn't it that they are searching for spirituality, religion and God. Maybe,deep inside, they want to believe, or maybe deep inside, they do believe

No. A lot of us may not go to christian forums or things oriented to a specific belief if we're not interested in it. Since this forum has a lot of options, many atheists and agnostics may not go to christian, hindu, etc DIRs but may participate in debates, interfaith conversations, general conversations, and the like.

Some are looking for their god or so have you so you'll see a lot of people in the seeking section since debates kind of confuses people who are genuinely looking for a source(s), information, or theology to base their lives on.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Because religion has so much influence in this world of ours. In politics, education, ethics, etc - we non-believers need to understand religions and fight for equal rights and no special treatment for religions.

I could not say it better than this, and yet I'd still use five times as many words!

 

[PruePhillip]

Because religion has so much influence in this world of ours. In politics, education, ethics, etc - we non-believers need to understand religions and fight for equal rights and no special treatment for religions.

The problem is human nature won't allow for equality.
Witness that with newer forms of feminism, and the way
Luther's admonition about judging a person's character
and not his skin has morphed into "white supremacy"
and "positive discrimination" etc..
Secular forces won't sit alongside religion - they see
religion as an affront to them.
And the results are as my profile below.

 

[osgart]

As an agnostic I find that it is quite a mystery as to why life forms are intelligibly functional. The human form is ingenious. There is simply no way that the human form and functionality is mindlessly constructed.

I lean to the idea that evolution is intelligently done. An all powerful being is not a consideration for the savage reality we see. Existence is a far cry from ideal. However intelligence is evidently apart of nature.

Since intelligence is apart of nature that opens up the likelihood that an eternal source reality exists that is vastly intelligent though deeply flawed.

It is also quite the mystery that the universe began in a high energy state, and unfolded with orderly properties. To me the universe is a fleeting construct that will eventually die out. How the universe got to a high energy state in the first place , and the fact that energy potential never increases and only decreases suggests to me that there is an ultimate beginning to everything that exists in the cosmos.

If there is an ultimate beginning to the cosmos then an eternal source reality must exist. I simply don't accept that existence can come from non existence.

I do not currently think the universe is eternal. And I do not think the quantum mechanics reality will ever be well understood, only well manipulated for what's observed. There are countless billions upon billions of things to account for in the universe is my guess.

It's an amazing fact that mathematics is a language of a truth about reality. But to understand everything about the cosmos you would have to account for far more things than can be observed.

I never bought into the idea that science can give you ultimate answers and explanations. Math and science will always have something new to learn and thus always be subject to change.

So I am agnostic.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Why come to this forum?
My old one died in 2010.

Any port in a storm, eh?

 

[Rabbi Daniel]

Love and respect to my theistic brothers and sisters, believing in Jesus, Yahweh, Allah, Zeus, Thor, the great Juju at the bottom of the sea, or whatever, but I expect that you make a better work in inferring the right conclusion from the given premises.

it is like asking a democrat debating a republican on an open republican forum, if she does not, deep inside, want to be a republican. And vice versa.

do you think your conclusion follows from the premises?


Ciao

- viole

There were no conclusions, just questions and suggestions, and was waiting for your answers