Why do Athiests challenge Thiests?

[nazz]

As an atheist I don't just reject the existence of god(s). A rejection made by the lack of evidence thereof. But I reject all notions of anything supernatural based on the same principle.

I find some (not all) atheists reject the idea of god(s) by saying 'well there's just no evidence for it is there?' but by the same token are willing to believe in ghosts and suchlike.

I've actually never encountered an atheist who believed in ghosts or anything paranormal or supernatural.

 

[fantome profane]

I've known a lot of atheists in my life but I can't remember ever meeting one who believed in ghosts. Have you known some of those? I'd be curious to hear about them.

When I was a teenager I was an atheist who believed in ghosts. Don't ask me to explain or justify it. I was just stupid.

 

[Mycroft]

I've actually never encountered an atheist who believed in ghosts or anything paranormal or supernatural.

Comes down to personal experience, I suppose. I have. Which is why I used the word 'some'.

 

[Uberpod]

Because '-est' is a more common suffix than '-ist'. That's my guess.

But -est designates ' the most of' and -ist 'one who does' and we learn that in grade school.

 

[AmbiguousGuy]

But -est designates ' the most of' and -ist 'one who does' and we learn that in grade school.

Yeah. But not everyone pauses to think it out. Our minds (and fingers) tend to follow the well-worn path.

 

[AmbiguousGuy]

When I was a teenager I was an atheist who believed in ghosts. Don't ask me to explain or justify it. I was just stupid.

Interesting. I can't say that I've ever known a teenaged atheist. My experience has been with 'philosophical atheists,' which is to say people who have put some time and thought into it. None of those ever believed in ghosts and such.

Anyway, I'm glad you got over it.

 

[Riverwolf]

And I counter that with this

1 John 4:18 -
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

It's not an argument. The kind of fear we're talking about is not the fear of punishment. That's a fear of something known, something tangible, something that can be controlled.

No, we're talking about something much, much, MUCH more primal than that.

Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li.

 

[Riverwolf]

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more."

Is that not awesome! The perfect example of not having fear of the unknown


"But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him"

"Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God"

God-fearing or fearing God is another matter entirely.
It's meaning also is similar to respect or reverence.
Comparing the human concept of fear and the fear of God is like comparing a fear of spiders to a fear of unending torture.

Neither of which even remotely compares to the fear of the unknown. I'm an arachnophobic, so I fear spiders irrationally. I've never had to endure torture, and I don't put myself in situations wherein torture is likely to happen to me, so I don't particularly fear it. I also don't particularly fear death, because it happens to us all.

Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li.

 

[nazz]

Interesting. I can't say that I've ever known a teenaged atheist.

I was a teenager of the tender age of 13 when I embraced atheism. And that was back in the day when it wasn't even cool to be an atheist

 

[Riverwolf]

Uh no, Sorry I generally tend to avoid anything involving horror these days.

Lovecraft's work (which dates from the early 20th century, BTW; he died in 1937) isn't even remotely in the same league as the trash that you see coming out of Hollywood these days, which are called "horror" but aren't even remotely scary.

 

[Riverwolf]

If you studied the concept, you would see your deity evolved and changed for thousands of years before coming into the version you now know that was canonized and took as written

In Lore, Odin is the Allfather, son of Bor, and creator of Midgard, there at the beginning, father of men.

In history, Tyr was the Allfather (which makes sense considering the word "Tyr" is cognate with the name "Zeus" and the Latin word "Deus", which means God) while Odin served as a God of wisdom, inspiration, and the dead. He became the Allfather sometime during the Migration Period.

 

[AmbiguousGuy]

I was a teenager of the tender age of 13 when I embraced atheism. And that was back in the day when it wasn't even cool to be an atheist

You're a better man (or woman) than I am. I vaguely stopped believing at about that age, but I really didn't have the brainpower to come to a studied decision about God. Mostly I just wandered around, lost in a fog.

If any kid in my circle had declared himself an atheist, we would have laughed. A good joke. It would've been like him announcing that he was from Mars.

 

[fantome profane]

You're a better man (or woman) than I am. I vaguely stopped believing at about that age, but I really didn't have the brainpower to come to a studied decision about God. Mostly I just wandered around, lost in a fog.

If any kid in my circle had declared himself an atheist, we would have laughed. A good joke. It would've been like him announcing that he was from Mars.

Yeah, I kind of guess it depends on where you grew up. When I was a teenager it seemed to me that about half the kids were atheists. (It was probably much less in reality, but that was my perception)

 

[Willamena]

Do you know about Bigfoot?

I do! (raises hand)

 

[Willamena]

Why is atheist commonly misspelled? Is athiest the way people pronounce it? Just aksing.

You must be one of those peadntists.

 

[AmbiguousGuy]

I do! (raises hand)

Do you know him personally or just know about him? I mean, if you could get me an introduction, it'd be cool.

 

[Willamena]

Do you know him personally or just know about him? I mean, if you could get me an introduction, it'd be cool.

All you need is the right set of binoculars and a speedy car.

Edit: Oh, wait, this get complicated with the new distracted driving laws. You will also have to hire someone, preferably female and attentative to her surroundings, and it doesn't hurt for her to know martial arts, to drive your car for you, so you can leave your eyes free to watch the trees on the side of the road. Then you need a large stretch of highway and uninterrupted driving, preferably in a straight line so that leaves out the mountainous areas, but you do need trees, so I'd stick to the northwest if I were you. Lastly, you need the peace of mind and confidence in your driver to suspend your surroundings and concentrate on the world passing by the moving window.

 

[lunamoth]

Yeah, I kind of guess it depends on where you grew up. When I was a teenager it seemed to me that about half the kids were atheists. (It was probably much less in reality, but that was my perception)

13-year-olds are often atheists. Thank God! I would not want them to grow up without challenging the idea of a childhood God.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

Was it bad for people to rally behind Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Not in my personal opinion no. But to say that the ideologies behind Martin Luther King Jr. had nothing to do with it and it was all the people would also be a mistake.

I disagree, I'm trying to remove all the crap that surrounds it and get down to the basic truth. Things aren't always as complex as we believe them to be.

I also seek to "remove all the crap" and I have found that ideologies that people respect often can be abused. Ergo I challenge the high esteem that religion holds in our society. I have no problem with anyone believing...well in some cases I do but I won't go into them. But my main problem with religion is and always has been this ability for people to suddenly justify their actions behind it. I feel the exact same way about other justifications of actions.

If there was a law that rapists could use to justify rape wouldn't we then try to abolish that law as decent moral citizens?

 

[Riverwolf]

Not in my personal opinion no. But to say that the ideologies behind Martin Luther King Jr. had nothing to do with it and it was all the people would also be a mistake.

Fair enough.

Nothing is incorruptible.