CHRISTIANS, If you claim to be a formal Atheist. Is it ok for me to put you to the test.?

Question

Here's your test

Explain why you became Atheists and how you felt when you were an Atheist

ATTENTION REAL ATHEISTS. Please give opinions on these so called formal atheists answers


Most Christians that claim to be Atheist were never really formal Atheist. They tried to become Atheist but could never get over the fact that they've been so fooled. So they gave up and decided to go back into dream land.

CORRECTION . former

Answer 1

It doesn't matter, people will believe whatever is they want. You as a human being should respect that, and stop forcing your beliefs. There is a difference between talking "at" someone than talking "to" someone. You should listen to others and not be afraid to think outside the box you've put yourself in. Because you are Christian, that means you found a belief structure that best suited your needs and made you feel good. An Athiest can get the same satisfaction, what if the person was Budhist, or Hindu...same thing. It fits to their personal social and psychological need for guidence...so instead of telling these people they are wrong and your way is best....why not try to see where the common ground may lie or switch subjects. Its never good to test anyone...did you take a test to become a Christian?

Answer 2

I'm not sure the adjectives "real" and "formal" apply, but I offer the following as an example of how I became an atheist:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjMLcgbW_grpmKxqlTMnrUjsy6IX?qid=20060704033919AAaHQFk

Anyone who has given the matter little or no thought cannot be considered an atheist, he is probably an agnostic. From my viewpoint, an atheist has considered the issue and made a decision. And, the decision was not a default, "none of the above" choice, it was a decision taken after weighing all the evidence.

But, to each his own. That is just my opinion.

And, I agree with you that once a person becomes a "real" (?) atheist, there is little or no chance of ever becoming a God believer. And "feeling good" would never be considered a valid reason for becoming a God believer if a person was an atheist.

Comment:

If we use the "we can't know" as the definition for "agnostic" then everyone is an agnostic and it loses any meaning. Believers are "agnostics" if we use that definition.

Agnostic means ignorant, it does not mean "cannot know."

Answer 3

Atheism is not an organized movement. These are all individuals who have decided on their own that they don't believe in the existence of God. There is no baptism or tithing and they don't have a Bible of any kind. So, there is no such distinction as formal or informal Atheists.

I would imagine that Athests feel a great sense of freedom when they give up religion.

Personally, I am an Agnostic. Which relegates me to a life of study, because I am committed to looking for the truth about God and Religion. I'm mostly in doubt as to the existence of God, but I am open to receive contrary informaton. Like Atheists, Agnostics do not belong to an organization of Agnostics. We are all individual free thinkers who would prefer reviewing the evidence and making up our own minds.

I can't speak for Atheists or Agnostics, But I will tell you, if they feel the same as me, they get really upset with Christians' constant concern about why we don't believe in their God. Why is that so important?

We believe that whatever you point to in the Bible to prove there is a God, is a big mistake, because most of us believe that the Bible is mostly fiction; and, does not qualify as proof of anything.

Answer 4

jbrobinson76 That was hilarious!
I became an atheist because I have read and searched and was open-minded enough to see beyond that thick curtain called "Religion".

People in the past were simple and they didn't know much, so they believed the stories they heard, those people raised their kids telling them these stories as facts, those kids carried on the myths and fables believing them simply because they were raised like that.
And that's why people still believe in them.
How can our parents and ancestors be so wrong, right?

Would you try to move that curtain alittle?
or are you afraid of the light? Don't worry..
Having no God is not scary, it's actually very peaceful, and at least, makes some sense.

Answer 5

Is a formal atheist an atheist in a tuxedo while an informal atheist an atheist in shorts?

Answer 6

It is not truly possible for anyone to be atheist. In order for you to be atheist, then you would have to know for a fact that God is not real, but this includes being omniscient (which no one is). Really, "atheists" are agnostic, which means that you don't know if God is real or not...but in most cases, they don't care.

Answer 7

Former is the word you're looking for, not formal.