You know, I'm not saying this to be mean. I know there are lots of different beliefs out there, and I'm not looking for people opinions on who is right or wrong. My question is this: has anyone ever met a happy, forgiving, generous, kind, purposeful, athiest? It just seems like all of them that you see on here asking and answering questions are all bitter or uptight or self-righteous, or closeminded. I know that people in every faith are diverse, and I'm not saying one religion or faith is more likely to be happy than another, but I'm just honestly asking if an athiest can be truly happy, at peace, and well-adjusted.
2006-07-20 22:06:08 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i work with a girl who is an atheist. had no idea she didn't believe in a god. she is just a nice or nicer than most people. She says she doesn't need spiritual guidance to know right from wrong or to be a moral person. as for me if i were an atheist and this life was it. i would probably steal from the mean, etc...
2006-07-20 22:17:18 · answer #1 · answered by EYE B 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You're not looking hard enough. Or you only see what you want to see.
There is no requirement that an atheist start any answer he writes with 'FYI: I'm an atheist.' You have certainly read many intelligent, thoughtful answers, and yes, happy, forgiving, generous, kind and purposeful answers from people who were atheists. You just didn't know they were atheist. I suspect that you presume any good person to be a believer. You shouldn't.
If it falls to me to say this, I believe that I am (or try to be) all of the virtues that you listed. Yet I don't believe in God. Do you now see me as bitter, uptight, self-righteous and closed-minded?
2006-07-21 05:19:14 · answer #2 · answered by XYZ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm going to say, yes, I have met atheists who have all the positive qualities you mention, but I will qualify my answer by saying that when MOST of them start talking about God, they undergo a temporary personality change. They become insulting, bitter, and even the most intellectual lose the ability to engage in rational discourse---have you ever taken a look at an atheist "proof there is no God" website? Full of "Bible contradictions" that any child of God in the Kindergarten level of the study of the Word could answer!
In fact, one of the most striking evidences of the existence of the supernatural is the way the Devil is able to radically wipe away all the "reasonableness" and "humanism" of atheists when some of them start in on the topic of God.
Try not to get angry with these belligerent atheists though. There's hope for them til their last breath. They are blinded and held in bondage by Satan, and need prayer. Don't take their insults personally, but also, don't be afraid to follow them around on Y.A. and provide truth to counteract the lies they spread.
There are also those who are secret atheists/agnostics (maybe only expressing their lack of belief in anonymous fora like Y.A.) because they are quietly going through a dark night of the soul. They are in torment, and don't want to hurt anybody, or destroy anybody's faith. They just want to figure out life, and have no answers.
So give them answers, and let them chew on them, but expect to get spit on while they're chewing!
2006-07-21 11:32:05 · answer #3 · answered by miraclewhip 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on what YOUR definitions of happy, forgiving, generous, kind and purposeful are. When I read the comments of so-called christian people it sounds to me like they are not happy, forgiving, etc. They trash those of us who don't share their beliefs, tell us things like, "You're going to hell", and mock us for who we are. They seem to be the most bitter, uptight, self-righteous and closeminded people in the forum. And I'm not saying this to be mean.
2006-07-21 05:38:56 · answer #4 · answered by Angry C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You ever hear of a guy named Warren Buffett?
He just gave away 85% of his personal fortune, 37 billion I believe it was, to a charity foundation financed and operated by Bill Gates.
Buffett is an atheist and Gates is an agnostic.
BTW, Buffett & Gates both opposed the GOP tax cuts that directly benefited them.
2006-07-21 05:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by Left the building 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
James 2:19 says:
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
2006-07-21 05:09:13 · answer #6 · answered by deacon 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's the most closed minded statement I have ever heard. End of story.
2006-07-21 05:11:28 · answer #7 · answered by LipSync 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Christian and work with an atheist who fits that description.
2006-07-21 05:14:06 · answer #8 · answered by The Apple Chick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋