To all Atheists: Why are you taking the time to post on this group (Please glance at details)?

Question

Why take the time to tell anyone who believes in God and the afterlife that they are mistaken? Even if you were right, no one would listen to you. And if there is no God and life is a meaningless farce (Bertrand Russell), then why waste your time convincing anyone of anything since it all comes to nil anyhow?

Even if you are more intelligent than believers (which I don't believe), then so what? Then you'll know for sure when you're dying that you'll be going into oblivion and they won't? How is that meaningful or productive?

Why are you here? Is it because you enjoy getting people upset? Or you have nothing better to do? You're Atheists... why bother 'converting' anyone at all? What's the point?

Interesting responses so far. Lots of perjorative statements, which is to be expected.

I've already decided to give the 10 points to an Atheist who gives the best response, so let's keep 'em coming.

Answer 1

Think of it as a Public Service.

It is the moral responsibility and ethical duty of rational people to protect vulnerable minds from being contaminated by Bronze Age myths and willful ignorance. Beyond that, Christianity represents a huge threat to the well-being and survival of our country and to the whole world... and so it must be confronted.

http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Clarkson_RiseOfDomionism.html
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/HistoryOfReconstructionMovement.html

I prefer the term 'Rationalist', or 'Free Thinker', as opposed to 'atheist', or 'unbeliever', since those terms capture more of the people who think that religious beliefs are stupid and irrelevant than the term 'atheist' does. Those terms capture the main reason that people BECOME Atheists... i.e., they have learned how to THINK properly. Once someone learns how to think properly, religious belief is one of the first casualties. Religious belief... particularly the Abrahamic death cults of desert monotheism (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)... simply cannot withstand the glaring light of reason and critical thought. It just evaporates. Poof. The fact that Christians assert and promote such ridiculous beliefs is a clear indication that they CAN'T (or WON'T) think properly.

Rational people recognize that some people who visit this forum are truly, sincerely seeking answers... with an open mind (willing to honestly consider alternative possibilities), and with intellectual honesty (willingness to freely question and doubt their own presumptions). That being the case, it is the MORAL OBLIGATION of rational people to HELP them keep their minds open, and to make them aware of some of those alternative possibilities. Inevitably, those alternative possibilities DO NOT include things like a terrarium earth, talking snakes and donkeys, demons, friendly spirits, evil spirits, walking on water, multiplying loaves and fishes, people raising from the dead, stopping the sun in its tracks, parting seas, people being bodily sucked up into heaven (which, by the way, lies on the other side of the sky), world-wide floods, creating people from dust bunnies and ribs, magical trees of knowledge, gods speaking from burning bushes... and ritual cannibalism by eating god in the form of a cracker.

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"A thorough reading and understanding of the Bible is the surest path to atheism” ~ Donald Morgan
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So, when someone comes along in a PUBLIC FORUM, regurgitating dogmatic slogans, and the myths, superstitions, fairy tales and fantastical delusions of a tribe of ignorant Bronze Age fishermen and wandering goat herders, and declaring them to represent some kind of cosmic 'TRUTH' (without the least bit of credible evidence)... well, by golly, that just HAS TO BE confronted.

All faith-based religious belief is fully deserving of all the scorn and ridicule that can be heaped upon it. It is a simple matter of people with rational minds having a moral obligation to stand in opposition to willful ignorance. It is quite necessary that this be done, if we are to have any hope that the human race will survive and evolve to meet its full potential. So, when these myths, superstitions, fairy tales and fantastical delusions are presented and declared to 'TRUTH', in the venue of a PUBLIC FORUM, a confrontation is inevitable.

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"I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do."  ~ D. Dale Gulledge
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In order to have a rational view of the universe, it is necessary that one possess the mental faculties that facilitate reason, logic and critical thought. The things that are entailed by Christian beliefs demonstrate, beyond any doubt, a lack of those capabilities. Christians do serve a useful purpose in this forum, though... as a classic 'bad example'. They obligingly provide assertions about impossible happenings and circumstances, and magical delusions, and glaring misconceptions about science and nature and the universe... which can then be rationally confronted and exposed, and their preposterousness revealed.

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"The god who is reputed to have created fleas to keep dogs from moping over their situation must also have created fundamentalists to keep rationalists from getting flabby.  Let us be duly thankful for our blessings."  ~ Garrett Hardin
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Again... rational people are not trying to convert Christians... we are trying to protect people FROM Christians, and the insidious mind killing delusions and willful ignorance which they seek to spread, as if they were some kind of organized, dogmatic insanity virus.

However, rational people generally DO respect everyone's right (in the privacy of their own minds) to delude themselves in whatever fashion they deem fit.

Science, logic, reason, and critical thought have long been regarded (by religious people) as the enemies of religion. Considering that those are the tools of highly intelligent people, it should not come as a huge shock to learn that intelligence (or lack of it) has some connection to religious belief. In fact, there are about 40 studies, conducted over the past 80 years or so, that reveal a statistically significant NEGATIVE CORRELATION between intelligence and religiosity. In plainer language, that means that they found that the more intelligent a person is, the LESS likely that person is to be religious... or, conversely, the LESS intelligent a person is, the MORE likely that person is to be religious.

If you think about it, those findings make a lot of sense. Intelligence tests mainly provide an indication of reasoning ability and problem solving ability... logic, reason and critical thought. These are the very qualities that see through religion, and recognize it for what it is; i.e., religion cannot survive the glaring light of reason and critical thought. This was well understood by important figures in religious history. This is why the early church destroyed all the 'tainted' (non-canonical) writings, which were in conflict with dogma... Greek philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, engineering... all the good stuff. By this means, Christianity dragged humanity directly into the Dark Ages.

Just to illustrate the point, let's see what Martin Luther, the 'father' of protestantism, had to say about 'reason' and secular knowledge:

"Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed. Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and ... know nothing but the word of God." ~ Martin Luther

"Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but -- more frequently than not -- struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God." ~ Martin Luther

"There is on earth among all dangers no more dangerous thing than a richly endowed and adroit reason... Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed." ~ Martin Luther

"Reason should be destroyed in all Christians." ~ Martin Luther

Christianity is essentially a criminal business enterprise... in fact, it is the world's longest running and most successful Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scam. The product they are selling is the illusion of 'salvation'... and the 'pay plan' doesn't kick in until after you're dead. Meanwhile the victims (having been deceived into believing that it is their God-given duty) are out there busily recruiting MORE victims. What a racket! FORTUNATELY, it only works on those who are gullible enough, and sufficiently lacking in critical thinking skills, to fall for it. UNfortunately, THAT accounts for about 75% of the population of the USA. (There are a lot more people who DON'T know how to think properly than there are people who DO know how to think properly.) That is why there are a lot more religious people in the USA than there are 'Free-thinkers'... including Atheists. Also, Christians are generally too dense to realize that proselytizing (spreading the 'good news') is a key element of the Christian MLM MARKETING PLAN, which was instituted after Christianity lost the political power that had previously allowed them to simply torture and kill anybody who did not comply. Now, they obliviously try to just pester and annoy people to death, through persistent obnoxiousness. If you stop to think about it, you will realize that Christians are very much like the Borg, on Star Trek Next Generation: "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." I would not be surprised to learn that thoughts of Christianity provided the 'creative spark' for the Borg concept.

Interestingly, statistics on supernatural beliefs count the USA on a par with backward, developing Third World nations, rather than among modern, advanced industrial powers.

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"Selling eternal life is an unbeatable business, with no customers ever asking for their money back after the goods are not delivered." ~ Victor J. Stenger

"Businesses may come and go, but religion will last forever, for in no other endeavor does the consumer blame himself for product failure."  ~ Harvard Lampoon, "Doon" (paraphrase)

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm
http://home.ca.inter.net/oblio/home.htm

Answer 2

"Why take the time to tell anyone who believes in God and the afterlife that they are mistaken?"

I don't, thanks.

"And if there is no God and life is a meaningless farce "

Haha, this isn't true. At all. I'll leave you to see the light a little bit my friend. I do not require a God to livee a beautiful, fullfilling life with great meaning.

Your ignorance does impress me though.

"How is that meaningful or productive?"

How isn't it? Why do you assume I'm some weirdo that finds no meaning in anything and doesn't have goals in life?

Your logic is...disturbing at best. I think you need to open up a little bit. I am not a bad person.

"Why are you here? Is it because you enjoy getting people upset? Or you have nothing better to do?"

What, am I not allowed here? Is this some sort of segregation? You think you're better than me because you believe in God?

Thanks...thanks a lot for judging people before you even know them. God would really appriciate this kind of behavior.

Answer 3

I don't take the time to tell anyone they are mistaken. I don't care what others believe. I don't care if anyone listens to me. i don't think life is meaningless, I'm not Bertrand Russell. None of this is meaningful or productive. I have no idea why I am bothering to answer this. I don't care if anybody is upset. There is no point in any of this. I don't want to "convert" anybody. and I guess I have nothing better to do right now. Have a nice day.

Answer 4

To point out the terrible misconceptions that you believers have about the world.

For example, notice that you wrote "If there is no God and life is a meaningless farce...". Well, in fact it is belief in god that makes a farce out of life, not the fact that there is no god.

If all we do is sit back and let life be a "farce", we're not being very productive, are we? We come here and do this because we care about the world, and about the nation, and it would be particularly pathetic if those of us who do understand these things just gave up and left everything in the hands of people who don't. It would be terribly unpatriotic to let people like Cambian7 (above) destroy the United States without even trying to stop them.

Perhaps we'll never make things better, but it's terrible not to try. Perhaps over a long period of time, we'll make a difference, and start to turn this thing back around. If not, we'll have died trying, and that will have made our lives meaningful and worthwhile.

Answer 5

What's your point? Do Atheists have no voice in your perfect world. Everyone has a right to their opinion, even you. This forum is Religion & Spirituality in case you didn't see. You can have both even if you are an Atheists. I don't believe in your bible or Jesus being a God, but I believe in a Higher Power or Creator or God if you prefer. If I choose to read your question and answer it then you can choose to read or Not read my question and or answer. We all have that right and until there is a law that states that I can not give my opinion on an open forum then by golly I will continue to give my opinion.
And just for your information, it's still a 50/50 opition out there on religion, god, the bible and Jesus so remember one thing:
I have a 50/50 chance of being right,
And you have a 50/50 chance of being wrong.
And Vice Versa, so stop thinking that you and your fellow Christians are the only ones with opinions.
Open your mind more and close your mouth more often.

Answer 6

The point isn't to convert people. Most Agnostics and Atheists have no problem at all with people believing anything they want. In fact I would generally say the religious beliefs are a good thing for many people.
The crux of the matter is that
1. Christians are always trying to convert people and always trying to tell us how to live our lives and that we are going to hell.
2. Some Christians are attempting to undermine our education system by attempting to introduce creationism into the class room, and I have a huge problem with that.
Therefore it seems that making some effort to educate people on the difference between religious beliefs and science is worthwhile.
On a side note it is entertaining to read some of the comments.

Answer 7

Ok, here's why Atheists and others have the right to say what they have to say:

It starts with a document called the United States Constitution. In said document you have what's called the amendments. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights.

The first right is:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So, with that said, yes what Atheists say can be irritating but, they do have the right to say it.

Look at it this way, if we stop Atheists and other groups from exercising their rights, what makes you think some time down the road someone won't try and stop us from exercising ours?

The devil will be drinking large glasses of ice water before some one stops me from exercising my right to free speech. I'm sure others feel the same.

Answer 8

Why are you taking the time to counter argue the atheists? You say "Even if you were right, no one would listen to you." But you did. You cared enough to make this question. Also, do you have proof that ALL Atheists are not as intelligent as "believers"?

Oh, and "Why are you here? Is it because you enjoy getting people upset?" Lol. Just, Lol. Your making Atheists upset now. By making this question and causing a flame war between Christans and Atheists. "Or do you have nothing better to do?" Lol, looks like YOU having nothing better to do then just ranting on Atheists and what THEY want to believe in.

If you don't like Atheists, fine. Then keep it to YOURSELF.

Answer 9

Good question. Maybe you can help me play the scenerio out...what would happen if Atheists are right and convince everyone to pay attention to scientific exploration of life and the universe instead of believing in religion? 10% raise, for one. Another day off each week. More emphasis on science and quality of life, leading to better medical treatments, entertainment technology, better quality of life in overpopulated areas through the use of birth control... That should give you a headstart. Besides that, don't you have some compulsion to just be CORRECT in your cosmology?

Answer 10

Everyone has a right to their opinion. I believe in God. Have you considered that an atheist could possibly start to question their beliefs by reading what is on here? Just a thought. I sure would love it if the bible thumpers would also get some common sense. It is the fundamentalist that could drive anyone to atheism.

Answer 11

It comes from seeing America being dragged down by a minority of religious zealots who don't have the capacity to think for themselves. All of this holy holy nonsense has been nothing but politics since it's inception. It has less to do with spirituality than it does with fear and control.
Those who fear seem to need to assert themselves with control over an otherwise peaceful and happy world.
Why don't the dogmatic believers give the rest of us a break?
I am not an atheist by the way. I simply choose to get answers through study and observation not by being a blind follower.