Atheists why do you...?

Question

Why on earth do you feel the need to post on questions that involve a subject that you know nothing about? you dont pray, you dont go to church, you dont worship the Lord etc. So whats the deal? are you that insecure in your own beliefs that you need to verify them by posting silly comments like "christians = dumb" or "christians and brains dont go together" on questions that it is clear are about the Bible or Structued religion? I dont post answers on questions about what it means to be an atheist especially posts that are meant to belittle another. Ive said many times before that I dont call the plumber to fix my car so why do you think the question needed your input? i recently posted a question about Catholics vs protestants and the differences in their beliefs. you can view the questions and see the responses i got from a few atheists. A 4 year old can see that their answers are meaningless to the question asked.

Upallnite.

Youve made my point. you may know the rules and players in Basketball. But you still dont know how to play it. Thats why the really good sports commenters used to play the game. My dad and I watch football, I love the game and so does my dad. Neither of us have actually played the game. My dad is very vocal about what they shouldve done in a certain play.. im usually pretty quiet until my team gets a TD. from listening to my Dad im glad hes not the one throwing the passes, running the yards or defending a play ..

And Scott M. I doubt it. im sorry i just dont believe you. because we must be reading different books. or perhaps your study of the Bible included trips to certain atheist websites like other atheists on these boards like to quote. If you want the truth of something in the bible the last place you should look at is one of those websites,.. ive seen them and read threw alot of them. 100% false. and like other atheists if you actually did read the Bible even once. you would know that God is all those things you said ..plus more that you didnt want to include (since you know so much about it) that is that God is Holy and devine. That God has a plan for all of us, Lets put this in laymans terms or ill lose you. If you have Cancer is it a cruel thing to remove the part of your body going threw chemo and all these other things that cause you pain to kill the Cancer? Heck no. the doc mightve saved your life.. No imagine that type of thing on a more cosmic scale and you have God's will

Answer 1

Do not confuse lack of faith with lack of knowledge. You think Atheists don't know anything about religion? Well, I can tell you that I learned more about religion by the time I was ten than most people do in a lifetime.

When you can sing the entire Liturgy of the Saints from memory, do the Stations of the Cross, recite scripture from memory or get the strap across your forarms, remember what sins are given what degree of severity, do the rosary ten or twenty times a day, and study Latin, English, History, Algebra, Geography, and French while having to belt out the Ave on Sunday for everyone because you're the only one who can hit all the notes, in THIRD GRADE, then talk to me about what an Atheist knows about religion.

Someone posted a little while ago about Genesis 1:28-30. I was the first one to remember what it said. So what does it say? I am an Atheist, and I know. I might not believe it, but I know what it says. Do you?

It's a pretty common Christian argument - Atheists should not discuss religion because they don't believe. Well, you are dead wrong there, and there is nothing you can do about it anyway.

Answer 2

A lot of people have a knee-jerk reaction to devout Christians, and let's face it, since Yahoo gives you a point or two just for posting and answer, a lot of idiots who have nothing better to do will throw out some crap just to move up to the next level.

However, there are a lot of good reasons to question Christianity as it is preached today. Some of the portions in the Bible that conservative Christians constantly harp on are cherry-picked to push people's buttons in order to elect conservative candidates.

Then there are the Biblical literalists.

If you believe that the universe was created five thousand years ago this means that the Hubble telescope is a fraud, there is no such thing as DNA, and the Grand Canyon is an optical illusion.

There are hundreds of contradictions in the Bible, and Biblical literalists are up against many obsolete passages which if interpreted literally would mean that the Earth is flat, everything in the Universe revolves around us, slavery is justified, polygamy is justified, you should be able to kill your child if they are disobedient, you can eat locusts but not lobsters, and so on.

So you need to examine exactly what you think Christianity is. Is it a profound ethical system? Something that you swallow whole and learn by rote? Or do you ask some of your own questions?

Answer 3

Riiiiiiight. Lets answer these one at a time:

1) I know about anything I answer, stereotyping person.

2) The deal is I talk to people over the net to sharpen my skills at helping people bieng happy in life. (And NO, that does not entail 'conversion' to atheism)

3) Of course it is ONLY atheists that post like that. So unlike the Christians with there wonderful, loving comments about how Muslims are goats and all atheists are just stupid.

4) Well, that is good of you. I do the same, not answering questions when it is clear they want an internal perpective. Some theists and some atheists don't extend the same respect.

5) Looks like you have no more questions from here, though I note that you are in a long rant about how atheists are stupid, where at the beginning of your post you decry the same behaviour in atheists.

How about you ask a new question: "Why don't peoples of all groups use some more respect in this place".

Edit: And in response to your analagy... nice analagy, I have another one - imagine that you learnt all about math, and were a triple freaking genius at it, and learned all the stuff from the textbook without going to the lectures.

Would you then say that because they are deviod of a piece of paper, like a degree, that they have no math ability?

And when will you realise that analagies mean freak all, and mine was only slighty more accurate (or should I say inaccurate) than yours.

Edit 2: What you said about reading about the Bible from atheist websites.. I never did. I read enough. Psalm 14:1 caused me to lose all faith on God, if you really want to know.

Answer 4

Some people are just smart-asses. Ignore them.

As astonishing as this is going to sound to you, one of the reasons many atheists are what they are is because they have gone to great lengths to learn about religion--and been seriously turned off by what they found. I have read the Bible back and forwards, and even sideways a couple of times, and I still fail to see how anyone can possibly consider Biblegod to be a just, merciful, loving being.

Hell, I wonder just what sort of relevance the Bible has to the real world: Its science is all wrong, its claims are unverifiable, and the best proof anyone can provide is that some of the locations described in it were real places. By that standard, "The Maltese Falcon" must have been true because all its locations were realworld places.

I see: I'm a liar, is that it? Does the fact that I have read your Bible (and a number of other religious works, BTW) and not been impressed by it bother you? Where do you get the idea that if someone reads your book, the knowledhge of "The Truth" will magically spring into their mind? I read a lot of people TALKING about how God is so loving and caring about humanity...but the ACTIONS that are attributed to God or his commands are appalling. Genocide, mass murder, rape, slavery and other atrocities all happen in your Holy Book with God's blessings. No ammount or handwaving or preaching can cover this up: If the Bible is true, then God--by his own words--has committed unspeakable crimes against humanity out of whims and sheer meanness. And this is the god you worship: A little tinpot dictator with an ego so tender than the slightest questioning of him turns you into kindling.

Answer 5

That's a load of crap. Sure, some atheists post stupid questions designed only to offend Christians. Some Christians post questions only to tell atheists they'll burn in hell. Personally I've only ever asked one question on Yahoo! Answers and it was about solitaire, not God. I'm not insecure at all about my beliefs, and I think a more likely reason for people posting things about Christians being stupid is that Christians like you post bullshit like this. Atheists have as much right as anyone else to answer questions on religion. If an atheist wants to talk about the differences between catholics and protestants they can. If their answers don't relate to the question it's because they're jerks, not because they're atheists. There is no way you can justify your assertion that atheists know nothing about religion just because they don't pray, go to church or worship your God. Go shove your stereotypes up your ***.

And I have read the bible, it didn't convince me that your God is holy or devine, or that he exists. It's only a f ucking book, all right? Just because you read something doesn't make it true.

Answer 6

A friend of mine studied to be a priest, came very closely to becoming one, and now he's a hardcore atheist, so don't assume they know nothing about the subject just because they're an atheist. It can be also asked why christians feel a need to post on questions asking specifically for the opinions of atheists, or wiccans. Just because you may not do it, that doesn't mean it isn't done. The main reason I'm sure is because people want points. I'm sure a part of it to is people like to be inflammatory. I would also like to point out that this board is called "Religion and Spirituality," and not "Christianity." That means *surprise surprise* someone else on this board thinks that their religion is the only one on the planet. Besides, you don't lose the right to have an opinion on something just because you don't believe it to be true.

Answer 7

As a non-Christian and a non-Atheist (at least not in the context of this debate), I am answering this question with a certain amount of uneasiness. From what I see there is a lot of accusations against believers of all stripes, and most of these accusations are based on the premise that "If you only saw the REAL truth the way that I see it , then you would see how misguided your own beliefs are."

The arguments that you propose are all valid - from your point of view. The atheist from his/her point of view could in all integrity use the same arguments in relation to Christians or indeed believers of all faiths.

The purpose of debate is to both inform and learn, but when one is determined to only practise one of these then it is no longer debate, it is a shouting match. In general, that is the level of Yahoo!Answers in this debate.

If you don't want your beliefs scrutinised, don't display them in the public square. If you decide to express your beliefs publicly and ask for people to react, don't expect that everyone will either agree with you or react positively. Unless your understanding is absolute, you must honestly be willing to accept that you may be wrong. If you believe that your understanding IS absolute, then there is no way that your peace of mind could be upset by another view, because you would understand that view. If a view DOES upset you, you must honestly accept that your understanding is not absolute, and once again you must honestly be willing to accept that you may be wrong.

Thank you and with respect

Answer 8

Most Atheists I've talked to are actually VERY knowledgeable on religious matters. Many of them study religion for a long time before coming to the decision about their own faiths.

I find that it's the people who've only read the bible who are ill informed. Many were raised on the religion and don't feel the need to do ANY research at all. They do nothing but quote a few versus and rarely read up on any other spiritual path or belief system. Then, often, they tend to make judgements and harsh statements about others based on one book and a few sermons of man. I don't understand how they can consider themselves religious when it's often a case of them only knowing one side of one religion. Memorizing a few bible verses does not make a religious scholar.

Answer 9

well some aetheists are ex catholics and protestants and using your standards only someone who has experienced both faiths will know the answer cause a protestant cannot know the difference cause he has no idea what it is to be a catholic he can only read about or know the rules of the basketball game,do not be afraid to admit your personal disapproval of aetheism but bont hide behind false logic ,it diminshes your credibility and the question appears more of a self righteous complaint posed as a question and this appearance is further validated by your defensive responses to every answerer to maintain your righteousness ,if you were truly looking for an answer you would just recieve them and I am sure if I look at your q and a you do not use this practiice of acknowledging alot of other answerers indivivually, as you do here.

Answer 10

I'm not an atheist, but I was surprised to learn that there are some Atheists who DO read the bible. Case in point---When I was living in Hawaii, a news report was done on an atheist. He actually stated on camera that he reads the bible. I was somewhat shocked, but I have to admit, it makes sense. In general, if we are skeptical about some thing, wouldn't we want to research the subject and find evidence to prove or disprove our skepticism?

I understand your concern. However, in general, even though someone posts a decent question on Yahoo, they're opening up a door to other people who can't provide a decent answer. Accept the most logical and thoughtful answers, the rest are just trash.