Christians and Atheists??

Question

Do you guys ever really try to see the other side of the Argument? Athiests? Have you ever really read the bible? Or been to church? Christians and other religious folks, Have you ever really read Charles Darwins books? Not just heard something your Pastor said about evolution I mean really read his books? And do you each think that you try as hard as you can to see the other side of the argument?

Why did I get thumbs down? Im not attacking anyone!

Answer 1

Atheist here, and yes, I have indeed tried to see the other side of the arguement.

I was raised Lutheran from infancy, so I've got 20+ years of Christian teachings under my belt. Went to church services and Sunday School weekly. With my family not going was NOT an option. I also own a Bible as a result of Sunday School attendance. New Revised Standard Version(NRSV), not a King James or any other version, but it's a Bible nonetheless. And yes, I have read it. The most recent time was this summer.

So there's no way that I'm unqualified to speak on religious matters as far as Christianity's concerned.

When I answer questions on here or the rare times I'm able to speak with someone personally about religion and not end up in a fight over it, I try to see their side of the arguement, provided they haven't jumped right into insults and "You're wrong" and "You're going to burn in Hell" sort of crap right off the bat. Unfortunately, a lot of people where I live do just that, so you can see why it's rare I'm able to speak civilly with people in my hometown about religion.

When it comes to insults and bigotry, I don't even bother. I walk away from people who talk like that to me in person and on YA, if I see questions I feel are biased or worse, I don't even bother to answer them. If a person's honest and polite, I'm all too happy to answer. If a person's just being an obnoxious jerk, I don't even waste my bandwidth.

With polite people, I do try to see their side of the arguement, especially when I do already understand Christianity. When it comes to other religions I'm not as familiar with, even though I might not fully understand them, I try to, and I do defend other religions as I know that religion itself isn't a bad thing. No truly bad religions, just bad followers.

Yes, I have even defended Christianity more than once. I defended it just a few minutes ago with the question I answered just before this one about the whole church and state and prayer in school issue. A lot of Christians think they don't have the right to pray in a public school, but I've looked into that myself for the last ten years.

Just because it was decided in 1963 that it wasn't right and constitutional to require kids to recite a prayer(from my mother, it sounds like it was usually the Lord's Prayer, at least when she was young. Seeing as how the ruling was made long before I was born, I can't say if that was standard or just what my mother's school did), doesn't mean Christianity is "banned". Christian kids can freely pray or read the Bible or hold Bible clubs(if they allow things like photography clubs, they can allow Bible and other religious clubs as well) or invite another classmate to join them for services.

I might be an atheist and I might not want my own children to have to recite the Lord's Prayer or any prayer in school, doesn't mean I won't stand up for the rights of Christians and anyone else who's religious to have their beliefs at school, or when holding office, or whatever. Just because you step into a public place, doesn't mean you have to leave your beliefs at home. All it means is that you have to be aware and respectful of others and that goes for everyone.

I was raised Christian and had my own beliefs(and eventually nonbelief as I was sort of paganistic for a time before I turned to atheism) stepped on and treated as if I was undeserving before. My own family has unfortunately taken to this sort of behavior from time to time. It's happened to me way too many times, so I'm not about to do it to anyone else.

I have gone to church, I've read the Bible, I've studied church and state matters and tried to learn about and understand other religions for some time. I've had painful personal experiences when it comes to my beliefs being stepped on. I'm not perfect, but I do try to understand others and see their point of view because plenty of people haven't done it to me. I know what it feels like.

Answer 2

Derek, I can honestly tell you that I have never read any of Darwins books. I am a Christian. Can I give you a new spin on things? Here is the absolute truth, my having not read any of Darwin's books has nothing to do with my Christianity. How about that? It simply has to do with interests. I don't care what he has to say. If I weren't a Christian I still wouldn't care what he has to say. Now, let him write an article on HIV and the newest treatments and possible cures. Hey, I am there, but I don't care about evolution. I really, honestly subscribe to the theory that one group is right and one is wrong and we won't truly know until we die will we. If Christians are right(which I do believe) then that won't be good for non believers will it? If the atheist are right then the Christians will be at a loss and the atheist will get no more or less than they expected anyway. I will tell you what does concern me at this point, the division of the country. American's act like we hate each other. Of course differences in belief systems is what usually leads people to look in other directions, move to other lands, and ultimately split a country apart. This country is in trouble. We are so busy infighting about who's right and who's wrong. We are going to wake up one day and this country is going to belong to another group of people from another country. The folks here think they have problems with freedoms and rights!!!LMAO!!! Wait until they are being executed in town square because of their beliefs. I mean any beliefs, not just Christian based beliefs.
Yeah, whether or not I read Darwin's books is not at the top of my concerns list.

Answer 3

Having grown up in a Lutheran environment where I went to church most every Sunday, I am very familiar with the Bible and Christian theology. I have also studied other faiths like Islam and Buddhism. I have also read "The Origin of Species" and other works on evolution and science. I am an atheist, and find the scientific theories for the origins of the Universe and life on Earth to be more compelling than the stories found in any so-called "sacred" writings. But studying science did not make me an atheist, studying the origins of Christianity and other religions did. When you look at their roots it becomes clear that no one religion has any more basis for its claims than any other.

Answer 4

I used to be Catholic, but now I am more of a spiritualist in a non-denominational way. I even went to private school from middle to high school, so yeah I have been exposed to the whole darwinism thing. I have read the Bible once and that was after I was confirmed, I have not touched it since. there are times I have contemplated about crossing over to the other side of the argument.

Answer 5

Yes, I am an Atheist and was raised in an Evangelical Christian home, private and home-schooled, went to church three times a week was "saved" at 5 years old, baptized etc. I have read the Bible through several times and studied it most of my life. I am not trying to argue anyone else into or out of a religion, but it wasn't until I began talking to people with a different point of view that I understood why the things I had been taught had caused me so much intellectual discomfort.

Answer 6

I was raised Methodist. I have read the Bible more than once, as well as parts of the Koran, Torah, and the teachings of Buddha. As of now I consider myself spiritual rather than fully atheist (I believe in some kind of natural higher power) but not religious (I think organized churches are hotbeds of hypocrisy and I do not agree with many of the teachings of the various major religions). I am also a Biology major in college, well versed on the scientific Theory of Evolution. So yes, I have done my research and am following the path that is right for me.

Answer 7

Of course. I used to be a Christian. I know their side of the argument. I been to many churches. I have read the whole Bible. I have read much of the Quran. And I always think about the other person's position before answering. I tend not to just cliche responses or cut and paste answers.

You'll find that the average atheist knows more about Christianity than the average Christian. That's because we mostly grew up in Christian societies and most of us had Christian parents. It takes quite a lot of introspection and study to break away from the religious superstition in such a religion dominated culture. For me it took many years. It wasn't an instant conversion like you hear Christians talk about. Therefore, we tend to know more about Christianity, religion in general, belief and science.

BTW, I still attend church when I'm with my parents over the holidays, out of respect to them. My bro-in-law is a minister, so it would be rude to not attend.

Answer 8

I used to be a Christian, studied the bible, taught Sunday School, was a youth group leader....etc. I understand the other side quite well! I don't try to convince anyone of my beliefs so that makes my life a bit more peaceful. And as for your last question, I have NO idea why you got a thumbs down for this, you weren't being offensive that's for sure! I'm convinced there is a small group of "thumbs down" fairies that follow me around YA too, so your not alone ;)

Answer 9

I grew up Catholic. Yes, I've read the bible. Yes, I've been to church. Most non-christians in North America have, you know.

Do I see the other side of the argument? Not anymore. I turned my back on Christianity many years ago and nothing they say or do convinces me I made the wrong decision.

Answer 10

I think I've read the Bible more times than most Christians I know. The difference is that I've studied it to rip it apart and they've read it to believe it. Big difference. I was brought up as a Christian, and as soon as I started to ask questions about it, the whole thing fell apart pretty quickly.

To be fair, Charles Darwin's theories weren't very realistic. They lead to the current theory of evolution, but his theories aren't really all that close to what evolution says today.

Answer 11

"Athiests? Have you ever really read the bible? Or been to church?"

Yes, and yes.

As far as Darwin goes, it's actually better to study modern material regarding evolution. Yes, it was the first, and it's invaluable as the original, but first rarely means best. Darwin really just had a hypothesis, it's been refined greatly since then. Nor does it concern itself with the origins of life, or the universe, just the evolution of life. There's really no one body of work to read to get it all, unfortunately.