What bothers you most about atheists?

Question

If someone tells you they are an atheist, do you view them differently? Would you trust them as much as someone of your own religion? What character flaw(s) do you see in them?

Answer 1

(sits back and awaits responses)

there was a poll done recently that showed that of all the people that americans dont trust....atheists were #1. yep.... and this is post 9/11 too. apparently people trust muslims more than us atheists. not to say that muslims are untrustworthy.

i used to think that america was this great place wherethe people were smart, society was advanced, thing were goign great...the cutting edge of.....wel leverything....then as i slowly began on this little "atheist" path ive come to realize that were not. were as back-asswards as they were in the medieval times...the only difference is our level of technology.

were still as dogmatic as they were back then. fear of witches, fear of devils and posessions, untrustworthy of those who dont share the same idiotic beliefs....its amazing. weve come a long way in the hundreds of years.....but only technologically.

and whats worse is that, compared to the medieval times, we have a way better education system....and people are STILL as gullable and dogmatic as they were back then (if not more)

its amazing. im moving to Amsterdam.

Answer 2

As someone who has had problems with his faith (as do most people, I suspect), I understand atheists. Whenever I let my intellect answer the question, the answer is always: There is no emphirical evidence that God exists and it would be just too conveinient for God to exist and different societies have such different images of gods and you can point to numerous reasons why these different images exist and now we have scientific reasons to explain existance, which folks didn't have before, and I cannot figure out God's plan to make some really decent people suffer and have others who aren't so decent do really well. Also, under science, we require proponents to prove their theories and not to say: Well, you can't prove it's not true. Oh, yeah, you can argue these points all day long, but there is still this nagging feeling at the end that maybe God doesn't exist. But acknowledging that doesn't make me a atheist and what I find about atheists (at least the ones that give me their opinion) is that they are too opinionated! They think I'm a sucker for believing in God (or trying to). First of all, God gives me comfort. What's wrong with that? I also think Christianity is a pretty good code to live by (you know, do on to others as you would have them do on to you). The alternative is horrid and I'd rather not have that. Second, it gives others comfort and provides a place, church, where people can be with others and have an extended family. Geez, where can you get that in a country where good friends and close relationships and large families are disapearing fast?

The other things atheists say is that religion has caused millions of deaths even today. There is no denying that. My retort is: So what? And by you giving me your opinion, you are somehow going to get rid of religion? Who is not being realistic? The extreme islamists and others are going to still believe in Islam no matter what we do. Humans have an inanate spiritual center. Maybe it's just brain matter and has nothing to do with a real actual God, but we have it and can't just shut it off. It gives people hope and comfort, so, since we can't shut it off and others are going to be religious anyway, why don't we just use it and make life a little more worth living and a little more special?

Answer 3

I'm a secular Humanist and therefore take an atheistic stance on the existence of supernatural beings, but I'll contribute some.

What bothers me about most of the atheists I know?

In a word, the negativity. Even though our choice to live a life free of fear-based superstitions should encourage us to do otherwise, too many of us dwell on the negative. When we get together, too much of our conversation is taken up with how "stupid" religious people are and how they're ruining everything. I'm not saying there's nothing to complain about--selfish religionists are a serious danger to everyone's freedom, even their fellow believers--but must that ALWAYS be the default conversation? That makes me dread getting together with atheists. A little less pissing and moaning and more discussion about how to make the world a better place--and then organizing ourselves and getting out and putting those ideas into practice might earn more respect from our neighbors of faith. It certainly can't hurt the world.

Another thing that bothers me is the way some atheists just have to pee on every sacred fire. When someone asks for prayers on this forum, there are always half a dozen or more whose heads will explode if they don't sound in with "Praying is just mumbling into your hands" or the like. Hey, I've done it myself, and what bothers me most is that I didn't realize what a killjoy I was being until later. It shows a lack of respect for the feelings of others. Disagreeing with someone is one thing; this is more like walking around looking for toes to stomp on. Can't we defend our position with a little more tact, without being so rude? Most of us honestly cherish religious freedom, so it shouldn't hurt us to display a little more religious tolerance.

Just trying to answer the question honestly. Obviously not all atheists are killjoys, but the majority of those I know personally are, and I think that's an unnecessary shame.

Answer 4

I don't look at them differently. I do get a little sad because I question religion as well but I still like to believe that there is a higher being and/or a meaning to life. It's nice to know that it's the right thing to be a good person. Not just because someone is judging you so that you can get into heaven but, if there was no meaning to life, there probably would be even less good people than there is now.

<~ Takes a shot of Tequila after answering that question

Answer 5

Nothing necessarily bothers me about athiests. All other things being equal, I'd trust them as much as anyone else, at least until they gave me a reason not to. Morality doesn't hinge on religion. There are good and bad among the faithful, and faithless.

I don't, however, agree with blind faith - and this is where an agnostic such as myself differs from an athiest. To me... discounting the possibility of the existence of God is just as puzzling as believing blindly in the existence of one.

Time will tell...

Answer 6

I will more often than not question them on their non-belief. SOme people just don't believe, while others are extremely intelligent and have investigated the arguments and evidence and have chosen to decide that there is no God. I will question Christians also. Bad people believe in God too and I am always interested to find out what motivates one's beliefs. Atheists aren't evil, any person, regardless of their beliefs can see that the benefits and returned love of being 'good' far outweigh anything you could gain by being evil.

Answer 7

Atheists don't bother me. They just have different beliefs than I do when it comes to religion, which I respect. I do not trust a person based on their religious beliefs, but rather on their character. I feel that religious people need to leave Atheists alone. I'm Christian and feel that way about other Christians and religious people.

Answer 8

I am a christian. I do not see "character flaws" in any of the atheists that I know. I trust some of them. I don't trust some of them. Just like the christians I know.

Answer 9

They're not bad people, just misguided. Love them like your neighbor, and lead by example through living a good and righteous life. Because one sign of imperfection, and they will again fall back on the crutch of atheism, citing your flaws as proof there is no God.

It's sad, but if you want to take on the responsibility, it's a tough road. They're illogical and frustrating and you're tempted to just let them find out the big twist at the end of the book the hard way. Don't beat them with a Bible, treat them with kindness and respect like you would any lost sheep. But do so gently. They are skittish as one too.

Answer 10

Im more of an agnostic, by nature i see that atheists and christians both love to brag about having the most brains, but they seem to miss the point altogether. Atheists can be as closed minded as christians, but ive met quite a few that are cool. Ive heard atheists acting like christians before, saying things like you either become an atheist like me or we dont get married. (my best friend had this happen to her)

Answer 11

Certainly I view them differently.I don't discriminate against them if that's where your going. However I do view them as a challenge to convert.Hey, in order for evolution to be true, it would have to be a never ending on going procession of all creatures in evolutionary stages from the ameba right up to modern man (including neanderthals). Why is it that a snail fossil from a million years ago looks just like a snail today?What did that evolve to?Better yet, where is the missing link.There isn't any. Because these primitive ape men are actually just "apes".And they're still apes today. We took a few tiny fragment of their skulls and constructed a whole skull of what we thought a "primitive are man" might look like. Sorry I digressed,however do atheists believe all this crap,or what exactly do they believe?If you don't stand for something then you'll fall for anything.