Question for Atheists Have any responses to your questions ever given you reason to reconsider your position?

Question

Plain & simple, I'm just honestly curious... No bashing from either side please. Putting aside some of the truly assinine and insulting questions often posted here, there are many fair-minded and thoughtful questions posted by "the other side." I'm just wondering if any of you have ever read a response to your question that has given you pause, even for a moment. A response that has made you say "hmmmm, that's interesting" even if it wasn't likely to change your mind (or maybe it has??)

Thanks and, again, play nice.

Thank you all for your excellent responses. Top the poster who said that a comment about the Amish school shootings offended her and made her turn away from Christianity. I'm wondering if it was a comment you read or a question that I remember clearing where someone asked whether Christians were happy those girls were killed because now they had attained their "reward." I hope that's not it. Yes it was offensive but it was intended to challenge Christians not written BY a Christian.

Answer 1

Never. There have been responses that make me pause and reconsider my views torwards most religious people. Sometimes...especially after reading some of the extremism on here...and reading about the extremists in the news.....an answer that contains real, sincere, well meaning faith on here will reaffirm my belief that for a lot of people religion fulfills something meaningful, and helps them to be good people.

Answer 2

Actually yes. I used to consider myself agnostic until the Amish school shootings, and something written by a supposed "good Christian" here made me physically ill. No joke, no exaggeration. I was sick to my stomach. I knew I no longer wanted any part of christianity, or any other religion for that matter, and declared myself an atheist from that day on. Nothing since has ever made me do anything more than either laugh or scratch my head in pure wonder at the narrow mindedness and utter meanness of so called Christians here on YA. Particularly the ones who make judgments all the time - it's not their place to judge anyone. So, no. Nothing anyone could say about American Christianity as it is practiced these days could make me convert. They've changed the teachings so much to fit their agendas that few of them really know what they actually are anymore. Based on what I've read in the bible, I believe no one who professes to be Christ-like actually is. If there was a Christ and he reappeared today, he'd be shot by his own followers - they wouldn't be able to recognize him.

Answer 3

I don't remember ever believing in (a) god.
Of all the stories I've heard or read from living in over a dozen countries around the world and over a dozen states here in America, I haven't had one ounce of data that points to the existence of a soul. Why should I go any deeper into religious dogma than that?
When there's physiological evidence that I have a soul, then I'll consider dieties and afterlifes. I'm not just going to take someone's word for it.

Answer 4

You can't have much luck in there. Atheists, by their nature, are the ones who have questioned beliefs (mostly) imposed to them by their parents or the society. Whereas, most believers choose not to question. As a result, you usually get more thought over responses from atheists than believers, i.e. it should be difficult to persuade atheists to think their standing over, because they have already done that. On the other hand, I see that it is also difficult to make believers question their standing, because believing without questioning is a basic tenet for (many) religions.

Answer 5

I've never had one that made me think there might be a god. No one has come up with anything even close to rational evidence.

But I have had one person pause to make me reconsider my take on one part of Xianity. He made something hateful and wrong to me seem not as bad as I thought and kind of interesting.

Sadly, the majority of answers I seem to get are just proselytizing, intolerance, or "You just have to have faith" and therefore useless answers.

Answer 6

Yes, many times. I've gotten many answers from religious people that have caused me to change my opinion of them (for better and worse). They have caused me to have to think about my own position. They haven't given any good reasons for believing in a god. However, there are other religious issues that they have caused me to have to think about.

(I haven't done any questions in Yahoo Answers, but I have asked questions over the years. Even in answering theist questions here, though, I've had to think about the issues involved and that has occassionally made me have to take a different tact.)

Answer 7

That's a great question! Speaking as a Christian, I know that there are times when I say 'that's interesting' when I hear something in an argument from an atheist.

Answer 8

the reality is that both see themselves as attempting to launch the different edge. besides the actual shown reality that some (maximum) of both edge make a contribution no longer something to the communicate and are trolls. some truly pick to help or to understand the others aspect of view. this is the ignorant nut jobs on each edge that harm it for something human beings. and supplies you up any authentic progression being made.

Answer 9

No.
There's no evidence for a god, and 99% of the people on Yahoo! don't have the apologetic skills to convince me that there is.

I will only reconsider my position if someone presents concrete, irrefutable evidence that a god, and not just any god, but THEIR god, exists and that I should believe in it.

I'm more than willing to bet that it's not going to happen, though.

Answer 10

I have seen evidence of a living god.Ihave always known God exists. Most non-believers just dont want to look foolish.