Athiest's don't believe in any form of a Creator or Higher Power, but choose to discuss the beliefs of the people who do believe in "something outside of themselves".
Christian's believe in two, after-life extremes "heaven and hell", with only Christian's going to the heavenly place and the rest of us going to hell.
I see the point of the Christian's who are attempting to help everyone else to avoid eternal hell......but I don't see the point of the Athiest's....why do they discuss religion and spirituality? What is the personal motivation?
2007-02-22 16:34:54 · 24 answers · asked by ? 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Many atheists believe that Christians have been hoodwinked by their church and are not living up to their full potential as human beings. They see people killing in the name of God, or blaming Satan for their own failings, or refusing to address issues because they believe God will step in and fix things. Of course there are some Christians who do not engage in these behaviors, but many certainly do.. and the atheists know these people are really behaving more like sheep than humans... blindly following the church.
Atheists would like to see what the world would be like if all humans believed in being good for goodness sake, rather than out of fear of hellish punishment or promise of heavenly reward. They would like to see what sorts of other advances humanity could make if people would stop wasting time with the second-grade mentality of "my God can beat up your god."
2007-02-22 16:44:12 · answer #1 · answered by sueflower 6 · 6⤊ 3⤋
For me, it comes from perspective. Once you accept the idea that there may not be any god or gods, then you can get some objectivity. For the faithful, most of the other religious beliefs sound silly except for the one that they believe in. Once you are an atheist, they ALL sound equally silly.
But why not live and let live? I would if it did not impact me and my life. Again objectivity helps. We are all so indoctrinated to the tolerance of religion that we do not notice how intrusive into our daily lives they are.
Imagine how much lower our taxes might be if the billions the churches took in were taxable. Think about the long wait at the airport for the security check. Think of the court time wasted every time you hear that 'Intelligent' Design was being fought over in the schools again. Or the 10 commandments in schools or courthouses. Think of the prejudice being taught in religious schools. Or the fighting in Northern Ireland or the Middle East. Remember that the WTC came down for religious reasons.
We see the hatred suffering and death that comes as a result of nothing other than religion and to us it looks like the fighting is over nothing. Literally. If you saw something THAT insane, wouldn't you try to talk some sense into people?
2007-02-22 17:10:11 · answer #2 · answered by Crabby Patty 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Before there was a 4 dimensional universe God existed. He is beyond our understanding. The Big Bang seems to be an event caused by a word--it was spoken and BOOM ! The universe started ! God can be a great ball of light, a man on the earth (Jesus) a spirit in each of our hearts and much more, all at the same time... We can love and respect God without understanding everything with our little minds. I will give you that John's writing were often deep and not easy to under stand...
2016-05-24 01:14:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the athiests I know, here is my understanding.
They discuss religion as a backlash against being treated like pariahs. An athiest could never be elected President ... or practically to any national office. Meanwhile fundamentalist Christians are not only able to get elected Presidents, senators, congressmen, judges, etc. ... but they are trying to enshrine parts of their faith into law (persecution of gays, criminalizing abortion, undermining evolution in schools, religious icons in public buildings, etc.) They would be succesful too, if it wasn't for the Constitution.
Athiests have nothing to gain spiritually from debating religion ... but politically this is a serious issue. I can't blame them. It is the fundamentalist Christians who have turned religion into a political issue.
2007-02-22 17:07:30 · answer #4 · answered by secretsauce 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everybody thinks that their own view point as correct and would try to impose their thoughts on others. Atheists are no different. Moreover they thrive in their Ego since they don't accept the philosophy of creator or God. So naturally they need to argue their case strongly whenever they confront theists. For a believer in God, though he may not be steady all the time, he still believes in Higher power which guide the activities of the cosmos. Secondly regarding insults, it depends on how you take it inside. The wise people always carry an umbrella to protect them from heat and rain. Likewise we must not care the words of those who insult us. You need not react at all to the unwise people who only will insult others. nagarajan.
2007-02-22 16:50:31 · answer #5 · answered by nagarajan s 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Is it possible that atheists think the world would be a better place if religion did not exist and all people accepted that we evolved from one place, and behaved accordingly. Maybe the world would be a better place if we all worked towards something we could be proud to hand down to our descendants rather than worrying about going to heaven, a concept which is ridiculous to an atheist.
I don't think any of the above is an insult to anybody.
2007-02-22 16:45:55 · answer #6 · answered by Ted T 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am a liberal catholic ie I take some beliefs from the catholic church & leave the rest I don't believe a loving forgiving god could ever send anyone to hell. That said the folks that taunt the faithful are merely troublemakers not true atheists and perhaps its really everyone they hate
2007-02-22 16:46:09 · answer #7 · answered by hobo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most Atheists are Atheists not out of actually understanding other religious and spiritual faiths, but out of apathy for the topic. Perhaps they just believe it's cool to not believe in Christ, or Allah, or whomever the hell you worship. Very few can actually give compelling arguments for why God does not exist. They're rabble-rousers, attempting to break away from a society which is generally based upon Judeo-Christian tradition. Most of them will not have a reason or defense for their Atheism other than, "Prove God exists." which just makes them ignorant.
My personal feelings are they like hearing themselves talk, and have never thought about the subject on a deep enough level to actually be capable of proving their position on the subject. Unless they can give you support for why God does not exist, tell them to shut the **** up and read a book or two on religions. Those who can defend their position, congrats to them.
In regards to the person above me, those are the Atheists to respect and discuss the topic with. That reasoning is admirable, most others aren't however.
2007-02-22 16:44:13 · answer #8 · answered by Fiery|Fiesta 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Mostly for entertainment. Some of them are more agnostic (meaning they don't know) then they would like to admit. There are a lot of non-Christian and non-Atheists on this site too. If you are in the mood to argue or debate, it is pretty easy to bait a Christian (not all of them but the ones who hang out here). The regulars are just here for fun. There are many people who come here to ask question that have been bothering them and some of the Atheists just want to be here to help the Christians mostly but others as well understand Atheism and the scientific theories and data that the Christians mostly but other as well ask about.
2007-02-22 16:42:01 · answer #9 · answered by Huggles-the-wise 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Don't forget the "Spirituality" aspect of this forum. Some atheists are spiritual without believing in a god.
And others just like to mess with the fundamental Christians that insist they are the only ones who have a right to God.
2007-02-22 16:40:27 · answer #10 · answered by dorkmobile 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
because very often religious people try to force their beliefs and morality on others. the majority of conflicts are at least partly caused by religion (kashmir, palestine, iran-iraq, bosnia, darfur, etc.). religions are inherently divisive and exclusive, and the books that religions go by are incredibly brutal and inhumane. the major organized religions are inherently dangerous, given that they teach us to mistreat each other over which imaginary invisible man's book we believe in. also, in every realm of society except religion, we have names for people who believe something with no rational evidence or despite a lot of evidence to the contrary. these names are pyschotic, delusional, or insane, but when it comes to religion, we call them pious and faithful. there is a double standard
2007-02-22 16:48:54 · answer #11 · answered by C_Millionaire 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋