Atheists Free thinkers or closed minded?

Question

I recently saw another question posted about the paranormal. Many of the Atheists that responded accused the questioner of being delusional. But there are millions of accounts of ghosts and paranormal activity every year. As this doesn' t constitute proof of God or Gods, why would Atheists be so defensive? I messaged one person to tell him of an experience I had, and he called me a liar and delusional and was very insulting. Why should Atheists be called Free Thinkers, when it's obvious they're not?

So are there really two Atheist movements, then?

Actually, three if you count the Leveyan Satanists.

You are right, I just don't know that much about Atheists and I shouldnt group them all together. I just don't like them branding themselves as the only Free Thinkers. I am a Wiccan, but I am an Agnostic Wiccan. I know that sounds funny, but I retain a measure of skepticism in everything I do. If you don't, then you are a fanatic. I think that skeptics should question everything and that includes their own preconceived notiions of God or no God.

I don't think that all Atheists are like this, but there is a group of Athiests that are, fanatical or fundamental for lack of a better word. Sorry if I pissed anyone off.

Explain how his question insults Atheists Paul.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there will be close minded individuals in every spectum of thought, however, what I believe they are alluding to is a lack of proof of these events... or a lack of testability, thus they will discount it until such evidence becomes apparent. Word of mouth pretty much amounts to hearsay.

As an atheist, I personally believe that the mind holds abilities to confound even itself. Through scientific study of the mind, it is quite simple to induce belief in non-realistic events, take schitzophrenia for example. The mind can create another conscousness independant of the original as a coping mechanism... does that mean a new soul is created? (assuming of course a soul even exists, which I believe it does not) It simply proves reality is comparative and the mind can manifest visual and sensory imagery.

Answer 2

Atheists are free thinkers as long as they continue to explore the reasoning behind their rejection of God.

Atheist, as well as many in many other faiths, become closed minded when they shut-off the rest of the worlds views without challenging their own. For example, a Christian who just bases their faith on nothing more than the Bible, while true, is closed-minded. I have, as a personal note, tried to keep my mind open as a Christian. However, that said, I have not a satisfactory argument which has actually denounced the Bible's legitimacy. As such, I have become stronger in my faith due to the lack of evidence against it.

I have noticed some atheists are closed-minded because they totally and absolutely reject anything that they cannot witness with their own eyes. This includes the paranormal. They MAY also be threatened by the thought because once a person acknowledges a spirit realm as a possibility than their argument of "no God" is in serious jeopardy.

Answer 3

They are just skeptical, as am I; and I am no Atheist. I don't believe in ghosts because I have never seen any credible evidence for them. I am open-minded though, if someone ever presented me with enough evidence I might change my mind on the matter.

You cannot judge an entire group of people by the actions of one. I know that some folk on here can be very insulting. Myself, I've never gotten a hate-mail from a Atheist (yet), mostly fundie Christians although one time I did get one from a fluffy bunnie Wiccan, it was cute, they called me a Fundie Pagan and then called me a Hillbilly Heathen.

Answer 4

a lot of atheists are open minded, they tend to skip over the questions concerning things they don't believe in, or answer shortly and politely that the subject is not their thing, so you tend only to hear from those who are trying to be mean spirited on that type of question. i do think there is a somewhat general lack of creativity and imagination among many atheists, but even that is subjective to my own point of view and like any generalization, there are always exceptions.

i am sorry you got your feelings hurt, but in an open forum like this, you really should not be insulted if someone does happen to answer your question with an opposing view of what happened, as long as they do so politely. if the posts you received about this were not otherwise unkind, there is a possibility that they were sincerely trying to be helpful to you - everyone has given advice on here that has been off base, it's just the nature of the forum, not a reason for hard feelings.

take care

Answer 5

You can't group everyone into only one catagory. Some are 'free thinkers', and some are more close minded. Not all atheists will insult people and say that they're delusional when that person is saying that they had a paranormal experience.

edit : Satanists aren't atheists.

Answer 6

Atheists are loose thinkers as long as they proceed to locate the reasoning at the back of their rejection of God. Atheist, besides as many in many different faiths, become closed minded while they close-off something of the worlds perspectives without frustrating their very own. to illustrate, a Christian who basically bases their faith on no longer something greater desirable than the Bible, mutually as real, is closed-minded. I even have, as a private be conscious, attempted to maintain my thoughts open as a Christian. even nevertheless, that stated, I even have not a passable argument which has certainly denounced the Bible's legitimacy. As such, I even have become better in my faith because of the lack of ability of information against it. I even have observed some atheists are closed-minded because of the fact they completely and actual reject something that they can't witness with their very own eyes. This contains the paranormal. they could additionally be threatened by skill of the assumption because of the fact as quickly as a guy or woman recognizes a spirit realm as a hazard than their argument of "no God" is in intense jeopardy.

Answer 7

I once read a quote that went something like this,

"A truly great mind is one that can accept 2 contradictory ideas."

I am willing to bet that there are some atheists that are close minded and some that are not. I can say that for people of all religions. Just keep being who you are but remember that some people will think differently from you and just ignore the rest.

Answer 8

An atheist is a person who doesn't believe that any gods exist. Period. *No* other generalizations can be made.

Many atheists call themselves "freethinkers" because they reject arguments from authority. Whether the pope, the president, Albert Einstein, or the Bible said it, freethinkers don't feel obliged to believe it. They figure out for themselves what makes the most sense to them as truth.

Many atheists are skeptics. Like freethinkers, skeptics reject arguments from authority, but skeptics check everything out before believing it.

(Needless to say, skeptics can loosen up about it when appropriate. When my sister asks me to pick up her kids because she's stuck in town, i don't go triangulating her cell phone just to make sure!)

I consider myself both a skeptic and a freethinker, but it's possible to take skepticism too far, or to be biased about it. There are certainly atheists who are closed-minded, rude, or egotistical. (You can probably name one who was downright evil--his initials were J.S.) I cannot speak for these atheists, and they do not represent the lot of us any more than (say) Jeffrey Dahmer represents Christians.

I personally don't believe in ghosts or the paranormal. However, i would NEVER call you a liar for relating one one your experiences. Your experiences are *yours*, and no one can take them away from you. I may offer an opinion of what caused your experience, but i wouldn't dispute the experience itself. That just strikes me as rude and an intrusion of your personal space.

Dogmatism doesn't become any of us.

@Firefly: There are some Satanists who treat Satan as a metaphor, not as an actual being. These would be atheists.

Answer 9

The only thing atheists have in common is the disbelief in god because we demand evidence for such things. There is absolutely no hard evidence in anything like a ghost. If the person thinks they are seeing them on a regular basis, they need to go to the doctor to figure out why. There is probably some reason for it and the doctor will be able to help. If you let it go you end up like Andrea Yeats and that isn't a happy story.

Other than the demand for evidence, there isn't that much atheists have in common. There is no group or movement. The few groups there are, are very small. It is mostly just a bunch of individuals and mostly we encourage you to think rationally and for yourself.

Answer 10

I am an agnostic and I know that I am very skeptical about everything. This prompts me to do research until I can get a logical answer. I do not know about all atheists as to be able to tell if all of them are being closed minded. Your questions prompts on this observation.