Athiests: do you tend to be on the side of the Christians or Muslims?

Answer 1

If I had to side with a group, I would say muslims(more tolerant), due to the fact I've been to many muslim countries, and the laws resulting from religious beliefs have been often lenient or just flat out not applying to non-muslims. Like alcohol consumption in Brunei (non-muslims can drink) or Ramadan (don't apply if you're being discreet about your activities) in UAE, forgot which part. In every christian country I've been to, christian laws apply to everyone, regardless of religion. Don't get me wrong here, I still don't approve of either because of the problems each imposes.

Answer 2

I tend to side with the one that acts most like religion is a personal choice and not something that needs to be pushed on every being in sight. Currently, that seems to be Muslims - and I'll gladly stand corrected if somebody points to a massive organized Islamic anti-abortion group or a movement by Muslims to have intelligent design or the Koran taught in public schools.

Answer 3

Answering Atheists: Watch in the Sand ?!





Suppose you find a watch in the middle of a desert. What would you conclude? Would you think that someone dropped the watch? Or would you suppose that the watch came by itself?

Of course no sane person would say that the watch just happened to emerge from the sand. All the intricate working parts could not simply develop from the metals the lay buried in the earth. The watch must have a manufacturer.

If a watch tells accurate time? Consider the sunrise and sunset. Their timings are so strictly regulated that scientists can publish in advance the sunrise and sunset times in your daily newspapers. But who regulates the timings of sunrise and sunset?



Allah tells us in the Quran : "Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the Night and the Day; in the sailing of the ships through the Ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth, (here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise"


The message is clear, if a watch can not work without an intelligent maker, how can the sun appear to rise and set with such clockwork regularity? Could this occur by itself?

Consider also that we benefit from the sun only because it remains at a safe distance from the earth, a distance that averages 93 million miles. If it got much closer the earth would burn up. And if it got too far away the earth would turn into an icy planet making human life here impossible.

Who decided in advance that this was the right distance? Could it just happen by chance? Without the sun plants would not grow. Then animals and humans would starve. Did the sun just decide to be there for us ?!

The rays of the sun would be dangerous for us had it not been for the protective ozone layer in our atmosphere. The atmosphere around earth keeps the harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching us. Who was it that placed this shield around us?

We need to experience sunrise. We need the sun's energy and it's light to see our way during the day. But we also need sunset. We need a break from the heat, we need the cook of night and we need the lights to out so we may sleep. Who regulated this process to provide what we need?

Moreover, if we had only the sun and the protection of the atmosphere we would want something more-beauty. Our clothes provide warmth and protection, yet we design them to also look beautiful. Knowing or need for beauty, the designer of sunrise and sunset also made the view of them to be simply breathtaking.

The creator who gave us light, energy, protection and beauty deserves our thanks. Yet some people insist that he does not exist. What would they think if they found a watch in the desert? An accurate, working watch? A beautifully designed watch? Would they not conclude that there does exist a watchmaker? An intelligent watchmaker? One who appreciates beauty? Such is God who made us.

Answer 4

I don't know much about Islam; what I do know is that the Bible god had profound emotional issues.

Yet the church people worship it as an all-powerful, all-knowing sort of thing -- which they can do only if they don't know their Bible.

I know the Bible through and through, and it is the best tool for atheists, though atheism might be a little extreme.

Answer 5

I'm going out on a limb here, and I KNOW I'm going to get all thumbs down from the Atheists, but here it goes.

Atheists are the Anti-Christ and the Infidels of the world. This stems from the definition of Anti-Christ being 'against God' because of non belief the same as Infidels...who have 'no belief.' Now...you must prove the encyclopedia and Websters if those are wrong.

Answer 6

Could you perhaps be a bit more detailed? I'm obviously not on either side in the whole theological argument of it all, but what category/subject/topic are refering to?

Answer 7

Neither side....I am not on anyone's side who believes in oppression and war. (Not really talkin about the muslims here)

Answer 8

Do we get any other choices?


Regardless, let us *drink* to Smart-Doctor-Egypt and to any atheist who *hasn't* heard Paley's watch argument a zillion times.

@chole - aside from the anti-Christ concept being utterly meaningless to atheists, what does your response have to do with the question?

Answer 9

Everyone knows that atheists seem to be on the side of "self"

Answer 10

Well, it depends on what you mean. I don't tend to be on the side of either when it comes to philosophy.