Don't get me wrong, I understand it, but I'm trying to find out if everyone ELSE understands it.
2007-04-13 06:09:31 · 13 answers · asked by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It means that when you're in real problems, you will pray to a god.
There is a small problem with that theory: in those seconds that you're about to die, it's freakin' hard to decide which of the 10,000 gods to convert to.
So, I'm making a list as we speak, and whenever I'm in a foxhole I will randomly pick a god.
2007-04-13 06:23:15 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It means, ultimately, that someone was thinking with a muscle that pumps blood, not with their brains.
It's an appeal to fear, which fails because the atheists do not share the premise that leads theists to this conclusion.
I can think of two ways to interpret the saying.
1. Atheists are afraid to die, so they won't fight. This is quite plainly refuted by the presence of atheists in the military, most notably Pat Tillman. Still, some US military officers persist in insulting the service of atheist soldiers by insisting that they don't exist.
2. In times of need, atheists will break down and turn to God. This is clearly nonsense. Atheists consider God to be as real as the Great Pumpkin. Exactly who or what would an atheist pray to???
2007-04-13 15:00:14 · answer #2 · answered by RickySTT, EAC 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The term came from when atheists actually went to fight in wars. When the saw the intensity of the battle and the reality of death, they cried out to God, who they said they did not believe in before the war. I have also seen this when I went to fight in 1990 in the Gulf War. I knew guys in my unit who said they did not believe in God. However, when we had to go fight on the ground, they were calling out to God, praying and repenting and saying, "God if you help me get out this I will serve you". In fact, prior to fighting the ground offensive, not some, but all of them went to chapel services and some in sang in the choir. That's why it is said there are no atheists in a foxhole.
2007-04-13 13:17:10 · answer #3 · answered by super saiyan 3 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Every christian who tries to escape the path of a speeding bullet with fear in his eye is an example of a "foxhole conversion" to atheism and proves they don't really believe in a heavenly paradise in the hereafter. There are a hell of a lot more of those conversions than there are of atheists to christians
2007-04-13 13:21:57 · answer #4 · answered by KryptonOne 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
OK, I'll be honest and say this is a guess.
U.S. military slang means foxholes, if there's a holy war going on, if you've no god to hide behind then you cant hide from the holy crap thats flying around.
2007-04-13 13:14:26 · answer #5 · answered by Geisha VT poser 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
When faced with the very real possibility of your own death you will no longer deny God. When really faced with the prospect of going to hell, you won't risk it. Which God exactly that you will turn to to mitigate your risk in the afterlife, the phrase does not tell us.
Fear will get the best of you and you will magically have a belief in something you previously felt was ludicrous.
This idea shows a clear misunderstanding of death, faith, and belief by many Christians.
2007-04-13 13:13:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
It's the religious people's way of saying that there is really no such thing as a non-believer. That everyone innately "knows" there is a deity and will act accordingly when faced with death. I disagree.
2007-04-13 13:15:13 · answer #7 · answered by swordarkeereon 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
It means that the Atheists have already beaten the enemy and are drinking their beer.
2007-04-13 13:22:09 · answer #8 · answered by S K 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It means that in that situation everyone prays to God. Do you believe it is true?
2007-04-13 13:13:14 · answer #9 · answered by Gorgeoustxwoman2013 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
since it is a very old saying I would assume everyone understands it
2007-04-13 13:13:39 · answer #10 · answered by maybe 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋