Religion (atheist) question....???

Question

for starters, im atheist. i will never change my mind, and i have always been that way. i have some friends of mine who have constantly attacked me for my religion. i have others who are either atheist or support me strongly. i live in a state with strong religion, i cant stand it. they always tell me that when they see 'christ' rise again than they can prove i am wrong. i dont mind their religion, in fact, i love learning about all religions, i just hate when people do that to me. they are are also telling me that i can be saved before i die i just have to accept christ and follow the bible. my pet peeve is people who convert me. i get alot of it. how do i get rid of all the verbal harassment for one of the rights as i have as an american citizen. i love my country, i just am who i am. how do i discourage them or stop them from doing this to me? its starting to get really annoying. NO ATHEIST BASHING PLEASE, and please dont tell me i am wrong, i just need your advice.

Answer 1

If you're not in the mood to debate, you can simply tell them you respect their right to believe as they do, but you believe your soul is safe and you have no room in your life for a spirituality based on fear and guilt. You can also tell them they have every right to bet their own soul on their beliefs, but they have no right to bet your soul on those beliefs... and you have no intention of betting your soul on something you do not feel to be true in your heart.

If you've studied the Bible to some degree, then you can probably hold your own in a debate with them. One thing I often tell Christians (those who try to convert me) is that I personally have faith that if God decided to put all of his thoughts down into a book for us, there would be no room for interpretation or debate because God would be able to make himself clear. The fact that one can study that book for a lifetime and still not "get it" is proof positive to me that it is not the word of God. Another point I make often is that if God were truly all-powerful, surely he would be able to come up with a plan for the salvation of his people that didn't involve human sacrifice.

Answer 2

Though I had a Christian upbringing, I drifted away from theism as I learned more about science, philosophy, psychology, cultural anthropology and the histories of various religions. You don't need religion to explain the natural world. You don't need religion to have morality. You don't need to believe in an immortal soul and judgement day and the offer of heaven and the threat of hell in order to be a good person. The more I thought about it, the more I came to believe that organized religions were nothing more than ways of influencing or controlling other people, and their stories of supernatural beings were just that -- stories -- to maximize the people's cooperation. That's not to say that today's religious leaders are all hypocrites; I firmly believe that most of them are sincere. They're just holding on to the same set of beliefs that their parents or teachers or religious leaders passed on to them, generation after generation. The true origins of any religion are mostly lost in time; the most successful stories (that is, scriptures) are the ones that have persisted to this day; the less successful stories have been abandoned or forgotten.

To the people who say they'll prove you wrong when they see Christ rise again, why not just smile back at them and say "It's a date! You get back to me when you see Christ rise and we'll talk then. Meanwhile, let's just move on."

To the people who persist at trying to "save" you, the best advice I can offer is to not react. Indifference is your strongest defense. If they try to engage you and you become involved in a detailed discussion/argument, you're already playing by their rules. If they try to engage you, why not say something like "I respect your right to believe that. My beliefs are different, and I don't think it's productive or worthwhile to try to discuss the matter further." Then move on to some other (non-religious) topic.

Finally, I recommend that you spend some time reading some atheist support materials. I've listed a few links below, and you'll find a lot more if you simply search the web for 'atheist support.'

Cheers and best wishes!

Answer 3

You should just tell them that this is your choice and if that means burning in hell then so be it. Who's to say what the right anwer is? Those that are firmly planted in religion could be the ones that end up in hell. Although I am a Catholic, I realize that the Bible was written by man and not by God. Their views of right and wrong were based on the individual and became blurred over time. God didn't give us free will for nothing. You obviously chose to believe there is no God. I say, to each his own.


If you didn't like this advice you can always visit www.atheists.org.

Answer 4

I won't bash. I'm Christian.I also love learning about ALL religions. Advice though if your "friends" attack you for not being their religion are they REALLY your friends? Now I don't know your friends so I can't really say. About people saying your wrong, Don't act angry, just smile a little sweet girl smile with a little I'll knock your teeth out if you say one more word to me. But don't hit them!!!!!! Tell them that you have rights as an American citizen and can do what you want to. Or fight fire with fire. Not saying you are but that's what Christians believe ( if you dont believe in God and follow him your going to hell) but say "Christ has already risen and i guess I'll just see you in Hell" or along those lines.

Hope I helped

Answer 5

Well, If they are very pressuring you. You can say that you have planted the seed already and enough of this overwhelming of your religion and or Faith to me. You can also tell them that you will come to know God in God's timeing not man's time. This will shut them up for awhile. Also you can say friends respect others beliefs and supports.
I am a Christian and I have a few Athiests around me and I tried to pressure them a few years ago and that lead one thing to another. After I stopped three months later they came around again and spoke to me again. Just live your life and choose your own destiny.

Answer 6

There is no atheist dogma and it's not a religion. No one has sent me any atheist tracts or anything and I haven't gone to any meetings. You may still be stuck in your previous god-box mentality even though you claim to be atheist now, but there's no reason to paint the rest of us with your still partially demented brush.

Answer 7

I just say something like, "You know, those are YOUR beliefs, and I respect your beliefs, but they're not my beliefs, and I ask that you show me the same respect. I really don't wish to be lectured about 'being saved'. Thank you."
If someone starts giving you the spiel about "You'll see when Christ rises again! We'll prove you wrong!" Then simply say, "Well, OK. If that starts to happen, then you call me and I'll let you say 'I told you so' all you want. OK? Until then, I want this subject dropped."

Answer 8

All you can do is wait it out until you can move outta there. They aren't going to change their minds and neither are you, its a lose-lose situation if you try to rebuttle them, but if you can hang in there and be strong you'll be fine. Try to keep your mind off it too, religious disputes are sticky situations which is why i stay out of most of them. Don't worry about it though i'm sure you'll make it through. Hold tight =^.^= *hugs* There is nothing you can do to discourage them, they will keep trying to bash you. Just restate your thesis and tell them the same things, if possible avoid disputes at all costs. Best of luck to you =^.^=

Answer 9

sweetie i'm wiccan and i get (from my own feincee)how i'm going to hell because i am a devil worshiper. unfortunitly having a diffrent religion from the comman religion means your going to get these people that do this to us. i think that the reason they feel the have to convert us is because they them selves are not comfotable in their own believes, their for by getting as many people to believe how they do makes there beleifs more real to them after all "how could 50 billion people be wrong". it could also be possible that we scare them because we make sense on some level and they have to attack us to prove to them selves they believe what their religion says they should. they say what we beleive attacks there religion but our beliefs would only attack their beliefs if our beleifs made sense. why don't other religions attack the christian belief structure because we don't have to prove our beliefs correct we already know they are. people like us who are comfortable in our belief structure you will find will never push our beliefs on anyone. however if someone has a question about our beliefs we will answer with no exspectations of converting anyone. sorry about your pushy friends the only suggestion i have is to tell them i will not descuss religion with you and if you bring up how i'm going to hell i will leave. but of course that means you acctually have to leave if they bring it up. good luck sweetie

Answer 10

:: sighs :: I hate people like them, throwing us down. Listen, in one of the bibles that did not get included in the bible today is that Jesus said he did not want what he share with people to be a religion. He just preached what he thinks would be the best for people, to be in peace and good for each other and everything. I'm not into religion as I am into philosophy which is exactly what he taught.

Thank God for the history channel and their in-depth research on religions. Hope this helps!! ^__^

Melz