If Christians are brainwashed then what does that make Atheists...?

Question

I see many people(often Atheists)say Christians are brainwashed...

What would they say if I said "Atheists were brainwashed to think that God isn't real"?

They would say, "We're not brainwashed because we know the truth"...but isn't that what Christians say?

Hmm....

Ok Steel, so because I called your belief system out, I'm ironically illogical?

So, I guess I got my answer to what would atheists say if I said they're brainwashed...they will just say I'm a moron....

Very polite, I might add.

Kent, I understand where you're comming from, but a quote I like to say is "The absense of evidence is not the evidence of absence."

By the way, if you don't mind, what faith are you?

Dawn, who is to say that I made the decision, myself, that God IS real? That doesn't make me brainwashed does it?

"Atheists retain information, it's called "learning". Your lot, on the other hand, practice willful scientific illiteracy, ignorance and denial, so the two are hardly comparable..!"

So my 5 science classes last year(out of 8 total classes...english, trig, and gym required) make me illiterate in science? Ok...

Chef, you said Christians were told lies by their parents.

But can't Christians say we were never told lies by our parents that God doesn't exist?

SEE...my point is it can go both ways, you can't claim one side is brainwashed because the other side can claim that about you...it's ridiculous!

Answer 1

I have never said Christians are brainwashed... just mindless sheep following the herd and abiding by a book written by a bunch of drunken lunatics.

Answer 2

Most Atheists I know have arrived at that position after having tried many different faiths. While there may be some children of atheists who are raised with the same lack of faith as children of faith are raised WITH faith, MOST aren't "brainwashed" at all.

Atheists might say, "there are not gods and people who believe in them are idiots," but that's just their opinion. Christians, on the other hand, DO say they know "the truth" and reject all the other possible spiritual truths out there, not for themselves, but the WHOLE WORLD. I'd rather be told that I'm an idiot than be told that I am "spiritually blind." I can brush off being called an "idiot" or a "moron," but the "spiritually blind" thing just rancors.

Answer 3

we say this for the very good reason that it is true. all religions, for the most part anyway, are introduced to children from a very early age and whatever the belief system of the parents is passed on to the child and is then reinforced by clergy, family, friends, and a great many of the people in that child's environment not to mention on television, radio, and especially advertising throughout the life of the individual.

atheists, on the other hand, have been victims of this and have INVESTIGATED their religious beliefs, put them up to the scrutiny of science and reason, and have come to the conclusion that there is no god. this conclusion is well thought out and takes much research to reach. most atheists have spent years reading everything they can get their hands on including the the bible and know it better than almost any christian. THIS tome, more than almost any other reason is the very thing that convinces the atheist that god cannot exist. with all the contradictory evidence sited in the bible, and all the obvious errors, mistakes, and flat out fantasy within its pages, not to mention the history of how, why, when, and who wrote it, together with all the other irrefutable evidence from history, to remain a believer in SPITE of the facts, one MUST be brainwashed...there is no other reasonable explanation for it...

Answer 4

Atheist = one without a belief in God, not one who rejects even the possibility of God, though such individuals do exist.

This is a matter of the "burden of proof." We atheists see no evidence for a divine entity; therefore, we do not believe in it. This is the neutral standpoint, as the extremes are belief God/gods and rejection of God/gods.

Now, it is certainly true that being raised to believe something unquestioningly is a form of brainwashing, considering how impressionable children are. And yes, this does often happen with religious parents, and I can offer my own personal experience for that. However, this could happen with anyone, including those who teach their children to reject all ideas of God. The problem with your question is that you seek to group atheists together when their SOLE defining feature is a lack of belief in God, whereas Christians share ideas about what God is, what morality is, etc, with lesser degrees of difference.

As I said, atheism in itself is just a neutral standpoint. We can't be brainwashed if we're not taking a stance, especially if we reached this place on our own.

(None of this means that specific Gods/gods cannot fall under scrutiny. If a being contradicts itself, it cannot exist. It is when you set up parameters for God, i.e. God is the divine entity described in the Bible, that it can be analyzed. Not believing in your God does not mean we reject the very possibility of any God. And keep in mind how many different definitions of God exist out there.)

Answer 5

I say Christians are brainwashed because they show all the signs of it. They blindly believe in something that has a shaky basis at best and has no actual proof of reality in it. They have had this belief drilled into them sense they where children so really its no surprise that so many believe it.

Unfortunately for your argument, in order to be brainwashed you need someone to do the brainwashing. Who are the Christians' brainwashers? The church. Who are the Atheists' brainwashers? ... I don't know tell me.

Your logic is irrational and fractured in almost ever manner possible.

Answer 6

Simple. We all start out as atheists. We do not understand the concept of any god until we are brainwashed with it.

Besides the fact that there exists zero proof of any god so yes, anyone who would believe in something without a single shred of evidence is brainwashed.

Answer 7

Atheists usually use that phrase because Christian beliefs are usually indoctrinated at birth, leaving little chance for a choice to be in that religion or to actually think critically of it. Where this is true or not is up for debate, but how many Christians that question their religion stay Christian?

Generally, Atheists are ex-Christians indoctrinated at birth who did think about what they believe in and have now chosen to follow a different religious choice i.e. no religion.

I personally don't pretend to know the truth, but as of right now, I don't think that your god exists.

Answer 8

A person is brainwashed when the only evidence they can provide for their belief is that they "feel it to be true".

As someone who was raised religiously, I know about the feelings that come from indoctrination. It was a struggle for me to resolve the conflict between my emotions and my rational mind. I have studied psychology and neuroscience and I understand why that conflict occurred in my mind. I was able to work through that conflict and free myself of the indoctrination. I am now free to believe only those ideas for which there is reasonable evidence and a consistent framework that explains the evidence. I am also free to admit what I don't know without invoking a supernatural explanation.

Answer 9

You forgot to mention the overwhelming evidence and verifiability of the mainstream scientific descriptions, understandings and principles of the natural world, so many of which are in direct conflict with totally unprovable and outrageously fantastical religious dogmas..

Atheists retain information, it's called "learning". Your lot, on the other hand, practice willful scientific illiteracy, ignorance and denial, so the two are hardly comparable..!

You know it makes sense..!

Answer 10

Then I would ask you where exactly these atheists were brainwashed? By the atheism church? the atheism school? the fundie atheism parents?
You are grasping at straws because there is no medium to compare with Christianity's mediums to set atheists up to be brainwashed. They make their own minds up.
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Answer 11

We most operate on the premise that we are not.


Are you brainwashed to think that 2+2=4 when it really =5? Proof to me you aren't lolololololloolooloollo