Many of you have stated that you were previously Christian or of some other religion but then you realized that the religion made no sense. So, you became atheist based off a decision you made on your own, correct? So why then when someone asks a question about a specific religion, you attack the questioner with answers like "god does not exits" or my personal favorite "religion is a lie". Why not leave the question for those that will give the asker a genuine answer they were looking for and leave it up to them to find their own way and make their own determination about whether to believe it or not....just as you did?
2007-08-15 20:25:56 · 33 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To "ME": I do not mean all. I am talking about the negative ones. I am sure you have seen some that are extremely rude and negative (feel free to look that up). I am for differences of opinions but only when done respectfully.
2007-08-15 20:35:42 · update #1
XoOx: you can come up with a better argument than that, can't you?
2007-08-15 20:37:47 · update #2
Juicedaman, you missed the point
2007-08-15 20:39:22 · update #3
Zim, that was my point exactly.
2007-08-15 20:43:32 · update #4
2 sides offers balance.
2007-08-15 20:28:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 0⤋
When you pose a question in a public forum, you get what you ask for.
The whole purpose of this site, is for people to provide knowledge, regardless of whether it supports your position or not. It's up to the asker to determine the best answer, and make up their mind to the validity of the information given.
"Why not leave the question for those that will give the asker a genuine answer they were looking for and leave it up to them to find their own way..." How, exactly, do you propose for someone to 'find their own way' if they aren't being given all sides of the story? Granted, there are some trolls here, but honestly...the world isn't fair, and if the question is honest, it's a disservice to their intellect to just give them an answer that will appease them.
Personally, I did a lot of research in varied places, and I can honestly say that it would have been much easier had there been a forum such as this, to help me find my starting points.
2007-08-15 20:46:56 · answer #2 · answered by Bill K Atheist Goodfella 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some one may answer the question for or against the religion in question but it is always best if the answer is given in a polite manner as to show respect to the opinion of the other person whether or not you believe in what they say. And if one is to answer a question with "god does not exist" well that really is not an answer. the people that answer like that need to elaborate a lot more on their answer. But most of the time they wont be because there is a lack of knowledge. Hope this helps.
2007-08-15 20:36:13 · answer #3 · answered by helper100 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look at all the answers you got to this question! People LOVE to answer questions like this.
We live in a time of incivility and mean-spiritedness. Our whole culture in the US is confrontative and belligerent. I blame rabble-rousing politicians mostly, especially the last few years, but really we Americans have always been like this.
My own observation is that Christians are no more conciliatory or respectful or soft-spoken than atheists. For every post from an atheist I see here saying that religion is a fantasy and religious people are deluded, I see another post saying that Jesus is the only way and atheism is anti-God, or some such thing.
So when you post a question like this you expect the discussion to have a 'low signal-to-noise ratio'. Unintentionally (in your case) you're pushing people's buttons. If you enter the discussion in the proper spirit (no pun intended), you can sift through the noise, just ignore it, and find the 1 or 2 people who are really interested in a calm, rational discussion, and who want to answer your question seriously.
2007-08-15 20:42:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You say in you above question 'Why not leave the question for those that will give the asker a genuine answer they were looking for....'
If an asker already knew the answer they were looking for, they wouldn't need to come on here and ask questions. There are many sides to religion - people want answers from all sides.
2007-08-15 20:36:27 · answer #5 · answered by babycakes 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that your question is a bit generalized, But this is what i think. Sometimes you might actually get a better or at least a more complete answer, if the question is examined from all directions. Instead of only getting replies from a single mindset.
Does it truly matter what others say, most people already have an answer in their mind, before they even post a question. They are just looking for reassurance.
2007-08-15 20:40:01 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check my answers. I don't think I do that.
And I based my decision, amongst other things, by considering lots of other points of view and arguments.
Given the issue has been chewed over for millennia, there's got to be some opinions out there worth casting an eye over.
The criteria for assessing them though, now that gets interesting and tricky.
But most people agree that over-generalising, internal inconsistencies, Ad Hominem attacks, "straw man" and circular arguments all weigh against a presentation.
2007-08-15 20:35:51 · answer #7 · answered by Pedestal 42 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oops, Im not an atheist, but I would like to chime in. They can have opinions about us, everyone has an opinion. I find it interesting though how strong it seems to be online (chat rooms, message boards, yahoo, etc). People really are pissed off at people of the Christian belief in general. It is very very rare to see a Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan, Wiccan, etc ever blasted in here. The claim is that we "shove" religion down their throats, yet they shove their lack of religion down our throats. So much for this kwinkidink double standard. Its important to be kind and patient, though its really frustrating!
2007-08-15 20:34:06 · answer #8 · answered by Loosid 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your over sensitive nature is more to fault then the honest opinions of an atheists beliefs . were i to say other than god does not exist would be a lie for me should I become a liar for your sake . What if Columbus had done the same thing or Galileo when it took courage to go against the false teaching of the Christian world of these times? My ignorance is not a courtesy to you or anyone .
peace
2007-08-15 20:31:51 · answer #9 · answered by dogpatch USA 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Isn't the point of asking a question: to get an honest answer? A search for the truth? Then why only accept the answers you were looking for? If you accept these only t makes the question redundant.
2007-08-15 20:31:59 · answer #10 · answered by laotzu4272 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You're terribly wrong. I was never religious. I was born into a Christian family, only went to church occasionally. When I reached "that age", I became an Atheist. Case closed.
2007-08-15 20:33:57 · answer #11 · answered by juicedaman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋