Talking to atheists about religion?

Question

Isn't talking to an atheist about religion much like talking about shampoo with a bald person?

Eh I don't want to be partial so here is one for them:

Isn't talking to a Creationist about science like talking about math to someone who cannot count?

So which one do you like more? The shampoo with a bald person, or the math to someone who cannot count? Or are both equally funny/stupid? Can you come up with better ones?

Answer 1

I am bald but I used to have hair.

Answer 2

You can still discuss shampoo with a bald person. Because he personally lacks hair on his head doesn't mean he is ignorant of the substances called shampoos and what they are used for. Usually bald people have a ton of friends spouses, children, and other close relatives who are not bald, so they would be just as directly knowledgeable about shampoo and its usage as anybody else.

Trying to discuss math with a person who doesn't know the first thing about the basic tools of math (numbers) would be an entirely different issue, because there is absolutely no common ground there between the person wanting to talk about it, and the person he is wanting to talk TO.

A more interesting issue might be why would a "creationist" want to talk to a scientist at all, unless he is trying to do what most passionate religionists seem fiercely interested in doing..... convert the scientist to creationism/god'ism. He surely cannot want to talk to the scientist to get a clearer and better understanding of the theory of evolution, since he already rejects it as a viable proposition entirely. Of course, let's not overlook the fact that there are still plenty of scientists who appear to have found a way to reconcile science with their own personal belief in a mysterious invisible superbeing somewhere in the mix. But I don't think those were the ones you are referring to lol.

It beats me why anybody would be so all-fired desperate to try and get another person to believe the same way he does. I don't give a tinker's toenail what anybody else thinks, feels, believes or practises religionwise. I don't like, dislike, establish a relationship with, or make a determination about another person based upon what his personal belief system happens to be. Maybe we just discover we have matching personalities, or other things in common; perhaps that person has a special skill or capability I want to hire him for, or we have common friends and acquaintances. I don't have to tap into his private beliefs, and I never try to. Not interested, and certainly not out to convert anybody. Perhaps if everybody tried harder to stay out of other folks' faces on this particular subject, we might all get along a whole lot better.

Answer 3

Most bald people have had hair at some point.

Most atheists have had religion at some point.

So your analogy is quite astute, though I think perhaps not in the way that you intended it to be.

It is perfectly possible to have an understanding about concepts and ideas with which you have no direct experience. Most of us don't have to go to prison to know that living in a prison as a prisoner would not be a good experience. Most of us can grasp the ideal that arsenic is a poison without having to ingest large amounts of it.

Answer 4

are u saying that a bald person would know nothing about shampoo?

do u forget that most bald people had hair at one point...?

do u think that it is impossible for a bald person to know about shampoo?

sorry but that was a pathetic analogy. i bet u there are many bald people who know more about shampoos than you.

Answer 5

Most Atheists have plenty of experience when it comes to talking about religion.Religion is something that cannot be avoided. Atheists are not the same as Creationists. Creationists don't want to listen. Atheists have listened and disagree, and have good reason to unlike Creationists.

Answer 6

only if people with hair insisted that the bald person had to use the shampoo (and only a particular brand at that)

Answer 7

all analogies are at some point flawed.

At the end of the day the only thing that is like talking about religion with an atheist is talking about religion with an atheist.


If you want one then to make your's more accurate:
Talking about religion with an atheist is usually like a high schooler talking to a university astronomy professor about the steady state theory.

Answer 8

The second one is actually an incredibly mean comparison, and neither of them are particularly true (atheists know about religion, it is like to a bald person about hair....creationists do know about science, just not much about evolution....)

Talking to a Christian about skepticism is like talking to Hitler about tolerance (that's just wrong, I am sorry, but feel free to quote it!)

Answer 9

the shampoo annalogy is nicer.

but the math one is a bit off put...

"Isn't talking to a Creationist about science like talking about math to someone who cannot count?"

People who cannot count can still discuss math. I have mathimatical dyslexia, therefore I have to discuss it with my private tutors daily.

Answer 10

Actually, many atheists were religious at one point of their lives. So they can speak with authority. And vice versa.

Although I wonder if a converted atheist has to give up scientific enquiry...