Specifically, if you challenge someone's faith and they lose their faith through your questioning then become depressed because they feel the meaning has gone from their life, or become a 'bad person' as the thought of a god watching over them was all that kept them from harming others.
I am not suggesting atheists have no morals or are unhappy or have no meaning to their lives (I am an atheist).
It is just that if you have lived your whole life with faith and that suddenly crumbles there is risk at least of depression etc.
I am also assuming that in challenging them you are not knowingly lying to them, just questioning their logic to the point that they might begin to doubt the existence of their god.
2007-09-03 14:12:12 · 20 answers · asked by SonoranDesertGirl 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I think you can be aware that it may happen and be sensitive to the possible outcome.
There is PLENTY to live for that is much better than faith in myths. If those things make atheists happy now, why shouldn't it make former believers happy?
No matter what happens, it will not be your fault. But as compassionate human beings, we should be helpful to others as much as we can.
2007-09-03 15:15:47 · answer #1 · answered by skeptic 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, I would not be. Who can decide what a person will or will not do when they are freed of the idea of god? That person decides. If a person truly becomes depressed (remembering that is a clinical diagnosis), I am no more responsible for that than I would be if they got heart disease because I challenged their notion that cheeseburgers are bad for them. If, during the course of a political debate, a person realizes that they have entrusted their faiths and beliefs in the wrong party, their system runs the risk of crumbling around them. They have nobody to blame for the consequences but themselves.
2007-09-03 14:19:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't believe in God but I would feel guilty if someone abandoned their faith based on something I said. Religion works for some people, it grounds them and gives them hope they might not find anywhere else. Sometimes it keeps them from self-destructing otherwise. So I wouldn't want to take that away from them. If they start trying to indoctrinate me, then I have a problem with that and might say some things I would feel terrible about saying afterward.
2007-09-03 14:42:57 · answer #3 · answered by dreamer - VT-AM 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the only thing keeping them from committing crimes is god, then they are still not a good person. You should do the right thing no matter who's looking.
Now, if their life falls to crumbles they need help. Your life shouldn't fall apart because you start thinking someone doesn't exist.
2007-09-03 14:26:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In these words Jesus tells us the ultimate standard by which we will be judged. Before the Final Judgment throne what God will be looking for is "good fruit." Don't forget, a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit (vs 17). Those with right and correct and heartfelt doctrine about God and Christ and the cross and conversion and repentance cannot help but bear good fruit. Those with wrong and incorrect and insincere doctrine about God and Christ and the cross and conversion and repentance cannot help but bear bad fruit. By their fruit you will recognize whether someone is of the Lord or against the Lord.
By their fruit you will recognize them." False prophets make for bad trees and bad trees produce bad fruit and bad trees are burned in the fire.
2007-09-03 14:25:41 · answer #5 · answered by shannon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, because it makes them re-examine their beliefs, and if they get lost, it's because of what is going on in that person's mind, and not the fault of the challenger.
Many people grow up in a religion and never hear any other ideas or examine their beliefs, and when they are challenged, they sometimes realize that's that not what they actually believe.
(I'm not criticizing religion here, just those who don't really examine their beliefs.)
2007-09-03 14:23:59 · answer #6 · answered by YouCannotKnowUnlessUAsk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel like since I stopped believing in god I have been set free. I don't feel like I need to find hidden meaning in everything I do or pray to something that's not there for something that Im not going to get anyway. It was too much pressure thinking there was someone there watching and judging me all the time.
2007-09-03 14:18:21 · answer #7 · answered by littletricky 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, I don't think it would be your fault. If they can't have enough faith in what they believe in, that's their problem. I don't expect anyone to keep my faith where it should be but me.
Of course, if you are mean about it, and push them too far until they loose it with you, then it's your fault. Just trying to have a discussion and asking questions shouldn't lead to loss of faith.
2007-09-03 14:20:46 · answer #8 · answered by odd duck 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
People will be judged by the decisions they make. However, there is a verse that says,
Mar 9:42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
2007-09-03 14:20:40 · answer #9 · answered by ? 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Matthew 18:6 - But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
2007-09-03 14:21:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋