For mature, adult Atheists only...?

Question

When a child or a very young person comes on R and S and asks a question that's an obvious embarassment to your beliefs, do you think you should counsel with that young person?

I have some adult friends who are Atheists and I was wondering if you ever feel embarassed by some of the silly, lame and ridiculous questions asked by juveniles on the R and S?

As logical and intelligent people, do you feel the need to correct them or guide them in some way? After all, they are young and some of them could use your wisdom! Do you ever advise them about the questions they ask?

I appreciate your answers so far, but it's pretty easy to tell a mature person from the young, inexperienced ones by the questions they ask and the answers they give. I have actually guessed a couple of their ages exactly! (They tend to be very open in their e-mails.)

I'm not suggesting censorship. I'm talking about an adult advising a young friend about Atheism!

To, thewolfskoll---yes, but the questions I'm seeing are mindless, silly, full of ridicule and illogical. These are Q and A's that are demeaning to all Atheists.

And the same could be said of young Christians, Pagans, Muslims, etc. It's just that I'm seeing a lot of it from young Atheists tonight.

Rin--thumbs up on your answer, but one young Atheist actually asked about Jesus having diarrhea. These types of questions aren't for learning or understanding...they are ridicule and embarassing to the young person. Shouldn't someone of their own belief tell them so?

People please understand, I have the greatest respect for anyone asking a real question out of a desire to learn! I love that spirit in people.

I'm talking about the young people who come on here, claiming to be Atheist, asking rude, ridiculous, illogical, and mindless questions without knowing what it truly means to be Atheist. Shouldn't they be guided or counseled in some way by those who are older and know better?

Bruce J---there is no judgement in my question.

free---I'm not real sure what your rant is about. Maybe you should go back and read the question again. And just so you will know, I'm neither Atheist nor Christian.....Peace!

Tash-Viva......thank you for understanding the question! I appreciate your answer! I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the answers that have nothing to do with the question. Again, thanks!

StormBringer---I'm not asking you to teach Atheism to kids. Go back and read the question again. There are no hidden agendas or motives in my question. I said exactly what I meant.

Answer 1

It depends on the situation. If I see someone who is very fired up and bursting with thoughts, but takes it a bit too far and rants etc, I gently remind them that they aren't portraying themselves or their cause positively. I sometimes explain a more tactful way for them to express themselves.
If they give factually incorrect information, I politely correct them.
If they come here with the intent of being obnoxious and stirring up the Christians with insults etc, I bluntly tell them to grow up or leave. I often add a comment that not all atheists act that immature or silly.
And yes I am embarrassed at times.

Edit: You're welcome! :) Some of the other answers gave me a headache...I think some people didn't properly read what you wrote.

Answer 2

Oh yes, thankyou . I am a logical intelligent person most of the time... I have my moments in the sun. :)

Well the age for access is 13 years and up... so by juvenile you mean a teenager, I suppose.

Some of the very literate ones can be a little hard to recognize by their avatar, and going by the level of naivety is no real guide, otherwise I try where warranted to take the question as a sincere one and answer appropriately.

Sometimes I'm certain the person is taking the piss and I will respond accordingly .... but I sometimes later learn that it was a genuine teen... and that's an unfortunate lesson for both of us.

Answer 3

Don't do online what you wouldn't do in person.

So, a big resounding NO. Run away from other peoples children when they ask about God. Go to the loo and lock yourself in, or something. Because no good can come out of preaching to children.

Most people become atheist in the search for truth, because the God hypothesis doesn't gel with them. Trying to preach atheism to a child is really unfair. Children aren't capable of living with their fears as easily as adults are. For example, they cannot visualize that once their parents are dead, they really really are gone. It'd spook them very much.

So if I cannot preach Atheism to a real child, by statement 1, I wouldn't do it to an online one either.

P.S. Why do I get the feeling that your question wasn't about children asking embarrassing questions online?

EDIT: In that case, I'm going to say that it is so difficult to gauge the age of a person in R&S, seeing that some pretty juvenile questions are asked by adults, I'm just going to have a go ahead and answer their questions. Sorry to have read extra stuff into your question.

Answer 4

'...asks a question that's an obvious embarassment to your beliefs...'


I'm not sure what this means. How could someone else be an embarassment to MY beliefs? We all believe different things when it comes to religion. I think the large majority of people understand that religion is a very personal thing. For instance, two Christians surveyed at random will have very different ideas about thier religion. I know that SOME Christians bomb abortion clinics. I know that SOME Christians disparage homosexuals. I know that not ALL of them feel this way.

In short, a person that would judge my values by what someone else says is not a very good judge of people to begin with.

Answer 5

I NEVER feel embarrassed by an honest question. I not only feel the need, I feel duty bound (by life) to answer their questions as honestly as I can. We are all born devoid of knowledge and it is only through honestly searching for answers that we can learn the lessons we need to learn.

EDIT: On those questions I try to be firm. If you do anything that encourages them instead of being honest about how childish they are being then you are doing them a disservice. In order to teach a child that something is unacceptable you can NOT act like it is okay, you must NOT accept the behavior. I'm not saying that you ridicule them but you need to say WHY it is unacceptable or at least tell them what they look like while acting like that.

Usually, if someone is acting like that, there is a problem other than the obvious. The reason I know this is because I was one of those kids when I was growing up. Honesty is the only thing that helped me. People who reacted to what I was doing, the way I expected them to act, only re-enforced my behaviors and expectations. Only when people called me on my BS was I forced to examine what I was doing.

Answer 6

I never feel the need to advise anyone over the internet. It isn't that I don't feel that people can benifit from any advice I might have, but I feel there is a huge process loss (the inability to form new ideas) with a medium such as the internet. Now, if I was at work or the grocery store, and I heard someone who I though could gain some insight by advice I might give them, then yes, I would be willing to sit down and explain my views and beliefs.

Answer 7

You have raised a very pertinent point and I agree with you in principle.However,Internet is such an impersonal media and there being no way to know the age of the questioner,all answers fall in to a general category.I am sure,at times the young questioners may be too embarrassed or angry to fathom the reasons for many uncalled for comments or remarks.Is it possible to have some kind of an indicator if not age or some way to identify or recognize such questioners ?It's high time we devised a way out and thus make this wonderful media more relevant and useful.

Answer 8

Children and young adults are not mindless drones. If they ask a question (even what I would think of as a ridiculous one) with the intent to gain knowledge, I will answer them best I know how. Many of them haven't studied much about religion, so I don't think they are stupid for asking about it - that shows they have curious minds. I think a lot of us get jaded from hearing the same questions repeated over and over, but minors haven't as much experience in the area and sometimes don't recognize a cliched idea. So I will try to answer their question honestly as I see it.

Answer 9

If they ask a question about atheism, sure. If they are looking into religions, I feel no need to go spreading my atheist beliefs. Everyone has to choose for themselves, and people with religion are not automatically stupid or anything, they just have different beliefs.

So I guess it depends on the question. Since I treasure difference in people and cultures, I see no reason to stick my nose in where it isn't welcome when it comes to religion, however if someone is exploring what it means to be atheist then I'll speak up.

Answer 10

All I can do really is answer as best as my knowledge will allow me. I'm not offended by juvenile people because I'm secure in my beliefs and they only ask those questions so they can learn. You cannot learn unless you ask questions.

Beyond that I don't feel it's my responsibility to counsel anyone. It's their life and they're free to discover things for themselves. I would say most Atheists came to believe what they believe because of personal discovery and it should be personal for everyone.