Atheists, do you believe christians have any merit?

Question

Well, considering that christianity as a whole is more unified, as I've learned than Atheists... Do you cast aside the christian as being worthless creatures with no value because we believe? Or... do you see some truths in the values we hold?

Let me give you my tidbit--CHRISTIANS HAVE HUMAN VALUE AND THE VALUE ENDOWED TO US WHEN WE ACCEPTED GOD, but...

you may go on ranting. I just want to see to what extent you despise us?

Answer 1

I do not despise Christianity. I simply believe that I don't need religion by any name to be a good person. What values do you hold that Buddist don't. Most religions, Christian or not, come with the same principles attached.


The difference between an atheist and any of them is that most atheists believe that we choose our morality. It's is not born in us. It is not inherent. It's a choice. I choose to work. I choose to volunteer at the local women's shelter. I choose work at the soup kitchen. I choose to work with teenage mothers to teach them responsibility of being examples to their children. I choose to lecture teenagers on the importance of working for your community. The list does go on, but my good works are not at issue here. My values are.

I do all of this by choice, not because of a promise of an eternal reward or eternal damnation. I hold nothing to your values. I hold my own just fine. Thank you.

BTW-If you met me, would you know that I'm not like you?

Answer 2

I like to think that most atheists do not think on those terms. Just because you believe something different then I do does not mean you are worthless (whatever that means.) Most people generally have the same values. I have never heard an atheist tell a christian that they were going to burn in hell for all eternity and that the are evil heathens. To me that shows more of the idea of a person being worthless.

I do not agree that Christians are more unified. If they were we would be in a lot more trouble then we are now because of the threat of theocracy. Most Christians are so busy arguing over one another that nothing is actually accomplished. Christianity is the same old dogmatic establishment it has always been. There is very little progress.

Edit: I am not ranting. I simply do not agree with you. I give each person an equal chance. If they turn out to be a douche then it really doesn't matter what religion they are. If you think that these answers are hateful then you might be a little overly sensitive.

Answer 3

I believe that certain CHRISTIANS have merit, but not CHRISTIANITY...as in, the people: yes, the religion: no. Also, I can think that there are at least SOME morals in the Bible, but it was not the BIble that first introduced them, maybe you need the threat of eternal damnation to be a decent person, but I do not, I try to be decent because I want to and because I feel it is the right thing to do, you may to but ask yourself, if it wasn't for your idea of eternal damnation, would you STILL be such a "nice" person? Judging by the way you seem to have some sort of vendetta (judging by the apparent vindictiveness in your statements) you apparently fail that test, but that is in my opinion only. I believe you have values, just nothing that I hold merit in, such as, I value that you believe, but I do not have any merit FOR the belief. As well as you don't think you should murder, well, neither do I, so we have common ground, but we come from two different sides of it. Truth and values cannot be easily seen side by side, values are individualized, while truth is usually for a more broad populance...I hope that I somehow made a point in this...and make of it as you will. Hope I helped ^_^

Answer 4

It is interesting that you say that Christians are more unified than atheists... as I have seen, there is not unity within the church, even within specific churches themselves. Hence the various sects of belief. Catholicism broke off into Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Protestantism has splintered into hundreds if not thousands of sub-sects... as with all things, atheism will have its variety.

As for the values you hold, at its core Christianity is similar to the major religions of the world. The only difference being the way it is presented and the subtext used. Many of these core values seem to be intrinsic to the very nature of the human race. Therefore many of the values you hold dear, I also do.

As I can only reply of my own personal opinion, I do not feel that any human is a worthless creature, no matter what they believe. I can respect someone for who they are, not their personal religious affiliations.

Answer 5

Not atheist (agnostic) but...

Do I believe Christians have merit? Of course they do. They're people.

Do I believe ChristianITY has merit? Jury's still out on this one. On the one hand some aspects of what Jesus purportedly preached is good - tolerance of others, goodwill, etc. But one problem is the way it is interpreted and vilified by its own adherents. Furthermore, I don't believe that any God that might exist a) cares that much about humans and b) would do the things stated in the Bible. Lastly, of course, agnostic means that the jury's still out on whether any divine being exists or existed.

Answer 6

I'm not an athiest per say, but I know quite a few of them. They would most likely say that the value of a person is not tied to their spiritual beliefs. A quality person is a quality person and there is a lot more to judge a person by than their spirituality. Even in spirituality it's more about what you do with it and how you treat it than what it is exactly you believe.

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A good point was brought up. Do you see any value in "non believers"? You just said yourself that you received your value when you accepted God. Does that mean that those who will not accept God lack any intrinsic value?

Answer 7

The only time I feel any negativity toward Christians is when they attempt to push their beliefs on me through manipulating the legal system, preaching on the streets, trying to enter our children's schools and make God part of the curriculum, or give false information about the safety of abortion.

Not all Christians do this, but many do. And those people are worth being despised.

No one can mandate God, and people who try are severly misguided.

I do not despise Christians. For the most part, they are very good people.

Answer 8

I cannot see the christian as being anything. I refuse to place these types of characteristics on an entire group of people. I may not respect the christian religion or beliefs but I do respect many of the values that are taught by the religion. I see each christian as an individual. I have no respect for those who are intolerant of my opinion or try to convert me as I do not try to convince or convert anyone else. I generally keep my opinions to myself for fear of unintentionally offending someone. I believe in the value of individuals based on individual experiences.

Answer 9

Of course Christians have merit. They have the same merit at any other human being. Christian values are, by and large, the same values as are held by other members of the society.

Answer 10

I cannot believe that an atheist would say that I have no merit as a person and that I am worthless because I am a Christian.
That would indicate prejudice/bigotry.