A lot of Atheists I know just talk about how they're not Christian and they don't believe in God. Atheist means that you don't believe in ANYTHING. Their are other religions out there, so why do they just talk about not believing in Christianity?
By the way, I'm not making a generalization. I'm just talking about the people I know.
2007-12-21 02:00:38 · 19 answers · asked by kdolley 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Sorry about saying Atheists don't believe in anything. I don't know that much about it.
2007-12-21 02:12:01 · update #1
I think that is just a product of American culture, since most Americans claim to be some form of Christian. Atheists in India probably say they don't believe in the Hindu gods because that is what most people believe.
2007-12-21 02:08:59 · answer #1 · answered by NOJ 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would guess that of those in R&S who are religious about 95%+ seem to be Christian, so I imagine the atheists are merely addressing the majority... I have only seen a few Jews, Muslims or Hindus in R&S.
That and many of those who are Atheists were raised Christian (or Catholic) and associate with that religion more so than the others.
Note that Atheists merely do not believe in a God; technically they could still accept religions such as Buddhism which do not have a God (or gods).
2007-12-21 10:10:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most atheists who say they don't believe in God are talking about the general god, not the Christian God specifically.
Similarly Muslims who say they believe in Allah, are actually referring to the same god that the Christians call Jehovah or God.
God is both a specific entity (in the Christian sense) and a description of a type of entity.
2007-12-21 10:06:01 · answer #3 · answered by J P 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's just a matter of the pervading religion in that particular culture. I live in the UK, which is historically a predominately Christian country. So some atheists here tend to talk about their atheism with respect to Christianity. That just happens to be the dominant framework within which people discuss God. In countries where other religions dominate, you would expect it to be different.
2007-12-21 13:43:07 · answer #4 · answered by garik 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not believe in any deity no matter what religion it thrives in. I commonly discuss biblical creationism because I am an American surrounded my biblical creationists. If I lived in the middle east I could be ranting about the Quran. ...or maybe not, too many Muslims are dangerous extremists out there...
Also, I do believe in many things. I believe that the world is round, that there is no god, that I have good friends, that I am going to die, etc.
2007-12-21 10:13:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Atheists do not believe in any deities. There are many other things that we do indeed believe in. When you state that atheists believe in nothing I think you are confusing atheism with something more like nihilism. The two are not the same.
2007-12-21 10:11:14 · answer #6 · answered by ndmagicman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because Christianity is the particular brand of insanity which surrounds the vast majority of atheists, and it is this particular faith which most often tries to convince us we'll burn in an eternal lake of fire if we don't undergo the blow to the head that is required for most of us to start beliving in an invisible sky god.
Atheists believe in lots of things. Math, science, logic, common sense... just not any fairy tales.
2007-12-22 18:59:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I bash Muslims equally.Hindu's ,pagans,wiccans,Jews,they don't try to intrude on my rights,Christians are CONSTANTLY attempting to regain the power they held for centuries...power they will NEVER be allowed to regain,due to the absolute brutality and depravity that a Christian run state dished out.Besides Muslims,no one else seems to be quite as ignorant.OH,and you guys have one HELL of a lying problem.You'll KNOW something is a lie,It's been irrefutably shown to be a lie many times,but you repeat it.Lying-est bunch I've ever seen.Then your PRIDE in being IGNORANT.No clue,nothing,zip,nada about TOE,no more than a preschooler,yet you c/p crap bashing TOE from a creationist website...crap you don't even understand,but the charlatan running the website knows it sounds good to the uneducated..COUNTS on you to be uneducated,and USES you to do his dirty work,spreading more lies.Lies YOU KNOW are lies.I despise willful ignorance,and I despise liars.Christianity is filled with both
2007-12-21 10:11:46 · answer #8 · answered by reporters should die 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Atheist means that you don't believe in ANYTHING."
No, that is nihilism.
This tends to be a US-dominated section of Y!A, so you tend to get many more Christian arguments (for and against).
Maybe the people you know live in a mostly Christian society too?
I don't believe in leprechauns, or Zeus, in just the same way I don't believe in 'God' or 'Allah'.
But Leprechaunists or Zeusists aren't running the show right now...or calling me an 'abomination'....or 'evil'.
2007-12-21 10:06:24 · answer #9 · answered by Bajingo 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
It means that you don't believe in deities, that's all. None of them. You're not a theist. However:
It's God that's on your money, God in your Pledge, not Allah or any other fictitious god. When a religious group is trying to hold back scientific progress or weasel ID into science class, it's Christians who are doing it, which is why I focus on Christianity, but I don't believe in any of them, and I will discuss any of them.
2007-12-21 10:05:32 · answer #10 · answered by Godless AM™ VT 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋