Interview with the freethinker

[Sahan]

I think Dawkins decided to go along the lines "Creationists spew angry garbage out of their mouths, but still their voice gets heard no matter how stupid their opinion, so maybe I should do the same except with Science and people will listen." It works sadly enough, and it seems scientists opinions otherwise get trampled on because they are too timid and lacking in bold words with strong connotation that people like. That being said, I haven't read his books, but that was the gist of what I got from an interview with him that I read.

[mountainmage]

I like to think I'm a passive atheist, but if people ask my thoughts, I speak honestly. Also, whenever I hear someone on T.V. thanking god for some "miracle" or whatever, I cringe slightly.

[Rainbow]

I am no longer calling myself atheist. Atheist has grown to mean the religion of Atheism, complete with radicals and bigots and moderates and everything that a religion has except arguably a God/god/g-d/gods/jedis. People that have no tolerance for religious people are downright stupid and hypocritical to a maximum. There is this movement of atheist assholes that have decided to preach about how all religious people are fools and on no basis. It starts as saying the crazies are crazy but so many atheist seem to just hate all religious ideas even when they are nothing more than a little supernatural belief. I do not believe in any sort supernatural occurrence and I don't have any any any suspicious beliefs about coincidences, but there is no reason that I should be right on this issue. Absolutely nothing in science would address the issue of believing in a higher power. These bad atheists have it that religious people are all fools for believing in their silly shit, but it's equally silly not to believe in it. This issue is literally the only one of its kind. There is nothing in life that is quite like the higher power/order to the universe/spirituality debate. Opinions on it can never be really justified. So many atheists call their opinions to believing in science and religious people to their form of god, but the "evidence" comes later. What a person actually believes is not based on what she later justifies her belief with. Belief in otherworldly things stands alone. There is no way you could really back up either belief. No way. I mean, sure, people evolve their beliefs, but it is my belief that this is not based on any kind of evidence but just out of a nowhere inside you that is a raw feeling and a true faith that there is or there isn't. You get that feeling and then you back up that feeling which is so much more and so much less than the real occurrences you try to explain it with. I don't believe you can argue religion. It's a yes or no question. Religion as faith, of course. Organized religion is another realm, but it is strange that people on both sides of yes and no think they can claim another person wrong when what they believe is at no explanation. People can gain and lose faith but it is not about something that another person told them, and atheists and theists are only describable by an inner feeling that there is or there isn't whatever kind of force, personified or vague and a god as Einstein described it. It bothers me that atheists have found a way to link science to their belief in its cliche. Actual atheism has nothing to do with evolution at all! Where the fuck does this connection come from? What really truly bothers me about certain atheists it that they feel so self-righteous when they strike down how definitely stupid religion is. It goes both ways, but I particularly get the feeling from bad atheists as opposed to bad theist that they feel smarter than everyone else for not buying into religion and then linking religion to faith at all. Faith is what draws people to religion and not the other way around. Faith is inside you or it isn't and if it is then the Bible can be true to you and if Faith isn't inside of you the Bible can just not resonate with you and if you're a jerk you can decide that it not resonating with you means that people with Faith, being the ones that believe in it, are dumb.
Note: this is all just a rant about the bad people, not everyone.
Tl;dr: Fuck you, read it.

[Sanjay]

I'm sure there are a lot of theists that wish they could just drop their label when other theists were assholes. But unfortunately it's still the best term for their worldview.

[LordRetard]

Personally, it's convenient for me because I'm not an atheist. But I agree with Rainbow about some of the things she said; between theists and atheists, the vast majority of them haven't really given it enough critical thought. At this point I'm convinced that many atheists prefer to call themselves atheists because they believe there's some prestige associated with "figuring it all out", like there's a prize for not believing everything that your parents did (NOTE: everyone here seems pretty smart, so you guys don't count). But to me it's always as I've thought, anyway, it doesn't seem like in picking an atheist or theist out of a crowd that either one of them is likely to really understand what they're talking about. As such, a lot of atheists pick atheism because it is just as convenient as a real religion.
tl;dr pretty much what Rainbow just said, but I like the sound of my own typing.

[smiley_cow]

Wall of text

Thank you. I get a lot of crap from some atheists for being a Christian some days, and I think it's a little ridiculous. I mean, I'm not an irrational person, I don't use my religion as an excuse to support bigotry or promote ignorance, yet because I believe in something I have no proof for, I'm delusional. I'm not hurting anybody by being a Christian, I'm not trying to force my beliefs on anyone else, and I've never been disrespectful of someone for choosing to believe something different than me. What should it matter so much to people who don't happen to choose to believe what I do? How am I hurting them?

I never understood why some atheists could get so angry when they here about Christians trying to convert people (sometimes legitimately, sometimes not) then turn around and start condemning people for not following their own beliefs. I mean forcing your belief system on someone else, or not respecting someone else's beliefs is wrong right? Why should it be okay just because you're an atheist?

I'm sure there are a lot of theists that wish they could just drop their label when other theists were assholes. But unfortunately it's still the best term for their worldview.

Yeah, I'm not horribly fond of the fact that as a Christian I'm dumped into the same group as creationists, anti-gay marriage protesters and Westboro baptists, but I like to think that just by being a sane/open minded Christian (at least I like to think I am) that I am helping show people that we're not all a bunch of crazies.

[mountainmage]

Within any sort of group based on similar ideals, there will be crazies. They don't represent the whole group. Just as some religious people have done tons of stupid things for a very long time, some Atheists are choosing to do dumb things themselves. That doesn't mean I'm not going to call myself an Atheist anymore, just that, as with any normal person, I'm going to shy away from said crazies. Atheism is saying you don't believe in god, how you act on that is a totally different thing altogether.

[n00berer]

When I read the article I was dismayed that the most relevant SMBC comic was neither shown nor mentioned. I was further surprised when I found a rather serious discussion on said frame. This should also help with the current theist vs. atheist debate. *edit - I added the votey.




http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=82792

Sorry if I broke the rules. I only made an account to post this because I thought it was clever and it is my duty as a savvy internet user to highlight my wit in any way possible no matter the context.

[LordRetard]

That's not a very funny webcomic. I browsed several, and they were universally unamusing.

This is a pretty upsetting thing to say.

[Edminster]

In reading that thread, I've come to the conclusion that they don't realise that Zach is not offering a theological argument.

n00berer: Welcome to the Forum! Why not read the Rules and post an introduction?

[slimredninja]

That was a great article I didn't realize Zach was such a brain. As for atheist I don't believe in them. I think in times of crisis they will call out to a greater power. Are we supposed to take their non belief on faith with no discernible proof? I'm no christian I believe there is something out there we don't understand but it may just as easily be Dagon or Cthulu as God. My one true conviction is no one else knows either no matter what they say. Heres as good of a guess as any & based off of near death experiences its more plausible then many.

[Cirtur]

I think Atheists do believe there is no higher power. I think if I were an atheist I couldn't bring myself to betray my own beliefs in my dying thoughts.

[GreenCrayon]

Are we supposed to take their non belief on faith with no discernible proof?

It's about as much as the other side demands.

Also, I like that comic, and it fitted in well with the discussion. You have earned the link in your sig.

[LordRetard]

That was a great article I didn't realize Zach was such a brain. As for atheist I don't believe in them.

HAHAH ATHEISTS DON'T BELIEVE IN BRAINS. I am so much smarter than everything.

[Cirtur]

Atheists don't believe in God, so that means they don't believe in the world that he created. How can you go through life not believing in THE WORLD atheists?