Oh, shit. Satan told me that was just a standard part of the conversion to atheism contract. Is it too late to back out? I mean, I did sign in blood and everything.
Essentially, theists argument is “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” Mind slams shut. There’s really no other possible outcome when you argue with a brick.
And that is of course if you assume there are just two sides…
You’ve been talking to too many fundaresentalist Evangelicals. Throughout the Christian community Evangelicals are known for their strain of anti-intellectualism. If you read anything the pope has been writing lately, he’s been talking a lot about the relationship between reason and faith.
Essentially, this is why I participate in some threads: To point out how uniquely rational some atheists are. :dubious:
In his defence, this is a sumation of the type of theist that is sought out for make good TV.
It is another way of saying that many ‘hard’ theists refuse to listen to reason, or are afraid to question through fear of damnation.
I once thought that in a theist (not all) there is a tiny part of them that is an atheist but the vast majority of the rest of them has been conditioned to live in fear of questioning theism/the existence of God.
I once thought that. I am no Richard Dawkins.
No, I have no newsletter. I provide information that helps people help themselves. That information has stopped a few from catching the bus, among other things.
Yes, there are as many beliefs as there are people, no two are alike. However, most beliefs are unnecessary to living a fulfilling life. They can be like prisons keeping one from self actualization and joy.
You’ve got a point there. I grew up in the Bible Belt, where that attitude is more prevalent.
My point evaded you, apparently.
I hope to achieve a common ground and tolerance for both atheists and the religious.
Hopefully, no one here will try to convert anyone to their side, but just try to understand different pov’s.
And hopefully atheists will let up on mocking spiritual folks and just accept them, realizing that being spiritual does not make us “stupid”… just like the spiritual/religious will hopefully accept those who do not acknowledge or recognize God, and never will…
Sounds good to me, JohnnyEnigma.
I think that many do live in fear. But I think about the Apostle Paul. He had doubts and admitted to them. There are some things that I don’t like about Paul, but his honesty has been comforting.
No, that is not a description of the essential theistic point of view. Fundamentalists are a minority of Christians.
But the OP is about the threads at the Straight Dope.
(Talk about being in the Bible Belt, yesterday at one point I was one mile from the Southern Baptist Convention in one direction and one mile from a called meeting of the General Assembly of a Presbyterian denomination in the other. All I needed was rain on the windshield and music from Psycho or Babel.)
fervour, you don’t sound entirely enthusiastic about your new frame of mind. Go down to Gulf Shores. Lie on the white sand. Breath in and out with the waves and recenter yourself. Do some thinking and do some feeling. Not everything is decided by emotions, but not everything is determined by logic alone. Damn. I love Alabama.
For some reason, I have a complete and utter inability to devote any more respect to theism than I would to an adult who still believes in the Tooth Fairy.
It’s not that I don’t acknowledge god, or recognize god. It’s that there is no god.
I can’t possibly accept theism. If these threads have resulted in anything it’s demonstrating that theism doesn’t really deserve acceptance.
Because there’s no room for atheists?
Diversity doesn’t mean ‘two kinds of Christians’.
than is it fair to say you have a low tolerance for theists? Not good, catsix, not good at all…
that’s fine and you’re entitled to your beliefs… but there are people out there who disagree. It doesnt’ make them less revelant than you. They just think differently is all…
you don’t ever have to accept theism. But to not accept theists is outright intolerant.
I accept you and your belief system, and I respect your beliefs even if I disagree… 
I have a question. It’s an honest question based on my observations… why is it that some people need to bash opposing belief systems in order to rationalize their own beliefs?
For instance, I’ve seen former catholics who have joined religions like the assembly of God bash catholicism … it’s as though they need to identify with, yet tear apart catholicism in order to validiate their own beliefs. Why can’t they just join that religion and leave it at that? Why do people do this? I’d really like to know.
I’m a catholic, and I believe what I do without comparing it to non-catholic (protestants) or non believers. I don’t even know what protestants believe, and I seriously don’t care… I’m happy for them whatever it is… but it does not affect me in my life whatsoever… And I’m not about to bash them or put them down simply because they don’t believe as I do… I mean, wouldn’t that be intolerance of the highest order? I think so…
You believe that atheists mock “spiritual folks” and think being spiritual necessarily makes them stupid? Not good, Johnny, not good at all.
And btw, catsix said that he/she had no respect for theism, not theists.
When it comes to the issue of theism vs. atheism, what other way is there to go about it? The atheist shows why believing in fantastic claims without evidence is irrational and the theist has various arguments as to why God/gods exist.
This sums up my viewpoint as well.
Even though I am an agnostic, I find that most of the threads are condescending, if not downright hostile, toward Christians. If I were a Christian (which I’m not, I’m agnostic) I wouldn’t participate in a single thread on SDMB. I certainly don’t believe there is a God, especially a Judeo-Christian God, but far as I am concerned it’s not my place to berate, convert, or question someone elses religious beliefs - especially in the unproductive way that hallmarks yet another SDMB religion-bashing thread.
- Honesty
Can I point out that the theists are not completely innocent of condescending behaviour. One particular one that irks me is the use of language that implies that Atheists are simply ‘not recognising’ God, as if God’s existence is a given and that we Atheists are living in denial!
Well, it depends on what question you are asking. A mimimum requirement on rationality is that you think that if you believe X, then people with beliefs contrary to your own are false. You know, unless you reject the law of non-contradiction, in which case you are just insane. So accepting atheism logically entails rejecting theism, and thinking theists are wrong, and not accepting their beliefs. Add to that the belief (which is well-founded, IMO, especially if you look at laws concerning sexual morality and the like) that theists are responsible for a lot of harm done to the principles of liberty that are theoretically central to this country, and you have a basis for hostility to the theistic outlook.
If you mean, “Why do people have to violently attack opposing belief systems?”, that is a question of human psychology. Nobody can be a bigger asshole than a convert–to theism or atheism.
I don’t think this is true at all. There are a lot of people who participate in these threads who are quite knowledgeable about both sides of the debate. I don’t count myself among the most knowledgeable of the bunch, but I have taught philosophy of religion at the university level for years and have read thousands of pages, written by well-informed and highly intelligent theists and atheists alike, arguing every aspect of the case. I may not know as much as some, but I think I may be bold enough to reject the label ‘ignorant.’