# What atheists think, and why (in re: GEEPERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 27, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150 "2012-04-27T16:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/181 "2012-04-30T17:29:58Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > I couldnt convert to Islam just based on their lack of respect for women, and crazy teachings like Adam being 90 ft tall. [stage whisper] Should we tell him? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/182 "2012-04-30T17:31:28Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > You would still claim it was a hoax! Jesus raised people from the dead in his day. That didn’t convince the skeptics back then. Is there biblical support for this skepticism about raising the dead? Was it just a “I didn’t see it so I don’t believe it” type thing, or does it say they saw Lazarus (or whomever) post resurrection and didn’t believe he was ever dead, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/183 "2012-04-30T17:35:11Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > I said objects were flying across the room. Does objects fall off the shelf and then shoot midair in a horizontal motion? Gee I thought gravity made objects fall down vertically. My sister experienced some “poltergeist” activity at work, which completely baffled her and her co-workers. These incidents abruptly stopped when a slightly odd and shy young man left the company. What do you think is more likely? That he staged these events using the skills of, say, an amateur magician? Or that the events were of supernatural origin? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/184 "2012-04-30T17:39:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That simply does not work from a logical standpoint. [QUOTE=Lobohan] That’s not how reasoning works. That’s not how thinking works. We aren’t being mean to you, we’re trying to educate you that you aren’t using the correct tools to reason. [/QUOTE] I think you’ve both hit on the nub of the problem here. GEEPERS is not using logic or reason. I don’t think he intends to. His “argument” can be boiled down to the following: “It is what it is and therefore it is. So there! And if you don’t agree with me, then you are wrong, and you are persecuting me. La la la la la la, I can’t hear you!!” In a thread where person after person has patiently explained their atheist (non) beliefs, he just waves away their writing by effectively saying that he does not believe they wrote sincerely. You cannot discuss anything with such a person. It is pointless. They are not operating on any level of logic or reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/185 "2012-04-30T17:41:04Z")
Here’s another attempt to stay on topic: **GEEPERS** , what do you have to say about all the posters that claimed they weren’t angry at God because there was no God to be angry with in the first place? Do you think they were sincere? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/186 "2012-04-30T17:43:19Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Just thought I’d point out that at least some in this thread (I haven’t read all the responses) are conflating atheism, a lack of belief in god/gods/God (or the active belief that such things do not exist) with being areligious. For me, that ignores what I think to be the most likely scenario: that every religion known to man has got it wrong, both that there does exist a God. That’s quite true. I’ve always thought that if there is a god, it is the god of some other planet who actually told his people an accurate story of creation, and who did whatever godding he had to do 8 or ten billion years ago, and didn’t wait around so long for us. We just arose accidentally around a star that formed from the stuff of his inspired Big Bang. Perhaps he has brought all his people to heaven already, let’s just hope he doesn’t decide to clean up the universe on us. I see no reason to believe this, of course, so I’m still an atheist, but it is more plausible than any human religion, since it doesn’t go against any facts. ---
**Author:** ![GEEPERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@GEEPERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GEEPERS)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/187 "2012-04-30T17:44:53Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > So you don’t believe that if means anything if someone shares their personal experiences that they share in an attempt to convert you. Odd. So why is that only for other religions, and how do you claim there’s a single jot more proof of Christian theology than Voudon if the only qualification is “it feels right to me.” > Why should we accept your claims over those of the Cargo Cult? Do you personally verify every single scientific finding to prove that it is true? If not, then you are practicing “faith” in science. BTW, scientists are not infallible and do commit mistakes. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > Whereas a lack of respect for gays and lesbians and crazy teachings about a Loving God who will torture His children in a special realm-of-torment which He allows to exist, and you will be tortured for all eternity out of His Love if you do not worship the only Son who He sired upon a non-consenting woman and who He sacrificed to Himself to change a rule that He made and could’ve changed at any time He felt like it? > That makes perfect sense. I knew that was coming. Ok, I allowed myself to fall in your little trap. Sad that you have to resort to such measures though. Obviously, your comments demonstrate an extreme dislike of Christianity. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > Largely because, ya know, that didn’t actually happen back then. > As for God not “bothering to appease” someone’s demands for proof… what kind of a weak, impotent, whiny dumbass God do you worship who can’t change someone’s mind? You actually believe in a deity which is not omnipotent? > Yet again, it would be trivially easy for any omniscient, omnipotent God to provide limitless proof to anybody at all. The fact that no such proof is forthcoming should suggest more than a few things to you. I believe in a God who respects man’s free will to do whatever the heckfire he wants, and will not force himself upon man. You want to find God, you gotta seek him with an open heart and mind. Going to church would be a start. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > “Experts were also apologetic, noting that the study likewise did not calculate for the variable influence of the participants’ sun signs, or general non-religious good vibes, or the impact of demons from the 7th circle of Hell. Investigators note that they controlled for the impact of demons from both the 5th and 6th circles of hell, but their Hellometer suffered technical glitches which ruled out a solid trial of 7th circle demons’ influence.” More angry nonsense not worth acknowledging. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/188 "2012-04-30T17:45:04Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > I couldnt convert to Islam just based on their lack of respect for women, and crazy teachings like Adam being 90 ft tall. Can you prove conclusively that Adam was NOT 90 feet tall? I mean, there is a book that millions of people believe in that says he was. Where in the bible does it give Adam’s exact height? Go look, I’ll wait… So I guess Adam was 90 feet tall. Because a book and a lot of devout people say so. And you can’t prove that Adam was less than 90 feet tall. ---
**Author:** ![GEEPERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@GEEPERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GEEPERS)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/189 "2012-04-30T17:46:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Here’s another attempt to stay on topic: **GEEPERS** , what do you have to say about all the posters that claimed they weren’t angry at God because there was no God to be angry with in the first place? Do you think they were sincere? No I don’t. The fact that atheists are extremely passionate and relentless in attacking Christianity and the Bible suggests otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/190 "2012-04-30T17:48:22Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Obviously, your comments demonstrate an extreme dislike of Christianity. This is what I was saying earlier: it’s evident you don’t know much of anything about atheism (or Islam or other religions) except through the framework of what Christianity teaches about them. Going backward again: What claims do you expect atheists to agree with, and how do we compare the truthfulness of one religion against another? I don’t think Adam being 90 feet tall (if Islam teaches that) makes any less sense than Adam living to 900 or lots of other religious claims. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/191 "2012-04-30T17:51:03Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > No I don’t. The fact that atheists are extremely passionate and relentless in attacking Christianity and the Bible suggests otherwise. So, I was lying about not believing in god, or was I lying about not hating a god that I don’t believe in? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/192 "2012-04-30T17:54:12Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > No I don’t. The fact that atheists are extremely passionate and relentless in attacking Christianity and the Bible suggests otherwise. Since nothing fruitful can come from my exchanging views with someone who thinks I am a liar, I think I’ll stop conversing with you until something along the lines of a sincere apology from you to those who have tried to communicate with you in this thread is made. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/193 "2012-04-30T17:56:25Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > No I don’t. The fact that atheists are extremely passionate and relentless in attacking Christianity and the Bible suggests otherwise. Oh we’ve ripped into Islam as well. There aren’t too many Shintoist posting but if they were as ill informed as yourself, well we’d go at their arguments as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/194 "2012-04-30T18:17:39Z")
Heck, Adam being 90 feet tall isn’t particularly comical or ridiculous in the overall context. Assuming Eve was of comparable height, and there was a rapid shrinking in human size in the generations that followed, to where Noah (nine generations later) was more-or-less modern-human sized (otherwise he and his family would have been by far the largest animals on the Ark). Of course, there is the small matter of the hugely-long lifespans mentioned in _Genesis_, where you’d have people who were thirty or forty feet shorter than their still-living great-grandparents. Still, it’s seems like a petty nonsensical detail to dismiss an entire religion, among the thousands of other petty nonsensical details one could choose. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/195 "2012-04-30T18:20:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Heck, Adam being 90 feet tall isn’t particularly comical or ridiculous in the overall context. Assuming Eve was of comparable height, and there was a rapid shrinking in human size in the generations that followed, to where Noah (nine generations later) was more-or-less modern-human sized (otherwise he and his family would have been by far the largest animals on the Ark). > > Of course, there is the small matter of the hugely-long lifespans mentioned in _Genesis_, where you’d have people who were thirty or forty feet shorter than their still-living great-grandparents. > > Still, it’s seems like a petty nonsensical detail to dismiss an entire religion, among the thousands of other petty nonsensical details one could choose. I thought the Nephilim were supposed to be the Giants (we appear as grasshoppers comparatively). A&E were normal height, just extremely old… ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/196 "2012-04-30T18:27:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Heck, Adam being 90 feet tall isn’t particularly comical or ridiculous in the overall context. Assuming Eve was of comparable height, and there was a rapid shrinking in human size in the generations that followed, to where Noah (nine generations later) was more-or-less modern-human sized (otherwise he and his family would have been by far the largest animals on the Ark). > > Of course, there is the small matter of the hugely-long lifespans mentioned in _Genesis_, where you’d have people who were thirty or forty feet shorter than their still-living great-grandparents. > > Still, it’s seems like a petty nonsensical detail to dismiss an entire religion, among the thousands of other petty nonsensical details one could choose. can anyone confirm/deny that Muslim teaching is that Adam was 90’ tall? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/197 "2012-04-30T18:28:25Z")
Heck, I’m only going by the facts GEEPERS presents in his arguments. If he says Islam says Adam was 90 feet tall, I’ll do him the courtesy of assuming he did the necessary research and not, as a less generous person might, conclude he’s just talking out of his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/198 "2012-04-30T18:31:01Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > But atheists boldly proclaim that there is no life after death. I would think a belief in the supernatural would contradict that claim. > > As for UFOS and vampires, I wouldn’t immediately discount them unlike atheist’s MO. Do you realize that your religion claims that souls go to heaven or hell or purgatory or whatever right away, and don’t hang around? If there were ghosts, it would pretty much contradict basic Christian belief. Vampires? Really? As for UFOs, there is nothing physically impossible about them in essence, but I’ve been waiting around for 45 years for real evidence, and it keeps getting further and further away. You might try to think skeptically about them, and wonder why there aren’t tons of recorded sightings now that everyone and his brother carries a video camera in the phone. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/199 "2012-04-30T18:31:51Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Do you personally verify every single scientific finding to prove that it is true? Yet again, caught in your failing rationalizations, you try to change the subject rather than addressing the failings in your argument. Of course there’s no reason for one of us to take any of your Revealed Truths any more seriously than Voudon devotee’s claims. Which is why you’re changing the subject. Of course, you’re also engaging in predictable, if ineffective, theist attacks on atheism. Science does not require faith, as it provides proof. We know that if we follow certain procedures, we get certain results. We also can see the track record that science has. We also have peer review, which cuts down on unrecognized errors. The idea that recognizing the facts about scientific inquiry is equal to blindly believing in creation-myths is not exactly kosher. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > Ok, I allowed myself to fall in your little trap. […] Obviously, your comments demonstrate an extreme dislike of Christianity. Ah yes, my “trap” whereby I showed that your reasons for proclaiming Christianity the One True Path actually fall down and aren’t standards you honestly hold when looking at all other religions on the planet. Bonus points for seeing yet more persecution inherent in a simple statement of fact. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > You want to find God, you gotta seek him with an open heart and mind. Going to church would be a start. Pretty lame God. What, He is omnipotent and omniscient, but can’t figure out a way to bring His word to me without me going to a brick-and-mortar building? Hell, Google is better at communication and persuasion than your deity. Of course, as we’ve already established, your rationalizations work for every religion on the planet. So I’d have no more reason to go to your church than I do to go to the local Hindu temple. Of course, if you were paying any attention to this thread you’d have seen them I’m a not. Not that I’m putting it past you to try to suggest to Jews need to become Christians to be doin’ it right. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > More angry nonsense not worth acknowledging. Ah, GEEPERS Dodge #7. Either that or you actually don’t recognize the analogy and instead of comprehending it, decided that it must be angry. Also since you weren’t able to comprehend it, you can’t respond to it with anything other than “nuhn uhhhn!” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150/200 "2012-04-30T18:42:05Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Do you personally verify every single scientific finding to prove that it is true? If not, then you are practicing “faith” in science. BTW, scientists are not infallible and do commit mistakes. I was wondering when your ignorance about science would come out. Any significant finding does get verified by people who would just love to prove it wrong. Any significant finding gets reproduced - or falsified. Does “cold fusion” mean anything to you? And science not only recognizes that scientist makes mistakes, the whole process is built around this recognition. Paper reviewers look for mistakes. If a paper gets through with a mistake there are letters - and the paper gets pulled. I personally know of just such a case. > [@](#): > > I knew that was coming. Ok, I allowed myself to fall in your little trap. Sad that you have to resort to such measures though. Obviously, your comments demonstrate an extreme dislike of Christianity. So, your comments showed an extreme dislike of Islam. Want to explain why this kind of stuff is okay for you and not for them? BTW, if I were a Martian evaluating religion, and had to compare a religion whose prophet/Messiah/son of God didn’t last a week in the big city with one whose prophet died in bed after conquering and converting a large chunk of territory, I know who I’d think was actually on a mission from God. > [@](#): > > I believe in a God who respects man’s free will to do whatever the heckfire he wants, and will not force himself upon man. You want to find God, you gotta seek him with an open heart and mind. Going to church would be a start. As I mentioned I went to Temple with open mind for years as a kid. God eventually told me he didn’t exist. > [@](#): > > More angry nonsense not worth acknowledging. Whoosh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-atheists-think-and-why-in-re-geepers/620150.md?page=11)