Then you are not really religious are you? How are you choosing the precepts that you should follow? If that method is rational and logical then what you are following is a version of secular morality. Just because the decisions you happen to arrive at can be found by convulsing what’s written in the bible doesn’t make you a Christian.
I arrive at most of my decisions using secular principles, but I can just as easily justify anything I do using the bible. Does that make me a Christian?
What actions do you take that are uniquely Christian? What actions of yours necessitate a belief in Christianity?
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they aren’t open to your ideas. You’re also not being dismissed out of hand, I think you’ve received well thought out explanations as to why people believe you’re wrong.
As for being simple minded or deluded, I don’t think people should be judged based on one irrational belief they might have. I would judge a religious person as a whole, not just solely based on the religious part. But the OP is about the religious part, which I can easily say is simple minded and deluded. This isn’t me forcing my beliefs down your throat, it’s just me disagreeing. I would hope that you’d consider my argument and agree with me, but how is anyone forcing you to believe something different by debating a subject with you?
As for respect, why should I respect a world view that I think is harmful to society? :dubious:
Ah, so Der Trihs attributes all evils remotely related to religion to be committed due to the religion but all good to be done in spite of it or only as a cynical ploy.
It’s easier to do harm than good. The judgment ruining nature of religion means that a believer who is even trying to do good is by nature going to be mostly flailing about effectively randomly, only doing good by accident; being effective at doing good requires that your actions have some connection to the real world. In other words, religion is bad for doing good deeds for many of the same reasons it’s bad for designing an airplane. When you aren’t paying attention to reality it’s hard to do anything real at all well.
Nor is religion at all good for promoting benevolent impulses in the first place. On the contrary, it tends to push a concern for imaginary things like the soul, the afterlife, and the will of God while waving aside actual human suffering and death as unimportant, or even desirable. To a true believer what does it matter if millions die? They are just going to the afterlife. We see that argument used right here on the SDMB fairly often in fact. Feeling genuine concern for others (instead of emoting over their “souls” while they suffer) pretty much requires that one ignores the dogma of religion and pays attention to the real people in the real world.
I find the it illuminating what portions of the arguments are picked out and which are ignored. When it was stated that Evangelical Atheists are, well evangelizing, and therefor just as bad as those that they hate the most…
nothing…
those who argue for an open mind, however, are EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL.
oh, and i’m also glad that Evangelical Atheists are psychic. They Know My World View! never having met me, they still do!
That’s simply not true. Evangelizing is just irritating, it’s trying to force their delusions into law and killing people that makes the believers so dangerous.
Is discussing your opinion on religion evangelizing? Are there atheists going door to door trying to convince religious people to give up their religion?
What am I missing here?
Why don’t you address some of the arguments directed at you instead of claiming that no one understands you?
The objections against religion, by atheists in this thread, have been explained over and over again. All you do in response is complain that no one is being open minded. You clearly don’t understand what being open minded means, so I suggest you stop using the phrase. Here is a video explaining the concept.
Oh, and it doesn’t take a psychic to know your world view. I’m assuming that what you yourself say in this thread about your world view is actually your world view. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I know several religious people who have had mental break downs. I know many atheists who are just as happy and at peace as the religious people I know. Some of the people I know who were religious, that no longer believe are less judgemental and more at peace than when they were believers.
I believe it is a matter of being able to think for one’s self. Some believers are happy in believing they will have a reward after they are dead, so they really are living to die. It is (in my mind a personal thing) so it doesn’t matter if a person believes or not, just what works for them. That, I believe, is why many people change from one belief system to another, or do not believe at all.
