16 Common Myths About Atheists

i had posted this WAAAY back but it has since been taken down for some technical reason or another and it was a long dead thread, but now i feel the need to re-post this as i keep seeing many common myths about atheists being repeated.

Original Source
Myth #1:

Atheists hate Christians and Christianity. No, we dont. Personally, I do hate the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion, the dishonesty of most religions, and the way that they encourage people not to think or question, and not to trust or use their minds. But I dont dislike someone just because of their religion.

my personal example: my two best friends are devout christians, one is even studying to be a youth minister.

Myth #2

Most atheists started out as Christians, and stopped believing because of some bad experience with other Christians. Or maybe we simply started to question, to wonder what happened when we applied the standards of logic, reason and burden of proof to religion, as we already did to everything in our lives. Or, perhaps, we were never believers at all. It happens, you know.

my personal example: i became an atheist after reading the bible, not because of any particular bad experience. ok, technically i became an agnostic that looked at all religion and then decided upon atheism after a brief stint as a buddhist after reading the bible.

Myth #3

Atheists have no sense of morality, since morality comes from God. Ah, the old without fear of hell, there would be nothing to stop people from being bloodthirsty monsters argument. It may come as a surprise to most Christians, but there are reasons for being good other than fear of punishment - which isnt really a reason, anyway, and only shows Christians in a very bad light. Reasons like human empathy, genuine feelings for others, and, most importantly, rational principles. Behaving yourself just because daddy will spank you otherwise does not make you a nice child.

my personal example: i have on commandment that i always follow "don't be a butt" (that's the less profane way of stating the command). i also follow the wiccan command of "do no harm" just because it seems like a good philosophy.

Myth #4

Atheists are a unified group, like a church. Are we? I must have missed the memo, then.

If anything, Id say atheists are more diverse than Christians, because were less sheep-like, and dont accept things on faith, or from authority.

my personal example: ...i've never gone to a group meeting of atheists. they actually say gathering atheists is like herding sheep..

Myth #5

Atheists actually know, deep inside, that theres a God, as thats perfectly obvious; they are simply too proud and arrogant to admit the existence of something greater than themselves. Not exactly. You see, the existence of a god is only obvious if youve been brainwashed (either by others, or by your own irrationality) into believing it. We are truly convinced that theres no god, and are not in denial. Really. Im serious.

my personal example: um... i'm not in denial. that's about all i can say on that.

Myth #6

Atheists dont really know anything about Christianity. Again, it depends. Some certainly know more than others. However, religion is so ubiquitous that, like it or not, weve all had varying degrees of contact with it, with its teachings, and with believers. Besides, a lot of atheists are naturally curious. I, myself, have read the Christian Bible - more than once, in fact. Now, dear believer, ask yourself how many atheist books, magazines or essays you have read. Oh, I forgot, theyre all the work of Satan.

my personal example: i've read the bible 3 times now (1 NIV, 1 KJV, 1 catholic and i've read the coptic stuff that is left out of all 3) and am well versed in christian theology. i've also read most of the koran, a good deal of hindu religious texts, and much buddhist material as well as a plethora of ancient mythology.

Myth #7

Atheists lives are cold and empty, as they cant feel the joy and love that comes only from God. Really? Id never call my life cold or empty - I have the joys of friendship, love, family, and doing the things I love to do. And, whats more, Im self-sufficient, unlike anyone who says I dont know how anyone could live without God in their lives - as many Christians do.

my personal experience: i'm happy as a...thing that's really happy. i may currently be at a loss for figurative speech, but that's only because i'm so truly and deeply happy and satisfied with my life at the moment. it doesn't hurt that i have an amazing and wonderful girlfriend on top of all of the preexisting joy (in case you were wondering, she believes in god)

Myth #8

Atheists are depressive and nihilistic, since they believe theres nothing after death, and therefore theres no point to anything. On the contrary, we, unlike you, know how precious life is, because were aware that its our only one. And, this may come as a shock to you, but we can love our lives, we can feel the joy of being alive, because we dont believe that this is the devils world, or that this is just a test before the real thing. Life is precious, and its our own - not any gods.

my personal example: i

I was "raised" agnostic, well to put it in more simpler terms I was raised without being taught religion, not counting being with my former nun extremely Catholic grandma on weekdays due to my mom being at work.

I always thought she was telling me a story when she talked about religion, and one time when I was very young I said "This isn't real, right?" or something along those lines, and she flipped. I was confused since then. Years later, I identified myself officially as an atheist.

I was vehemently anti-Christian, it gave me no happiness, it felt phony and controlling.

More recently I drifted in and out of agnosticism and atheism, and to be honest, I while pretending to be content, I was depressed being an atheist, it was akin to being depressed that there was no such thing as, say, unicorns because they simply don't exist...

Then in early October something special happened... ^^;;;

Well, thats my story...

[edit on 12/5/2007 by Kacen]

as someone who is metaphysics/spirituality/occult/new age minded, I reject both christianity and atheism.

In fact, in my eyes, they are similar in that they seek to impose a limitation on "what is" and "what isnt", while the worldview I have subscribed to makes no claims whatsoever of what-is and what-isnt but defines TRUTH in terms like:

Effectiveness is the measure of truth.

I choose what I want truth to be

Everything is possible.

Consciousness is all there is.

I post this to continue to educate on the fact that there is a world beyond the tiresome and endless "evolution vs. creationism", "religion vs. science", "atheism vs. christianity" debate.



[edit on 5-12-2007 by Skyfloating]

You should have changed the title to "16 common myths about my atheist beliefs", for you are basically talking about how you feel about atheism and using your thoughts as the examples.

Not all atheists are exactly like you. For example, some of them do hate Christians.

I'm not an atheist, but as I recover from 30+ years of living in a Christian environment and 13+ years of being a Christian, I can't deny that I may one day end up as one. That said, I have to disagree with the point about not hating Christianity. As an ex-Christian I constantly find myself battling with a Christian mentality, doing things because that's what Christian programming dictates, and fighting with Christian assumptions while thinking about my spirituality from a post-Christian view. This struggle to let go of that brainwashing pisses me off. Do I hate Christians? No. Do I hate Christianity...perhaps hate is too strong a word, but I would say that, at the very least, I look upon it with significant contempt.

That was an awesome thread. I made that 'atheism, because reality is awesome' my msn name.

And it's so true, quite a few of those myths. And at the end of the day, it's all about judgement towards us from them. But i'm not going to rant about hypocrisy here.

I have a few friends i'll show this thread to.

reply to post by ben91069


but it's a tiny minority. just like a tiny minority of mormons believe in polygamy. if someone started a "myths about mormons" thread and brought up that modern mormanism condemns polygamy, they wouldn't call it "myths about my mormon beliefs"

this is about how most atheists feel.

These myths upset me so much.

I hope this is not really what all theists perceive us to be, but I like your explanations.

Good thread! You never cease to amaze me.

I don't believe in God but I'm not an atheist. Atheism or the strong belief that there is no God can be just as much a religious trap when concepts are solidified. When I say I don't believe in God-it means I neither believe or disbelieve in the standard concept of God -why? because I have not experienced God though I have experienced exquisite spiritual states. Open mindedness is the best state of mind in regard to some beyond-proof concepts not yet experienced. Otherwise you could end up like the Russian Stalinists or Chinese Maoists who so solidified their own concepts about atheism that they tortured and killed. They have absolutely no flexibility in their believe system. A Russian or Chinese prison run by atheists is much worse than any prison system of a European country of mostly Christians. And you can always tell where peoples minds are really at by how they treat the lowest of the low-criminals. Be honest would you rather be in a prison in Italy run by half-hearted Christians or a Russian Stalag or Chinese prison? At least the Christians might act more compassionate around Christmas and the essence of the story of Jesus is forgiveness therefore sub-consciously they are more inclined to cut you some slack

Originally posted by Electricneo
I don't believe in God but I'm not an atheist. Atheism or the strong belief that there is no God can be just as much a religious trap when concepts are solidified.

incorrect
another myth...

Myth #17: atheism is a strong belief that there is no god

fact: atheism is not believing in god

.
i'm not going to repost the whole thing that leads me into the next myth because it's too long

Myth #18: Stalinists and Maoists are atheists

fact: they are state-worshiping, therefore not really atheists. sure, maybe they're materialists, but they aren't actually atheists.

Be honest would you rather be in a prison in Italy run by half-hearted Christians or a Russian Stalag or Chinese prison? At least the Christians might act more compassionate around Christmas and the essence of the story of Jesus is forgiveness therefore sub-consciously they are more inclined to cut you some slack

ohhhh
you didn't just say that, did you?

wow..
no, no they aren't.
the atheist and the christian are equally compassionate and equally cruel. there has never been anything to show otherwise.

[edit on 12/6/07 by madnessinmysoul]

i can't believe this thread is already dead in the water when i see so many religious folk spreading these exact same lies about myself and fellow atheists.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


I guess they're just doing what they're always doing, hiding from the truth...

Another myth?

[edit on 8-12-2007 by AncientVoid]

An excellent post.

Myself, I'm an atheist, but I consider myself kind, compasionate, open minded, even spiritual, but just can't believe that there's a conscious creator.

I believe there is a source of energy that has gotten us so far, but it isn't conscious or aware of itself, it isn't an entity or a god or whatever...

I also believe it was Christianity that led me to thise route, and as a result I feel more pure being an atheist with buddhist beliefs than any bible lectures.

I think the world would be a better place without organised religion, at least the current dominant one's, although I have a lot of respect for hinduism having visited India.

reply to post by mr-lizard


huzzah, i'm also an atheistic buddhist (to an extent)

i love this one quote from the dalai lama:

"We must conduct research and then accept the results. If they don't stand up to experimentation, Buddha's own words must be rejected"

Same here...

I guess there's something about buddhism that makes sense. It's logic?

reply to post by Skyfloating


Well said, I feel much the same way. Or to quote Sarah Connor, No Fate but What We Make. No heaven but the one you shape, with your own hands.

-ADHD

The Christians will never be convinced that those myths aren't true. These myths aren't something they make up on their own. It's part of the brainwashing they get as children.

"Don't ever lose faith, look how EVIL and PITIFUL these other non-believers are!"

They will ignore all facts and evidence that suggest atheists have the same capacity for being good that they believe themselves to have. The blinders of religion always point away from facts. Why? Because one fact leads to another, which leads to another, which would show them "reality." And when the brainwashed discover reality, it is bad for the brainwashers.

I don't hate Christians or other religious people. I get tired of mythology being interjected into my life all the time... immensely tired of it. But most religious people are alright. I mostly just feel bad for them for wasting time in the only life they get, trying to secure good fortune for themselves in the one they think they're moving on to next.

Another myth people propagate about atheists is that we all believe science is infallible and its theories are absolutely correct. This ticks me off to no end because the foundations and core beliefs of science have changed countless times since the very idea of science came into being. If new evidence were presented that contradicted our theories about science today, our theories would change to better explain the evidence.

reply to post by AncientVoid


yeah...shows how it really isn't a religion in the classical sense, guess that's why einstein had a bit of a softspot for it.
it's the only religion that could actively deny all of its beliefs and the words of its founder.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul

Atheists actually know, deep inside, that theres a God, as thats perfectly obvious; they are simply too proud and arrogant to admit the existence of something greater than themselves. Not exactly. You see, the existence of a god is only obvious if youve been brainwashed (either by others, or by your own irrationality) into believing it. We are truly convinced that theres no god, and are not in denial. Really. Im serious.

Maybe you didn't notice, but saying that someone can only believe in God by being brainwashed or stupid, thus asserting your position as being superior to their's, is called arrogance. So number ten isn't really a myth, because every atheist I've talked to has resorted to calling Christians stupid for their beliefs at some point or another.

I'm not defending Christianity, not by a long shot, I just find it annoying when any person or group tries to set themselves up as better than another based on personal beliefs or some other trivial matter.

This is a needy thread- not myth, fact