Should Atheists (be allowed to) Participate in a Religious Discussion?

I was ask by a friend this very question...Of course I answered yes, but?

I started thinking about it and I had to ask myself...Why would they?

Background: I was a thirty year Atheist. I was Atheist when being Atheist wasn't cool.

I don't want this to be a religious thread. I want to explore why Atheist's even participate.

If somebody was discussing the existence of Santa Claus...I would just move on.

Here are some of my specific questions...

Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb?

Does it bother you that people of faith seem to be happy and blissful?

Do you feel you are educating people who have been indoctrinated?

Some of you seem to believe in UFO's. Doesn't that require faith?

Atheism is on the rise. Have people just lost their faith?

Would you be willing to admit you have no proof whether God exists or not?

I appreciate you taking the time to read. This thread is not about Religion.

It is about Faith or lack there of.

This is a sensitive topic. Please be respectful if you choose to reply...

originally posted by: whyamIhere
Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb?


This is a sensitive topic. Please be respectful if you choose to reply...

um....no. When such a dumbass direction is taken, being nice is kind of out.

If you are bewildered by my response, please re-read the first question until it sinks in.

a reply to: whyamIhere
if people want to clap they're hands and howl at the moon,let them. If they are so insecure as to their own ability,let them beg to some star god,deity,ghost,whatever.

a reply to: whyamIhere

As with every topic, it is how one approaches a discussion.

Atheists are no more or less 'qualified' to debate the ever after than anyone else.

I welcome it. Christians should welcome a well educated HIGH BROW discussion about religion with atheists or anyone else who doesn't believe like we do. So should atheists. For that matter ... Hindus and Muslims should welcome a discussion on their religious beliefs as well. They should welcome discussions that make them question their faith .. that make them dig deeper ... that make them look for answers. Protestants should welcome Catholics in discussion and Catholics should welcome Protestants in discussion. It makes people think and sometimes it makes people - on either side the discussion - change their position or at least get to understand other people better.

As long as it's not LOW BROW .... it's all good.

If the outcome of a religious discussion could affect an Atheists life in terms of policies, rules or laws, then certainly they should be involved. I would also think that religious people would welcome the Atheist simply for an opportunity to bring a lost lamb back to the flock.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I agree when people are respectful it can be a great discussion.

Nobody knows for sure...Not everyone can admit that.

I think what bothers me of all of it is when people ask me I say I dont know if a god exists or not....I dont know where that even falls in....I certainly have not felt any grace of god....so I get screwed by both atheists and the believers....

I think we should never remove a group from debate....sometimes good ideas or points come from the opposition no matter what side you believe.

The fact is..unless some god has come down and visited you..no one has a clue what is really out there..anyone who says 100% that they are certain is full of #.

a reply to: whyamIhere

Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Neither. I think some were indoctrinated. I think many just cant handle the idea that this may be all there is.

Does it bother you that people of faith seem to be happy and blissful?
- See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is a totally false statement, so I cant answer. Some of the most religious people I know are the most miserable. Some of the happiest I know are atheists.

Do you feel you are educating people who have been indoctrinated? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nope. But I do feel I have every right to speak of my beliefs, same as them.

Some of you seem to believe in UFO's. Doesn't that require faith?
- See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I UFo is simply something that is flying that cannot be identified. No faith needed, as they are seen every single day.

Atheism is on the rise. Have people just lost their faith? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Couldnt tell ya. For me, its a rise in logic.

Would you be willing to admit you have no proof whether God exists or not? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Sure, so long as you admit that the burden of proof is on the accuser and thus, it is up to those that claim he does exist to prove it, and that you admit it is impossible to prove a negative.

a reply to: captaintyinknots

All great answers....

Thanks

a reply to: whyamIhere

One only declares himself an atheist in the context of religion. So yes. There's no use for the term outside of religious discussion. If atheists wanted nothing to do with religion, they wouldn't call themselves atheists.

a reply to: whyamIhere

I see no reason to remove a person from a conversation due to belief or lack of. A rude person sure. I love religious discussion yet I don't believe. I don't see people of faith as stupid as a general rule or happier. Nor do I see them as indoctrinated. The opposing view shouldn't be shunned unless a person is rude. Is there proof for our against a god ? Nope not in my eyes but it's possible I'm wrong. Having faith isn't a bad thing at all. The same can be said of having no faith.
It just boils down to respecting others and not being a jerk the side of the fence is irrelevant.

a reply to: whyamIhere

I think it's no different than an Independent wanting to discuss politics with Dems. & Reps.

Does it bother you that people of faith seem to be happy and blissful? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have to say from experience, people 'of faith' ( and I assume you are referring to religious faith) are far less blissful than those who are undecided about traditional religion.

Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I think some are too close-minded to see the forest for the trees.

Some of you seem to believe in UFO's. Doesn't that require faith? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have been seeing objects in the sky for which mankind has no knowledge to rationally explain for 60 years now. I don't know what they are, but it takes no faith to know I saw what I saw.

Atheism is on the rise. Have people just lost their faith? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Yes, people have lost their 'faith' - in orthodox religion. Spirituality is on the rise, IMO.

Would you be willing to admit you have no proof whether God exists or not? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have no proof. I have personal proof that a higher power/energy/creator/mainframe of superior intelligence exists. Each person has to prove/disprove the existence of a Supreme Being for themselves.

Organized religion is a control mechanism designed and written by men, and men lie.
I prefer to eliminate the middle man and communicate with Source directly.

originally posted by: whyamIhere
I was ask by a friend this very question...Of course I answered yes, but?

I started thinking about it and I had to ask myself...Why would they?

Background: I was a thirty year Atheist. I was Atheist when being Atheist wasn't cool.

What made you a theist? You found jebus? or was it cool to be an atheist?
Most Atheist i know, became Atheist thru experience and education, throw in logic and Viola!

I don't want this to be a religious thread. I want to explore why Atheist's even participate.

It will be. Atheism exists because of Theism.

If somebody was discussing the existence of Santa Claus...I would just move on.

If somebody didn't inject Santa Claus into everything, government, rules, regulations, holidays. Then i would move on TOO!

Here are some of my specific questions...
Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb?

Too ignorant to learn outside their religious circle.

Does it bother you that people of faith seem to be happy and blissful?

Ignorance is Bliss. Sadly the world ain't pretty.

Do you feel you are educating people who have been indoctrinated?

Nope, just trying to control the disease of infecting others while keeping our sanity.

Some of you seem to believe in UFO's. Doesn't that require faith?

I don't believe in UFO, but UFO as in Alien existing has higher probability.

Atheism is on the rise. Have people just lost their faith?

People Woke up. Well some.

Would you be willing to admit you have no proof whether God exists or not?

If you admit, you have no proof Mickey Mouse's existence.
Then again, who needs the proof in the first place?, the claimer or the denier?


edit: I join religious discussion because i think its great, not because its true, some of our current society and systems follow religious outline, also the whole concept is amazing.

Just, not true. Like how im into Greek Mythology about Pegasus and Daedalus etc.... its amazing, but not history.

Atheist are open minded, we like religious concepts, just don't believe in them or think they are something that fit in our society.

I'm becoming to come to the conclusion, religious people don't even know what it is they believe. Very few of the religious people on ATS convince me they truly believe what they preach. I doubt any could come up with a page worth of text explaining what heaven is. What god looks like?, where he resides?

It just seems like a lack of critical thinking going on, no questioning what they've been told. Just taken all at face value.

I'm not an atheist, but certainly don't believe in the abrahamic Gods or the Greek Roman gods like Hercules and Zeus.

The reason people are losing faith, is because it's becoming increasingly difficult to shoe horn the religious myths of the bible into the 21st century with a whole wealth of scientific evidence and knowledge.

For better or worse you can't expect people to just believe in something that makes little sense in our modern world.

I think atheists have a lot to add to religious debates the same way as skeptics in the UFO forums. If everyone believes the same thing without that belief ever being challenged, then it creates a dangerous misinformed consensus

a reply to: luciddream

What made you a theist? You found jebus? or was it cool to be an atheist?

I had "Spiritual Event" when I lost my big brother. Also, watching my child be born.

I have no use for Religion. I do however have a relationship.

There are no wrong answers to the OP. None of us no anything for sure.

a reply to: whyamIhere

It's pretty personal and the faithful tend to surround themselves with the faithful, you know how tradition of faith gets passed down on the families with an "inside". So really there's no point in discussing it with people who aren't of faith because they have nothing to contribute, they are extremely foolish and ignorant on the subject. It's like a chess grandmaster having a discussion about chess with a 5 year old that hates chess, about chess. Sounds pretty stupid doesn't it?

So if someone makes you answer a poll or asks you about your faith, that's a personal thing so it's appropriate that more and more people would just shrug it off and say that they're atheist in this culture. Why would I want to open myself up like that to someone I don't know who's prodding me about something very personal? People have their public persona, sometimes atheism is an easy cover to avoid uncomfortable discussion. It's easy to know if someone has faith or not anyway, all a faithful person has to do is take a quick look at them. Unless they're good actors of course, then it might take more than a quick look.

First, I'll say that the reason I participate in some religious debates is that religion is a subject that I'm interested in. I was raised in a very religious home and have left many of the biblical beliefs behind. I don't participate in debates that are trying to "prove" whether or not a God exists.

originally posted by: whyamIhere
Do you think people of faith are uneducated or just dumb?

They are neither uneducated or dumb. They have been raised and educated by their families and the church to believe a certain thing and they prefer to hold onto those beliefs.

Does it bother you that people of faith seem to be happy and blissful?

SOME people of faith are happy, some are the most miserable people I've ever known. Likewise for atheists. Actually, all of the atheists I know are very happy.

Do you feel you are educating people who have been indoctrinated?

No. If anything, I'm trying to show a different point of view. I have no interest in believers accepting or taking on my beliefs.

Some of you seem to believe in UFO's. Doesn't that require faith?

To a degree, yes. I have faith in many things, just not the stories of the bible.

Atheism is on the rise. Have people just lost their faith?

In the age of science, I think people are realizing the fantasy of the stories and coming to the conclusion that they really don't believe what they were taught as children or what modern religion teaches.

Would you be willing to admit you have no proof whether God exists or not?

Absolutely. I just think the likelihood of this "God" existing is the same as the likelihood of Santa existing. You can't prove or disprove something that's based on faith.

a reply to: nugget1

Thanks for the great addition...

We aren't very far apart.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

BH...Nice to see you. I haven't seen you around for awhile.

Thanks for the replies...