What do you *REALLY* think of Atheists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

This is why I always say I'm "secular" or "not religious" vs. "atheist." The Christopher Hitchens types make us all look bad.

Do you think child abusing priests make all Catholics look bad?

Not individual Catholics, but certainly the Church

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

What negative experiences have you had?

Uninvited debates, being criticized, being accused of harming my kids by raising them in my religion, being insulted… the typical stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. Some are good people, some aren't, some have well developed intellectual underpinnings for their beliefs, some don't. All groups are like that though.

What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?

Whether God exists. Whether God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. That kind of thing.

Again, these are not facts. They are beliefs. In fact they are set out in the creed as such: "I believe in God, etc..."

You're splitting hairs in the dumbest possible way. Atheists and I have different beliefs about the answers to certain questions, like does God exist, and I think their beliefs are untrue. That's what I was saying.

[Anonymous]

Are you asking about how people feel about atheists or anti-theists?

An atheist is a person who doesn’t believe in God.

Antitheism, also spelled anti-theism, is the philosophical position that theism should be opposed.

Antitheism has been adopted as a label by those who regard theism as dangerous, destructive, or encouraging of harmful behavior. Christopher Hitchens wrote:

"I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful."

If you are an American, anti-theist philosophy is un-American. America was founded on freedom of speech and religion. The separation of church and state goes both ways; state is supposed to stay out of religion as well.

Anti-theists believe God is evil. What I can’t understand is how atheists don’t believe God exists, yet also believe God is evil?

Which means they aren’t really atheists; they are anti-theists.

Anti-theists pretend to be atheists and hide their hostility and opposition to religion. It’s comparable to the way Satanists hide behind Satan but really are anti-theist.

Why hide? Just say who you are? You are opposed to religion and believe God is evil and religion is harmful. But don’t say you are atheist, because if you believe God is evil, you aren’t an atheist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. Some are good people, some aren't, some have well developed intellectual underpinnings for their beliefs, some don't. All groups are like that though.

What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?

Whether God exists. Whether God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. That kind of thing.

Again, these are not facts. They are beliefs. In fact they are set out in the creed as such: "I believe in God, etc..."

You're splitting hairs in the dumbest possible way. Atheists and I have different beliefs about the answers to certain questions, like does God exist, and I think their beliefs are untrue. That's what I was saying.

Atheists don't have a belief in a god. (The most common definition, anyway).

You think it is untrue that they don't believe in a god?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a number of relatives on my side and in-laws on my husband's side, plus colleagues and friends who are religious (Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, mostly). Sometimes we talk about religion and I'm comfortable saying that I am Atheist, sometimes I'm not comfortable so I talk about them but don't share my view (I never share with work colleagues).

If you consider yourself religious, what do you think of Atheists? My father-in-law won't say it but I'm pretty sure he thinks I worship the Devil and I know he thinks I'm going to hell. There is more to this story but it sometimes gets me thinking that those who practice their faith openly may have some strong opinions they're not saying.

Hoping for some honest replies but if you feel inclined to tell me how wrong my choice is I promise you I've already heard it so I probably won't read more than the first few words of what you post. I respect others' choices and just want the same.

Why are you keeping your atheism secret?

You don’t know what your father in law thinks and the things you think he thinks may or may not be accurate or true. It is not fair to your fil, for you to speak for him and pretend you know what he thinks. That’s a toxic way to treat your family.

Why do you think you fil thinks you are “going to hell?”

People who practice their faith are allowed to do so and if you are leaving out the more to this story, nobody here can give you an accurate answer to your question.

You seem to be very invested in your atheism. You seem to worry about what others think of your atheism.

People probably aren’t all that concerned about your atheism and your life. They have their own lives. You probably have main character syndrome, and think you and your atheism are both cast in a starring role in everyone’s life. Recalibrate your thinking, because that is not true. Most if not all people do not care.

Your fil is probably annoyed with your main character syndrome, not your lack of belief in God.

It’s easy to suss out because you declare that you won’t listen to people who tell you your beliefs are wrong. I’ve never seen a single post in this forum telling an atheist their atheism is wrong. Your main character syndrome is strong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. Some are good people, some aren't, some have well developed intellectual underpinnings for their beliefs, some don't. All groups are like that though.

What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?

Whether God exists. Whether God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. That kind of thing.

Again, these are not facts. They are beliefs. In fact they are set out in the creed as such: "I believe in God, etc..."

You're splitting hairs in the dumbest possible way. Atheists and I have different beliefs about the answers to certain questions, like does God exist, and I think their beliefs are untrue. That's what I was saying.

Atheists don't have a belief in a god. (The most common definition, anyway).

You think it is untrue that they don't believe in a god?

Why do they spend hours debating the bad things God has done in the Bible if they don’t believe God exists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. Some are good people, some aren't, some have well developed intellectual underpinnings for their beliefs, some don't. All groups are like that though.

What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?

Whether God exists. Whether God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. That kind of thing.

Again, these are not facts. They are beliefs. In fact they are set out in the creed as such: "I believe in God, etc..."

You're splitting hairs in the dumbest possible way. Atheists and I have different beliefs about the answers to certain questions, like does God exist, and I think their beliefs are untrue. That's what I was saying.

Sounds like you acknowledge that you have different beliefs, not that you have different "basic facts about the universe" as you first stated. Correct? This is not dumb. The difference between a fact and a belief is pretty basic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The twin atheists will soon arrive.

+1. And they’ll deny they’re twins.

[Anonymous]

Closed-minded, ignorant, selfish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

This is why I always say I'm "secular" or "not religious" vs. "atheist." The Christopher Hitchens types make us all look bad.

Do you think child abusing priests make all Catholics look bad?

DP. Some atheists here absolutely do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a number of relatives on my side and in-laws on my husband's side, plus colleagues and friends who are religious (Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, mostly). Sometimes we talk about religion and I'm comfortable saying that I am Atheist, sometimes I'm not comfortable so I talk about them but don't share my view (I never share with work colleagues).

If you consider yourself religious, what do you think of Atheists? My father-in-law won't say it but I'm pretty sure he thinks I worship the Devil and I know he thinks I'm going to hell. There is more to this story but it sometimes gets me thinking that those who practice their faith openly may have some strong opinions they're not saying.

Hoping for some honest replies but if you feel inclined to tell me how wrong my choice is I promise you I've already heard it so I probably won't read more than the first few words of what you post. I respect others' choices and just want the same.

Why are you keeping your atheism secret?

You don’t know what your father in law thinks and the things you think he thinks may or may not be accurate or true. It is not fair to your fil, for you to speak for him and pretend you know what he thinks. That’s a toxic way to treat your family.

Why do you think you fil thinks you are “going to hell?”

People who practice their faith are allowed to do so and if you are leaving out the more to this story, nobody here can give you an accurate answer to your question.

You seem to be very invested in your atheism. You seem to worry about what others think of your atheism.

People probably aren’t all that concerned about your atheism and your life. They have their own lives. You probably have main character syndrome, and think you and your atheism are both cast in a starring role in everyone’s life. Recalibrate your thinking, because that is not true. Most if not all people do not care.

Your fil is probably annoyed with your main character syndrome, not your lack of belief in God.

It’s easy to suss out because you declare that you won’t listen to people who tell you your beliefs are wrong. I’ve never seen a single post in this forum telling an atheist their atheism is wrong. Your main character syndrome is strong

Pp is making implications about OP that they could not possibly know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

This is why I always say I'm "secular" or "not religious" vs. "atheist." The Christopher Hitchens types make us all look bad.

Do you think child abusing priests make all Catholics look bad?

DP. Some atheists here absolutely do.

Can't speak specifically for atheists, but seems like many people, irrespective of religious beliefs, think child-abusing priests make Catholics look bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

What do the "evangelical" atheists do in the negative experiences that you've had with them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? They set me on edge because of negative experiences I’ve had with, for lack of a better term, “evangelical” atheists.

DP. Honestly, I feel the same. I have a few lovely atheist friends, but I’ve also had some negative experiences with “evangelical atheists”.

You asked pp for examples, but here are mine. BIL, for example, who insists on going around the table and asking my friends if they believe and managed to shame the one Black woman at my party for her Catholicism. The two anti-theists who call themselves atheists (pp called them “twins”) in this forum, who can’t stand to see a simple question about faith without joining the thread to insult people of faith. SIL (other side of the family from BIL) who thinks it’s hilarious to give us a statue of the Virgin Mary so we can laugh at her too—I’m not Catholic but I keep her in the kitchen out of respect, I guess, and as a passive protest.

The Hitchenses and Dawkinses have done a disservice to atheism by normalizing obnoxious behavior. Some atheists have actually written about this.