Do atheists fancy themselves as nonconformists?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Oh my.. I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. There is no proof.

Interesting. Instead of saying you don't know of proof, you say you're certain there is no proof. Dawkins isn't certain and calls himself agnostic (at the extreme, because he says he's 99.9% atheist, but still there's that infinitesimally small room for doubt that he says he has to acknowledge if he's intellectually honest). But you are certain. Can you tell us why you're so sure?

Try to refrain from rolling your eyes. You only reinforce the idea that, actually, there is an "angry atheist" persona that some atheists conform to.

So, what you are saying is I should believe in your God because their might be a God? Or, how about I live a decent life, do no harm to others, treat my family well, etc. and then if there is a God, I think I'd do far better in the afterlife than someone who believes in God and did all kinds of horrible things while they were alive.

I don't need to provide proof God doesn't exist because there is no proof of existence. Your logic makes no sense. I'm not going to waste my life believing in something that may or may not exist.

Pro-tip: if you want to live a decent life, stop being so condescending and obnoxious.

Heh. I'm the "Interesting..." pp. I wasn't saying any of the things atheist pp is trying to put in my mouth. I was calling her out, by pointing out that the certainty she claims to have doesn't exist on this earth. I have no idea how she concluded I want her to believe in my God! I obviously said no such thing and probably she thinks it's easier to pick internet fights by pretending she's a victim. In the end, I don't care what she calls herself, although prominent thinkers like Dawkins argue that "agnostic" makes intellectually honest sense. The key thing is, she needs to walk her talk in terms of treating people well.

This is the very delusion the atheists on DCUM harbor under. "We want you to join our faith so badly!" There are few too many well-meaning pastors that have given these losers an outsized sense of importance. As if anyone and everyone is desperately hoping they will become Christian. If you are not a Christian it's no sweat off my back, nor anyone else's.

But I think, rather than admit to their insignificance, they would like to pretend they live in a world where everyone is scrambling to get them to join their team. It's kind of comical.

And I agree. The nastiness is NAGL

Nastiness is not a good look? And here you are calling people insignificant losers? You take the cake, my friend!

I do not understand the near obsession with atheists on these forums. I am an atheist and honestly don't GAS what you or anyone else thinks about my beliefs. It certainly has NOT been my experience that the bulk of Christianity is willing to let me be--I have been subjected to RELENTLESS proselytizing for years in the Southern state I live in. I wish it were no sweat off your back! Leave the atheists in peace!

"The near obsession with atheists"- from who? No one, outside the religious forum, gives a flying f about atheists. You literally never see atheism get brought up on the rest of DCUM.

Thank you for proving my point that atheists harbor a delusion about their own self importance.

Not gonna address the rest of the post?

I already did.

[Anonymous]

Atheism is a non-conformist belief. 3% of the US is atheist. 4% are agnostic.

There is a lot of distrust of atheists. 55% of the US says that they would not vote for an atheist that was otherwise well qualified for public office. There is pressure from family and the community to be religious or be quiet. Anyone who is atheist and out is familiar with the distrust and pressure.

Some people (younger, mostly) play with an atheist identify as a form of rebellion. Some atheists, on the other hand, are atheist because that is what they believe to be true.

You can't characterize a group like atheists the way you can Christians. There are no holy books. There is no dogma. There is just a refusal to believe the holy books and dogma of theists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Oh my.. I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. There is no proof.

Interesting. Instead of saying you don't know of proof, you say you're certain there is no proof. Dawkins isn't certain and calls himself agnostic (at the extreme, because he says he's 99.9% atheist, but still there's that infinitesimally small room for doubt that he says he has to acknowledge if he's intellectually honest). But you are certain. Can you tell us why you're so sure?

Try to refrain from rolling your eyes. You only reinforce the idea that, actually, there is an "angry atheist" persona that some atheists conform to.

So, what you are saying is I should believe in your God because their might be a God? Or, how about I live a decent life, do no harm to others, treat my family well, etc. and then if there is a God, I think I'd do far better in the afterlife than someone who believes in God and did all kinds of horrible things while they were alive.

I don't need to provide proof God doesn't exist because there is no proof of existence. Your logic makes no sense. I'm not going to waste my life believing in something that may or may not exist.

Pro-tip: if you want to live a decent life, stop being so condescending and obnoxious.

not the PP to which you are responding, but "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

In response to the interaction with the atheist you responded to - acting dismissive or condescending to someone because they respond angrily or shortly to being attacked is a common technique (there's a name for it, though I can't remember what it is.) I believe it is commonly implicated in the phenomena of the 'angry black woman'. To attack someone, and then dismiss them because they get angry at being attacked is shortsighted and doesn't lead anyone to mutual understanding.

On a separate note, any discussion of atheists and what they are like should acknowledge the immense cognitive bias we all likely confront in assessing an 'atheist' population. My guess is that most atheists are 'underground' about their believes, and so the majority of people they meet don't know they are one - this is certainly the case for me. Heck, even the people who do know I'm an atheist apparently think I'm not and I'm really agnostic (more than one person has responded thus to my statement of being an atheist). Since I'm not an activist about it I don't feel the need to confront them about that. If they feel better denying my lack of faith it doesn't harm me, so why fight it. Thus by default the popular impression of atheists will be based on the loud / militant portion of the atheist population.

American culture is not welcoming to atheists. In my experience people of faith seem to be more uncomfortable with my lack of faith than with an individual whose faith simply differs from theirs. Apparently the believe in *some* higher power is unifying when confronted with the absence of any type of belief. And this is codified in many places in the laws. America provides for freedom *of* religion, but the discussion of whether this applies to freedom *from* religion is still underway. As an example I give you section 4 of the TX Constitution - non Christians are welcome to serve the state, atheists are not.


---- From http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/docs/legref/TxConst.pdf
Sec. 4. RELIGIOUS TESTS. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Oh my.. I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. There is no proof.

Interesting. Instead of saying you don't know of proof, you say you're certain there is no proof. Dawkins isn't certain and calls himself agnostic (at the extreme, because he says he's 99.9% atheist, but still there's that infinitesimally small room for doubt that he says he has to acknowledge if he's intellectually honest). But you are certain. Can you tell us why you're so sure?

Try to refrain from rolling your eyes. You only reinforce the idea that, actually, there is an "angry atheist" persona that some atheists conform to.

So, what you are saying is I should believe in your God because their might be a God? Or, how about I live a decent life, do no harm to others, treat my family well, etc. and then if there is a God, I think I'd do far better in the afterlife than someone who believes in God and did all kinds of horrible things while they were alive.

I don't need to provide proof God doesn't exist because there is no proof of existence. Your logic makes no sense. I'm not going to waste my life believing in something that may or may not exist.

Pro-tip: if you want to live a decent life, stop being so condescending and obnoxious.

Heh. I'm the "Interesting..." pp. I wasn't saying any of the things atheist pp is trying to put in my mouth. I was calling her out, by pointing out that the certainty she claims to have doesn't exist on this earth. I have no idea how she concluded I want her to believe in my God! I obviously said no such thing and probably she thinks it's easier to pick internet fights by pretending she's a victim. In the end, I don't care what she calls herself, although prominent thinkers like Dawkins argue that "agnostic" makes intellectually honest sense. The key thing is, she needs to walk her talk in terms of treating people well.

This is the very delusion the atheists on DCUM harbor under. "We want you to join our faith so badly!" There are few too many well-meaning pastors that have given these losers an outsized sense of importance. As if anyone and everyone is desperately hoping they will become Christian. If you are not a Christian it's no sweat off my back, nor anyone else's.

But I think, rather than admit to their insignificance, they would like to pretend they live in a world where everyone is scrambling to get them to join their team. It's kind of comical.

And I agree. The nastiness is NAGL

Nastiness is not a good look? And here you are calling people insignificant losers? You take the cake, my friend!

I do not understand the near obsession with atheists on these forums. I am an atheist and honestly don't GAS what you or anyone else thinks about my beliefs. It certainly has NOT been my experience that the bulk of Christianity is willing to let me be--I have been subjected to RELENTLESS proselytizing for years in the Southern state I live in. I wish it were no sweat off your back! Leave the atheists in peace!

"The near obsession with atheists"- from who? No one, outside the religious forum, gives a flying f about atheists. You literally never see atheism get brought up on the rest of DCUM.

Thank you for proving my point that atheists harbor a delusion about their own self importance.

+1 to the general idea here, without the generalization that appears to extend to all atheists. Thank goodness I know atheists who are nothing like DCUM's atheists.

I do agree DCUM's atheists are obsessed with their own importance and victimhood. They derail threads to talk about themselves and pick fights based on perceived slights, like the eye-roller did above.

And then they wonder why nobody likes them. Folks, it has nothing to do with your atheism, and everything to do with how you conduct yourselves.

[Anonymous]

Meh. Atheist here. Plenty of friends, lovely home life. Leave the judgement to God.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am who I am, and it has nothing to do with you or getting attention from you.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Oh my.. I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. There is no proof.

Interesting. Instead of saying you don't know of proof, you say you're certain there is no proof. Dawkins isn't certain and calls himself agnostic (at the extreme, because he says he's 99.9% atheist, but still there's that infinitesimally small room for doubt that he says he has to acknowledge if he's intellectually honest). But you are certain. Can you tell us why you're so sure?

Try to refrain from rolling your eyes. You only reinforce the idea that, actually, there is an "angry atheist" persona that some atheists conform to.

So, what you are saying is I should believe in your God because their might be a God? Or, how about I live a decent life, do no harm to others, treat my family well, etc. and then if there is a God, I think I'd do far better in the afterlife than someone who believes in God and did all kinds of horrible things while they were alive.

I don't need to provide proof God doesn't exist because there is no proof of existence. Your logic makes no sense. I'm not going to waste my life believing in something that may or may not exist.

Pro-tip: if you want to live a decent life, stop being so condescending and obnoxious.

Heh. I'm the "Interesting..." pp. I wasn't saying any of the things atheist pp is trying to put in my mouth. I was calling her out, by pointing out that the certainty she claims to have doesn't exist on this earth. I have no idea how she concluded I want her to believe in my God! I obviously said no such thing and probably she thinks it's easier to pick internet fights by pretending she's a victim. In the end, I don't care what she calls herself, although prominent thinkers like Dawkins argue that "agnostic" makes intellectually honest sense. The key thing is, she needs to walk her talk in terms of treating people well.

This is the very delusion the atheists on DCUM harbor under. "We want you to join our faith so badly!" There are few too many well-meaning pastors that have given these losers an outsized sense of importance. As if anyone and everyone is desperately hoping they will become Christian. If you are not a Christian it's no sweat off my back, nor anyone else's.

But I think, rather than admit to their insignificance, they would like to pretend they live in a world where everyone is scrambling to get them to join their team. It's kind of comical.

And I agree. The nastiness is NAGL

Nastiness is not a good look? And here you are calling people insignificant losers? You take the cake, my friend!

I do not understand the near obsession with atheists on these forums. I am an atheist and honestly don't GAS what you or anyone else thinks about my beliefs. It certainly has NOT been my experience that the bulk of Christianity is willing to let me be--I have been subjected to RELENTLESS proselytizing for years in the Southern state I live in. I wish it were no sweat off your back! Leave the atheists in peace!

"The near obsession with atheists"- from who? No one, outside the religious forum, gives a flying f about atheists. You literally never see atheism get brought up on the rest of DCUM.

Thank you for proving my point that atheists harbor a delusion about their own self importance.

+1 to the general idea here, without the generalization that appears to extend to all atheists. Thank goodness I know atheists who are nothing like DCUM's atheists.

I do agree DCUM's atheists are obsessed with their own importance and victimhood. They derail threads to talk about themselves and pick fights based on perceived slights, like the eye-roller did above.

And then they wonder why nobody likes them. Folks, it has nothing to do with your atheism, and everything to do with how you conduct yourselves.

+10000

Yawn to the melodramatics of the atheists here.

[Anonymous]

...and yet, here you are!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...and yet, here you are!

OP was s little off-base, but so was the eye-rolling atheist. You're welcome!

[Anonymous]

I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. You can't force faith. It has nothing to do with an interest in non-conformity. It makes me empirically a non-conformist in the US, but that would not necessarily be true everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. You can't force faith. It has nothing to do with an interest in non-conformity. It makes me empirically a non-conformist in the US, but that would not necessarily be true everywhere.

Yep.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think so. Most atheists on here seem to have their sense of being persecuted as a major aspect of their identity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. You can't force faith. It has nothing to do with an interest in non-conformity. It makes me empirically a non-conformist in the US, but that would not necessarily be true everywhere.

Yep.

+2 no sense of persecution here

[Anonymous]

I'm so sick of hearing "be good for goodness sake and just treat people well, you f'ing religious a$$hole." E.g. the eye-rolling atheist above. Are some of you really that clueless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm so sick of hearing "be good for goodness sake and just treat people well, you f'ing religious a$$hole." E.g. the eye-rolling atheist above. Are some of you really that clueless?

Huh? The eyeroller was rolling eyes at the premise that atheists are atheists because they are non-conformists. She rolled her eyes and said, no, she's an atheist because she doesn't believe in God. OP's premise is a bit of an eye-roller for me, too, frankly, though I have tried to respond constructively.