What do you *REALLY* think of Atheists?

[Anonymous]

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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.

FIL probably doesn't care that you're an atheist, but wishes you weren't so high drama.

+1

OP here (sorry I botched the last post). Again, I ask, what drama? Raising a question hoping for a respectful conversation and some honesty is high drama?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

All the nonsense about Santa vs. faith is absolutely atheists hijacking the thread to try to convince people to change teams. But, you're so transparently trolling that you're not convincing anybody to join your team.

Pointing out similarities between Santa and god could make someone stop believing in god.

Really? I call BS.

Well yeah, nobody is changing their belief because of this. That's why I called it nonsense. But it is trolling and hijacking the thread.

Right - so it’s NOT trying to convince someone to change teams.

Comparing Santa and god is just a way to share some atheists’ beliefs. They are pretty darn equivalent if you look at them objectively.

Oh it's trying to change someone's beliefs, all right. The post is saying it's completely ineffective, for reasons described a few pages ago that you keep ignoring as you continue to troll on this comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do I think of atheists?

I think/know that some of them hate-troll DCUM 24/7/365 deliberately insulting people of faith, hijacking threads like this one to insult faith, and arguing in bad faith by gish galloping and ignoring all attempts to have a respectful back and forth.

I think they must be emotionally stunted and probably in poor physical condition from being glued to their laptops all day.

Gosh gallop.

Do you get paid every time you use that phrase? You must be loaded.

So wreck my finances and stop gish galloping.

I’m not. I’m just responding to comments.

It’s not like I’m copy & pasting pages and pages or irrelevant comments from unknown sources.

Gish gallop: The Gish gallop /ˈɡɪʃ ˈɡæləp/ is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of quality of said arguments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop

Who said anything about copying and pasting. You're bouncing around and repeating ad nauseum arguments that have already been addressed, like your silly Santa Claus example. Apparently because you're hoping to put enough virtual ink between your trolling and the answer that was given 2-3 pages ago.

Also, you clearly have no regard for the accuracy or strength of your arguments. As when, right above, you keep claiming that scripture and Santa Claus can both be evaluated as facts, despite several of us pointing out that believers have *faith* in scripture which is completely different.

So yeah, you've saddled up and are Gish galloping at the back of the pack. No mint juleps or winner's circle for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do I think of atheists?

I think/know that some of them hate-troll DCUM 24/7/365 deliberately insulting people of faith, hijacking threads like this one to insult faith, and arguing in bad faith by gish galloping and ignoring all attempts to have a respectful back and forth.

I think they must be emotionally stunted and probably in poor physical condition from being glued to their laptops all day.

Gosh gallop.

Do you get paid every time you use that phrase? You must be loaded.

So wreck my finances and stop gish galloping.

I’m not. I’m just responding to comments.

It’s not like I’m copy & pasting pages and pages or irrelevant comments from unknown sources.

Gish gallop: The Gish gallop /ˈɡɪʃ ˈɡæləp/ is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of quality of said arguments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop

Who said anything about copying and pasting. You're bouncing around and repeating ad nauseum arguments that have already been addressed, like your silly Santa Claus example. Apparently because you're hoping to put enough virtual ink between your trolling and the answer that was given 2-3 pages ago.

Also, you clearly have no regard for the accuracy or strength of your arguments. As when, right above, you keep claiming that scripture and Santa Claus can both be evaluated as facts, despite several of us pointing out that believers have *faith* in scripture which is completely different.

So yeah, you've saddled up and are Gish galloping at the back of the pack. No mint juleps or winner's circle for you.

^^^ Which is why lots of us are bored with DCUM's idiotic atheists, and why they reflect badly on all atheists.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

OP here. Not overtly, but arguing with such ferocity and proclaiming the "other" to be so wrong isn't such a far cry from campaigning for your view and insisting that others join you.

I ask again, why (not of you, PP, but of all)? Why work so hard to criticize believers for believing or non-believers for not. Why not just say "okay" and go on about your day. I asked what I believed was a reasonable question in a respectful way and during the course of this discussion I've been accused of various mental illness traits and told I have a "God-sized hole" in my life.

I'm an Atheist because I've thought a lot about it and made this choice that feels right for me. It's not an attack on others' beliefs to have chosen this for myself. It just isn't.

I think that the believers who respond that way are not secure in their belief in God. They are so insecure that they want to stifle the nonbeliever, lest the nonbeliever say something that could sway them away from God. In their view, a respectful atheist is a quiet atheist.

They also believe that you are wrong and therefore should be silent, or must be silenced, no matter how nice a person you are. Atheists should know their place -- which is below believers.

It's sort of like a non-lethal way of killing people with whom you disagree. You just silence them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do I think of atheists?

I think/know that some of them hate-troll DCUM 24/7/365 deliberately insulting people of faith, hijacking threads like this one to insult faith, and arguing in bad faith by gish galloping and ignoring all attempts to have a respectful back and forth.

I think they must be emotionally stunted and probably in poor physical condition from being glued to their laptops all day.

Gosh gallop.

Do you get paid every time you use that phrase? You must be loaded.

So wreck my finances and stop gish galloping.

I’m not. I’m just responding to comments.

It’s not like I’m copy & pasting pages and pages or irrelevant comments from unknown sources.

Gish gallop: The Gish gallop /ˈɡɪʃ ˈɡæləp/ is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of quality of said arguments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop

Who said anything about copying and pasting. You're bouncing around and repeating ad nauseum arguments that have already been addressed, like your silly Santa Claus example. Apparently because you're hoping to put enough virtual ink between your trolling and the answer that was given 2-3 pages ago.

Also, you clearly have no regard for the accuracy or strength of your arguments. As when, right above, you keep claiming that scripture and Santa Claus can both be evaluated as facts, despite several of us pointing out that believers have *faith* in scripture which is completely different.

So yeah, you've saddled up and are Gish galloping at the back of the pack. No mint juleps or winner's circle for you.

^^^ Which is why lots of us are bored with DCUM's idiotic atheists, and why they reflect badly on all atheists.

Seriously, believers reading here -- is pp an acceptable representative of religious faith? Surely you can do better than this.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

OP here. Not overtly, but arguing with such ferocity and proclaiming the "other" to be so wrong isn't such a far cry from campaigning for your view and insisting that others join you.

I ask again, why (not of you, PP, but of all)? Why work so hard to criticize believers for believing or non-believers for not. Why not just say "okay" and go on about your day. I asked what I believed was a reasonable question in a respectful way and during the course of this discussion I've been accused of various mental illness traits and told I have a "God-sized hole" in my life.

I'm an Atheist because I've thought a lot about it and made this choice that feels right for me. It's not an attack on others' beliefs to have chosen this for myself. It just isn't.

I think that the believers who respond that way are not secure in their belief in God. They are so insecure that they want to stifle the nonbeliever, lest the nonbeliever say something that could sway them away from God. In their view, a respectful atheist is a quiet atheist.

They also believe that you are wrong and therefore should be silent, or must be silenced, no matter how nice a person you are. Atheists should know their place -- which is below believers.

It's sort of like a non-lethal way of killing people with whom you disagree. You just silence them.

You can think what you want, of course. But you're dead wrong.

Most of us are simply frustrated that you twin atheists make it impossible to have any discussion at all about faith on this forum. You hijack every thread, like you did this one, to hate troll and gish gallop all over it. If anything, it speaks of your own insecurities regarding your choice of atheism.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

All the nonsense about Santa vs. faith is absolutely atheists hijacking the thread to try to convince people to change teams. But, you're so transparently trolling that you're not convincing anybody to join your team.

Pointing out similarities between Santa and god could make someone stop believing in god.

Really? I call BS.

Well yeah, nobody is changing their belief because of this. That's why I called it nonsense. But it is trolling and hijacking the thread.

Right - so it’s NOT trying to convince someone to change teams.

Comparing Santa and god is just a way to share some atheists’ beliefs. They are pretty darn equivalent if you look at them objectively.

Oh it's trying to change someone's beliefs, all right. The post is saying it's completely ineffective, for reasons described a few pages ago that you keep ignoring as you continue to troll on this comparison.

I’m sorry. No one cares what you, random anonymous poster, believes. No one is trying to change your beliefs.

We are discussing various topics related to religion and atheism. Obviously, comparing Santa & god was never intended to convince anyone to stop believing.

You may want to reflect on the strength of your beliefs if you think otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do I think of atheists?

I think/know that some of them hate-troll DCUM 24/7/365 deliberately insulting people of faith, hijacking threads like this one to insult faith, and arguing in bad faith by gish galloping and ignoring all attempts to have a respectful back and forth.

I think they must be emotionally stunted and probably in poor physical condition from being glued to their laptops all day.

Gosh gallop.

Do you get paid every time you use that phrase? You must be loaded.

So wreck my finances and stop gish galloping.

I’m not. I’m just responding to comments.

It’s not like I’m copy & pasting pages and pages or irrelevant comments from unknown sources.

Gish gallop: The Gish gallop /ˈɡɪʃ ˈɡæləp/ is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of quality of said arguments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop

Who said anything about copying and pasting. You're bouncing around and repeating ad nauseum arguments that have already been addressed, like your silly Santa Claus example. Apparently because you're hoping to put enough virtual ink between your trolling and the answer that was given 2-3 pages ago.

Also, you clearly have no regard for the accuracy or strength of your arguments. As when, right above, you keep claiming that scripture and Santa Claus can both be evaluated as facts, despite several of us pointing out that believers have *faith* in scripture which is completely different.

So yeah, you've saddled up and are Gish galloping at the back of the pack. No mint juleps or winner's circle for you.

You are conflating various posters.

The believer who copy & pastes page and pages of irrelevant blog posts is certainly “gish galloping”. Inaccurate and voluminous.

I haven’t been Gish galloping. I am simply responding to some comments.

[Anonymous]

I think you are confusing Sinter Klaas with Santa Clause.

Thank you for the best laugh of the day.

[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.

An atheist who tries to engage colleagues in religious conversations? I think I know you. Your coworkers also don't invite you to lunch, but it's not because you're an atheist.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

All the nonsense about Santa vs. faith is absolutely atheists hijacking the thread to try to convince people to change teams. But, you're so transparently trolling that you're not convincing anybody to join your team.

Pointing out similarities between Santa and god could make someone stop believing in god.

Really? I call BS.

Well yeah, nobody is changing their belief because of this. That's why I called it nonsense. But it is trolling and hijacking the thread.

Right - so it’s NOT trying to convince someone to change teams.

Comparing Santa and god is just a way to share some atheists’ beliefs. They are pretty darn equivalent if you look at them objectively.

Oh it's trying to change someone's beliefs, all right. The post is saying it's completely ineffective, for reasons described a few pages ago that you keep ignoring as you continue to troll on this comparison.

I’m sorry. No one cares what you, random anonymous poster, believes. No one is trying to change your beliefs.

We are discussing various topics related to religion and atheism. Obviously, comparing Santa & god was never intended to convince anyone to stop believing.

You may want to reflect on the strength of your beliefs if you think otherwise.

Translation: I have hijacked this thread
because I can’t stand any conversation that criticizes my own behavior instead of being offensive to religion. I also keep telling myself, against all evidence, that peoples’ faith must be weak if they express frustration with my behavior and derailments.

[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.

An atheist who tries to engage colleagues in religious conversations? I think I know you. Your coworkers also don't invite you to lunch, but it's not because you're an atheist.

+100. Although I don’t think OP is guilty of this, undoubtedly the two other atheists here are.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:God is a man made story to give humans an understanding of the meaning of life. That’s why there are different religions with different deities. All made up stories. Sorry.

Q:How did this thread go from op asking what people think of Atheists to Atheists bashing God and the beliefs of Christians?

A:all threads here end up bashing Christians

Sorry - the above is not atheists bashing God -- just someone expressing their very cogent views. You don't believe it? fine.

Sadly , some Christians react badly to having their beliefs challenged.

DP. Oh for the love of God stop hate trolling with the twists of logic and ad hominems. You’re everything people think of when they say they don’t like dealing with atheists.

Tell me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems without telling me you don’t know logic or the meaning of ad hominems.

^^ non-answer to a completely accurate charge. This is an example of why DCUM's atheists have such a bad rap.

It’s completely INaccurate.

There were no twist of logic or ad hominens. PP should learn the meaning of words before trying to throw them out as insults.

PP had a good point: certain atheists in this forum create an unpleasant vibe in the religion forum and are unnecessarily defensive, patronizing and aggressive. They definitely do give atheists a bad rap.

I agree. Not all atheists here are hate trolling and aggressively defensive and patronizing, and not all gish gallop through threads deflecting and derailing.

But there are two, maybe more, atheists here who hate troll 24/7, basically all the time. They absolutely drown out the thoughtful, respectful atheists. It’s understandable that they color, negatively, the perception of DCUM’s atheists.

Very well said.

I welcome insights from thoughtful respectful atheists. No one has a monopoly on truth.

Can you give some examples what you consider insights from "thoughtful, respectful atheists?" In your opinion, what would be a thoughtful or respectful insight about religion coming from an atheist?

Questions and tone that suggest a genuine desire to understand/ appreciate different beliefs rather than play Gotcha games with them.

AKA share facts

Exhibit A - no buddy your beliefs are not facts they are your opinion.

No, when we discuss facts, there will be a point where PP has no valid response and therefore claims “gotcha games”. This has happened on multiple threads.

OP (I think) asked me what I would I consider to be thoughtful respectful dialogue and I answered honestly.

You hijacked the reply with derogatory nonsense that theists can’t handle facts.

I know many scientists in both my family and friend group who are devoted theists as well. They illuminate different parts of reality and are Not necessarily in conflict.

Carry on spewing your nonsense that theists cower before your superior grasp of reality but you really are deluding yourself.

And we also have atheists/ agnostics in our extended family and friend circle but thankfully they are kind and respectful.

How do the atheists and agnostics that you know show that they are kind and respectful?

Not the pp, but I would imagine the same as any other human does. Be charitable, help others. Don't judge and be respectful of other religious beliefs other than your own etc...

I think being respectful has a different meaning for people of various religions than it has for people who don't believe. In their case it means pretend you believe in God.

Lol - No they don't! Respectful atheists state they don't believe (if asked) but don't try and force their lack of belief on those that clearly do have a faith or say they are wrong about the existence of God. You can state your own beliefs without offending others about theirs....Being respectful works the same for all humans.

How about when a religious person tells another person of a different religion about their different beliefs? Is that OK? What if someone gets offended? Is it the fault of the person who mentioned their different belief?

OP here. I think it entirely depends on context and tone. I cheer for team ABC and think they're the best team. You cheer for XYX team and have counter points and believe that your team is the best. This can be a respectful conversation without one fan trying to make the other change their allegiance to their team. I realize that when it comes to religion believers think the stakes are higher (the non-believer goes to hell) so I don't mean to make light of it, just to show that a respectful conversation could go like this. I know I won't try to talk a Cowboys fan out of cheering for their team (those are some die-hard fans) so I won't even try. You do you.

Nobody here has tried to convince people to change teams.

All the nonsense about Santa vs. faith is absolutely atheists hijacking the thread to try to convince people to change teams. But, you're so transparently trolling that you're not convincing anybody to join your team.

Pointing out similarities between Santa and god could make someone stop believing in god.

Really? I call BS.

Well yeah, nobody is changing their belief because of this. That's why I called it nonsense. But it is trolling and hijacking the thread.

Right - so it’s NOT trying to convince someone to change teams.

Comparing Santa and god is just a way to share some atheists’ beliefs. They are pretty darn equivalent if you look at them objectively.

Oh it's trying to change someone's beliefs, all right. The post is saying it's completely ineffective, for reasons described a few pages ago that you keep ignoring as you continue to troll on this comparison.

I’m sorry. No one cares what you, random anonymous poster, believes. No one is trying to change your beliefs.

We are discussing various topics related to religion and atheism. Obviously, comparing Santa & god was never intended to convince anyone to stop believing.

You may want to reflect on the strength of your beliefs if you think otherwise.

Translation: I have hijacked this thread
because I can’t stand any conversation that criticizes my own behavior instead of being offensive to religion. I also keep telling myself, against all evidence, that peoples’ faith must be weak if they express frustration with my behavior and derailments.

How have I been offensive? Seems like you’re confusing posters.

[Anonymous]

We agree on a lot of things here:

- We all believe Santa Claus is likely doesn't exist
- We all believe most gods likely don't exist
- Some believe all gods likely don't exist