What do you *REALLY* think of Atheists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they are close minded.
I wasn't raised in a particular religion, and would consider myself "spiritual," So I don't have a dog in this fight.
Agnostic is totally fine.
But to be convinced that there isn't something just because you can't prove it exists seems dumb

Most atheists are also agnostic. Few atheists claim they are 100% certain there isn't a god of any type because that is a claim you would have to prove - so in that case you are correct that it is "dumb".

Correct- I never heard an atheist say they were "sure". Atheist means not being a theist and agnostic means not knowing. Other definitions are simply incorrect and, I suspect, are believed by people who prefer that atheists look unreasonable.

Right now, it's somewhat of an act of bravery for a person who doesn't believe in God to call themselves an atheist, because the term is so misunderstood.

Hopefully, readers here will help change that.

There isn’t a universal definition of “atheist”.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheist

atheist
noun
athe·​ist ˈā-thē-ist
Synonyms of atheist
: a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods : one who subscribes to or advocates atheism

How Agnostic Differs From Atheist
Many people are interested in distinguishing between the words agnostic and atheist. The difference is quite simple: atheist refers to someone who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods, and agnostic refers to someone who doesn’t know whether there is a god, or even if such a thing is knowable.

I’m an atheist.

I’m as agnostic about gods as I am about unicorns, Santa, superheros, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a lot of people here have never had a conversation, which evolves as points are made and get responded to.

For instance, the seventh post in this thread said "I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

The next post asks "What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?"

And it went from there.

Was post 7 not supposed to add "they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe"?

Was post 8 not allowed to ask what was meant by that?

And that is where the thread “went off track”.

If you don’t want atheists to post then don’t disparage them. Pretty easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s start a thread called “Atheists, Talk about Christians” and then not let Christians post any comments.

As if we didn't know you guys are all about trashing Christians and only Christians.

No - it’s mostly Christians on this thread saying atheists should not be commenting.

No - it was OP and the moderator who said atheists should not be commenting.

No - OP did say atheists shouldn’t comment. Moderator said we might want to skip it but didn’t say we couldn’t. Why do you think it’s Christian to squash other peoples’ views?

OP and the moderator are both atheists. Which makes it all the more compelling that OP addressed believers and the moderator said "atheists really have nothing to offer and should probably just skip...."

But you barged right in anyway with insults and tried to hijack the thread with your demands for the bases of faith. Apparently self-restraint isn't your strong suit. You might reflect on how you yourself impact the answer to OP's question re peoples' perception of atheists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a lot of people here have never had a conversation, which evolves as points are made and get responded to.

For instance, the seventh post in this thread said "I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

The next post asks "What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?"

And it went from there.

Was post 7 not supposed to add "they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe"?

Was post 8 not allowed to ask what was meant by that?

And that is where the thread “went off track”.

If you don’t want atheists to post then don’t disparage them. Pretty easy.

Pretty transparent trolling -- bumping a post from three pages ago.

Anyway, your martyr complex must be pretty severe if you think pointing out a basic distinction ("they're wrong") is disparaging you. Yikes, seek help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a lot of people here have never had a conversation, which evolves as points are made and get responded to.

For instance, the seventh post in this thread said "I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

The next post asks "What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?"

And it went from there.

Was post 7 not supposed to add "they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe"?

Was post 8 not allowed to ask what was meant by that?

DP. Yes, post 8 was wrong because they were hijacking. Post 7 was simply a vague "no opinion" with a sidebar about vague facts they disagreed on. It was wrong to try to take the thread in a totally new direction that debates religion itself. If you can't see that, I wonder about your own conversational abilities.

This isn’t just a conversation; it is a forum that has rules to govern discussion. That’s why it’s for the best to confine threads to the topic of the thread.

op is an atheist who asked for the opinion of religious people. The thread was swiftly consumed by atheists who were “defending” themselves and then evolved into another thread of why God doesn’t exist, why Christianity is wrong, and multiple posts on Christians being evil, taking rights away from the general populace, and being the most abusive people in America.

It became so egregious the mod commented on it.

So, people can say what they think about atheists.

People can say why they think that about atheists.

But atheists can't respond with any substance on the issue.

Got it! Sounds very fair!

FFS. The poster said she thought atheists "were wrong." That's simply the difference between atheists and believers.

There's zero to need to defend yourself against this. Nothing nefarious at all about pointing out that your philosophy is different.

The martyrdom here is real.

So I am not allowed to say a post is wrong but you are allowed to say mine is wrong.

Got it again! I am catching on!

DP. As a Christian, I wouldn't go into a thread on the topic "atheists what do you think of Christians" to talk about how I think atheists are wrong. That would be pointlessly picking a fight.

What if someone on the thread posted:
“I don't really have a general opinion of believers beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

Who is picking a fight then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s start a thread called “Atheists, Talk about Christians” and then not let Christians post any comments.

As if we didn't know you guys are all about trashing Christians and only Christians.

No - it’s mostly Christians on this thread saying atheists should not be commenting.

+1

Easily 50% of the posts are believers whining about the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s start a thread called “Atheists, Talk about Christians” and then not let Christians post any comments.

As if we didn't know you guys are all about trashing Christians and only Christians.

No - it’s mostly Christians on this thread saying atheists should not be commenting.

No - it was OP and the moderator who said atheists should not be commenting.

No - OP did say atheists shouldn’t comment. Moderator said we might want to skip it but didn’t say we couldn’t. Why do you think it’s Christian to squash other peoples’ views?

OP and the moderator are both atheists. Which makes it all the more compelling that OP addressed believers and the moderator said "atheists really have nothing to offer and should probably just skip...."

But you barged right in anyway with insults and tried to hijack the thread with your demands for the bases of faith. Apparently self-restraint isn't your strong suit. You might reflect on how you yourself impact the answer to OP's question re peoples' perception of atheists.

Who do you think threw down the first insult?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a lot of people here have never had a conversation, which evolves as points are made and get responded to.

For instance, the seventh post in this thread said "I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

The next post asks "What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?"

And it went from there.

Was post 7 not supposed to add "they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe"?

Was post 8 not allowed to ask what was meant by that?

And that is where the thread “went off track”.

If you don’t want atheists to post then don’t disparage them. Pretty easy.

Pretty transparent trolling -- bumping a post from three pages ago.

Anyway, your martyr complex must be pretty severe if you think pointing out a basic distinction ("they're wrong") is disparaging you. Yikes, seek help.

I’m catching up on the thread.

It’s definitely disparaging and very telling that you don’t think it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a lot of people here have never had a conversation, which evolves as points are made and get responded to.

For instance, the seventh post in this thread said "I don't really have a general opinion of atheists beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

The next post asks "What basic facts about the universe do you think that atheists are wrong about?"

And it went from there.

Was post 7 not supposed to add "they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe"?

Was post 8 not allowed to ask what was meant by that?

DP. Yes, post 8 was wrong because they were hijacking. Post 7 was simply a vague "no opinion" with a sidebar about vague facts they disagreed on. It was wrong to try to take the thread in a totally new direction that debates religion itself. If you can't see that, I wonder about your own conversational abilities.

This isn’t just a conversation; it is a forum that has rules to govern discussion. That’s why it’s for the best to confine threads to the topic of the thread.

op is an atheist who asked for the opinion of religious people. The thread was swiftly consumed by atheists who were “defending” themselves and then evolved into another thread of why God doesn’t exist, why Christianity is wrong, and multiple posts on Christians being evil, taking rights away from the general populace, and being the most abusive people in America.

It became so egregious the mod commented on it.

So, people can say what they think about atheists.

People can say why they think that about atheists.

But atheists can't respond with any substance on the issue.

Got it! Sounds very fair!

FFS. The poster said she thought atheists "were wrong." That's simply the difference between atheists and believers.

There's zero to need to defend yourself against this. Nothing nefarious at all about pointing out that your philosophy is different.

The martyrdom here is real.

So I am not allowed to say a post is wrong but you are allowed to say mine is wrong.

Got it again! I am catching on!

DP. As a Christian, I wouldn't go into a thread on the topic "atheists what do you think of Christians" to talk about how I think atheists are wrong. That would be pointlessly picking a fight.

What if someone on the thread posted:
“I don't really have a general opinion of believers beyond thinking they're wrong on some basic facts about the universe. "

Who is picking a fight then?

I'm the PP who made both that bolded comment and the one you're replying to, and I don't think I was picking a fight in the least. I was asked what I think of atheists and I gave an honest, non-derogatory answer. I think atheists have mistaken beliefs, but otherwise they're people, some good, some bad. What would a less confrontational answer look like? Am I supposed to deny that we have different beliefs or deny that I hold the beliefs I hold because I think they're correct? That's a serious question, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer the question that's less picking a fight than what I said without being dishonest.

The difference between what I said and an atheist responding is that the thread was addressed to people like me? That's why I made my statement here and in a thread asking atheists what they thought of theists, I'd let shut up and let them say their peace.