Anonymous wrote:
Love is an emotion and empathy is an understanding.

Anonymous wrote:Love isn't supernatural.

Empathy isn't supernatural.

Love is an emotion and empathy is an understanding.

Both exist in the natural world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't talk religion or politics with people I don't really know. As a scientist, I prefer science talk...then people get shocked when they find out I'm a practicing Catholic, usually saying wow, you seem like such a flower child. Huh?

Well, I was an atheist from about 15-35 yo, so I get their confusion.

I'm curious about your reasons for going back to religion.

as background, I had my first existential crisis at 15, realizing God wasn't real. Second existential crisis in college pondering Descartes and having studied enough history (as a hobby) to realize why we're doomed to repeat history (and why I wish people would stop talking about aliens). And my third existential crisis was this one.

When I started realizing I believed in things that were supernatural ...super as in greater than, and natural as in nature...meaning I already believed in stuff that was greater than my scientific understanding of nature allowed for.

One example that I believe in, love. It is something greater than rushing endorphins that I have for my children, and once the lust for my husband wore off. My kids taught me that. Love is super-natural. Deus Caritas Est...those words are literal, not figurative.

Another supernatural belief that many seem to have (but I don't believe in) is empathy (sure I'll use the words in convo cuz it makes people happy). It is all made up emotions and is really just a mirror of one's selfish thoughts because we can't read minds to know what someone else feels. But if you believe it is something greater and real, fine, you be you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't talk religion or politics with people I don't really know. As a scientist, I prefer science talk...then people get shocked when they find out I'm a practicing Catholic, usually saying wow, you seem like such a flower child. Huh?

Well, I was an atheist from about 15-35 yo, so I get their confusion.

I'm curious about your reasons for going back to religion.

Anonymous wrote:I don't talk religion or politics with people I don't really know. As a scientist, I prefer science talk...then people get shocked when they find out I'm a practicing Catholic, usually saying wow, you seem like such a flower child. Huh?

Well, I was an atheist from about 15-35 yo, so I get their confusion.

Anonymous wrote:What is this question? OP doesn’t specify if it’s talking with atheists about religion or talking with them in general. If in general, it’s a dumb question because (a) how do you know they’re atheist, and (b) it seems vanishingly rare someone would have an issue with talking to an atheist about furniture or whatever.

Now if it’s talking to atheists about religion, OP needs to take responsibility for atheists who, like my BIL, always bring the subject up and badger people with it. Yes, I cringed when he brought up religion to badger my guest with it, and cringed even harder when he made her admit she’s Catholic and he doubled down, and some atheists like him need to STFU. Other atheists can be interesting to talk religion with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?

I, an atheist, realize that I just assume a stranger is a believer unless I know otherwise, because god belief is the default in the US. I certainly wouldn't ask them about their beliefs, though I am sometimes asked. More often, it just assumed that I'm religious.

I wouldn't talk about religious services, since I don't attend them. But others sometimes mention them.

So basically, the same approach as most believers.

no, pp doesn't ask people about their beliefs and they don't mention attending religious services, because they don't.

And most believers don’t mention their religious beliefs either. There are a handful of evangelicals and non-Christians (one Jew admitted to it last year) who make these unintelligent troll posts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?

I, an atheist, realize that I just assume a stranger is a believer unless I know otherwise, because god belief is the default in the US. I certainly wouldn't ask them about their beliefs, though I am sometimes asked. More often, it just assumed that I'm religious.

I wouldn't talk about religious services, since I don't attend them. But others sometimes mention them.

So basically, the same approach as most believers.

no, pp doesn't ask people about their beliefs and they don't mention attending religious services, because they don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?

I, an atheist, realize that I just assume a stranger is a believer unless I know otherwise, because god belief is the default in the US. I certainly wouldn't ask them about their beliefs, though I am sometimes asked. More often, it just assumed that I'm religious.

I wouldn't talk about religious services, since I don't attend them. But others sometimes mention them.

So basically, the same approach as most believers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?

I, an atheist, realize that I just assume a stranger is a believer unless I know otherwise, because god belief is the default in the US. I certainly wouldn't ask them about their beliefs, though I am sometimes asked. More often, it just assumed that I'm religious.

I wouldn't talk about religious services, since I don't attend them. But others sometimes mention them.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t not talk to them but we might just agree to disagree on religion and move on to other topics.

What would an atheist do if they realized they were talking to a believer? e.g., would they end the conversation? Change the subject? Ask them about their religious belief? try to “convert” them? Something else?