Questions to atheists....

[Metaphysique]

Originally Posted by Peaceful Forever

I have always wondered these.... Please answer

1. Does anyone in your family/friends know you are an atheist/agnostic?

I assume almost everyone knows I am a skeptic or nontheist. I have been one for the past almost six years.

2. Do you celebrate Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter?

My family observes Yule/Winter Solstice and Krismas. We also observe Oestre or the Spring Equinox. The origins of both Christmas and Easter are "Pagan."

3. Will you baptize your child if your spouse wanted?

No, but then I would not date or marry someone who aligns with a dogmatic, organized religion of any sort. My partner and I share the same views on pretty much all matters of philosophy and spirituality.

4. Do you consider Jesus as a great person and philosopher?

Ahh, on the verge of C.S. Lewis's trilemma. I consider the character to be neither. I have a very low, if not nonexistent Christology.

5. Why can't you just call yourself for "secular" rather than atheist, agnostic or nonbeliever?

Er, I am secular, but I am also a relative metaphysical atheist because there are deity concepts I simply reject. Everyone is an atheist or relative metaphysical atheist. I'm just intellectually honest enough to admit it.

6. How do you feel being surrounded by churches, God mentioned all the time, etc. in your daily life?

Thankfully, now that I am back in So Cal I am not surrounded by churches or talk of deities. However, in the area of the South I primarily lived before moving here, Atlanta, I was not around many churches or proselytizing. Thank Zeus.

7. Do you wish America was officially an atheist country?

I wish for America to be secular and not promote any religion or metaphysical position. I wish for the American government to stay true to its constitutional roots, and not make exceptions for any one religious tradition. I don't give a damn what others choose to believe. Believe in invisible wish-granting garden gnomes for all I care, so long as they remain personal and do not infringe on the rights and liberties of others.

8. What if your children or spouse want to believe in God, pray, wear cross, etc.? What will you do?

My partner and I come from similar religious backgrounds and share a very similar deconversion journey. We have very similar, if not identical positions or beliefs concerning the metaphysical. Spirituality is not a concern of mine; however, I would not and could not be with someone who aligns with orthodoxism, obscurantism, dogmatism, absolutism, exclusivism, and inclusivism. If my partner's beliefs are of the more esoteric/pluralistic/monistic variety commonly seen in Eastern philosophy and other ancient traditions, that is fine; however, if said beliefs are in any sense conservative/mainstream, orthodox or evangelical, it s a no-go.

I do not foresee my children believing in or praying to the Abrahamic deities any more than I do the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Celtic, Norse deities. El/Yahweh, Jesus and Holy Spirit make about as much sense to them as the Mayan deities. That is to say they are nothing more than deity characters in ancient mythos. It's fine to appreciate ancient literature and mythology, to view it as a human truth, recognizing the wisdom or message they may possess. However, in terms of Absolute, metaphysical, Truth, I greatly discourage such. I do not take ancient mythology to be literal in meaning whatsoever. This goes for all mythology, including Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic. I greatly discourage believing mythology of any kind is inerrant and literal.

9. If you get serious sick / old - will you start believe in God and ask for prayers?

"If you become seriously ill, will you stat believing in or praying to Zeus or Thor?"

No? Well that's my answer, too. Your El/Yahweh, Jesus and Holy Spirit are to me what Zeus, Mithra, Ra, Apsu, Ahura Mazda, Isis, Ishtar, et al., are to you. They do not register on your radar, and likewise, your deities do not register on mine.

10. Why can't you just believe without questioning/be in doubt about God's existence without going to church, pray, etc.?

I don't believe in mythological deities. Calling them "god" does not make them any less fanciful, mythical or mythological.

11. Do you use any religious terms such as "bless you" e.g. when somebody sneeze?

Never.

12. Would you rather live/buy a house next to a mosque, synagogue or church if you had to pick/choose?

I frankly don't care.

13. If you had to pick, would you rather live under Christian or Islamic theocracy?

Neither.

14. What do you think about Islam?

The same as I do Christian mythology and all other ancient mythology.

[B87]

1. Does anyone in your family/friends know you are an atheist/agnostic? Everyone I know is atheist/agnostic.
2. Do you celebrate Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter? I celebrate the capitalist festival of Xmas and the chocolate festival of Easter.
3. Will you baptize your child if your spouse wanted? Never.
4. Do you consider Jesus as a great person and philosopher? No.
5. Why can't you just call yourself for "secular" rather than atheist, agnostic or nonbeliever? Because I do not believe in a god.
6. How do you feel being surrounded by churches, God mentioned all the time, etc. in your daily life? I don't care unless someone tries to proselytise to me, or if religious billboards are up.
7. Do you wish America was officially an atheist country? I wish every country was an atheist country.
8. What if your children or spouse want to believe in God, pray, wear cross, etc.? What will you do? I will educate them properly so it will never come to that.
9. If you get serious sick / old - will you start believe in God and ask for prayers? No.
10. Why can't you just believe without questioning/be in doubt about God's existence without going to church, pray, etc.? Because faith is a flawed system. In the real world, evidence is required to substantiate assertions.
11. Do you use any religious terms such as "bless you" e.g. when somebody sneeze? Sometimes.
12. Would you rather live/buy a house next to a mosque, synagogue or church if you had to pick/choose? Doesn't matter, they are all as bad as each other.
13. If you had to pick, would you rather live under Christian or Islamic theocracy? I would emigrate. I would never live under a theocracy.
14. What do you think about Islam? Just as ridiculous as every other theist religion.

[SteelDragon]

Originally Posted by Peaceful Forever

I have always wondered these.... Please answer

1. Does anyone in your family/friends know you are an atheist/agnostic?
2. Do you celebrate Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter?
3. Will you baptize your child if your spouse wanted?
4. Do you consider Jesus as a great person and philosopher?
5. Why can't you just call yourself for "secular" rather than atheist, agnostic or nonbeliever?
6. How do you feel being surrounded by churches, God mentioned all the time, etc. in your daily life?
7. Do you wish America was officially an atheist country?
8. What if your children or spouse want to believe in God, pray, wear cross, etc.? What will you do?
9. If you get serious sick / old - will you start believe in God and ask for prayers?
10. Why can't you just believe without questioning/be in doubt about God's existence without going to church, pray, etc.?
11. Do you use any religious terms such as "bless you" e.g. when somebody sneeze?
12. Would you rather live/buy a house next to a mosque, synagogue or church if you had to pick/choose?
13. If you had to pick, would you rather live under Christian or Islamic theocracy?
14. What do you think about Islam?

Thank you so much.

1. Yes, of course. I have become less vocal about it over the years though. To talk about atheism just seems to crush people's hopes. It rarely has been an intellectual debate. Usually family/friends have an emotional stake in their god beliefs. They NEED to believe.
2. I celebrate Christmas most years as a tradition with no religious implications. I use it as an excuse to see family. I often work that day.
3. I would let my child decide if they wanted to be baptized. I don't do forced indoctrination.
4. I consider Jesus a fictional character, retro-fitted into history, and made up to make the prophecies of the Old Testament true.
5. Why call my self anything at all? I am a normal, unbiased person who is not rooting for any side at all. I just follow where the evidence takes us.
6. Religious people annoy me some times but mostly I just ignore them. I don't mind if you want to enjoy your happy delusion; just don't try to make me believe it.
7. I don't care what people in the U.S. believe, just don't force feed it on impressionable children
8. I wouldn't object to whatever my spouse wanted to do. I would be shocked though, since she's a non-believer
9. Seriously?!? Turn to god out of fear of dying? That would be, in a word, pathetic.
10. Because I have a B.S. detector?
11. I use bless you, but only as a courtesy. I don't believe any higher power will actually bless them.
12. Neither. I would be annoyed by any of them.
13. I think all religious rule will end up being wicked and oppressive. No thanks!
14. Well, I know what you want us to believe. I think in the wrong hands Christianity could be equally oppressive as the countries that follow sharia. It's not too hard to imagine a christian taliban.