Any Black Atheists in Atlanta (that's right I said it) (colleges, area)

[CaliDude1]

Originally Posted by caramel74

I couldn't agree with you more. We (as a race) need to get over that crap. God sure didn't help us when we were picking cotton, being beaten and treated like inhumane animals.

Depends on how you look at it. I didn't see too many Atheist leading the Civil Rights movement which ultimately won our freedom. I didn't read about (nor hear any stories) of many secular humanist leading marches into an onslaught of attacking German shepherds, water hoses, and police batons. How easy is it to rely on "intellect" when the systems around you pretty much work. Now take yourself back 60 or 70 years. How easy would it have been to rely on logic when everything you knew led to the same logical conclusion, that you were second class and everything was stacked against you. To break that mental chain faith was needed.

And Christianity did not cause slavery. The English and Dutch were not motivated by their religion they were motivated by the desire for profit. And they got help from the indiginous believing Africans who were already there. Has Christianity been a tool to aid slavery during those years? Of course. Capitalism has been, too. So where does that leave us?

We as black people are often overly religious. We are often zealous on religious matters we don't truly understand. We often give too much credence to religious leaders giving them an authoritative place in our lives they don't deserve. But let's not be ignorant of our history. Christianity did not put our ancestors into slavery. But it sure played a dominant role of making them free. We would be fools to forget that or even downplay it.

[caramel74]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

I wouldn't go so far to say that Caramel74 is in contradiction with what he/she said. I watch Bill Maher and love his show. Am I an atheist? No...Am I religious? Definitely not. I'm more inline with RCSteiner on this topic.

When Caramel74 mentioned watching Bill Maher, it's to open your mind to other things and get a different perspective, which I might add (in my opinion) to be more honest and intelligently put than 99% of religious preachers riding in Bentleys lying to people on Sundays (in their sermons), while breaking all the rules from Monday-Saturday (cheating on their wives, cheating the IRS, screwing people out of their hard earned money, i.e...tithes paying for their lavish lifestyles).

Two topics to minimize getting into, with strangers:

1. Politics

2. Religion.


You'll save a lot of time, and money (on high blood pressure medication)

Thank you for getting my point Mister NY! What he/she didnt get was I don't WORSHIP Bill Mahar. My life does not REVOLVE around Bill Mahar. I don't go around saying "Bill Mahar bless you" or "Bill Mahar have mercy". And if my friend is having problems, I don't say I will pray to Bill Mahar to help you. In fact I don't even agree with everything he has to say.

The poster said "You get your information from Bill while someone else gets their's from the bible. What is the difference?" The difference is I get information from his show...it IS a news program. I listen, and I form my own opinions. I can choose to agree with some, most or all of what he says. But now the bible on the other hand....in order to go to heaven and be the ultimate christian you must do and BELIEVE EVERYTHING in the bible no matter how stupid it is.

[caramel74]

[quote=pickleswanson;10438618]

Originally Posted by caramel74

Well caramel, I am Christian and can not remember a day that I was not. Of course there are times in everyone's life where they question everything but my belief in Christ is one I never desired or needed to question.

Being a Christian that has gone through many phases of being Christian. I understand when to speak to someone that is willing to listen. When to just accept that the person I am listening to or in this case reading their comments wholly likes to stir the pot and cause people to question themselves. Good on you I say.

I think the questioning process is an important part of growth in being human whether Christian or not. I also believe somewhat like you that no religions are the correct ones. I do believe that there is only one true God and God just happened to find me through a small southern Baptist Church.

I have all but removed myself from any practiced or methodological teachings, meaning church, because I find myself bored with most preachers sermons. I seek out my own meaning of God's word on my own and occasionally seek guidance from others when I stumble across something that just doesn't add up. Generally speaking though I am unable to find what I am looking for through others and something will happen in my life that explains it. Sometimes years down the road and possibly even after I have forgotten that I once questioned it.

So much in my own life goes unexplained. Seems to happen for no reason, both good and bad. So many things about my own body just do not make sense when compared to others. If I, being such a small part of this world can have so many unexplainable things in my life, then why should I find comfort in asking why? Why should I find any greatness in bringing others discomfort by asking them to question their beliefs with me? Why would I want to tell others that my way or any way is the correct way to find their path in life when we were all granted the ability and choice to do so own our own? Why would I disagree with you or refute any of your points when many have validity? Why would I ask you to believe anything when you are so genuinely happy with not believing in anything that you can not make happen, hold in your hands or see?

I personally love what you are doing here with your ways of punching people where it hurts most. It is a great testing field for all of us. I am also sure that it drives many people to search out answers to help guide you and many others that read this thread. I am absolutely positive that your actions and words have had a profound effect on someone that has read your posts. This thread like so many things in life that require opinions, knowledge, trust, and a lot of emotion simply split the tides. It makes for an awakening in all sides of a battle that has been in progress since the dawn of man.

Please continue at your leisure.

What an awesome compliment pickle. Thank you so much for not being offended by someone expressing their feelings even if it does go against the grain.

Let me tell you something....there are MANY people who feel the same way I do but are too afarid to say it publicly. Atheists, agnostics, freethinkers (like homosexuals) live in the "closet" for most of their lives, but a new day is dawning. Even our President acknowledged non-believers in his inauguration speech. I think that was a FIRST.

Mark my words, in the next few years you will hear more and more about atheists and the like.

[caramel74]

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

Depends on how you look at it. I didn't see too many Atheist leading the Civil Rights movement which ultimately won our freedom. I didn't read about (nor hear any stories) of many secular humanist leading marches into an onslaught of attacking German shepherds, water hoses, and police batons. How easy is it to rely on "intellect" when the systems around you pretty much work. Now take yourself back 60 or 70 years. How easy would it have been to rely on logic when everything you knew led to the same logical conclusion, that you were second class and everything was stacked against you. To break that mental chain faith was needed.

And Christianity did not cause slavery. The English and Dutch were not motivated by their religion they were motivated by the desire for profit. And they got help from the indiginous believing Africans who were already there. Has Christianity been a tool to aid slavery during those years? Of course. Capitalism has been, too. So where does that leave us?

We as black people are often overly religious. We are often zealous on religious matters we don't truly understand. We often give too much credence to religious leaders giving them an authoritative place in our lives they don't deserve. But let's not be ignorant of our history. Christianity did not put our ancestors into slavery. But it sure played a dominant role of making them free. We would be fools to forget that or even downplay it.

It was DETERMINATION and WILL that got us through the Civil Rights Movement. Not god. Why would the "good" and "loving" and let's not for get "ALL POWERFUL" allow his CHILDREN...let me say it again...HIS CHILDREN to go through not 1, not two, not 10 or even 100 but 400 years of physical, mental, torcherous ABUSE? I'll ask it again...would you allow that to happen to YOUR children. I think not and you are nothing but mere mortal!!!! Not an ALL POWERFUL GOD.

No sir...god didnt have anything to do with that. It took people saying enough is enough..we are not going to allow people to treat us this way anymore and taking a stand that did it. (Sort of like what atheists are doing now....coming together as a TEAM to prove to people that we aren't what your preacher says we are.)

You say faith was needed to get people through those times....I disagree. White people USED faith to keep us subserviant and docile. They had to make us believe in a something (by the way we were'nt christians in Africa) that would have us believe that if "we be a good slave and work hard and obey "massa", we would get to walk on gold streets." I NEVER elluded to the fact that christianity started slavery but it definitely enhanced it. What I did say that our "Precious Lawd" damn sure didn't do anything about it.

[CaliDude1]

Originally Posted by caramel74

It was DETERMINATION and WILL that got us through the Civil Rights Movement. Not god. Why would the "good" and "loving" and let's not for get "ALL POWERFUL" allow his CHILDREN...let me say it again...HIS CHILDREN to go through not 1, not two, not 10 or even 100 but 400 years of physical, mental, torcherous ABUSE? I'll ask it again...would you allow that to happen to YOUR children. I think not and you are nothing but mere mortal!!!! Not an ALL POWERFUL GOD.

No sir...god didnt have anything to do with that. It took people saying enough is enough..we are not going to allow people to treat us this way anymore and taking a stand that did it. (Sort of like what atheists are doing now....coming together as a TEAM to prove to people that we aren't what your preacher says we are.)

You say faith was needed to get people through those times....I disagree. White people USED faith to keep us subserviant and docile. They had to make us believe in a something (by the way we were'nt christians in Africa) that would have us believe that if "we be a good slave and work hard and obey "massa", we would get to walk on gold streets." I NEVER elluded to the fact that christianity started slavery but it definitely enhanced it. What I did say that our "Precious Lawd" damn sure didn't do anything about it.

Without the black Christian church we would still be drinking from colored water fountains. But you can go ahead and think it was inconsequential. As I alluded to in the first post, I am not saying Christianity or the black church is/was perfect. However, it is interesting to see how some of us young and free brothers and sisters so easily dismiss the things that got us where we are. I am not even saying we should all be Christians. That is an individual choice. I could care less. But I refuse to be ignorant of my history. Ask youself this, why were so many black churches bombed? Why not bomb black colleges? Why not bomb black social clubs? Churches and the basic beliefs they espoused were the lifeblood of the movement.

As to why a "loving" God would allow his people to suffer? People have been asking that question since the beginning of time. None have been able to come up with an answer that satisfies our human emotions. But suffering did not start with slavery and black Americans do not have a monoply or a patent on struggle.

I respect your right to believe (or disbelieve) however you choose. But don't disrespect our people's struggle in the process. In your quest to reject God make sure you don't reject reality, revise history, and cheapen our ancestors sacrifice along way.

[TNRyan23]

Originally Posted by caramel74

It was DETERMINATION and WILL that got us through the Civil Rights Movement. Not god. Why would the "good" and "loving" and let's not for get "ALL POWERFUL" allow his CHILDREN...let me say it again...HIS CHILDREN to go through not 1, not two, not 10 or even 100 but 400 years of physical, mental, torcherous ABUSE? I'll ask it again...would you allow that to happen to YOUR children. I think not and you are nothing but mere mortal!!!! Not an ALL POWERFUL GOD.

No sir...god didnt have anything to do with that. It took people saying enough is enough..we are not going to allow people to treat us this way anymore and taking a stand that did it. (Sort of like what atheists are doing now....coming together as a TEAM to prove to people that we aren't what your preacher says we are.)

You say faith was needed to get people through those times....I disagree. White people USED faith to keep us subserviant and docile. They had to make us believe in a something (by the way we were'nt christians in Africa) that would have us believe that if "we be a good slave and work hard and obey "massa", we would get to walk on gold streets." I NEVER elluded to the fact that christianity started slavery but it definitely enhanced it. What I did say that our "Precious Lawd" damn sure didn't do anything about it.

The slave trade had existed for thousands of years in Africa. I'll assume that you don't recognize that and only care about the U.S.

I'll also assume that when you talk about slavery and hatred it only applies to people of African descent ? I'll assume that you don't know or don't care about a man named Adolf Hitler that killed thousands of Jews because he thought they were inferrior and didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes ? It's kinda funny because I seem to remember reading about how a mostly white military kicked his butt and stopped him.

Honey, I've read almost every post in this thread and have come to the conclusion that you are racist. You don't like white people and that's your problem. I personally don't care. You need Jesus, You have too much hate in your heart and your hatred is being taken out on too many innocent people.

Like many posters have said before my post, Had there been someone that posted a thread titled " Any White Atheists in Atlanta (that's right I said it. ) " and proceeded to say that they didn't want any blacks around and didn't feel comfortable around black people, There would have been hell to pay and the thread would have been locked.

Before you play the race card on me, Yes, I'm white and my wife is black. I don't get the race issues in Atlanta but even we, as an interracial couple had ignorant stares and comments thrust our way. I don't even go through Atlanta anymore. If I want to go home from Nashville to Tampa, I go through Birmingham and Tallahassee.

You need to work on your hate issues caramel, However, Atleast you're in the right city to have them.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by TNRyan23

The slave trade had existed for thousands of years in Africa. I'll assume that you don't recognize that and only care about the U.S.

I'll also assume that when you talk about slavery and hatred it only applies to people of African descent ? I'll assume that you don't know or don't care about a man named Adolf Hitler that killed thousands of Jews because he thought they were inferrior and didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes ? It's kinda funny because I seem to remember reading about how a mostly white military kicked his butt and stopped him.

Honey, I've read almost every post in this thread and have come to the conclusion that you are racist. You don't like white people and that's your problem. I personally don't care. You need Jesus, You have too much hate in your heart and your hatred is being taken out on too many innocent people.

Like many posters have said before my post, Had there been someone that posted a thread titled " Any White Atheists in Atlanta (that's right I said it. ) " and proceeded to say that they didn't want any blacks around and didn't feel comfortable around black people, There would have been hell to pay and the thread would have been locked.

Before you play the race card on me, Yes, I'm white and my wife is black. I don't get the race issues in Atlanta but even we, as an interracial couple had ignorant stares and comments thrust our way. I don't even go through Atlanta anymore. If I want to go home from Nashville to Tampa, I go through Birmingham and Tallahassee.

You need to work on your hate issues caramel, However, Atleast you're in the right city to have them.

Okay I get the rest of what you said but I don't think Atlanta is anymore racist than any other place.Especially Birmingham, Charlotte,Nashville,Tampa.All those cities have higher increases of hate crimes than Atlanta by a long shot. Interracial relationships are EVERYWHERE in Atlanta.I am black and can count SEVERAL friends who are married in interacial relationships or dating.No one ever has felt uncomfortable in most settings.We go out all the time.I hang out with a white Jewish southern girl all the time.She dated my friend Marcus who is black.Her father has had us all with other friends from all over the world at their home when she comes in from working in Africa for the U.N.My neighbor and friend who is a black female ,dates a white guy.They have never really experienced anything.She is not the type of person to keep quiet.You will see a difference in the extreme northern suburbs close to the mountains ,but still no worse than some smaller rural southern cities.Now I will say that as it is every where, that the church and church people will give you the most flack.And thats black and white.I am a Christian but I do realize that people's Idea of what that means to be a Christian are "flawed" and different.

I do not think that the person meant it like it may have sounded to you.It is not uncommon to hear of a "white atheist".Just like you rarelyr hear of a white 100 meter dasher,or a black hockey player.Black people are usually more religious than the general populace,to find a black person with a shared experience like being a Atheist;especially in the South,is rare.Its like a support rather than a need to be "separate" .Much like i'm sure you may find comfort in talking with other interracial couples.So don't try to paint Atlanta as if it is some have for racist behavior because its far from it.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by caramel74

It was DETERMINATION and WILL that got us through the Civil Rights Movement. Not god. Why would the "good" and "loving" and let's not for get "ALL POWERFUL" allow his CHILDREN...let me say it again...HIS CHILDREN to go through not 1, not two, not 10 or even 100 but 400 years of physical, mental, torcherous ABUSE? I'll ask it again...would you allow that to happen to YOUR children. I think not and you are nothing but mere mortal!!!! Not an ALL POWERFUL GOD.

No sir...god didnt have anything to do with that. It took people saying enough is enough..we are not going to allow people to treat us this way anymore and taking a stand that did it. (Sort of like what atheists are doing now....coming together as a TEAM to prove to people that we aren't what your preacher says we are.)

You say faith was needed to get people through those times....I disagree. White people USED faith to keep us subserviant and docile. They had to make us believe in a something (by the way we were'nt christians in Africa) that would have us believe that if "we be a good slave and work hard and obey "massa", we would get to walk on gold streets." I NEVER elluded to the fact that christianity started slavery but it definitely enhanced it. What I did say that our "Precious Lawd" damn sure didn't do anything about it.

Can you control what anybody does?Black people kill.Are we black people murderous by nature?White people kill too.Are they all bad?NO.Its funny how you justify your beliefs by saying white people did this or that because of religion.But if it had not been for Jewish people and there assistancein the civil right struggle,it would have been harder.Not to mention the Catholic church.Slavery in Africa actually has its roots in Arabic culture.
Yes religion has been(still is) a major contributer to wars and human angst.There is no denying that fact.At the same time,religion has also been the incipience in which change for the better has also occurred.It has been the rallying point in which people have made their arguments to others who joined causes based a fear or belief that God is just and guides to be better than we are.The very nature of Christianity is suppose to be how we love Jesus and how Jesus loves all man kind.If I recognize your humanity and your right to believe the way you do based on the fact that I believe and love God.Then why is that a bad thing?

So in a nutshell we are all different.We can learn from each other even if we do not believe the same things.As long as we can be morally right based on human nature,then we can all agree to disagree and still interact.I do not believe in "religion" because too much structure does not allow for personal development.It becomes a "pack"mentality.Much like a pack of "wolves".Packs build off each others strengths and weakness".Sometimes they get over zealous,worked up to a frenzy, and do things that they personally do not agree with.If they are allowed to think on their own even worse.People who are religious are not anymore morally upright than those that are not.The main difference is that if one truly has faith,the faith will guide those who "falter" when they are faced with difficult decisions,and when morality is in the "grey" area and not always clear.
People are individuals,no matter what group or ideology they might believe in.You cannot control individuals.

All humans and all groups do the same thing.

[ProgShred]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

Oh boy!! I see the Mod coming with the chains and lock for this thread.

Instead of locking the thread, maybe they should just give the highjackers the boot.

[Britishintown]

Originally Posted by caramel74

It was DETERMINATION and WILL that got us through the Civil Rights Movement. Not god. Why would the "good" and "loving" and let's not for get "ALL POWERFUL" allow his CHILDREN...let me say it again...HIS CHILDREN to go through not 1, not two, not 10 or even 100 but 400 years of physical, mental, torcherous ABUSE?

He allowed the jews to go through nearly 2000 years of it before they were allowed back into Israel.