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I think I learned my lesson when I made a friend of mine very angry by being dismissive of Christianity. I didn't realize how arrogant I sounded until I really thought through everything I'd said. Now I can't see myself trying to convert anyone to atheism. I'll discuss it happily if someone else wants to, but that's it.
No you shouldn't. If we don't ask we don't care.
Don't push your atheistic beliefs on others just as you don't want Christianity pushed on you. It only makes them resist the idea further.
No , I don't really see the point. I treat people like adults, if they want to believe in a deity then it is their choice and not up to me to change their minds. If they ask about my Atheism and Philosophy of life then one can have an intelligent discourse on the nature of faith, atheism, science etc.. but at the end of the day people are quite capable of making their own minds up on their own.
I do not appreciate people who preach to me about their God so it would be hypocritical of me to preach to them.
I find religion a bizarre construct and it bemuses me but it really is none of my business what people believe or not as long as they do not infringe upon my rights ( or other people's) and are not dangerous or sociopathic.
In fact I do find preachy Atheism quite off putting. I very much admire the intellectual brilliance of Richard Dawkins for example and his passion. He is a master scientist and a man whose brain really impresses me. However I do find some of his tirades quite arrogant and he manages to get a lot of people's backs up , and not all of them religious people.
We must respect people enough to let them think for themselves . As long as education imparts the facts about science then people can still chose their own path.
Religion to me is something I will never understand and that often makes me rather irate but I do not wish to turn into a fanatic Atheist either.
Zealots make my blood curdle whether religious or not.
No you shouldn't. If we don't ask we don't care.
Don't push your atheistic beliefs on others just as you don't want Christianity pushed on you. It only makes them resist the idea further.
He didn't say anything about trying to make others deconvert.
The question is whether or not we should try to convince people that atheists are good, normal people like everyone else.
Tricky,
It is a nice thought, and looks great on paper, but I think turning the other cheek only works if the offending party is truly sorry for their actions.
Turning the other cheek has more to do with my philosophy than the other person's action. I will always warn others when they are crossing my line. I warn them to give them the chance to change their action.
Depending on the seriousness of their actions I will give them a 2nd and 3rd warning, but after the 3rd warning I have no problem to physically resolving the problem. It is important for me to warn others (turn the other cheek), but since I'm not a real pacifist I have no problem to take matters into my own hands.
But I'd rather solve problems through talking instead of using violence.
Be a decent person and there's no need to prove anything.
The thing is that evil (for example fascism) prey on decent and peaceful people. Simply because in the eyes of the fascist the decent & peaceful people are considered weak.
I don't push atheism on anybody, ever. Don't get me wrong, there are times I'd love to "set people straight", but I think that would be very hypocritical of me because I don't want religious people trying to set me straight.
Persuade is not the word, I think we should let them see the positive things we do not only as Atheist, but as responsible members of society. We don’t need to go door to door, we just need to continue being upfront with our lack of religion, and reject the immorality found in many of the mainstream religions.
That said, when the time comes to defend your non religious views on you own turf, do it with enough force to send the door knockers or bible beater running for safety.
We have covered this before, and I gave you documentation in private exchanges till you noted we would not agree on the topic of religion. If you want more documentation you can follow the hundreds of links I have provided in many of my post, or look up the history yourself. I suspect you choose to not view history as a method to judge your religious myths, and thus (for the lack of a better phrase) choose to turn the other cheek in relation to the problems with organized religion.
I see you still keep posting the Samaritan’s Purse footnote. I have not looked them up under the Obama administration but suspect the problem of Government paid proselytizing of people in disaster areas, and in the Middle Eastern war zones has been reduced if not ended. I mentioned in our private debates that I saw your S.P. organization as nothing more than a business, and in support of that statement I saw the salary of one of its managers was posted in the press this year as well over $600,000 per year, half of their overall religious based income for the year. (The link was provided in a thread on CD)
The issue I see is you don’t want to accept the atrocities religion and to a large extent Christianity has committed against humanity; while I see it as further proof of the absurdity of following myths and non secular systems as a standard to live by. I don't think charts will change this and would be a waste of our time.
I think there is a time and a place for that to be appropriate. The best time would be when bible thumpers knock on your door to tell you about their religion, you tell them about your lack of one. The second best time is when telephone solicitors call you during dinner.
Other than that, I will discuss atheism with anyone who wants to have a philisophical comparison discussion, and have done so from time to time, but I never try to persuade anyone of anything other than to keep an open mind and try to look at things logically. Not religious things, everything in life. That's as persuasive as I get, unless specifically invited to say more. But someone would have to flat out say "convince me".
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Turning the other cheek has more to do with my philosophy than the other person's action. I will always warn others when they are crossing my line. I warn them to give them the chance to change their action.
It is important for me to warn others (turn the other cheek), but since I'm not a real pacifist I have no problem to take matters into my own hands.
Simply because in the eyes of the fascist the decent & peaceful people are considered weak.
