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Agnostics assert that the existence or non-existence is unknowable. This is a different category, but one can hold both positions and in many cases Agnostics ARE Atheists.
I spent about 30 years of my life either as a cultural Christian or as a dedicated Christian. I met some rather good friends and had some good times here and there, but for the most part, after escaping from the grip of Christianity, I realize how traumatized I really was/am. I literally HATE church. While there are some Christians songs I still love, when I hear some of them, they take my mind back to a mixture of good emotions (hanging out with friends and taking trips) and bad emotions (being bored out of my mind at times, being horrified at times among other things). I literally try to distance myself from ANYTHING to do with my Christian past and try to deal with the regret of practically wasting much of my life chasing a pipe dream.
All of that being said, just yesterday, I was speaking to an old friend from my Christian days and from a past conversation, he was made aware that I am no longer a Christian and have no reason for Church nor do I go. So I was telling him about my new path in life and how happy I am with it. He was able to ascertain that I am the SAME person (without the religion) and yet, as the call was ending, he pleaded with me to start going back to church and to reconsider "God." Ugh!
I am a black man and like folks in the U.S South, there is just this assumption that I MUST be a person who believes in God. Other black folks talk to me in Gospel speak because it is just assumed that I pray, that I believe in God, that I believe in heaven and hell and that I believe "God is gonna work it out." When I start to hear the "Gospelese," it makes me cringe and I am left with this weird situation of not knowing how to answer or react. The assumption is forced on me and if I speak up and saying anything remotely close to not believing in the hocus pocus, it steers the conversation in an entirely different direction and the analyzing starts.
A family I know from my Christian days is about to lose their eldest sibling to cancer and so I called to offer support. In the course of the conversation I heard:
"We are praying for the best."
"God is good and he knows best."
"Just keep us in your prayers."
"God is a god of miracles."
Then the conversation went off to asking me about what church I attend and blah blah blah. This conversation came after a conversation the week before with another former church friend who started talking about church life, changes in his theology and the death of his father and then telling me all about heaven.
For those moments when I have had an opportunity to say something dissenting, I have been talked down, not given a chance to get a word in edge wise and essentially threatened. My own mom got wind of the fact that I use Facebook as a platform to gently tell my sphere of friends I no longer believe. As a result, I got a call, that was actually a scolding, in which she told me I was embarrassing her and that I should stop telling people I don't believe in God. For an entire hour, my mother went in on me to the point where she told her I stressed her out with the thought that I might go to the "other place."
When I come to these type forums, I get a chance to learn a few things and also to hone my ability to speak my position and not be afraid or feel that I am alone. Also, as with Alt Thinker, I actually appreciate the bible because I am a history buff and find it fascinating to see how religious beliefs shaped the course of history or how history shaped religion. I don't HATE "God" or the Bible, but I do believe there is some real flawed thinking out there, ESPECIALLY among my own black folks who, in there disenfranchised state, still look for a sweet chariot to swing low and carry them home.
You are not alone in your struggle. I deal with the same kind of ignorance (willful or not) from devout Christians all the time. My father is actually a pastor in a biblical literalist denomination, so I have to deal with that too.
Like you, I find it helpful to talk with others who are in the same situation. Like you said, this forum is one good place to do it.
You are not alone in observing that religion is often used as a tool to keep people "down" or "in their place." Karl Marx famously called religion "the opiate of the masses." Labor activist Joe Hill wrote a song called "the preacher and the slave" that satirized religion's false promise of a "pie in the sky when you die" so that people would be content with injustice in the here and now.
It wouldn't worry me if you were. The OP is not about gays, it is about why are atheists so pre-occupied with God and christianity?,and i stated my opinion that it is for the same reason many christians are obsessed with gays and sin, of cause i could be totally wrong and i probably am, but do you really think christians can say what they say about atheists,gays and sinners and not expect some form of reaction ?. Like i said rather than whinging about it, use the opportunity to share what is the reality in your life.....or....
Well, I'm not gay. Now, that said, gays do not effect me nor do they concern me in any way. I am only responsible for myself and what anyone else believes or thinks is of no concern or responsibility of mine. I preach nor attempt to convert no one at all. I was only curious as to why atheists seem to be so concerned about how what Christians believe effects them? Why is it really any of their business at all?
You are not alone in your struggle. I deal with the same kind of ignorance (willful or not) from devout Christians all the time. My father is actually a pastor in a biblical literalist denomination, so I have to deal with that too.
Like you, I find it helpful to talk with others who are in the same situation. Like you said, this forum is one good place to do it.
You are not alone in observing that religion is often used as a tool to keep people "down" or "in their place." Karl Marx famously called religion "the opiate of the masses." Labor activist Joe Hill wrote a song called "the preacher and the slave" that satirized religion's false promise of a "pie in the sky when you die" so that people would be content with injustice in the here and now.
Then why not do the sensible thing and engage in an atheist forum and leave the Christians alone by mindingt your own business instead of theirs?
It's pretty obvious the OP and many respondents are misinformed about atheism and fear and loathe atheists. But it's also understandable.
It's mostly the fundamentalists who resent the incursions of the godless. Fundamentalists prefer a black and white worldview. It keeps things simple, which is important to them.
Atheists introduce doubt where there was certainty. They introduce objective, scientific truths which contradict biblical stories and are difficult to deny.
In short, atheists make fundamentalists' brains hurt. And, since they don't believe in God, they most certainly must be minions of Satan.
Actually atheists are more like gnats in the heat of summer. They become little insignificant pests on Christian forums with their constant OP's bashing God and Christians and attempting to prove that they are intellectually superior. As a whole, they come off as either bullies or spoiled children.
You are not alone in your struggle. I deal with the same kind of ignorance (willful or not) from devout Christians all the time. My father is actually a pastor in a biblical literalist denomination, so I have to deal with that too.
Like you, I find it helpful to talk with others who are in the same situation. Like you said, this forum is one good place to do it.
You are not alone in observing that religion is often used as a tool to keep people "down" or "in their place." Karl Marx famously called religion "the opiate of the masses." Labor activist Joe Hill wrote a song called "the preacher and the slave" that satirized religion's false promise of a "pie in the sky when you die" so that people would be content with injustice in the here and now.
It takes a lot of faith to be an atheist, so I think the obsession is about looking for re-assurance from the like-minded.
The other reason is that they are simply offended by the cross
Actually, I would claim they are simply those who must dictate to others how they should live and what they should believe. They are meddlers in other people's affairs.
Actually, I would claim they are simply those who must dictate to others how they should live and what they should believe. They are meddlers in other people's affairs.
You are not alone in your struggle. I deal with the same kind of ignorance (willful or not) from devout Christians all the time. My father is actually a pastor in a biblical literalist denomination, so I have to deal with that too.
Like you, I find it helpful to talk with others who are in the same situation. Like you said, this forum is one good place to do it.
You are not alone in observing that religion is often used as a tool to keep people "down" or "in their place." Karl Marx famously called religion "the opiate of the masses." Labor activist Joe Hill wrote a song called "the preacher and the slave" that satirized religion's false promise of a "pie in the sky when you die" so that people would be content with injustice in the here and now.
As a child i once had a nightmare with the devil. I guess I had seen too many movies with the red guy with a cape and horns; the nightmare had nothing to do with religion.
I woke up in distress and told my dad about the nightmare. My dad calmly told me there was such thing as the devil and I felt incredible reassurance. That was probably my first step to agnosticism.
Well, obviously your education didn't include the correct spelling of his name: Wernher von Braun.
If you're going to start claiming him as your own, the least you can do is get his name right. Thanks.
Spelling of proper nouns is not my area of expertise. I hold a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics.
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