Why do atheists care what people believe? (suicide, sunday, beliefs)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The main reason I care is that both Christians and Muslims (especially the latter) mix politics with their religions. A theocracy isn't something I wish to live in.
I'm an atheist, but I don't "hate everything religious". Some of the music and architecture are splendid.
You must realize that every group has an agenda and because the current corruptness of our governments(world) they are able to lobby and get their way. I don't care if its religion or consumerism. Every group has a political agenda.
I think militant atheism is just about as bad as religious fundamentalism, just in the other direction.
But religion and widespread belief in silly things holds back humanity at large and keeps us from achieving our true potential as a species. The cure is education, plain and simple.
What if education is what discovers that there is a higher form of existence? What if through education we could just teach tolerance?
The thing about education is that it is mostly opinionated views of the person teaching. That will never change. Even if some law is put in place, people will still teach their own message from their own opinion.
If you don't like other peoples opinions, find someone you agree with or home-school your kids. This goes for people of all beliefs, Christians, Muslims, Spiritualists, and Atheists.
Darwin who was a racist simply observed the OBVIOUS that species and humans adapt to their enviorments.
Their is only one race of humans, the human race.
Darwin took the obvious and wrote a fiction book about monkeys magically morphing into humans, whales magically morphing into cows...it simply didnt happen.
If evolution were even remotely true there would be transitional fossils ALL over the place, of course there isnt because Darwin and his racist ideas were false.
The beauty of evolution is that it happens slowly over time. Not overnight. We do witness evolution on a daily basis, it just happens so slowly that we don't notice it. However, if you compared a person from 500 years ago to today, you would notice some differences. It's simple facts. Science is real and has proven many things both true and false from the bible. The teachings in the bible have also taught us many things. Question is, why can't they both be partially right? Couldn't some higher being created the spark that started it all? Couldn't there be a creator that is "editing" its creations as time goes by to help make it better? If there is a GOD or higher being(s) and they wanted to get a message to us, but we couldn't understand it because we need some tweaking(evolution).
The Bible was written by men, and their knowledge was limited then as ours will look in 200+ years.
Evolution is a fictional story written by old racist white men to enslave other races.
The rest of your post is typical hippie garbage.
Teachers should teach, stay the hell out of personal matters.
If teachers stayed out of personal matters many children would go bullied and even abused by their parents and others. No, I think more teachers need to get involved and become more personal with their students.
Because people that believe in the nonsense of religion want that nonsense taught as fact in our schools, they enact laws based on their nonsense, they start wars based on their nonsense, they stage anti-(everything) protests to express their hatred and complete ignorance about anything different than their narrow and distorted view based solely on their nonsense.
I really don't care at all how many fairy tales, fantasies, and utter nonsense you believe, UNTIL you choose to force those views on anyone else, by demanding your fantasy be taught as fact in schools, you strive to enact laws based solely on your hatred of anyone different, and jeopardize the future of all civilization on this planet in the ultimate display of utter stupidity, starting wars over which god is the right one.
Treat your religion like your genitals, out of sight, unmentioned, and forced upon no one. Then as an Atheist I will have no problem at all about your beliefs.
I think the info should be out there for others to find on their own. I don't think people should be able to preach about a loving God through hate.
Hate spreads like a wildfire, while love dwindles like a candle almost out of wax.
What if education is what discovers that there is a higher form of existence? What if through education we could just teach tolerance?
The thing about education is that it is mostly opinionated views of the person teaching. That will never change. Even if some law is put in place, people will still teach their own message from their own opinion.
If you don't like other peoples opinions, find someone you agree with or home-school your kids. This goes for people of all beliefs, Christians, Muslims, Spiritualists, and Atheists.
There's a lot in that. If 'education' (I suppose you mean compelling and scientifically verified evidence) discovers some higher form of existence, I (and, I suppose, the other atheists) would accept that and decide what to do about it. Of course, if if didn't look like any of the personal gods a lot of the various theists (but by no means all) would reject the evidence and insist that their beliefs and what was in their Holy Books was right, never mind the evidence. Just as they do now.
Which is why atheists are more open - minded than theists and why the worldview ('education' is the term you use) should be based on sound logic and evidence, not on Faith, let alone any one of a number of competing faiths.
So 'education is NOT the "mostly opinionated views of the person teaching". If it was, then that person should be pulled up and told to teach according to the corpus of verified evidence and not their own opinions (the only teacher I ever knew who rather misused the education system to push his own religious, social and political views was the religion teacher).
It will not do to say 'if you don't like the system, go and start your own'. That is the problem we have with everyone with their own systems and squabbling about them. It is understandable that atheism is seen as just another personal viewpoint, but it isn't; it is the logical outcome of an 'education' curriculum based on sound logic and a validated corpus of evidence.
Other systems should have no place in it. Appeal to tradition is not good enough. Appeal to respect is a cheat. Slippery slope arguments about social collapse are fanciful.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 11-26-2010 at 05:12 AM..
What if education is what discovers that there is a higher form of existence? What if through education we could just teach tolerance?
The thing about education is that it is mostly opinionated views of the person teaching. That will never change. Even if some law is put in place, people will still teach their own message from their own opinion.
If you don't like other peoples opinions, find someone you agree with or home-school your kids. This goes for people of all beliefs, Christians, Muslims, Spiritualists, and Atheists.
REAL education teaches people how to learn, not just how how to gobble up and regurgitate supposed "facts". In a real educational environment, students are taught to think objectively, to analyze diffent points of view, to research and question other's answers.
There's a lot in that. If 'education' (I suppose you mean compelling and scientifically verified evidence) discovers some higher form of existence, I (and, I suppose, the other atheists) would accept that and decide what to do about it. Of course, if if didn't look like any of the personal gods a lot of the various theists (but by no means all) would reject the evidence and insist that their beliefs and what was in their Holy Books was right, never mind the evidence. Just as they do now.
Which is why atheists are more open - minded than theists and why the worldview ('education' is the term you use) should be based on sound logic and evidence, not on Faith, let alone any one of a number of competing faiths.
So 'education is NOT the "mostly opinionated views of the person teaching". If it was, then that person should be pulled up and told to teach according to the corpus of verified evidence and not their own opinions (the only teacher I ever knew who rather misused the education system to push his own religious, social and political views was the religion teacher).
It will not do to say 'if you don't like the system, go and start your own'. That is the problem we have with everyone with their own systems and squabbling about them. It is understandable that atheism is seen as just another personal viewpoint, but it isn't; it is the logical outcome of an 'education' curriculum based on sound logic and a validated corpus of evidence.
Other systems should have no place in it. Appeal to tradition is not good enough. Appeal to respect is a cheat. Slippery slope arguments about social collapse are fanciful.
I agree with you to a point. However, Even science that is said to be sound logic has proven itself wrong time after time. In reality, everything is merely theory until proven wrong. It's like history, we don't know exactly what happened in ancient times, medieval times, or even colonial times. We have made what we call an educated guess based on the evidence at hand. That is why I love history so much, it has a level of unknown mixed in with fact.
The problem with most religions is they take their religious texts to heart, just as most atheists take modern science at heart. Both avenues are are right and wrong. An open mind is the only way to go, to be open to the possibility that there might be a spiritual aspect to life, and that it very well could just be one big accident.
It's quite magical the way the world works together. Think about it, one loss of a type of species and it throws the ecosystem off a bit. I think it's funny that people think they need to fight for their beliefs or try to force it on other people. I could care less what anyone else believes. I have my own beliefs on how things work, it a mix of both spirituality, science, and wonder.
REAL education teaches people how to learn, not just how how to gobble up and regurgitate supposed "facts". In a real educational environment, students are taught to think objectively, to analyze diffent points of view, to research and question other's answers.
Not so much in Sunday school....
I don't know where you went to school but, That is not what I was taught. I was taught straight forward the views of some people who wrote a book and made it into a learning text. Take history, in school, they don't teach the whole history, they teach one side. They teach the side of the winner. Very little is actually taught in schools these days. I actually think what they teach is a waste. You need a basic understanding of science, history, and math. They should then teach kids about how to survive in the real world. College is where people can learn more about a certain topic. But, k-12 schools should be teaching the basics. How to balance a checkbook, financial information, how to get a job and keep it. Writing a resume and cover letter. How not to mooch of the state and other peoples tax money with welfare when you don't need it. Leave the deeper knowledge of science, and religion out of it. If they want to know more, send them to the library.
Overall, people should not care what anyone else believes. No one should push their own agenda or force others to believe what they do. But, that will never happen. So, we either have to learn to deal with it, or find a middle ground to work on. But, nobody wants to find a middle ground, because they have to be right. People in general are idiots. We have to be right, if we aren't then even the most powerful evidence can be seen as fake. I can honestly say that I don't know what is out there or how things truly work. I don't want to know. The unknown factor to it all is somewhat interesting. It makes living fun.
Last edited by fractured_kidult; 11-26-2010 at 09:36 AM..
I always find is amusing when i go to the "religion" forum on various forums how militant atheists are about hating everything religious.
Why do you care that the VAST majority of people on the planet believe in God?
Personally i could care less if people worship Jesus, Allah, birds, frogs, chickens or a rock. Moderator cut: Inappropriate language do i care? thats their right...
I don't give a cat's crap what you believe just keep it off the streets, out of the schools, out of the government and out of my face...you got that?
I'm agnostic. I don't know and you don't either!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
