Do Theists Fear Atheists?

[TypicalRussian]

If that were true you wouldn't need morality laws. You need fear and laws to get your way like the scared folks religious people are. Your fear is obvious.

we need strong societies, and that includes banning terrible things

 

[Praxas]

we need strong societies, and that includes banning terrible things

You need fear and laws to get your way because religious FEAR the non-believers and atheists. Thank you for admitting your fear.

 

[Dragonfly]

we need strong societies, and that includes banning terrible things

What "terrible things" should be "banned"?

 

[TypicalRussian]

What "terrible things" should be "banned"?

abortion, porn, other stuff

 

[TypicalRussian]

You need fear and laws to get your way because religious FEAR the non-believers and atheists. Thank you for admitting your fear.

we dont fear anything

 

[NWO_Spook]

What "terrible things" should be "banned"?

You know, terrible things such as reason and the enquiring mind. We should believe irrational claims without question or be prepared to die for our 'sins', as it was done in the more enlightened mediaeval period.



I know, but I'm feeling mischievous today.

 

[VanceMack]

I believe you are speaking of militant atheists. They do exist and not only want to stop further intrusion into public discourse, they wish to remove theism, "root and branch" from the public domain. ( I stole that from a theist being considered for the SC in regards to a different subject). I belong the branch of atheists that believe an amount of religious dogma in our pubic domain is acceptable, perhaps even to be encouraged. But. Wait, BUT. It should not go any further than it already has. No prayer in public school. That would qualify as indoctrination, would it not? No application of religious belief requirements to employees of any business. Unless a private facility, not receiving any public funding.
I'm sort of a "You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone" kind of atheist. I'm pretty sure we are the majority of atheists. Maybe not.
But if you are a theist who wants to tell me what kind of prayers my grandchild has to say every day.. what days of the week I can buy beer.. who gets tax benefits of my tax money based upon their religion.. then we have a problem.

I am right there with you regarding religious indoctrination. Always IMO a bad idea. I have no problem with every school beginning their day with a 2 minute 'quiet period' where students can pray, meditate, center themselves, prepare emotionally for school, etc. But that's as far as it should go.

My experience is obviously different from yours but what I see most often is the angry militant atheist not content with a disbelief in a God but rather intent on diminishing or demeaning others for their beliefs. I think we should be able to be theists and atheists and still hang out and go fishing. Reality is in most cases thats probably not going to happen. I see it a lot like the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan. How do you know someone is a vegan? They will tell you.

But again...thats just my perspective. Others may vary.

 

[VanceMack]

Then I'm gonna need some help.
What do you mean?

Also, do you think all atheists walk around saying "look at me, I'm an atheist"?

No...I think MOST (not all) atheists walk around saying "look at you...you believe in sky faeries and imaginary friends".

I think atheists that are truly comfortable with themselves dont go out of their way trying to attack or diminish people of faith. But most of them are actually agnostics and not atheists.

IMO.

 

[Logician Man]

Roughly speaking there's only about 12.5% of the entire population of the Earth that defines themselves as "Atheist".
In the USofA that percentage is much smaller at about 3%.

Granted, with the internet and the ease of spreading thoughts and ideas around the globe, that number is rising, but it's a slow rise as religion is very tightly woven into cultures, communities, and families in so many places.

The thing that's apparent is some theists go out of their way to lie about Atheists and/or Atheism. The question is why? Why lie?
Is it fear?
Do atheists threaten theists in some way?
Is it because atheists cause theists to truly question their own beliefs?
Is it because atheists rely on facts and not faith?

Do theists fear atheists?
Or, if it's not fear, what is the root cause for all the lies?

My personal experience as an atheist, based on conversations with theists from various religious belief systems is that 'some' theists don't 'fear' atheists' nearly as much as they envy atheists. The reasons for this seem to vary from person to person, regardless of which religious belief system they personally embrace as their own.

 

[Valery]

Why do theists keep quoting verses written centuries ago by someone who wasn't present at the time and, in the end, is just another human with biases and goals to achieve. And nowhere can "God's own words" be found. If he wanted them to be found he could inscribed them into the surface of the moon.

The Qur'an was written down by people who were present at the time. Why don't you want to know what God says? Are you afraid of not being allowed to do whatever you want?

 

[Valery]

Until the theist reveals just who or what his particular god is the only polite term is to call them a theist.

Or you could call them believers.

 

[Valery]

No, there really isn't.

There really is.

Is Atheism a Religion?

Atheism is a religious worldview because it claims to know something fundamental about reality that hasn’t been—or can’t be—proven. Like theists, atheists operate out of a foundational faith or belief that shapes their perceiving, thinking, and living in the world.

www.thebanner.org

Although it isn’t an organized religion like Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, atheism is a religious worldview.

Claim: "Atheism is a new Religion" • Skeptical Science

Article in Dawn claims that Atheism is a religion. With such a click-bait headline I could not resist diving in to demolish it.

www.skeptical-science.com

Dawn, an English Language Newspaper published in Pakistan, has an amusing little article titled “A New Religion”. The author is arguing that atheism, not having a religious belief, is a new religion.

Is Atheism a Religion - Recent Judicial Perspective on the Constitutional Meaning of Religion Editorial 47 Journal of Church and State 2005

EDITORIALIs Atheism a Religion? Recent JudicialPerspectives on the ConstitutionalMeaning of ReligionDEREK H. DAVISA recent case handed down by the Seventh Circuit Court ofAppeals holds that atheism is entitled to the same treatment thattraditional religions receive under the Constitution. The...

heinonline.org

Atheist Piety: A Religion of Dogmatic Dubiety

The “Special Feature” of this mass-market secular humanist magazine consists of an introduction to “America’s Peculiar Piety” followed by a miscellany of brief, nonscholarly essays critical of The Church of Jesus Christ. The questions posed in the introduction to this flagship atheist magazine go un

journal.interpreterfoundation.org

(...) Hence, behind the current rash of atheism is a passionate faith that science and/or philosophy, however conceived, must now liberate both individuals and society from emotionally grounded faith in God and other evils encountered in this world. The editors of Free Inquiry and many who opine in its pages boast that they are not hemmed in by or dependent on wishful thinking, driven by mere feelings, or otherwise devoted to religious delusion. This “faith” is the ground for the religion promoted in Free Inquiry.(...)

 

[maquiscat]

My experience is obviously different from yours but what I see most often is the angry militant atheist not content with a disbelief in a God but rather intent on diminishing or demeaning others for their beliefs. I think we should be able to be theists and atheists and still hang out and go fishing. Reality is in most cases thats probably not going to happen. I see it a lot like the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan. How do you know someone is a vegan? They will tell you.

Reality actually is that we already do go fishing together, to use the metaphor. Reality is that the vast majority of theists and atheists are live and let live and choose your own path. It's the militants, the evangelicals of both sides that cause the problems for the rest of us.

And for the record, there is an actual difference between vegetarian and vegan. Vegetarians can eat cheese and drink milk and other animal by products, vegans can't. But believe me there are as many vegetarians who will make sure you know they are such, and you are wrong for eating animals as there are vegans.

 

[zyzygy]

The Qur'an was written down by people who were present at the time. Why don't you want to know what God says? Are you afraid of not being allowed to do whatever you want?

God didn't say anything.

 

[zyzygy]

There really is.




View attachment 67296399

Is Atheism a Religion - Recent Judicial Perspective on the Constitutional Meaning of Religion Editorial 47 Journal of Church and State 2005

EDITORIALIs Atheism a Religion? Recent JudicialPerspectives on the ConstitutionalMeaning of ReligionDEREK H. DAVISA recent case handed down by the Seventh Circuit Court ofAppeals holds that atheism is entitled to the same treatment thattraditional religions receive under the Constitution. The...

heinonline.org

Anyone can make a mistake.

 

[maquiscat]

No...I think MOST (not all) atheists walk around saying "look at you...you believe in sky faeries and imaginary friends".

I think atheists that are truly comfortable with themselves dont go out of their way trying to attack or diminish people of faith. But most of them are actually agnostics and not atheists.

IMO.

I disagree. As the words are used today, the agnostic is one who is on the line as to whether or not higher powers exist, and no real idea to the form they take. Atheists believe that such power do not and can not exist. They are as convinced as an any theists that their belief is right.

 

[tosca1]

Roughly speaking there's only about 12.5% of the entire population of the Earth that defines themselves as "Atheist".
In the USofA that percentage is much smaller at about 3%.

Granted, with the internet and the ease of spreading thoughts and ideas around the globe, that number is rising, but it's a slow rise as religion is very tightly woven into cultures, communities, and families in so many places.

The thing that's apparent is some theists go out of their way to lie about Atheists and/or Atheism. The question is why? Why lie?
Is it fear?
Do atheists threaten theists in some way?
Is it because atheists cause theists to truly question their own beliefs?
Is it because atheists rely on facts and not faith?

Do theists fear atheists?
Or, if it's not fear, what is the root cause for all the lies?

What do you mean by "lie?"

Anyway, you said it:
Granted, with the internet and the ease of spreading thoughts and ideas around the globe,

The same can be said about atheists talking about religion or theists....in blogs or forums!
Anyway, a lot of folks don't even know they're spreading lies or disinformation or ignorance. They don't bother fact-checking!

Just look at your OP as an example. You said "some" theists......and because of those "some" who MAY or COULD be (an assumption on your part) spreading lies - you automatically lump all theists together!
So - you're saying ALL THEISTS spread lies about atheism/atheists!
How many atheists would latch on to that and respond to it like as if it's a valid argument?

That's how spreading dis-information - and lies - start!

 

[Praxas]

we dont fear anything

wrong and I’ve already proven that. your fear tastes good.

 

[OrphanSlug]

The thing that's apparent is some theists go out of their way to lie about Atheists and/or Atheism. The question is why? Why lie?
Is it fear?
Do atheists threaten theists in some way?
Is it because atheists cause theists to truly question their own beliefs?
Is it because atheists rely on facts and not faith?

Do theists fear atheists?
Or, if it's not fear, what is the root cause for all the lies?

It is a combination of factors but what it boils down to is influence at a minimum and control in the extreme does not like competition. Not so much fear even if that is shown, but the difficulty in dealing with alternative, question, and reason.

History is overflowing with all of the faults that religion/theism beings to the table.

Bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, social division, social isolation, violence, loss of life, genocide, warfare, and absolute ignorance are the true evils of religion who draws their legitimacy from location and following.

Localized indoctrination gives logic and reason ample room to ask, notice how generally speaking the religion you follow seems to be based on where you are and the majority opinion of the populace at the time?

Legitimacy comes from a volume of followers convinced the ideology and story they are told is true and it also gives logic and reason ample room to ask, notice how the only real difference between cult and accepted beliefs is the number of followers?

The big questions in life are not really answered by religion, they are replied to with a story rooted in certainty where as atheism and agnosticism asks questions rooted in doubt. And that of course challenges whichever set of Bronze Age myths one may cling to, sitting there in judgement of what science learns today and bending that into something written thousands of years ago when no one had any idea what science and systems of process even meant.

Reasonable people with plenty of humanity can come together and instill social order via laws that just about every nation has. Let's not kill each other, steal each other's things, rape, what have you. Religion claims to own those moral standards yet any objective view of history concludes with certainty that systems of belief bring you devolution, the dark ages, and flying a plane into a building. Reason, question, doubt, process, refinement brings you advancement, puts a man on the moon, and allows us to communicate with one another all over the world through a variety of means.

Information and knowledge is freeing, religion is enslaving.

And that brings us back to competition, religion wants control and science wants advancement. They are inherently adversarial, and that promotes the "morals of religion" to frighten their own by lying about atheism and agnosticism.

 

[Praxas]

No...I think MOST (not all) atheists walk around saying "look at you...you believe in sky faeries and imaginary friends".

I think atheists that are truly comfortable with themselves dont go out of their way trying to attack or diminish people of faith. But most of them are actually agnostics and not atheists.

IMO.

To a point, I would say those type of atheists are a minority IMO. When you usually see atheists demeaning theists is when those theists try to apply laws using only their religion as the main reason. See bible belt laws, anti-gay marriage laws and even sodomy laws for example of theists using religion as the major argument against those.

 

[VanceMack]

Reality actually is that we already do go fishing together, to use the metaphor. Reality is that the vast majority of theists and atheists are live and let live and choose your own path. It's the militants, the evangelicals of both sides that cause the problems for the rest of us.

And for the record, there is an actual difference between vegetarian and vegan. Vegetarians can eat cheese and drink milk and other animal by products, vegans can't. But believe me there are as many vegetarians who will make sure you know they are such, and you are wrong for eating animals as there are vegans.

Well...sure. Great point. The majority of people DO just live their lives and dont spend a ton of time on the internet talking about this stuff...like happens here. So I guess my comments more correctly stated would be "based on who posts on internet sites like this....."

I mean look at the responses on this site. Hell...they had to create subforums to keep people from going into them specifically to ridicule individuals and their beliefs.

I think what you describe would be ideal...live, love, be happy. On this site invariably discussions like this will lead to negative comments about imaginary friends.

I was joking BTW about the Vegan thing, but it IS true. I dont find a ton of vegetarians that go out of their way to make sure you know they are vegetarian...but Vegans....sure.

 

[maquiscat]

I was joking BTW about the Vegan thing, but it IS true. I dont find a ton of vegetarians that go out of their way to make sure you know they are vegetarian...but Vegans....sure.

I get you. While I have encountered"in your face" types from both groups, vegans do seem to have more of them. Although the joke reminds me of the difference between nerds and geeks. Geeks get laid.

Sent from my cp3705A using Tapatalk

 

[soylentgreen]

Or you could call them believers.

I could. If they asked me to i probably would.

 

[TypicalRussian]

wrong and I’ve already proven that. your fear tastes good.

we win!

 

[Praxas]

we win!

nope you’ve lost. Gay marriage is legal, sodomy is legal and many states have already struck down Bible Belt laws. You’re actually losing lol.