Viruses man. The zombies will come from a goddamned virus, or an alien parasite.
Edit: And they WILL come!!!:fffuuu:
Religous people, any that brag about how their deity makes them such awesome people.
Q: Would you actually convert if you saw proof of a god?
Edit: them zombies man, gotta love those zombies.
Depends on the nature of that god. I’m not sure what it would take for me “convert”, as it were. If I saw proof/evidence, I’d believe that the god exists. Not sure that I’d ‘convert’, given the characteristics typically ascribed to these deities.
I certainly would NOT convert to Christianity if the Christian god, as defined by Christians and their holy scripts, is actually what existed. That deity is dangerous and evil in my book.
As for another yet-undefined deity? I really don’t know until I hear more about this deity.
And you call yourself an atheist? Good going.
I’m done with this thread, all you did was make up some more little theories of what an atheist is, but none of you come up with a uniform theory. You even have self claimed atheists telling other self claimed atheist they’re wrong.
Anyway, I won’t change my opinion on atheists, you won’t change your views because I have my opinions. But as far as I’m concerned, these last few pages have shown me that my opinions about atheists are correct (and I’m well aware that each and every one of you will say that I was wrong, but hey, that’s human nature).
Why is it such a big deal over a small difference over a word, it’s not like we’re also going to have a “ask an agnostic” thread since all of the answers will be “I dunno”.
Funny thing, there is only one thing that all atheists will agree on. Everything else can and likely will be disagreed about.
My god picks his teeth with dragon bones. That makes me awesome.
O RLY?
Which atheist said that “disbelief in deities” is NOT the definition of atheism?
…the opinions might be stupid, uneducated, ill-informed, and wrong, but I won’t change them, even in view of the facts…
Well, you know what they say about people that think they’re right even when everyone else is telling them that they’re wrong…
You’ll be pretty hard pressed to find atheists that agree with each other on almost any issue. The only thing binding us together is our mutual lack of belief in deities. Otherwise, we can’t agree on anything. 
I didn’t make up any “little theories”, I used dictionary definitions. That’s not very vague, is it?
uhm, no, those who do this are different and not atheists
I think it’s called agnosticism
Wait, no, I was wrong, agnosticism is simply the belief that nothing is known, or can be known of the existence or nature of the divine (from the Oxford dictionary).
And admitting there’s a chance is nothing. Like I said, we admit there’s as much as chance for a god to exist as there is for toasters to be sentient. That doesn’t mean we’re almost at the point of thinking that toasters have souls.
Also guys, we’re throwing the word belief around here without knowing its meaning. An atheist generally won’t have any beliefs, as belief is “an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof.”
EDIT: although, it can also mean “trust or conviction in”, so I guess I’m wrong.
I think we should end this debate in semantics and ignore Bolteh’s arrogant bantering.
Agnostics believe there is no way for us to know.
Technically an atheist can believe there is no deities, but acknowledge that there is not enough evidence to say he IS right. I think it’s called weak atheism or something. I’m more towards hard atheism. I believe the very concept of a god prevents any evidence existing, and so I hard believe there is no god. Because I don’t really subscribe to the concept, I don’t know the details. But an atheist can acknowledge that he can be wrong under soft atheist beliefs I guess. Someone who has looked into soft atheism more might have more details than me though.
Also, Bolteh must have some excellent touch typing skills to make those posts with his head so far up his own ass. I love the ‘I make uninformed stupid comments berating others, so they are all jerks’ mentality.
This.^
I think my biggest problem with some of the atheists in this thread isn’t their opinions, but the way they act.
I constantly hear complaining from atheists about how they are “persecuted,” how religious people want to “convert” them, etc. etc. And yet I can’t think of one instance on this forum that I’ve seen any attempt by any Christian to convert an atheist - or even a Christian ridiculing an atheist for his beliefs. There is debate, yes, but ridicule, not so much.
On the other hand, constantly I hear atheists ridiculing Christians and other religious groups, talking about how backwards they are, trying to get them to change their beliefs, and generally being very insulting. It’s as if you all will jump at any chance to show just how wonderful you are…and even when it’s not on topic! I remember a post a while back regarding “morality,” where the poster felt it necessary to clarify that he didn’t mean “religious” morality - as if it made a difference!
Why do you exhibit so much of the behavior that you claim to abhor?
I’d have to agree. I hate people that generalize a group of people and berate them as a group because of the actions of a few people interacted with.
Thanks for grouping us all together as if every atheist in this thread is exactly like this. I appreciate that.
I hope you aren’t suggesting that the only morality that exists is religious morality. I’m hoping you are aware that morals can be influenced by things other than religion. Right?
I also find it ironic that you just swoop in and claim you don’t like people who attack a group of people unprovoked, and then in the following paragraph proceed to attack every atheist on this forum based on the actions of some you have observed.
Also, in reference to no christian attacking atheists, have you read any of Bolteh posts? Even the one on this very page?
You are implying that a persons beliefs define how that person behaves. That’s not accurate.
EDIT: Basically what I’m saying is you come in and say you’ve seen atheists act like assholes, then ask why atheists are assholes. That is a ridiculous question.
It’s something that’s unavoidable. I have refrained from posting in this thread because I can tend to start pointing fingers.
But really in my experience in college, there’s a much more militant stance coming from Religious groups. There’s always extreme religious ones who bring a soap-box to campus stand up and tell me I’m going to hell as I walk by because I’m holding hands with my boyfriend, have long hair for a guy or wearing my shirts with Pentagrams and/or inverted crosses on them. It’s pretty offensive. There are times I can’t walk to class or even leave the parking garage before I’m handed one of those mini old and new testaments.
When there are these soapbox evangelists that single me out because of my sexual orientation all I can do is smile at them, clutch my boyfriends hand go about my day. But when these people can be on campus for days on end disrupting education with bigotry and hatred by going against his Lord’s own word to love one another it can make me lose my temper and become a hypocrite.
I’m a member of an Atheist group at my college, we have stirred up some controversy just by asking to be recognized by my school, all the while a Christian club is actually suing the school for not giving them enough funding. The Secular group on campus has done some things I don’t agree with like performing reverse baptisms and handing out Get out of Hell Free cards (Just in case)
You can’t avoid it until everyone in the world comes to one agreement, it’s human nature to disagree and find new ways of thinking, it will never happen. Both groups can be militant and offensive, while both can also be level headed, accepting and logical.
I don’t think there is ANY excuse for acting rude. It WILL happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. On either side. However, I can understand a few that are a bit confrontational ( understand, not endorse ). It is difficult to understand for some people of religious views because they are sometimes blind to it.
An example I usually give is growing up an atheist. In public school I was forced to sing christian songs, just because the area I grew up in was christian. If I didn’t I would have failed. Later, in high school, I was taught that atheism was a sign of deviant behavior, and that it was a sign of a possibly disturbed and violent individual. This was society class. In the public school system.
These examples are just mine. It is worse for others. I can understand how it would make some a bit jaded. I don’t endorse this, but I can see how it happens.
I said “some” of the atheists. As in, the ones who are exhibiting the behavior - though in this case there’s more exhibiting this behavior than not.
Why, no. I’m not suggesting that - to do so would be to do a great disservice to myself. If you’d please read my post again, you’d see that my point was that there’s an astoundingly hostile atmosphere, so much so that one would feel that he’d have to clarify he didn’t mean religious morality. You’re proving my point here, it seems.
I don’t like people who attack other people at ALL. There’s never a justification for name calling and the like - I’d much like it if people could hold themselves to a higher standard, as I try to do.
I’ll say it again, I’m talking about the people who are exhibiting this behavior. And I think we both know that there’s a big difference between attacking someone - claiming that they’re backwards, stupid, illogical, etc. - and criticizing someone’s behavior - pointing out that it’s hypocritical and that I don’t like it.
I don’t see him calling anybody names, or claiming that your head is “a story-book” and that you can’t think for yourselves. While his posts are a bit aggressive, they’re nowhere near the level that I see coming from some people here.
Um what.
A person’s actions ALWAYS reflect his beliefs. It may not be what he says he believes, but it always does reflect what he says he believes.
For example: I believe that I’m hungry, and that my boss is out of the room, which is why I’m eating a bag of chips right now.
Or did you mean “beliefs” in the religious way? No, this isn’t always true - there’s many Christians who act immorally, just like there’s many atheists who act illogically and exhibit the behavior that they claim to abhor. Which is exactly what I’m saying is happening here.
No, I’m more saying, I’ve seen atheists act like assholes, and that’s why I don’t like those atheists. And that’s why I find myself defending Christians despite being an atheist/apatheist myself - they don’t deserve this kind of abuse.
What college are you going to? I’m in college as well, and while we did have people like that hanging around for a day, it was only on that day.
Anyways, what is your point here? That there’s asshole religious people? That’s correct - and shouldn’t that make atheists, who claim to abhor religion for things like that - want to NOT be like that?
Gotta admit, that last one made me laugh.
It’s not the disagreement I’m against. I love disagreement more than anything in the world, because it allows me to debate, which I enjoy very, very much - when it’s civil.
So, let me repeat my question: why do some atheists feel justified in attacking and demeaning Christians after claiming that such behavior is exactly what they hate religious people for?
You didn’t really quantify the question you asked though. You didn’t restrict the question to them. I thought it was a bit of an offensive jump to make. I don’t support the hostile environment, but when talking about morality, it is always important to note context. Religious ( hopefully more specified than religious in context ) morality can be vastly different than specific society morality. Amish morality versus much of their surrounding societies morality. It’s always important when discussing the slippery morality discussions.
No, he is generalizing all atheist as stuck up, thick, ignorant, and liars. Not name calling, but you can attack people without calling them names.
No, I mean beliefs. Just because I believe something, doesn’t mean I’m going to act on my beliefs. I can hate a person and not act hateful towards them. We do have a level of self control over our beliefs. I guess technically, one could argue, that it is simply acting on another belief not to be rude. But that’s more symanics. It is by no means universal that every beliefs leads to the actions of everyone. People act on their beliefs differently everyday.
I wish you would have included that part in the actual question then. I was a little offended to be included in the group you mentioned in the preface.