AMC
Registered User
Re: Easter 2010: Alleluia, Christ has risen!
See, that's the thing. When you tell a someone in person that you are an atheist, they react like you just dropped your pants and started peeing on the ground. I have had people start crying, drop to their knees in immediate prayer for my soul, and walk away in disgust. And this is not from me being "aggressive" or mocking of their religion. Usually it comes up in the line of "Are you going to Easter mass?" "No, I don't celebrate Easter" "Why not?" "I don't believe in God." (Insert Christmas/normal Sunday mass/whatever for that time of year).
I think you'd be surprised to find that most atheists HAVE explored the faith of others or examined their consciences. I've read the Bible. Multiple times. I've read Christian writers, both contemporary and historical. I've read Jewish literature, Islamic literature, Buddhist literature, and I am eagerly awaiting a book on Shinto from Amazon. I've been taken to Catholic masses, evangelistic bible studies, prayer meetings, you name it. If someone invites me, I will go. No ground rules. I don't look at it as I "believe" in atheism. I just don't see evidence of a divine hand in the world, in any way. But, I do believe that you should always put your opinions to the test. If you aren't willing to listen to and think about countervailing arguments, how strongly can you believe what you believe in? And how honestly can you hold those beliefs?
Further, atheists/nontheists/humanists get about the lowest "approval rating" when people poll the electorate. The question "Would you vote for a _____ candidate for president?" Generally ends up with less than 50% willing to vote for an atheist. That is lower than Catholic, African-Americans, women, Jews, Hispanics, Mormons, thrice marrieds, older than 72 years old, and gays. So I think both sides have a right to the "We're persecuted!" argument.
Additionally, I think you'll find that the religious have a much more powerful political position. Atheist "victories" are generally eliminating prayer from town council meetings and eliminating creches from town property- or being allowed to place an equal sized Darwin display. The President was recently criticized loudly for having a deputy chief of staff or some other low level official meet with the Secular Coalition for America. The "heathen!" outcry was ridiculous, especially when you consider that there is a "Presidential Council for Faith," encompassing many different views, but the Secular Coalition was not included, despite 14% or so of Americans defining themselves as "non-religious" and 10% or so viewing themselves as "neither spiritual or religious."
Anyways, sorry to intrude upon your Easter thread with non-religious views, but I just wanted to respond to Red Cloud's statement. And, I'd also suggest that others that don't celebrate Easter for whatever reason leave this thread to those that do. This isn't a place where anyone's opinions will be changed, and it just casts the non-religious in a bad light if you openly mock others' beliefs.
See, that's the thing. When you tell a someone in person that you are an atheist, they react like you just dropped your pants and started peeing on the ground. I have had people start crying, drop to their knees in immediate prayer for my soul, and walk away in disgust. And this is not from me being "aggressive" or mocking of their religion. Usually it comes up in the line of "Are you going to Easter mass?" "No, I don't celebrate Easter" "Why not?" "I don't believe in God." (Insert Christmas/normal Sunday mass/whatever for that time of year).
I think you'd be surprised to find that most atheists HAVE explored the faith of others or examined their consciences. I've read the Bible. Multiple times. I've read Christian writers, both contemporary and historical. I've read Jewish literature, Islamic literature, Buddhist literature, and I am eagerly awaiting a book on Shinto from Amazon. I've been taken to Catholic masses, evangelistic bible studies, prayer meetings, you name it. If someone invites me, I will go. No ground rules. I don't look at it as I "believe" in atheism. I just don't see evidence of a divine hand in the world, in any way. But, I do believe that you should always put your opinions to the test. If you aren't willing to listen to and think about countervailing arguments, how strongly can you believe what you believe in? And how honestly can you hold those beliefs?
Further, atheists/nontheists/humanists get about the lowest "approval rating" when people poll the electorate. The question "Would you vote for a _____ candidate for president?" Generally ends up with less than 50% willing to vote for an atheist. That is lower than Catholic, African-Americans, women, Jews, Hispanics, Mormons, thrice marrieds, older than 72 years old, and gays. So I think both sides have a right to the "We're persecuted!" argument.
Additionally, I think you'll find that the religious have a much more powerful political position. Atheist "victories" are generally eliminating prayer from town council meetings and eliminating creches from town property- or being allowed to place an equal sized Darwin display. The President was recently criticized loudly for having a deputy chief of staff or some other low level official meet with the Secular Coalition for America. The "heathen!" outcry was ridiculous, especially when you consider that there is a "Presidential Council for Faith," encompassing many different views, but the Secular Coalition was not included, despite 14% or so of Americans defining themselves as "non-religious" and 10% or so viewing themselves as "neither spiritual or religious."
Anyways, sorry to intrude upon your Easter thread with non-religious views, but I just wanted to respond to Red Cloud's statement. And, I'd also suggest that others that don't celebrate Easter for whatever reason leave this thread to those that do. This isn't a place where anyone's opinions will be changed, and it just casts the non-religious in a bad light if you openly mock others' beliefs.
