Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Atheist Penelope
Dotes:
--- Quote ---But see, this is where atheists and more religious folks are always going to disagree. Some people don't identify with reason, they want something larger to believe in. Atheism could be seen by a lot of religious sects as in too much of a hurry to get everything explained away, just as a lot of atheists find the idea of being blindly faithful in an idea that is explained by what is, to them, silly folklore preposterous. Some people don't like the idea of us just being here, because chemical chance and scientific miracles guys. Some people want a reason to exist, and a spiritual purpose. I myself can't really agree with the notion that we're here for no reason, but I don't discount it either, because it's just as possible as anything else.
Another thing is, what scientific explanations are for atheists, the religious texts are for the religious. Saying that "Oh we've got science on our side" while it does help to explain a lot about the world, it will just not be a viable answer for those who believe in a supernatural being, as it is vice versa.
--- End quote ---
I really don't want to get into too much of an argument over atheism vs. religion, but I feel compelled to respond to a few of these statements. I agree that some people need to believe that there is a higher purpose, and while I don't, I understand why people do. But to say that atheism is seen as a something that is in a hurry to explain everything away, I can't help but feel is a disappointing misunderstanding. What is a faster way to explain something than to say "God did it?" And then, there's the baffling connotation that somehow all atheists view science as their religion, and I really hate how that's the case. There is no link between atheism and science; atheism is just about a denial of the existence of a deity. I hate it when people say that atheists view science as a religion also because science is not religion. The only thing the two have in common is their attempt to explain natural phenomenon. And, between the two, science is far better and discerning objective truth, primarily because it is falsifiable. Scientific theories only stand until they are proven false, while religious theories... well, they can last a few extra centuries. (okay, cheap shot, I know)
Well, that's all I can say for now, I have a final I have to take in ten minutes. :cry:
Loungehound:
--- Quote from: Jeans on 15 Dec 2008, 11:39 ---
There are Christians who don't bug others about their religion and Chiristians that do,
--- End quote ---
Being from the south, I know lots of Christians that would vehemently disagree with you. According to their way of thinking, you aren't a Christian if you aren't constantly trying to convert anyone who's not a Christian. In fact it's why it's called Evangelical. Yes, I know there are lots of proselytising (sp?) atheists, but they aren't recquired to do so by The Big Book Of Atheist Rules.
Please note I've not stated my own beliefs at all...
Loungehound:
--- Quote from: Jeans on 17 Dec 2008, 12:20 ---I didn't say they weren't told to, I said they don't do it. Which they don't. I don't see what you're getting at.
--- End quote ---
You just said it yourself. Many (maybe most, I have no clue) Christians would argue that you are not a Christian if you aren't proselytising. Is that any clearer? Maybe my sentence structure was fucked up in my previous post. And dammit, I'm still not sure if I spelled "proselytising" correctly.
Jackie Blue:
I think this thread makes atheists look a lot worse than Penelope does.
Jens, I love you but you're wasting your breath here. Someone has already declared that rationally deciding there is no God is totally separate from believing there is no God. Nothing good will come of this.
Alex C:
Jens, he's saying they're not really living up to the label of Orthodox Christians, which is true. Virtually all of my relatives are Christians of some form or another. Many are Catholic, my mother turned Protestant and there's a smattering of Evangelicals as well. They are all religious, but their religions are different. Some religions hold spreading the faith as one of their central tenants. Whether individuals fail to do so or not is another matter, and says more about them than it does their faith. For example, if you're raised a Jehovah's Witness and you don't go proselytizing, that's in spite of what you've been taught, not because of it, since a certain amount of preaching is actively considered a duty. Religions are partly personal relationships, but a label ceases to be useful once it no longer really applies. A person isn't necessarily less spiritual for not holding to a certain set of tenants, but after a certain point what they're doing is rather seperate from the mainstream of a given faith.
Anyway, yeah, hardcore atheists and hardcore religious wackos won't stop arguing anytime soon. That's because neither side really believes the other mindset is this truly benign and personal fantasy Jens cooked up. For example, I'm sure there's atheists out there who blame the Christian majority for supporting Prop 8 or point at the Muslims and the terrorism in the Middle East. Meanwhile, most cultures use religion as a bastion of their moral and ethical thought and often blame a lack of faith for sinfulness and cruelty or otherwise do not see how one could be ethical without being spiritual. To take us back to proselytizing, some religions basically believe that not bothering to convert someone is roughly equivalent to not bothering to help a drowning man. The hardcore atheists aren't just annoyed that someone might believe in the space monkey, they're worried some wacko will start printing out a newsletter about how to curry the monkey's favor and before you know it there's millions of peoplel voting straight ticket Immortality Party. The religious zealots are worried that the atheists will start doing whatever the fuck they want because they just don't give a damn about anything. And frankly, I'm not sure either position is all that much more naive than truly believing that people don't make decisions according to things so central to their ideology.
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