A question to atheists/non-theists

To be honest, I don't care what anyone believes in. True, I certainly like having plenty of atheist friends so I have someone I can be all cynical and godless around but I believe that as long as you're not hurting anyone or you respect everyone's rights, then you're good in my book.

 

Well, no offence, but I tend to think of adults who have religion as a bit odd.

I don't understand how people who have presumably worked out that there is no santa claus, no easter bunny and no tooth fairy don't make what (to me) seems the obvious logical next step.

I suppose if I am honest when I encounter someone who has a religion I think of them the same way I would think of someone who admitted that they still sleep with their teddy bear and check under their bed for monsters. It just seems to be a state of arrested development.

On the other hand, I can be pretty immature and lacking in personal responsibility myself. You have god, I buy lottery tickets. They both are forms of escapism from the responsibilities of being an adult, so I recognise that I am quite hypocritical in feeling superior to people who have a religion.

 

It's a love-hate relationship: Love the believer hate the believe. I find believing in some supernatural entity to be a form of delusion that can have some highly detrimental effects on a person's well-being or entire societies. That does not mean that the individual believer is a bad person or otherwise flawed per se.

 

I have great respect for your beliefs, who doesn't wanna think that there is someone or something greater than us. An afterlife, a heaven, and everything that happens to you happens for a reason. But for me, the magic of the scientistic phenomenans is so uninmaginably great that I don't feel the need of imagine that there is something that controls it. Everything happens according to science and if I once found proof that something happened that science could not explain, I might reconsider. But to me its like believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny, it's a cute story. But I do respect you fully!

 

Me. I hate the idea of having to live any longer after this life, whether it's an 'afterlife' or reincarnation or anything else.

 

I'm opposed to the idea of any organised religion because, in my opinion, it seems like it limits one's ability to think for themselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but from my experience it is for quite some people. There has been too much war, too much bloodshed, about nothing else than groups of people having a different religion. Besides that, there is no proof, scientific or otherwise, for the existence of any higher being, and I seriously doubt there will ever be any.

That said, I do think that anyone should do what they think is necessary to live a happy, fulfilling life. And if that life includes any belief in a higher being, who am I to think of it as silly or ignorant. If it works for you, that's fine. Only thing I dislike about religious people are the ones actively trying to convert others to their religion. No. Piss off. But besides that, do as you please. If you're happy, I'm happy too.

I'm sure there are many (mono)theists who will say my points of view about religion are foolish, ignorant or maybe even outright offensive though.

 

I don't really care what others believe in, so long as they aren't ignorant themselves or shove their religion in everyone's face. Whwn I see religion I see two different things at the same time.

The love and unity that comes from people believing in the same deity/ies and moral codes.

and

The hatred and segregation and outright shunning of those who don't match up to their codes and "norms". The oppression of women, homosexuals, people of color and so on.

 

i really care about the person, and not the religion, as long as the person respects me, i respect him.

 

i think believers can be gd people despite religion not because of it.

 

Uh... I guess I see people with religion as either brainwashed or scared. No offense. I'm well aware that religious people can be very very good people, I just find it unfortunate that it takes a deity to make them good.

Personally, I try to be a good person because I believe in the rights and equality of everyone, because I don't want to cause pain, and because I believe that compassion is the way towards a better humanity. And I don't understand being good because a book told you to be.

So yeah, I have difficulty understanding religion. But I do have some religious friends, and I respect belief (so long as it isn't hurting others).

 

Well, I don't really care I suppose. For some, religion is a way to deal with the limits of life and the limits of themselves. As long as it doesn't affect their rationality and they are open-minded, religious people are fine by me. Not that it's my business, or that they should care about my opinion on them anyway.

I am an atheist and to me, most religions are incapable of accepting the beauty of our material world, and in cases where there is faith in an afterlife, the finality of death. Although I disagree with organised religion (although Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhism in general appeal to me), I don't have anything against people of faith.

 

it means absolutely nothing as to their intelligence. some of them are stupid, some of them are smarter than most atheists

 

This.

 

I have no problem with them.

Just like atheists you get people who are respectful of others or are really in your face about it. (Atheists can be JUST as obnoxious as any other members of a religion.)

I can't prove I'm right and theists can't prove they're right we've just arrived at different conclusions and as long as neither of us are using those conclusions to hurt others or to justify persecution of people I have no issues with religion. Also there are some religious teachings or messages I REALLY love and think are fantastic it's just I don't believe in any sort've deity.

Live and let live really.

 

Well, I'm not a fan of religion as a thing, but I doesn't really bother me-it just doesn't really work for me. I can see how it would be extremely comforting and 'nice' to believe in life after death and that there is someone watching over us all, but I personally couldn't make myself believe that stuff.

Frankly, the only time I will ever have a beef with religion is when it discriminates against non-practising people, minorities, or other religions, 'cause that's the kind of stupidity that harms other people.

And like littlememphis said, it is nice to be around other atheists so you can speak your mind about stuff. My friend's quite a devout Anglican and she doesn't even like me swearing, which is difficult as I am extremely profane!

 

You believe what you believe. As long as you respect my thoughts on religion and don't bombard me, trying to get me to believe what I so obviously don't then I'm good. I personally have a lot of religious and non-religious friends and don't really care what they believe. I have my reasons and they have theirs and that's just fine.

Alas, If the person is one of the many people who hate and judge people on their looks, sexual orientation, or because they're different in some way; and they're reasoning is because of their religion or anything else then I'd rather not be around them.

 

I have met many people of faith who are very intellectual and tolerant. It's sad that the bigoted nutjobs get all the attention because religions like Christianity and Islam are actually really nice when you give yourself the chance to look at them from the right perspective.

I have also met the most rude and ignorant atheists in the world. The kind who don't even like to have discussions with people of faith and all their responses sound like "No, there is no God. You're dumb."

It's all a matter of what someone takes out of what they believe.

 

I'd identify as agnostic.
At the end of the day, none of us know if there is any sort of God, even if we say we know there is or isn't.
I'm not a huge fan of most religions,especially organized ones, but I try not to judge people based on their religion and people can do what they want, so long as you're respectful of others beliefs and don't use religion as an excuse to discriminate against people etc

 

Personally, I find it odd that you would believe such fantastical stories, and especially that you believe these fantastical stories are any more true than the stories for any other religion. As long as you don't try to convert others to your beliefs, though, it shouldn't matter to me. If you do, well. I find it rude!