The Atheist Lounge

Of course! Anyone who isn't here to try to convert me is totally welcome if you ask me.

Maybe I should make a more inclusive title. I don't even mind if theists who understand the problems with religion feel like joining in the conversation.

Though I'd rather any strongly religious people who think we all just need to be "saved" go and start their own thread rather than ranting about it in mine.

Labels can be both a blessing and a curse, I suppose. There are so many misconceptions with them all.

Like the idea that all atheists believe they are absolutely 100% certain there is no god. You can be an atheist and still say "I don't know for sure, but I don't believe in a god."

That's why terms like agnostic atheist/agnostic theist/gnostic atheist/gnostic theist are helpful. If you wanna get a little more specific, I mean.

I'm the kinda person who never says I'm positive about anything unless I am really fuckin' positive about it.

I wouldn't say there is absolutely no possibility of a god existing. But I don't believe a god exists, and if there were a god, I definitely do not believe he/she/it is anything like the major religions believe.

As far as the origins of life on our planet go, I'd be more willing to believe in alien involvement than deity involvement.

 

It seems a lot of people who claim to follow the Bible don't actually follow the Bible at all.

Like the Christians who get all up in arms whenever an Atheist group tries to put a stop to public schools promoting one religion over another or holding public prayer at graduation ceremonies.


I give you, sirs, Matthew 6:5-6

"5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."


Strange, it's almost as if the Atheists are telling them the very same thing the Bible is!

 

Ugh, yeah, of course there would be a contradicting quote.
I haven't even gotten through Matthew yet, so I didn't see that one.

Pray in private, but go make other nations follow your beliefs. Just, you know, don't pray in front of them.

What the hell, Bible?

 

Do any of you guys read the Friendly Atheist blog by Hemant Mehta?

This one cracked me up.

Lady who works in a public school, later found to be not a teacher but a member of the staff, claims on Facebook that she "prays" with kids during school hours every day. She tried to delete her comments about it, but some fancy person went and got a screen shot of it.




It's these kinds of things that really piss me off. The fact that she thinks so highly of herself for trying to bring her own God into these kids lives.

Because that's what she believes in and she probably thinks she's 'saving' these kids and helping them get into 'Heaven'.

And of course, many parents would never complain because they're either Christian themselves or trying to pretend to be Christian for the sake of fitting in to this "Christian" nation.


But if some school staff member admitted that she was praying to Allah with these public school kids and showing them the love of the Quran?

Guaranteed there would be outrage from the Christian folk. Outrage that a public school employee would dare try to push her religion on these public school children.

It's just another example of "It's okay to push your Christian religion, but don't you dare try to push some other religion or lack thereof."

 

I totally understand where you're coming from DD, and it may be the case with some of these people, but I don't think it is the case with most of them.

It's pretty clear to me that some of these people strongly believe this is a "Christian Nation" full of believers in Christ and they should spread those beliefs far and wide to anyone who will listen.
Hell, I'm sure a lot of them think they are "saving" these people, because a belief in Christ means you are "saved" and will get to go to Heaven.

"This is a Christian nation and I must bring others to believe in Christ so that I may help "save" them."

I really think it's all about the perceived religiosity of this country. It's okay to push your Christian beliefs on people because this is (supposedly) a nation of Christians.

But it's not okay to push atheism or Islam or any other belief here. Because this is a "Christian Nation!!!"

I'm not willing to pass it off as an actual medical issue. That may be the case with some, but it is certainly not the case with all of them.

 

Oh, that is absolutely, without a doubt, fair to say.

I believe that's why many people are still so into religion, because that's how they were raised, and that's what mom and dad believe, what grandma and grandpa believe, often times it's what everyone in your family believes.

It's hard to break away from something like that.

I think a decent portion of younger Christians are only Christians because they were raised to believe that way and it takes a lot of thought, effort, and maybe even some hatred from your family to come out and say "no wait, I've decided I don't believe this thing that you all believe and raised me to believe."

(Note: You can replace the "Christian" part of my post with "Muslim" if you like, I'm only focusing on what I experience here in the US.)


And I mean, that's one reason why I keep posting things like this, disagreeing with religion.

Because I believed in god until I was 13. Because that's how my parents raised me to believe, and they only raised me that way because that's what they were raised to believe.
My mom has openly admitted (only recently) that she has never read the Bible. Yet she cried when she found out I was an atheist. And I chose those beliefs based on debates I read on a fucking online forum just like this one.

What's the deal with raising your kids to adhere to specific belief system anyway? I would much rather raise my kids by teaching them to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions than trying to force them into my own beliefs.

 

^^ Just another one of those awesome double standards they all love so much...

"Leviticus says gay marriage is wrong!!!"

Have you fucking read the rest of Leviticus? Why are you wearing clothing made of mixed fabric, you asshole?

I can't remember if it was the Quran or the Old Testament, maybe both, but one of them said that if a woman is raped she must marry her rapist or else be stoned to death or some shit.

And I'd wager a large fuckin' portion of these assholes who are against gay marriage because "the Bible says...!" have had pre-marital sex.

But hey, God will forgive them for that! Them gays, on the other hand? No, they get no forgiveness from our God. God only forgives the sins I've done, not your stupid gay sins.


You wanna kick your son out of the house because he told you he's gay? Or maybe you want to kick your son out because he told you he doesn't believe in god?

Hey, where's that Bible verse about people who don't care for their family being even worse than non-believers?

Oh, gee, here it is. Timothy 5: fuckin' 8.

BOOM, FUCKERS!!!



Clearly, this is the point where I have become drunk.