Athiests (dinosaur, Buddhism, beliefs, atheist, worship)

[Corban]

I have often wondered, so i will now ask, why are there so many athiests on a religious web site? why devote time to something you don't believe? i have heard many of you say a belief in God is foolish and that we might as well worship pink unicorns or anything else we can't see. Then why are you here, do you also spend time on the pink unicorn website, talking about how you don't believe that. I don't believe in bigfoot, but i don't spend hours debating the fact, i think it is pointless. your desire to debate something you say you don't believe exists points to a question of your own intimations, are you not sure of your beliefs so you must question them, are you trying to save us from believing. so i ask, why are you here? why not go argue pink unicorns, lepricons, and bigfoot?

[Ardhanariswar]

what!? bigfoot does exist! bah.

[Ceridwen018]

This is a great question, Corban, and one that seems to have been coming up a lot lately. I can't speak for all Atheists, of course, but I'll give you my take.

For me, I don't see this so much as religious discussion, (I don't spend much time in the specific religion forums), but as philosophical discussion. I am very interested in why people believe the things they do. You see, I used to be very religious, but have since diverted to Atheism. Just as you like to witness your faith, I like presenting ideas to people that they perhaps haven't ever thought about before.

Another important thing to realize is the fact that god is a much more prevalent topic in today's society than bigfoot and co.--which I hope explains why I don't go around trying to talk people out of bigfoot (really, there's no one to argue with me on that one!).

You say that you think an Atheist debating against god is pointless, when in fact it is no different than a religious person debating for god. That's why we're all here isn't it? To bounce ideas off each other and see how people respond to different questions? If everyone here believed in god, I think the conversation would be much less dense and very one-sided. In fact, the way that these forums define religion includes Atheists, so the fact that it is called 'Religious Forums' when I don't specifically subscribe to any one religion is irrelevant.

Another reason why I'm here is to learn. I can learn something from everyone I talk to here--be it about their specific religion, or in the political/general topic forums. That's probably the most important thing.

[Mr Spinkles]

Corban-- Great questions. But think about what you are saying for a moment: why do atheists spend time debating about the existence of God if they are so sure God does not exist? Well, why do theists spend time debating about the existence of God if they are so sure God does exist? You ask why atheists don't go around trying to disprove leprechauns and bigfoot....well, why don't theists go around trying to prove the existence of protons or ancient dinosaurs? Think about it. If you have a set of religious beliefs, and you know they are the one true set of religious beliefs, why are you here other than to convert people?

I like learning about religions, I like debate and discussion, and I feel like there is always more to learn. How can I be sure that God doesn't exist if I don't listen to all the arguments for God's existence? How can theists be sure God exists if they don't listen to all the arguments against God's existence?

The point I'm making is that, like most people here, I have my views, but I'm open to being proved wrong any day.

[Runt]

Corban--

You are right; this is a religious forum. And atheists, believe it or not, can have a religion. Atheism is simply the lack of a belief in a God. Belief in a God does not constitute religion; if it did, many forms of Taoism and Buddhism would not be considered religion. If you go by a modern definition, religion is simply "the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of our life" (Tillich). Atheists, even the most sceptical among them, still have believe that their philosophy (even if it is simply Science) provides a objective answer in response to the highly subjective questions addressed by God-centered religions. Therefore, it is appropriate that atheists share their thoughts here, just as it is appropriate that Christians and Hindus and Muslims and Buddhists share their thoughts here.