For me, I like the social interaction, the chance to refine my arguments, the chance to practice writing skills, the chance to assess arguments to identify and name logical fallacies, to learn from people who process information the way I do (faith-free), to share my favorite ideas, and to observe the spectrum of believers compared to the spectrum of unbelievers in a way not possible outside of forums like this one in order to understand the type and degree of impact of faith on thought, intelligence, and education.
And one more reason, which I get to at the bottom of this post : To oppose the bigotry of Christianity, which I do every time I see atheist bashing from Christians as we see in this thread. I am here to rebut Christian atheophobia, and in doing so, hoping to weaken Christianity a little to return the favor.
Why do aggressive theists start forums called Religious Forums? And why do they start so many atheist-bashing threads? Isn't that what you're doing here? All I see here are criticisms of atheists and you aligning yourself with the religious. Maybe that's why some of us are here..
This is a common meme - we mean-spirited atheists are on the attack against believers without provocation. I think forum rules prevent me from listing and linking these threads, so I won't, but do a study of your own and count the number of threads begun by theists to criticize and condemn atheists compared the the number in the other direction. We're not the ones on the attack
Nor need we be. Once organized, politicized religion is no longer a threat to secular life, we probably will stop even noticing what the religious are doing much less objecting to it. The Druids once had theocratic control over a people that, had they still had that, would be a cause of concern and criticism by all non-Druids. But today, they have no power, and so get no attention. What would Brigid do? How does she feel about abortion?
Yeah, me neither, and that's how I prefer it. When Christianity and Islam become as irrelevant to those not interested in them as the Druids, religion will have become completely irrelevant to atheists, and they will likely cease inhabiting these threads.
And what are spiritual people? This vague term seems to be bandied about as a badge of superiority, the implication being that if you're not perpetually searching, you have been left behind.
I like this forum, especially the software and editing options, but not everything about it. We are not free to be honest with criticisms here.
The West is moving away from religion, which is progress. It is clear to me that man will have had a religious phase that will continue dissipating away until it has the status of flat-earthers and Zeus worshipers, In my estimation, man's religious phase will have been the period between the time when he first developed the intellectual capacity to ask why, and the time when he got his answers. In between, God did it. If you are equating that with moving away from spirituality, then yes, I agree, but as you know, I consider that progress
Once again, spiritual is such an evanescent word with such varied answers as to what it is and how one identifies it that the word really has no definite meaning and I don't know specifically what it is you think that world ois moving away from.
So is all criticism however carefully considered, sincerely believed, and constructively offered an attack? Do you view this post as an attack?
Are you now not attacking atheists by your own criterion for attack - criticism?
Did you mean can't?
We can't stop you from holding your religious beliefs. Nor would most of us want you to. We just want religion confined to the religious. The only religious belief I care about is the belief that somebody has the right to impose their religion on non-volunteers.
I notice that you only find fault with atheists. That's common. The religions have taught whoever will listen that atheists are immoral and that they are moral, both untrue. This is the result of Christian demonizing and marginalizing of atheists:
NEW REPORT CASTS ATHEISTS AS "OTHERS" BEYOND MORALITY AND COMMUNITY IN AMERICA
http://www.freethoughtassociation.org/eNews/200604/enews-aa-minnesotastudy.html
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Atheists have become the ultimate scapegoats in our culture... but the news isn't all bad! A new study by the University of Minnesota Department of Sociology has found that Americans perceive Atheists as the group least likely to embrace common values and a shared vision of society. Worse yet, Atheists are identified as the cohort other Americans do not want to see their offspring marrying!
[snip]
"
Researchers concluded: "Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in 'sharing their vision of American society.' Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry." Disturbingly, Atheists are "seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public," despite being only 3% of the U.S. population according to Dr. Edgell, associate sociology professor and the lead researcher in the project."
Do you not think that we have a legitimate gripe against people like that, and are entitled to do whatever we can to neutralize their bigotry?
This is what I am talking about. Continual negativity about and to atheists. But you come by it honestly through your religion (see below).
And it is exactly this kind of thinking that makes me anti-theist. As an atheist, I want this continual denigration of atheists to cease, and I believe that I have the right to do whatever I can to oppose the source of all of this demeaning of what is largely a hard-working, law-abiding, decent people trying to support their families and communities being subjected to continual bigotry in the service of a church that feels a need to attack those who can live without it to vaunt itself on the backs of good people.
As I indicated above, this, too, is why I am here - to counter every such attack I see with a scathing rebuking of the source of this hatred, the Christian Bible. Time to get to work.
Look at how much effort is made in that Bible to denigrate those unwilling to submit. Apart from being fit to cast into a lake of fire, according to scripture, unbelievers are lying, corrupt, vile, wicked, abominable, decadent, debauched, godless vessels of darkness in the service of evil, not one of whom does any good, fit to be shunned and to be burned alive forever as enemies of a good god, and the moral equivalent of murderers and whoremongers. Don't believe me? Here's where:
[1] "The fool says in his heart,'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good" - Psalm 14:1
[2] "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." - Revelation 21:8
[3]"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"- 2 Corinthians 6:14
[4] Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ." - 1 John 2:22
[5] "Whoever is not with me is against me" - Luke 11:23
[6] “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8
[7] "They are puzzled that you do not continue running with them in the same decadent course of debauchery, so they speak abusively of you" – 1 Peter 4:4
How selfish and self-serving is it to spread such hate speech and make the lives of so many good people more difficult and more dangerous for a few dollars more in the collection plate?
And what should we think of a religion willing to do that? Should I consider it spiritual or moral?