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Are Atheists evil?

InformedIgnorance

Do you 'know' or believe?
no no no.... simply choose a god concept which attributes omnipresence, then it simply means that evil does not exist because it is not possible to be away from god; same if you chose a god concept such as pantheism or panentheism
 

idav

Being
Premium Member
If evil is defined as being away from or without God just like darkness is without light or cold is without heat, then does this mean atheists or anyone else who chooses to be without God are evil?
Not believing in god is one thing but it doesn't mean god isn't around. There are even some god believers that can be very evil.
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Not believing in god is one thing but it doesn't mean god isn't around. There are even some god believers that can be very evil.

Agreed. Some don't even know it. Fred Phelps being one. Jimmy Swaggert and any other religious leader which fleeces their flock for personal financial gain is another. Pedophile priests is another obvious example.
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Evil, as it is subjectively defined in the OP with obvious self-serving intent, becomes victimless and arbitrary. Evil is intent.

Disagreed on all points. For one, you don't strike me as a person who believes in evil. Am I wrong? Do you believe evil is a force? If so, then we are simply disagreed. If not, then why are you defining evil "with obvious self-serving intent"? :facepalm:

Second, the definition I used of evil, that of not being a force, but simply a lack of God/goodness, has been in several of my other posts and no one became upset about it. Of course, now certain parties are very upset since I applied it to a certain segment of the population......a very small segment. :)
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Depends on how defective the person is. If there is no chance of resolving the issue, sure.

What method would you recommend for determining which people should be destroyed as defective and which would be allowed to continue performing their function as walking biochemical computers?
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
What method would you recommend for determining which people should be destroyed as defective and which would be allowed to continue performing their function as walking biochemical computers?

Yes and what if the person/entity making that determination happens to be defective?

Who gets to decide who is worthy to judge?
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Yes and what if the person/entity making that determination happens to be defective?

Who gets to decide who is worthy to judge?
Since the computers in question have the ability to self-replicate, it should be of little consequence for those who believe that to be true.

Care for some crackers?

293015-Soylent_Green_crackers.jpg
 

tumbleweed41

Resident Liberal Hippie
Disagreed on all points. For one, you don't strike me as a person who believes in evil. Am I wrong? Do you believe evil is a force? If so, then we are simply disagreed. If not, then why are you defining evil "with obvious self-serving intent"? :facepalm:

Read it again.
Evil, as it is subjectively defined in the OP with obvious self-serving intent...
The obvious self serving intent refers to your OP.


Second, the definition I used of evil, that of not being a force, but simply a lack of God/goodness, has been in several of my other posts and no one became upset about it. Of course, now certain parties are very upset since I applied it to a certain segment of the population......a very small segment. :)

See what happens when you put an irrational position in an OP for all to see?
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Read it again.
The obvious self serving intent refers to your OP.

Attack all you want. Evidence #1 from another thread:
It boils down to one's perspective on God and Heaven. I believe heaven is not a physical place, but an attitude with respect to God, the Almighty, the Great Pumpkin or whatever one chooses to label the great force behind our Universe and its creation. If one is with God, which it appears several you described are not, then they will put themselves in their own hell. If one chooses to remove themselves from God, then, buy definition, they are "out of the light and into the darkness". A euphemism for Hell. Like Heaven, Hell isn't a physical place either.

FWIW, I think, given eternity, that eventually everyone ends up in Heaven. How long it takes is up to them since it is up to each to determine when they will see and come into the light.
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Read it again.
The obvious self serving intent refers to your OP.

See what happens when you put an irrational position in an OP for all to see?

Example #2
I think there are those who see the light and those who choose not to. To see the light is enlightenment, oneness with God, whatever you choose to call it.

With that in mind, the answer to your question would be no. God is just God. People make the choice themselves. Some take longer than others, but eventually I think everyone will see the light. Even Lucifer....oddly enough a name which means "light bearer".
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Read it again.
The obvious self serving intent refers to your OP.

See what happens when you put an irrational position in an OP for all to see?

Example #3
I agree with this concept. Like darkness is a lack of light, evil is simply a lack of good. In the religious context, a lack of God or being away from God. Lucifer chose to pull away from God. Ergo, Lucifer is evil. Like cold is simply a lack of heat, not a force of itself, evil isn't a force. It's simply being away from God.
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
Example #4
It boils down to what version of God, Hell and religious laws you abide by. I agree there is an incongruence between the idea of an all-merciful God and that same God condemning someone to an eternity of pain and misery. Therefore, I think the common perception of Hell is wrong. "Evil" is not a force by itself. It's like cold or darkness. Cold is simply a lack of heat. Darkness is a lack of light. "Evil" is simply a lack of "Good", or being away from God. If a person is in "Hell", then it is by choice. Simply put, they have chosen to be away from God. When they choose to come back into the "light", then they will be able to do so since God truly is all-merciful.
 

InformedIgnorance

Do you 'know' or believe?
That all four pieces of evidence you present are your own subjective beliefs does nothing but support his assertion that it was a subjective statement which largely supports your own position...let me merely take the first as an example.... you claim a definition completely unrelated (except in your opinion) to the concept of 'not being one with god' (despite not defining or even describnig what such a phrase actually means) and claim this leads to 'hell', which is not a physical place but is otherwise unspecified and none of which relates to 'evil' in so far as you have identified.

If you wish to avoid claims of subjectivity, present the definitions of all your terms and the justification for those terms - wuthout falling back on your own beliefs.... even using the official position of some church is less subjective (though many would contend no more accurate, nor any less arbitrary)
 
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Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
That the evidence you present is 'one's perspective', your own subjective beliefs...

Obviously. Just like your post(s).

God bless you for recognizing that simple fact. :angel2:

As in the examples I've posted above to Tumbleweed, I don't believe "evil" is a force in its own right any more than cold or darkness is. It is simply a lack of God/goodness.
 
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9Westy9

Sceptic, Libertarian, Egalitarian
Premium Member
If evil is defined as being away from or without God just like darkness is without light or cold is without heat, then does this mean atheists or anyone else who chooses to be without God are evil?

Thoughts?

If you want to define evil like that then yes, atheists are evil. I don't think that's what you believe evil to be however.

Coincidentally, is anyone curious why atheists love to bring up the subject of evil?

Because it's a great argument against certain god concepts
 

tumbleweed41

Resident Liberal Hippie
That your assessment of the OP is wrong.
So let me get this straight.

My assessment that the OP, as a definition of evil, is subjective with obvious self-serving intent , is wrong because you have presented "evidence" that you have posted a philosophy of bad being the absence of good before?

Really?

That is your "evidence"?

Or are you simply upset because this time, by specifically claiming that atheists are evil simply because of their lack of belief in any god concept, you have been called out?
 
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