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Thank you atheists...

Sunstone

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
"Atheists are our natural allies, because they ask the right questions." -- Miskotte (Dutch Protestant Theologian).

I take his words to be both true about atheists (in the general sense), and even as something atheists themselves would do well to consider, should they harbor any fondness for painting all religious folks as irrationally prone to rejecting their points.
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
sealchan said:
...for all that you do to keep one-way believers and literalists busy with challenging their assumptions. As a believer who was an atheist I greatly appreciate your efforts.

Let this thread be about believer appreciation for the role atheists play on this forum.
Click to expand...

It is my observation that those who say they were atheists but now are "believers" really never were
atheists.

There could be-perhaps you are-an exception, but
the pattern is for people raised in a religious
setting will fall away from it for a while, to say they are
"atheist" but find they cannot really break free.
 
viole

viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
sealchan said:
...for all that you do to keep one-way believers and literalists busy with challenging their assumptions. As a believer who was an atheist I greatly appreciate your efforts.

Let this thread be about believer appreciation for the role atheists play on this forum.
Click to expand...

You are welcome, even though I am more after "progressive" Christianity rather than literalists.

Ciao

- viole
 
Sunstone

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Audie said:
It is my observation that those who say they were atheists but now are "believers" really never were
atheists.

There could be-perhaps you are-an exception, but
the pattern is for people raised in a religious
setting will fall away from it for a while, to say they are
"atheist" but find they cannot really break free.
Click to expand...

Good point!

I'm under the impression that is especially true of folks who decide they are atheists on the grounds of some disturbing life event, such as someone close to them died. That being said, some preachers enjoy misrepresenting all or most all atheists as that -- as not true atheists, but merely angry at God.
 
sealchan

sealchan

Well-Known Member
Audie said:
It is my observation that those who say they were atheists but now are "believers" really never were
atheists.

There could be-perhaps you are-an exception, but
the pattern is for people raised in a religious
setting will fall away from it for a while, to say they are
"atheist" but find they cannot really break free.
Click to expand...

I am perhaps a rare breed. My conversion came about through no coersion and out of no significant family upbringing in a religious context.
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
sealchan said:
I am perhaps a rare breed. My conversion came about through no coersion and out of no significant family upbringing in a religious context.
Click to expand...

No significant family upbringing..

One never knows what seemingly insignificant,,
forgotten event or words can have a lifelong impact.

But of course, I will agree that you'd be one of a rare
few who were actual atheists and then went over to the dark side. :D
 
U

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Audie said:
It is my observation that those who say they were atheists but now are "believers" really never were
atheists.

There could be-perhaps you are-an exception, but
the pattern is for people raised in a religious
setting will fall away from it for a while, to say they are
"atheist" but find they cannot really break free.
Click to expand...

Nice. I think the only few way you can all of the sudden come from atheist to theist is their definition of atheism left room to believe in god(s). (Im an atheist because I dont believe the christian god exists) which gives room for belief in other gods.

Another reason is a revelation of somesort. Which, in turn, people can have revelations they dont believe in god-yet, those are quite uncommon in my experience.

Then there are those who are agnostic but call themselves atheist for whatever reason during their young adult years. Others fell away from their former faith but felt a pull to come back and they attribute this "pull" to god even though there are other explainations to experience that pull not supernatural in nature.

I honestly dont believe many who were atheist to believers were atheists, though. Like a christian who says they cant be atheist, same vis versa. Another, atheist believes in NO god. No god, none iota. So, that could be it too, flexible definitions based on their experiences with religion.
 
Sunstone

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
It's sad that, in discussions like these, folks so seldom bring up how atheists have revolutionized everyone's love lives just by being so inspiringly sexy.
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
Unveiled Artist said:
Nice. I think the only few way you can all of the sudden come from atheist to theist is their definition of atheism left room to believe in god(s). (Im an atheist because I dont believe the christian god exists) which gives room for belief in other gods.

Another reason is a revelation of somesort. Which, in turn, people can have revelations they dont believe in god-yet, those are quite uncommon in my experience.

Then there are those who are agnostic but call themselves atheist for whatever reason during their young adult years. Others fell away from their former faith but felt a pull to come back and they attribute this "pull" to god even though there are other explainations to experience that pull not supernatural in nature.

I honestly dont believe many who were atheist to believers were atheists, though. Like a christian who says they cant be atheist, same vis versa. Another, atheist believes in NO god. No god, none iota. So, that could be it too, flexible definitions based on their experiences with religion.
Click to expand...

For some, it is just a kind of sales talk, like the
preacher who claims "Yes, I, I , I was the WORST
of sinners, yess, mired in sin, I was, until verily
the LORD came unto me..."

As for me, my Mom is a kind of Jack-Buddhist.
qe observed a few of the little customs that
go along with it. But her Buddhism is of a very
intellectual sort, and "god"(s) are just not a thing.

I think I grew up about as "a" religion as you can get.
 
stvdv

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
18 jun 2018 stvdv 011 71
sealchan said:
Let this thread be about believer appreciation for the role atheists play on this forum
Click to expand...

Atheists offer a wake-up call to people who "believe blind unconscious"

So now some of them can become people who "believe blind conscious"
 
Last edited:
Nakosis

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
sealchan said:
...for all that you do to keep one-way believers and literalists busy with challenging their assumptions. As a believer who was an atheist I greatly appreciate your efforts.

Let this thread be about believer appreciation for the role atheists play on this forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the job.
 
Milton Platt

Milton Platt

Well-Known Member
Jumi said:
False. I was atheist for around 95% of my early life. Though you could argue what length of time I've been theist in that 5+-a few %.
Click to expand...

What were your reasons for your atheism and what are your reasons for your current belief system (theist, deist, polytheist, etc)
 
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