RE: I do not understand former atheist's
September 26, 2013 at 3:55 pm
(This post was last modified: September 26, 2013 at 4:03 pm by ManMachine.)
(September 26, 2013 at 1:37 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: I'm to be honest, I go to a Christian forum every once in a while to kick the hornets nest a little, however many Christians on there claim to be former atheists. I do not understand how a atheist could covert,as the is full of logical holes and moral atrocities, and the apologetics arguments are full of logical fallacies.
A fairly recent research poll identified that a large percentage of atheists still held onto metaphysical beliefs. Not religion, obviously, but some would believe certain inanimate objects or rituals would bring good or bad luck, for example. Some atheists would exhibit ritualised behaviour because they believed that if they changed their behaviour then this would affect other things.
The assertion that there are no deities itself requires a leap of faith. If we use scientific theory as a standard (and I'm not suggesting you need to at all) then logic and reason will tell us that while there is no evidence for the existence of deities there is no evidence against it, agnosticism is the logical position using this reasoning. Flying Spaghetti Monster fallacy aside (Reductio ad absurdum) it is as much a leap of faith to assume there are no deities as it is to assume there are.
If we consider this then it is easy to see that it is a bigger jump from agnosticism to religion than from atheism to religion.
Atheism places no demands on the atheist to demonstrate reason for the assertion that there are no deities. I often see scientific theory used in this forum and by other atheists but that is not a reasonable position to argue from and remain stoic on the issue of evidence or proof, because the moment you go down that path you make a hypocrite of yourself.
The switch from atheism to religion is just a minor shift in ones' systems of belief.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
