I think this thread got unnecessarily antagonistic, OP. I have an idea why:
1) This forum is very international. Only about half (if that) of the regularly posting members are American. It is hosted in France. So generalizations can be taken a little more seriously than you might think. People's concept of "Christian" is not necessarily of the evangelical American Republican type.
2) We are a conversational community on this board. That isn't to contradict what others are saying. We are collective in one and only one respect: the answer to the question "Is there a god?" is for the most part "not so far as I can tell." We get a lot of Christians/theists coming in here, telling us what we believe as atheists. IMO, you have been relatively good on this point. Some of the vitriol you are experiencing is a direct result of your predecessors, fair or not.
3) It is certainly insulting to come into an established group and insist that that group play by your rules of decorum, no? We generally like people to introduce themselves and become a part of the community before using us for research purposes. This is the biggest reason why you are not being received well, IMO.
As far as answers to your questions: Family, Prosperity, Community. Those are my three.
I think what's most important for your atheist character as far as representing an atheist is concerned is that he is not a caricature. Movies like "God is not Dead" or "Do You Believe?" more recently are rife with these people that aren't even atheists. They're theists who are angry with a god that they believe in. If you get the idea that an (agnostic) atheist is simply a person who says there's not been evidence as of yet that convinces me that there is a god(s), then you'll be fine.
1) This forum is very international. Only about half (if that) of the regularly posting members are American. It is hosted in France. So generalizations can be taken a little more seriously than you might think. People's concept of "Christian" is not necessarily of the evangelical American Republican type.
2) We are a conversational community on this board. That isn't to contradict what others are saying. We are collective in one and only one respect: the answer to the question "Is there a god?" is for the most part "not so far as I can tell." We get a lot of Christians/theists coming in here, telling us what we believe as atheists. IMO, you have been relatively good on this point. Some of the vitriol you are experiencing is a direct result of your predecessors, fair or not.
3) It is certainly insulting to come into an established group and insist that that group play by your rules of decorum, no? We generally like people to introduce themselves and become a part of the community before using us for research purposes. This is the biggest reason why you are not being received well, IMO.
As far as answers to your questions: Family, Prosperity, Community. Those are my three.
I think what's most important for your atheist character as far as representing an atheist is concerned is that he is not a caricature. Movies like "God is not Dead" or "Do You Believe?" more recently are rife with these people that aren't even atheists. They're theists who are angry with a god that they believe in. If you get the idea that an (agnostic) atheist is simply a person who says there's not been evidence as of yet that convinces me that there is a god(s), then you'll be fine.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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