The Reasons why "Just Following Jesus" Doesn't work

[Secular Elf]

I'm sure that you have met some of those Christians that say they aren't like the "bad Christians" they throw out the old testament and just follow the words of nice cuddly Jesus, well that doesn't work either.

You made some good points but I do have to disagree on a couple of them. One thing I want to say is that I wish Atheists would tone down the "You're just a stupid creatard!" type of comments. I agree with what Matt Dillahunty said about that subject. It is okay to say an argument is stupid as long as you can show WHY that is the case but we shouldn't say religious people are stupid. I think it reflects negatively on atheists. I understand it can be frustrating but it is important to remain civil when discussing these issues because we need to be the ones who appear to be rational and calm. When I debate people, I often have the urge to ask if the other person is an idiot and it can be difficult to resist saying it. However, it is better to let your opponent be the one who does the name-calling if your goal is to try to convince people who are either on the fence or already question their views.

It also isn't accurate to say they are stupid or at least it doesn't appear to be the case from my point of view. Many have just been manipulated into believing something ridiculous. I have debated a lot of religious people and most of them were not stupid. Naive? Sure. Ignorant about certain topics? Usually. However, I will point out that we're all ignorant about certain things so this isn't just something that is exclusive to religious people. I could point out several quotes from Atheists that sound exactly like something a religious fundamentalist would say.

I think Dillahunty summed it up perfectly when he said that he didn't get smarter when he became an atheist, he just became more informed about certain subjects.

I would agree with you up to a certain point.

I would say that religious people are not exactly stupid.  Many are just as intelligent as non-religious people in many areas, EXCEPT when it comes to their religion.  The author of "The God Virus," Dr. Darrel Ray described the catatonic, glazed-eye state religious people whip themselves into when they talk about their faith.  There have also been studies (http://mic.com/articles/95234/psychologi...ral-brains) indicating that there are physical differences in the brains of conservatives as opposed to liberals.   This indicates that people who are religious are hard-wired in their brains to think a certain way about the transcendental, which is what Paul Kurtz had theorized about in his book "The Transcendental Temptation."

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Funny because on other boards I've been on, christians are the first ones to incite name calling as soon as you challenge their beliefs or refuse to convert to their twisted, brain-washed way of thinking. Happens every time. Then when you say, "well, that wasn't very christian of you.", they go all bat crap crazy.
More christians need to learn to take the high road they claim to walk on.

Exactly.  I prime example I can give is on Facebook, when my sister commented negatively in a thread between me and one of my freethinker friends about the GoTell Crusade that had occurred in my hometown.  She did not like us discussing possibly challenging revivals (it was held at the high school football field), called us pathetic, and even made a threat of fighting against us, bringing up her grandchildren, my niece's kids (her grandkids by adoption, which is a different story altogether).  Anyway, that pissed me off so I did respond emotionally.  That was about three weeks ago, I have not been on FB nor talked to her other than a brief hello since then.

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Gotta call bullshit.  Of course you can open a book wherever you like and just take what you get from it.  That is the way it works even if you read a book straight through.

You were right at the start when you expressed relief/happiness that at least they aren't creationist/fundamentalists.  From there, like it or lump it, they are adult human beings who are going to form their own takes on reality and values without regard to what you or I think.  Personally, I'm in favor of that.  Even if they are making a mistake by your or my standards, it is better in my opinion that they act coherently for what they believe and feel.  That is the only way to take the next step as an individual.  Anyone who becomes persuaded that they have to please you or me in order to be okay is lost.  Lets leave proselytizing to the people who invented it.  I'm fine without god but I'm not knocking on doors to get followers.

I agree wholeheartedly with that.  When you see a false claim someone is making and you know it is false, you have to call them on it.  I did that in a LTE when I saw an article written by a professor from a local religious college state some shit about Thomas Jefferson (it was Christian revisionism) that was not true in the local paper.

It isn't really necessary to proselytize for atheism.  People will find that road when the begin the journey themselves, asking that one question which is the first step on a journey of a thousand miles.  For me, reading the Bible and paying close attention to its details, among a few other things, led me on the road to atheism, no one prompted me, I did it on my own by starting to ask questions.

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Funny because on other boards I've been on, christians are the first ones to incite name calling as soon as you challenge their beliefs or refuse to convert to their twisted, brain-washed way of thinking. Happens every time. Then when you say, "well, that wasn't very christian of you.", they go all bat crap crazy.
More christians need to learn to take the high road they claim to walk on.

Yes...at the end of the day the fact is that most xtians are simply full of shit.

Ramen, Min, ramen.