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Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 8:46 pm
I came out to one of my family members today and as we talked she made the generalization that atheists turn doubt their belief in God when they are exposed to traumatic events and that some others may be just rebelling against their upbringings.
The question that I have is that, as an atheist, do these things have any real effect on what they believe to be true ( That God isn't real) or if these concepts are just irrelevant?
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 8:48 pm
When theists make comments like that, they are actually projecting. It is the theist who turns to imaginary friends for solace during troubling times because the theist is too weak minded to handle life without resorting to fantasy.
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 8:53 pm
Why don't you ask her why she worries about it so much? Does she doubt her "faith?" (If she does, there is hope for her.)
Really. If I didn't come here I think I could easily make it through the day without thinking of them or their fairy tales even once. I really don't get such people. It's as if they never grew up.
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 8:56 pm
(September 5, 2013 at 8:48 pm)Maelstrom Wrote: When theists make comments like that, they are actually projecting. It is the theist who turns to imaginary friends for solace during troubling times because the theist is too weak minded to handle life without resorting to fantasy.
I did think along those lines because during the talk, her main illustration for not understanding why God could not exist was one of her sons being able to survive a near fatal operation.
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 8:59 pm
(This post was last modified: September 5, 2013 at 9:01 pm by ThisGuyAgain67.)
(September 5, 2013 at 8:53 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Why don't you ask her why she worries about it so much? Does she doubt her "faith?" (If she does, there is hope for her.)
Really. If I didn't come here I think I could easily make it through the day without thinking of them or their fairy tales even once. I really don't get such people. It's as if they never grew up.
She actually said that she talked with some student workers at her jib who were atheists (this is where her generalizations came in) and she says that it is "interesting", but she also been a religion teacher for about 10 years so I can't say for sure.
(September 5, 2013 at 8:57 pm)pineapplebunnybounce Wrote: (September 5, 2013 at 8:46 pm)ThisGuyAgain67 Wrote: I came out to one of my family members today and as we talked she made the generalization that atheists turn doubt their belief in God when they are exposed to traumatic events and that some others may be just rebelling against their upbringings.
The question that I have is that, as an atheist, do these things have any real effect on what they believe to be true ( That God isn't real) or if these concepts are just irrelevant?
Don't know if it does, but it should. If something awful happens to you and it was very traumatic, won't you doubt god's good?
Wasn't my reason for not believing, it really only takes one reason to get there, but I think it can be relevant. And what is her argument for this reason being invalid?
She didn't really give any. It was as if she thought that the generalizations were enough to in themselves to say that being an atheist was a bad idea.
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 9:21 pm
Why is it god that saved the operation patient's life and not the highly-skilled set of surgeons? Why does god choose to save this person on the operating table and not the millions of other humans that die from worse situations every year?
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 9:24 pm
(September 5, 2013 at 9:21 pm)BadWriterSparty Wrote: Why is it god that saved the operation patient's life and not the highly-skilled set of surgeons? Why does god choose to save this person on the operating table and not the millions of other humans that die from worse situations every year?
Apparently it was the fact that the doctors couldn't explain why it happened, but when I brought up why it had to be god and that our knowledge of medical science isn't perfect it went back to the generalization thing.
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RE: Reasons for being an Atheist
September 5, 2013 at 9:31 pm
(September 5, 2013 at 9:26 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Quote:her main illustration for not understanding why God could not exist was one of her sons being able to survive a near fatal operation.
I suppose she doesn't even consider the whole medical team that was involved?
She did, but just to say that since they couldn't figure out what happened then it had have been God. None of the actual work that they did was mentioned.
“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy