A better way to view atheists.

[Brian37]

Another fallacious myth about atheists theists think is that we speak in terms of absolutes, which is patently false. To understand why this is false, all the believer has to do is think about all the claims of others outside their own claim, and the rightful rejection of those claims. We don't have to think much about rejecting the claim that the sun is a god. The atheist simply discards prior data when it is known to be false.

How much time does the believe take when thinking about Thor making lightening? How much time does the believer think about Apollo being a real god? Discarding bad claims does not make us arrogant, anymore than saying the earth is not flat makes one arrogant.

The reality is that atheists are open minded, when proven data comes in we adapt. What we don't do is cling to something merely because we like it. It is merely being intellectually honest, like being a reff in the NFL watching a replay "This is what happened, and this is the call".

Not liking our message does not make us evil, anymore than finding out Santa is not real will cause doomsday. It just means your knowledge and intellect has matured.

[freedomfromforum]

...finding out Santa is not real...

(partial quote)
Last week I was at a christian bible study (gaining recon) and someone there said something about Santa. I blurted out... "Oh you still believe in Santa too?" I think the atheist humor went right over their heads (No one there knows I'm an atheist).

[Brian37]

...finding out Santa is not real...

(partial quote)
Last week I was at a christian bible study (gaining recon) and someone there said something about Santa. I blurted out... "Oh you still believe in Santa too?" I think the atheist humor went right over their heads (No one there knows I'm an atheist).

What possessed you to go to a "bible study"? I understand in the closet people so if that is you, I certainly wont judge. But if you are not under such societal pressure, why would you?

[Bob Kelso]

I recently said to a woman at work, who was getting increasingly angry at me for being an atheist, that it was ridiculous to be angry at me for not believing in god. Could you be angry at me for not believing in Zues?

She shook her head and said no that was an ancient myth, I laughed (irony got the better of me) and replied that I felt the same about the Judeo/Christian god or any god for that matter.

She made a frustrated noise and walked off.

[Brian37]

Good for you.

[freedomfromforum]

(partial quote)
Last week I was at a christian bible study (gaining recon) and someone there said something about Santa. I blurted out... "Oh you still believe in Santa too?" I think the atheist humor went right over their heads (No one there knows I'm an atheist).

What possessed you to go to a "bible study"? I understand in the closet people so if that is you, I certainly wont judge. But if you are not under such societal pressure, why would you?

My wife is a Christian and many of the people in the group are my friends. Not all of the Christians that attend this regular meeting are jerks like some others I know. I occasionally attend these meetings to keep tabs on what is filling my wife's head. I want to hear first hand arguments for their reasoning (or lack thereof), and I sometimes offer secular reasoning as a counter to their faith claims and so on. I am not in the closet and I have no interest in converting back to Christianity (nor any other religion). My interest in religion lies solely in the role of being a watchdog. I'll bark as loud as I can when I see trouble approaching my household, and if it dares to step onto my property I will tear it limb from limb. Plainly put, I go to maintain damage control, that, and the cookies are good and they're free