My siblings are agnostic, should I try discussing atheism with them?

[CindyBaker]

Or just leave it alone? My brother won't admit anything but he says the same things I've heard atheists say and whenever I ask him if he's an atheist, he uses vague phrases like "well, you know" and "am I?". My sister started becoming a hardcore christian, but then she finally read the bible. She slowly started noticing things and then just said she didn't believe in jesus. But then yesterday she told me that she doesn't know or care what's out there and that's she's definitely not with any religion or god (yay!). So my question is, should I try talking to them or leave well enough alone?

[CapnAwesome]

I mean, sure. As long as it's a discussion and not something pushy or proselytizing. Nothing wrong with telling your family why you are an Atheist. I discuss being an Atheist with the Christians in my family so reaching out to Agnostics doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

[Minimalist]

Some people are simply more comfortable with one word over another.  As long as they aren't annoying the shit out of you about 'jesus ' or 'allah'....or even Zeus, accept it for what it is.

Of course, when they say something like they are definitely not with any religion just say "that's why I am an atheist."

Let them come around on their own terms.  The battle is 3/4 won.  You don't have to ride down the fleeing survivors and hack at them with your saber.

[robvalue]

I'd say it's fine to talk about your own beliefs (or lack of), as long as they are comfortable discussing them. I would recommend against trying to convince them to change their position, that thing never tends to work if it hasn't partly come from them. You could always let them know you're there for them, if they want to discuss these things.

If they "aren't sure", then they are atheists, by definition. Whether or not they are comfortable with that label is another matter. People who say they are "just agnostic" are atheists, by the common correct usage. But trying to make people use labels they aren't happy with is rather pointless.

My website might help clear things up further, and I did a video about recently, if they are any help to you or your siblings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d34BmGnrUEI

[brewer]

If they bring it up then discuss. If not, leave it alone.

[Simon Moon]

It's probably worth discussing with them.

You might want to approach it by first defining the terms "atheist" and "agnostic" with them.

If you explain the formal definition of the words, instead of the colloquial definitions, it might get them to accept that they are already atheists.

You could also show them this:

[Phosphorescent Panties]

Or just leave it alone? My brother won't admit anything but he says the same things I've heard atheists say and whenever I ask him if he's an atheist, he uses vague phrases like "well, you know" and "am I?". My sister started becoming a hardcore christian, but then she finally read the bible. She slowly started noticing things and then just said she didn't believe in jesus. But then yesterday she told me that she doesn't know or care what's out there and that's she's definitely not with any religion or god (yay!). So my question is, should I try talking to them or leave well enough alone?

It's hard to discuss anything with people who are not willing to be wrong. If you try to convince someone that they're wrong about their understanding of the world, they'll probably try to shut you down, give you a lot of questions that are logical fallacies, etc. Unfortunately, people have to be willing to open their minds and be wrong and learn. That's what I like to think of as having a scientific mind. Science is self scrutinizing and changes it's ideas to suite the evidence it finds. If someone does not have this state of mind, there's nothing you can do to persuade them. People who are truly "believers" will not try to defend their faith logically, they know they can't win, which is why they're religious.

[Angrboda]

Why try to push a rolling stone?

[CindyBaker]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'll just wait for one of them to bring up the subject. I don't want to come off too pushy or anything.

@ Minimalist - I can definitely understand that. Before I was comfortable using the word atheist, I just said that I had "different beliefs". It took a while for atheist to stick.

[Minimalist]

Yup.   This


would be overkill.