Atheists, tell me, a Roman Catholic: why should I become an atheist?

[robvalue]

I think it's unlikely a sceptic atheist would ever become religious. But a non-sceptic who hasn't been raised religious could have a series of events, including some major life changing ones, which lead them to credit the local deity.

Even a sceptic could have an event so traumatising that it actually alters their brain, so that they become vulnerable to the emotional pull. We're all surrounded by religious mythology, and all it takes is for a crack to appear and it will all seep in.

So in my opinion, it's emotion/indoctrination versus logic. Also, there may well be some cases of conversions which are pragmatic pretense. (Prisons spring to mind.)

[Mystical]

Oops, nevermind ^*^

[Pat Mustard]

[Whateverist]

Or maybe it just means they need to look into some other method of biblical interpretation besides Fundamentalism?

I cannot see any valid interpretation of that passage, or any other instruction regarding women in the bible for that matter, that isn' "women, know your place!"

Wow. You really cannot see any other valid interpretation of the bible than a literal, fundamentalist one? Makes me wonder if you hold every book to the same standard. Is every novel just a blatant confabulation of no use whatsoever, or can a story have some other meaning? You wouldn't be a fundamentalist atheist by any chance?

[Pat Mustard]

I cannot see any valid interpretation of that passage, or any other instruction regarding women in the bible for that matter, that isn' "women, know your place!"

Wow.  You really cannot see any other valid interpretation of the bible than a literal, fundamentalist one?  Makes me wonder if you hold every book to the same standard.  Is every novel just a blatant confabulation of no use whatsoever, or can a story have some other meaning?  You wouldn't be a fundamentalist atheist by any chance?

Well when every utterance in a book about women is deeply misogynistic, you kind of have to take it at face value. And the religions which base themselves off that book are themselves deeply misogynistic.

[Ignorant]

Wow.  You really cannot see any other valid interpretation of the bible than a literal, fundamentalist one?  Makes me wonder if you hold every book to the same standard.  Is every novel just a blatant confabulation of no use whatsoever, or can a story have some other meaning?  You wouldn't be a fundamentalist atheist by any chance?

Well when every utterance in a book about women is deeply misogynistic, you kind of have to take it at face value. And the religions which base themselves off that book are themselves deeply misogynistic.

What do you think about Catholics holding that Mary, a woman, is the closest creature to God?

[Mr Greene]

For now, I've been doing some lighter research into atheists who converted into religion. Leah Libresco for example was apparently a notable atheist blogger who converted to Catholicism as it satisfied her questions about morals, primarily. I'm not sure how common it is, but in general why do you guys think some atheists end up converting to a religion?

In my experience the trigger is always emotional, even with Strong Atheists (Dawkins 7) who leave a logical door open.
Of course the emotional content invariably overrides logic and so it's difficult to track back and leads to post-hoc retro-fitted positions.

[Ben Davis]

Well when every utterance in a book about women is deeply misogynistic, you kind of have to take it at face value. And the religions which base themselves off that book are themselves deeply misogynistic.

What do you think about Catholics holding that Mary, a woman, is the closest creature to God?

Yes, Mary. The ultimate rape victim.

[Homeless Nutter]

What do you think about Catholics holding that Mary, a woman, is the closest creature to God?

Who is a male... That clearly means - the best female is inferior to the best male.

The male created the universe and humanity - even Mary herself. The male sacrificed himself for the sins of humanity. The male will judge humanity and give them everlasting life - again, including Mary herself, who is only venerated, due to male's grace.

The female - is a perfectly obedient recepticle/incubator, who knows how to keep her legs together. Twist it however you like, but women are inherently inferior according to pretty much every major monotheistic religion.

God without Mary is still God. Mary without god - is just some pr*ck-teasing b*tch.

[Mister Agenda]

For now, I've been doing some lighter research into atheists who converted into religion. Leah Libresco for example was apparently a notable atheist blogger who converted to Catholicism as it satisfied her questions about morals, primarily. I'm not sure how common it is, but in general why do you guys think some atheists end up converting to a religion?

I think she's a typical case of an atheist converting: her fiancé' was Catholic, IIRC. Of the few cases where someone I knew to be atheist online, the only reasons for conversion they were able to articulate were emotional, usually involving a significant other.

Of the people I've run into who say they used to be atheists, almost all describe atheism differently than actual atheists do, which leads me to conclude that they think they used to be atheists because they misunderstand atheism. Their reasons they give for their previous 'atheism' tend to be stereotypical: they were angry at God (mad-at-God-ism is not atheism), they were sinners (drinking and fornicating aren't atheism), or they weren't born-again (not being 'saved' is not atheism). They say they were atheists, but most of them believed God was real during their 'atheist period'. Some will even use their belief in God as justification to claim that atheists secretly believe in God.

I'm always interested in atheist conversion stories, hoping that they'll have some kind of evidence or argument more convincing than what we usually see, but I have always been disappointed so far.