Can Atheists/Agnostics Answer This Truthfully

What exactly should I be practicing? I'm interested in what you have to say.

 

I am an agnostic atheist and can honestly say that my beliefs were not in any way influenced by antagonism towards any particular religion.

In fact, I spent a good number of years engaged in a far ranging quest for faith that included all the major religions. It wasn't antagonism, it was my inability to suspend my disbelief and my rejection of archaic mythology as fact.

When assessing religion's role in history and the heinous things done it its name, I view it as exploiting the faith to justify the more horrific aspects of human nature itself.

Making sociopathy, dehumanization, enslavement, war, etc., palatable to the average human REQUIRES some kind of appeal to their greed, fear or faith. et.al.

 

my atheism manifested itself when I was about 12 years old and started to THINK for myself. Believers never learn to do that (obviously) If you really care to know the harm that religiosity does to your rational mind, you'll have to read some Ayn Rand

 

What you are preaching. Morality.

 

It's simply my experience. Even really pious muslims (radicals, you might say) didn't care about my atheism. They concluded the world is big enough for non-believers, and had no interest in converting me.

On the other hand, I've seen profoundly arrogant behaviour from protestant christians. They seem utterly unable to process the fact that they don't have any more right to impose their woo on others than does the satanist or the wiccan. Likewise they cannot seem to accept the reverse - that the satanist or the wiccan has as much right as they do to impose their woo on others. I've never seen that in muslims - even when living in a city governed by Sharia law. No muslim has told my kids threatening horror stories, either.

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You seem to live in a fantasy world - where disabled people have no value, and you see hate everywhere.

I submit you are far more in need of healing than any atheist here.

 

Not at all. What I said has little to do with morality.

 

Where were you when these radicals didn't care about your atheism, you being an infidel? Were you in their land? Or are you talking about American muslims.

I will place a bet, that if you took your atheism to where those radicals groups are now fighting, your head, your life wouldn't be worth a cent. I would actually love for you to prove your beliefs about radical muslims, by putting some real skin in the game, instead of pontificating as you sit in your easy chair, posting on forums.

Here is some education, which I am sure you are not in the least interested in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-L626DnAuM

He is a muslim, who actually grew up in the middle east. But listening to the reality may not serve your beliefs. You are so much safer amongst Christians, than radical fundamentalist muslims. For you to think differently is absurd. But granted, you would be safe with American muslims, but they are such a minority in the world of islam.

 

Apologies, then.

 

I'm agnostic cause, well, you convince one angel to try and take over heaven, god never forgives you for it. (seriously, big G can NOT take a joke)

j/k

I just grew up and realized that mortals cannot understand an immortal being, and so to even try is a futile attempt, plus the texts were written by man and therefore just as flawed as we are.

 

What did you misunderstand about "living in a city/state governed by Sh'aria"? I lived in a muslim country, in the most muslim state in that country. I've lived in two different muslim countries, as a matter of fact. Never had a moment's grief relating to my atheism in all those years. I'm sorry if that doesn't fit YOUR armchair narrative, but it was my actual, real life experience.

The mistake you make is to paint all muslims with the terrorist brush. The vast majority are decent and dignified people, who have more or less the same values you do. Many would have better. And to add more salt to the wound, I never felt safer (as a young, unaccompanied female) than when I lived in a conservative muslim society. Every dangerously threatening event of a predatory nature I've experienced in my life has occurred in Christian nations. You might call that luck, I call it culture.

 

Must have been a long time ago, or she must not have agreed to raising the kid Catholic. My Mom married an atheist/agnostic (my father) in a Catholic Church by a Catholic priest 50+ years ago. However, to do that, he had to agree that we would be raised Catholic.

 

the actions of the church did not cause them to lose faith in their beliefs, but it did cause them to lose faith in the church

 

My atheism has nothing to do with religion. I never had an sort of faith. I feel relatively indifferent toward one religion or another from a mythological standpoint, though some make for less interesting stories. As far as the followers of religions are concerned I do not much care for fanatics.