What Does Atheism Profit Atheists?

[section9+1]

You forget that I am not arguing from my perspective. What I believe about authority is entirely different. I am saying you are standing upon nothing and the reason it is nothing is because you have invented it yourself. And anything that opposes that is equally worthless since it is also a product of their imaginations. You cannot set yourself up as the right thinking way in anything, because you have no more validity or authority than anyone else. If you are right then my meaning is also my invention. So what! It's still mine and equally valid with yours.

 

[Freodin]

It would be so nice if people got to understand that "value" and "valid" are not synonyms.

 

[section9+1]

I attach myself to a rightness that is outside of myself. I did not invent Christianity. It was here long before me and will continue long after me. I only appropriate it to myself. I claim it and its values. Moslems do the same thing with Islam. I think they are wrong because I have something apart from myself to judge them by. They feel the same way about me. That at least makes sense. Atheists don't have any of that. They are their own rightness. You can do that but don't expect it to carry any weight anywhere else. And when you are soon gone all your rightness will be gone with you. It will be as though you never existed, which in truth, you scarcely do.

 

[Freodin]

I attach myself to a rightness that is outside of myself. I did not invent Christianity. It was here long before me and will continue long after me. I only appropriate it to myself. I claim it and its values. Moslems do the same thing with Islam. I think they are wrong because I have something apart from myself to judge them by. They feel the same way about me. That at least makes sense. Atheists don't have any of that. They are their own rightness. You can do that but don't expect it to carry any weight anywhere else. And when you are soon gone all your rightness will be gone with you. It will be as though you never existed, which in truth, you scarcely do.

If that is all it takes...

Atheists never claimed to be "their own rightness"... atheistic rightness is based on logic, reason and empathy, which were here long before me, the individual atheist, and will continue long after me.

See how easy it was to refute your position? Try a little harder next time.

 

[section9+1]

You are refuting yourself. Your logic, your reason and your empathy. Worthless.

 

[Freodin]

You are refuting yourself. Your logic, your reason and your empathy. Worthless.

As worthless as your Christianity?

You may count your opinion as equally valuable as mine... and I would not disagree. But it definitly isn't as valid as long as you continue to use invalid arguments like above.

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

You are refuting yourself. Your logic, your reason and your empathy. Worthless.

Where's your empathy, section? You call people who think differently than you worthless, call them nothing, yet when they ask you to explain how they can come into belief, you have no answer to give them.

 

[essentialsaltes]

jackn
Your very presence here counts as your version of evangelizing.

More seriously, one of the reasons I am here is to dispel myths and misinformation that Christians may have about atheists and atheism. The existence of these threads and comments from some of the posters here show that this need is just as great as ever. And some Christians will never learn, because their internal strawman of atheism is much more comfortable for them to live with than the actuality of what atheists themselves believe.

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

You are refuting yourself. Your logic, your reason and your empathy. Worthless.

Where's your empathy, section? You call people who think differently than you worthless, call them nothing, yet when they ask you to explain how they can come into belief, you have no answer to give them.

 

[section9+1]

I get what I believe from the bible. I have just as much empathy as God has. No a dot more. I do not believe God engineers people for damnation. They do a good enough job of that themselves. I have no sympathetic empathy for Atheists. I am no more merciful than God. Since you don't believe the bible, it's no surprise you don't agree. If you've made your choice, you can have it. I have no intention of changing it. I am not an evangelist. MG, if you are still searching, you still have hope.

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

I get what I believe from the bible. I have just as much empathy as God has. No a dot more. I do not believe God engineers people for damnation. They do a good enough job of that themselves. I have no sympathetic empathy for Atheists. I am no more merciful than God. Since you don't believe the bible, it's no surprise you don't agree. If you've made your choice, you can have it. I have no intention of changing it. I am not an evangelist. MG, if you are still searching, you still have hope.

I thought it was the duty of all Christians to evangelize, to make believers of all. Is it ok instead to just comment on how worthless non Christians are and how they are all going to hell, without offering to show them a better way? Does that satisfy the Great Commission?

 

[Freodin]

I thought it was the duty of all Christians to evangelize, to make believers of all. Is it ok instead to just comment on how worthless non Christians are and how they are all going to hell, without offering to show them a better way? Does that satisfy the Great Commission?

Talking to people requires empathy. You need to accept them as beings capable of the same level of understanding as yourself.
Section9+1 has just admitted that he has no empathy. So all that is left for him is to talk at people. And if you don't even see them as "people"... just as "nothing", you are just shouting at clouds.

But if that is what makes you happy... hey, should we really try to change him? Or keep laughing about his antics?

 

[section9+1]

"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the UNBELIEVING, the vile, the murderers, etc..--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." God seems to find this appropriate. Should I not? When people like you disregard Christians, you enhance them in God's eyes. You favor me with your opposition.
"The Lord works out everything for his own ends --
Even the wicked for a day of disaster."

 

[Freodin]

"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the UNBELIEVING, the vile, the murderers, etc..--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." God seems to find this appropriate. Should I not?

How does someone who isn't capable of creating something simple like "meaning" still able to bring into existence a whole fiery lake of burning sulphur?

I can't even manage hydrogenium.

When people like you disregard Christians, you enhance them in God's eyes. You favor me with your opposition.
"The Lord works out everything for his own ends --
Even the wicked for a day of disaster."

I admit that for some people this seems to be a working approach:
"Hey, why does everyone laugh at me?"
"They laugh at you because they hate you! Their laughter shows that you are right and powerful!"
"Puh, what a relief! I almost thought they laughed at me because I said something really really stupid."
"No, no, it shows that you are the favoured of the allmighty God. Now, have you paid your tithes this week already?"

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the UNBELIEVING, the vile, the murderers, etc..--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." God seems to find this appropriate. Should I not? When people like you disregard Christians, you enhance them in God's eyes. You favor me with your opposition.
"The Lord works out everything for his own ends --
Even the wicked for a day of disaster."

Does belief come from God, or can I just declare I'm a believer and have it be so? If belief comes as a gift from God, does He give it to all, or does he choose some. If I've prayed for belief and haven't recieved it, what should I conclude. ..to keep trying despite setbacks or to assume God doesn't want me?

 

[Kenny'sID]

Why atheists want to evangelize their position kind of escapes me.

The way I see it, they are desperately trying to justify that position by convincing others of their view. Regardless the truth, the more that believe it, or we can get to believe it, the more something appears to be the truth.

In answer to the op, the profit is doing away with any reprisal for them doing what they want to do, (no God = no Hell) at least for the bad Atheist. For the Atheist with morals, it doesn't do much, it's just what they chose to believe.

 

[section9+1]

MG
God says a bruised reed he will not break; a smoldering wick he will not put out. Maybe you have more faith than you think.
As for the rest, I do not think I am talking to poor little sheep who have lost their way. You are the unrighteous labeled so by God so I can only concur. I have no fellowship or share no identity with those whose destiny is the fire so I cannot have empathy. "Do not cast your pearls before swine and do not give what is sacred to the dogs...." Words of Jesus. I can only concur. I paid my tithe this morning.

 

[Dave Ellis]

"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the UNBELIEVING, the vile, the murderers, etc..--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." God seems to find this appropriate. Should I not? When people like you disregard Christians, you enhance them in God's eyes. You favor me with your opposition.
"The Lord works out everything for his own ends --
Even the wicked for a day of disaster."

If that's your god's idea of morality, one would hope you'd strive to improve on it. You can do better than that.

 

[Dave Ellis]

The way I see it, they are desperately trying to justify that position by convincing others of their view. Regardless the truth, the more that believe it, or we can get to believe it, the more something appears to be the truth.

The fact I could or could not convince you of my position would in no way justify my view in and of itself. That's an appeal to popularity fallacy. It doesn't matter how many people believe a claim, what matters are the facts.

The fact is, I haven't seen sufficient evidence to warrant belief in a god. Anything that's ever been presented to me contains either a major logical fallacy, or simply isn't based in fact.

Why am I on here debating? For fun.

I know my position of withholding belief in a god is justified given the fact I am without evidence for that god. I enjoy a good debate, and hopefully I can learn something from other people on here, and help teach others about the atheistic view on things.

In answer to the op, the profit is doing away with any reprisal for them doing what they want to do, (no God = no Hell) at least for the bad Atheist. For the Atheist with morals, it doesn't do much, it's just what they chose to believe.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

If god actually exists and wants to burn me in hell for not believing in him, my refusal to believe doesn't all of a sudden make that god go away.

The profit is living an intellectually honest life, and learning to base your views on the best evidence available. A good healthy skeptical attitude has helped me out in plenty of situations.

 

[Freodin]

MG
God says a bruised reed he will not break; a smoldering wick he will not put out. Maybe you have more faith than you think.
As for the rest, I do not think I am talking to poor little sheep who have lost their way. You are the unrighteous labeled so by God so I can only concur. I have no fellowship or share no identity with those whose destiny is the fire so I cannot have empathy. "Do not cast your pearls before swine and do not give what is sacred to the dogs...." Words of Jesus. I can only concur.

No one requires you to like other people. (Well, there is this pesky little Word of Jesus, but I guess you interprete that differently than most. I don't care.)
But how you interact with people influences very heavily how they interact with you. I guess that this is the point where you don't care... but a life without empathy can get a little lonely. But that's your problem.

Still, it seems to me that this emptiness in your life bothers you on some level... or else you wouldn't be so adamant to project it out to others.

But rest assured: regardless of how unempathic you are to others, there are still some of those others who feel empathy towards you. If you need us, we are here to help you.
And if we can fix some of your misconceptions about us in addition, we all win.

I paid my tithe this morning.

Good little sheep!