Atheists: Time to Come Out of the Closet!

If it's all in your mind, that actually strengthens the argument for atheism. (If GOD, God,gods and/or Jesus) were simply in our minds, we all would be atheists. What makes you a believer, Percy, is that the concept is clear in your heart though vague in your mind. I am the opposite. I am scared to be vulnerable. Fair enough. I used to mark (None Of The Above) when I was unsure of an answer on a test too. I can agree that no one has a better handle on the nature of God than does anyone else. I would concur that by definition, God is either supernatural or an extension of our own worldviews(an internal creation) I prefer to believe in the former. Everyone around here tells me that I make Him up since I dont follow the script foretold in "The Book".
I used to be more like candle2, never straying from the script...until I looked around and saw little enlightenment among church members in that area. The problem with the Bible Belt is that it buckles under pressure! (pun intended) It was always foreknown to happen and is the path that society must follow, in order to be honest with ourselves. It will also insure that we collectively have no excuse for the result of our actions.
...

Percy:

---

And the next time you find yourself tempted to pretend that you believe in God? Tell the truth instead.

---

I am (that He is!)

Why on earth would I wish to declare my atheism? To me, it is a badge of willful ignorance. I do agree with Ms. Cohan, however, that people are in fact responsible. I also might bring up (again) that both you and I know that humans are failing to address Climate Change and are fiddling while Rome burns. Demon or not, that fact is unsettling.
​
Before Percy chimes in and labels me confused or vague, allow me to explain.

Liberally Progressively minded people are more likely to be atheists than conservatives are. Conservatives are charged with being too authoritarian and heartless, yet in order to save the planet, the progressives will almost certainly have to seize the power to do the job that the conservatives won't. This means that the new boss will be as open to criticism (by being authoritarian) as the old Conservative bosses were. And atheists will get the blame. Am I delusional?

​

Edited by Phat, .

​

Edited by Phat, .

No. they have different methods, such as increasing taxes for the good of everyone all the while throwing money at a war that cannot be won. (Ignoring using more money at home) All I can say is that we made a big mistake in signaling to Saudi Arabia that the petrodollar days are over. That's the whole backing for our money since gold no longer is. You can't simply back money through the will of the majority. A lesson that atheists have yet to learn. Even BRICS is smarter than that. (Sorry Im drifting off-topic)Perhaps my belief, in general, is that Conservatives claim the moral high ground through hypocritical religion while progressives claim it through their platform of what's best for everyone. Will the two sides ever quit fighting? Only if they can agree on who or what should be in charge.​

Perhaps a better term is "inheriting power" from discredited old white guys. The point im trying to make while attempting to shoehorn it into your Atheists Unite topic is that assuming humanism and human wisdom to be the only choice we have rubs me the wrong way. Granted I have yet to find raw evidence and data to refute the determined Ms. Cohan.

It's all about data, evidence, and meds with you, isn't it? To you, prayer is as useless as chanting mantras.Perhaps there are atheists in foxholes, but they are coping through meds, hard data, and reason. Yet the shells keep coming!

atheists are more likely to man up....alcohol notwithstanding...because they don't have God as a fallback option. Whimpering is optional.

For a guy who hates religion and vanquishes gods, you sure have a lot of mystical substitutes. I would argue that though they relieve pain rather than cause it, they are false hopes. You would add the word "also".

I'm not sure I understand him. He is not talking about me is he? I'm not that stupid.But you are right. I have no business in this topic.

I saw the table of contents in her book. What intrigued me was her reasoning for not becoming an agnostic. What's so dishonest about admitting a lack of knowledge?As for Seth Andrews, he struck me as a bit smug.

That's the question that could hypothetically define WWIII. Why do the nations in power have to make everything about them? When will the poor have their day?

No. In your case its a lack of belief. How is not knowing everything a lie? Though I will admit that peer pressure is a reality, it affects me differently from you since we each have different peers. I could say that some of you pretend *not* to believe. To you, a lack of knowledge could be an absence of evidence whereas, for me, the initial evidence was in my heart and not my mind.Nearly all of you would challenge my statement, pointing out that you see little if any love in me and that I am likely pretending. You overestimate the influence that church people have on me. I will admit, however, that EvC has more influence on me than the church folk.

And I would say that you are projecting your own deconversion thought process...assuming you deconverted.

Good question.I'm no expert (obviously) but for me, conversion was my experiencing an internal and immediate realization without peer pressure (apart from perhaps groupthink) since I did not even know or desire to know the group I was with. My entire mind changed. I would not say at the time that I suddenly believed....I just knew. A skeptic or a critic might accuse me of having undergone brainwashing. Groupthink was the process of indoctrination in the months following the conversion.As for deconversion, I cannot imagine experiencing that nor would I choose to.I don't really like church, apart from Bible Studies. A valid question for me is why I "like" the Bible and truth be told I occasionally don't....especially when it convicts me of something I should do but choose not to do. But this is more a topic for a Bible Study or faith thread rather than an atheism thread.I think that choice plays a role in either conversion or deconversion.

The Bronze Age Goatherders saw the same stars, the same photons(though they knew no formal science) and such. The difference was, among other things, that they were likely not experiencing fear and anxiety as were you. Imagine being (not a goatherder) but a soldier. Perhaps preparing to invade GAZA. Back home is everything you knew...everything that brought you comfort. Everything worth fighting for. Perhaps you are a lapsed Jew, or perhaps not. You have heard of God and gods, but you are in today's world also familiar with science.How would I feel? One thing is likely. I would feel as if death was suddenly very possible and very inevitable.I would likely be looking to find God. Science at that point would not calm me. I would be about to kill humans and all I could do to manage that thought would be to remind myself that they were different than me for they were animals.

It was in that I could have chosen to question it and attempt to falsify it rather than allowing myself to associate with the group for the next year.I could have chosen to dismiss my initial experience, revelation, or whatever as illogical. I could have chosen to question or even doubt myself. There is a difference between knowing about someone and meeting someone. Besides, how do I know that Allah may not tap me on the shoulder someday? From whose perspective?