Moxie Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I have heard Christians ask this about atheists: Why do atheists spend so much time and energy speaking against someone that does not exist? I'd like to know your thoughts about this question and how you deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith666 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Because Christians believe their imaginary friend exists and try to make everyone else live by said friend's rules. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I don't waste my time engaging in pointless debates. However just as there are radical Xians there are also radical atheists. When these two groups engage one another they talk past each other & ultimately accomplish nothing. They do, however, leave a room filled with a lot of hot air. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted August 14, 2016 Super Moderator Share Posted August 14, 2016 As the minority we frequently have to defend our position just to shut them up. I might pose the question to them, "If your deity actually exists, why can't you demonstrate that to me?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyra Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Because I want to help free people who are trapped in a system of oppression, guilt, manipulation, and sacrificing your life to an altar of lies. I don't have a problem with the lonely elderly person or cancer patient facing death who needs the imaginary friend to find comfort. I'll let them have their beliefs with no challenging on my part. I'm not a total bitch. But I care about the people whose lives Christianity can ruin. I care about the women who are being pressured to be "helpmeets" and have 8 kids when that's not the life they want, or the gay young people who are being forced into conversion therapy, or the kids who are beaten because of "don't spare the rod" or kids who are scared to the point of long-term anxiety and trauma because of lies about hell. I don't want to see my fellow human beings being manipulated or forced into living a path that might be wrong for them or make them miserable. I don't want to see abused women pressured to stay with their abusers, or young boys taught that their hormonal desires are evil and wrong. I don't want people to be in their 70s and beyond lamenting that they spent all their young and healthy years missing life's opportunities, and not being true to themselves, because they gave it all up for religious expectations that turned out to be a crock full of shit. I want to save those people from the tragic waste of a life wasted on untruth. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith666 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Well-said, Lyra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I have heard Christians ask this about atheists: Why do atheists spend so much time and energy speaking against someone that does not exist? I'd like to know your thoughts about this question and how you deal with it. Possible answer: "The willful ignorance, irrationality, dishonesty and sanctimony exhibited by many Religionists does in fact exist. I spend "so much time and energy speaking against" this toxic recipe." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I don't spend my time speaking against someone who doesn't exist, I spend my time speaking against existent humans who insist that I believe in the non-existent. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I have heard Christians ask this about atheists: Why do atheists spend so much time and energy speaking against someone that does not exist? I'd like to know your thoughts about this question and how you deal with it. If you are asked that a lot, there might be a couple reasons: A) You live in a very religious area and get tired of listening to Jesus shit all the time and tend to get vocal about it. B] You are overly vocal about being an atheist and might need to reel it in some. If this question does not pertain to you specifically you might say that most atheists don't really spend much time and energy on it at all. Unless you are Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins or some other atheist author making a living off it. Lets compare the Christian to the atheist. First we dismiss non-churchgoing/non-practicing Christians from the comparison because they might as well be atheists. If you dont go to church, tithe, do churchy good deeds in the community, pray, read the bible, etc, why call yourself a Christian? So we're left with Christians who spend a few hours every Sunday at church, who knows how much time during the week praying, reading the bible, feeling guilty about not evangelizing anyone ... it adds up. Now, consider how many atheists waste time thinking about atheism? I would say not that many. As an agnostic I dont sit around all day thinking about agnosticism. I suspect it's similar for atheists. Atheists and agnostics are not REQUIRED to think about atheism or agnosticism at all. A fundy relative of mine though tries to insert Jesus into every conversation. So who really spends more time talking about someone who does not exist? Yes, the Christians. Another reply might be "Why do Christians spend so much time praying to thin air?" Another reply might be "Why do Christians always insert Jesus into every conversation? Do they need OCD meds?" Another reply might be "Why do Christians always think atheists are fighting against god?" Another reply might be "Because Christianity is harmful. Christianity creates undue fear in its participants." Another reply might be "Atheists dont speak against someone who doesnt exist, they speak against pushy assholes that DO exist and have a Great Commission to make me believe their bullshit." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I have heard Christians ask this about atheists: Why do atheists spend so much time and energy speaking against someone that does not exist? I'd like to know your thoughts about this question and how you deal with it. We're not speaking against something that doesn't exist, we're speaking against the ideology of the followers of that imaginary deity. Christianity has a proven track record of causing violence, the breaking up and cause of hatred in families, psychological damage to children as well as adults who are exposed to this kind of trash thinking and general over all hatred of mankind. Christianity is a pro-death religious cult that fights against the human species. The imaginary god of the bible hates humans and has declared war on them; so the followers of this god having been indoctrinated (brainwashed) by this ideology have also adopted this same hatred towards their fellow humans. Christians, now believe it's their duty to pick up this same flag of hate in the name of their imaginary king and declare war on humans. Atheist's speak out against it because we love the truth and we love our fellow man and care about their well being. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinas Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Well, I'm not an atheist. But if I was, I would answer thus: "Because Christians spend so much time and energy speaking for someone that does not exist". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Good intensions aside, it is not possible to educate a closed mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 If someone actually says this to you just say "So you admit god doesn't exist?" They'll immediately say that they believe god is quite real but that you believe that god doesn't exist so why do you speak out? It's just a way to shut you up. So, as others have said, you're not speaking against god you're speaking against those who believe in said god(s). They're the ones who believe this god is real and so, sometimes, you have to treat this pretend being as if it is real for the sake of the argument. Normally to create a common ground to facilitate communication otherwise all you're going to say to most everything is "God's not real", "Is too", "Is not" and so on. If they believe their imaginary friend is all loving then they should also be able to explain why that same friend likes to drown all its pets. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Why do so many people dress up in Star Trek uniforms and go to Comicon? Possibly obsessed. Doesnt mean there is an actual USS Enterprise in real life. Why do 1.5 billion people worship Allah? He must be real, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjn Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Why do so many people dress up in Star Trek uniforms and go to Comicon? Possibly obsessed. Doesnt mean there is an actual USS Enterprise in real life. Why do 1.5 billion people worship Allah? He must be real, eh? To be fair, the Islamic Allah is the same as the God of the Old Testament (the very word is of the same semitic root as Hebrew "El") so less ignorant Christians might acknowledge Islam to a limited degree, just as many Muslims accept aspects of Christianity, but believing Christians "got it all wrong". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLyniezian Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 This is obviously one of those "gotcha" questions that uis used to try and tick the opponent into admitting there is a god after all and everyone "really" knows but is afraid to admit it. Obviously nonsense, but that's what some of them think. To my mind, it is rarely the case that those arguing for the athesit postion and against Christianity or similar religions spend all their time attacking God as if he were real, as opposed to the absurdity, un-necessity and real negative effects of the religion such as detailed by other posters above. So one possible answer ism no they dn't. Another possible answer is, well God is not real but the bleif in that God, or the idea of God represents something very real. It is the idea that is being opposed, not the actual God who is presumed to exist by beleivers, as if he did. To add to that, if and anti-religious atheist tries to argue against God in the "devil's advocate" way (suppose first that God exists and then deconstruct that by revealing th contradictory nature and moral bankruptcy of the alleged God in spite of claims to the contrary) then it is only to point out the absurdity of that. As mentioned I would agree that this kind of talk does not originate in a vacuum, it originates from the real presence of Christianity which would encroach onto the lives of beleivers, and others whom the non-beleiver may wish to show solidarity towards. Otherwise the discussion would be no different to the way in which we discuss Thor, or Athena, or whichever other gods few people acknowledge anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLoner Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Religion is in our faces everyday, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Easy answer: Why do Muslims, Jews and Christians fight agaisnt other beliefs systems......because they see them as false and harmful........atheists fight against Christianity because they see it as harmful. And atheists are forced to share a world with religious nutters who seek, nay crave, the end of the world and would love to see the nukes being launched...... This mind set by fundies is well worth fighting against. Atheists do not fight god, they fight his believers , some of whom are deranged 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybaris Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 I have heard Christians ask this about atheists: Why do atheists spend so much time and energy speaking against someone that does not exist? I'd like to know your thoughts about this question and how you deal with it. Because we really don't need people who believe in sky fairies, no matter which one, with their finger on nuclear weapons or any weapons for that matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOHO Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 "Because I loath the thought of anyone, who is bat-shit crazy, having any control over my life!" And they do...because...the VOTE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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