A question for Atheists...

[Fleur-de-lis]

I don't know if anyone has heard of the Christian Band "DC Talk" or not, but in one of their songs "What if I Stumble"----the very beginning has a person talking who says this:

The greatest single cause of Athiesm in the world today...... is Christians.

Who acknowledge things with their lips, and walk out the door, and deny it by their lifestyle.

That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable.

What do you think of this? Is it true? By the way, the song is religious, it's not disrespecting Christians, it's supposed to be thought provoking.

Why did you become Athiest, was it something along these lines? Or something else?

It's an interesting thought. And it is very true, probably the majority of people do say one thing and do another frequently.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Fleur-de-lis

[GreyWeather]

I didn't become an athiest due to christianity - even though I was a christian-made kid. I think I just thought deeply about the concept of an almighty god at christian camp sitting in a large green field, then I asked questions to the camp leaders and - by the amount of repetition and stuttering they did - I came to the conclusion that religion was written to explain questions we will never understand and can only theorize on, such as how and why we came about (we have fossil records but we will never really understand why we became as we are) and religion just tried to fill in that gap so people could rest easy and credit everything to whatever god you thought up.

Also, deep down when I think about such things, a god is just not logical. If you seperate yourself from your surroundings and look around with no ego or knowing and you pretty much gather the logic of "if a god", the logic determines there's no such thing. I also think that religion was also made to comfort people about death, about "is this the only life we get", and to me it is. Although given an infinate amount of time I may live again, in some random encounter.

Oh, also this is my opinion. So don't bother trying to cut it all up

[JeremyGTS]

well i was raised roman catholic and im not sure at what age but i just stopped believing, kinda like when a kid stops believing in santa thats how it was for me... but i do remember i spent the night at a friends house and hes christian and i went to church with him and we went into the basement with the other teens and i was the new guy so they were asking questions to get to know me and they asked what faith i was i told them nothing but my family is catholic and the kids and the bible study teacher lady were all kind of weird towards me.... i think that point on ive looked at christians as judgemental fools...

[Leonardo]

Is Atheism a direct consequence of Christianity and the behaviour of Christians? I don't think so, an Atheist isn't someone who could have become a Christian, they are a person who does not believe in divinity.

Yes, some people who were Christian are now Atheist, but many Atheists have never had 'religion' so this assumption doesn't apply. I think it's a little presumptuous of this band to assume Christianity is the 'cause' of Atheism (or the main cause).

However, the behaviour of people who preach a way of life but do not abide by it themselves does reflect badly on them so, in this way these Christians who do not live a Christian life are opening the religion up to criticism and ridicule. I understand what the band are trying to say and perhaps by putting 'Christian' in their lyrics (instead of 'religion' maybe?) they are attempting to get this message across to their main audience who, I presume, are surely Christian themselves.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Leonardo

[Fluffybunny]

I think that it may be partially true in many cases. I can't really say I am an athiest as I think there is something more than strictly an evolutionary aspect to life, what that may be I do not know at this point but I am open to studying many different ideas.

In my particular case my gut instinct is that christianity is wrong; it makes no sense and is absolutely illogical and hillarious when it is summed up. The fact that it's followers can be so incredibly smug/pompous thinking that they are the only ones to have access to a heaven, and that everyone else will be tortured for eternity for not accepting jesus is simply preposterous if their god has an ounce of compassion.

So yes christians have definately impacted my willingness to being open to that religion; it is the only one that I have "ruled out" in my own mind as not being possible as it is now being interpreted.

[GoddessWhispers]

Well, consider that the Mafia is catholic. Murder, extortion, whores, drug running, etc... And all they need do is confess, repent and they believe they're in the Heaven club. Or at least purgatory until someone on earth buys their way out. (at one time in the history of the RCC, that was do-able. One pope even handed out get out of purgatory certificates, to the rich that paid enough for them!) Consider the religious leadership, that are busted for everything their faith calls sin and still have a congregation, only to be caught again and again. (Jimmy Swaggart. The second time he was caught he had a hooker in the front seat of his car, and porn under it, when a cop noticed he was driving erratically because the whore... well, lets say she was bowing her head for head, shall we?!)

Given human nature is said to be sinful, according to the christian bible, and there's a world of things one will need to be saved from. Give those sinners a god to pray to to allow them to feel better about what they're told is sinful, and you'll have a very profitable religion built by ego's and low self esteem. And for many that believe, it's an easy thing to assuage their guilt on Sundays, for all that they did the other 6 days of the week, only to go out and sin again, come Monday. But because they first accept there is a judgment after life, for all they do while alive, it's easy to abdicate responsibility to some other source that compels their behaviors, rather than face the fact it's all on them.

I didn't become Atheist, I was raised so. My family, on both sides, are multi-generation Atheists as far back as the family records can recall. However, witnessing many hypocritical christians, elitist mind set's , separatist values, etc... I've never been inclined to change my mind, so as to abdicate my reasoning abilities and follow myth, as a moral compass for real life. I am responsible for my actions. No devil compels my actions, no god saves me from myself. It's all me, living a choice. A Paraphrase from a superb quote I once found, that fit's the bill perfectly.

[RougeRat]

Well, consider that the Mafia is catholic. Murder, extortion, whores, drug running, etc...

Hey now, are you disrespecting my family lol

I can see a lot of pushy christians turning curious people into hardcore athiests. I think the worst thing presented to me when I was young by a christian friend of mine was a video where a non-believer mother goes to pick up her child from church. They are leaving and a car swerves and hits them. They die, so they are standing before God and his book of life. God tells the young girl that she has been good and is going to heaven, so jesus appears and offeres her his hand. She looks back at her mother waiting for her to follow, but God stops her and tells her she is going to hell for not believing-so demons or something weird some out and try to pull her away. At this time, the daughter is grasping her mothers hand and she is crying. The mother is screaming for her life trying to grasp for her daughter as the demons pull her farther and farther away. Suddenly the little girls face goes blank and she turns and takes Jesus's hand and walks off to heaven, leaving her screaming mother to get pulled into hell.

Yup, entertainment for the whole family.

[toby tyler]

Well, consider that the Mafia is catholic. Murder, extortion, whores, drug running, etc... And all they need do is confess, repent and they believe they're in the Heaven club. Or at least purgatory until someone on earth buys their way out. (at one time in the history of the RCC, that was do-able. One pope even handed out get out of purgatory certificates, to the rich that paid enough for them!) Consider the religious leadership, that are busted for everything their faith calls sin and still have a congregation, only to be caught again and again. (Jimmy Swaggart. The second time he was caught he had a hooker in the front seat of his car, and porn under it, when a cop noticed he was driving erratically because the whore... well, lets say she was bowing her head for head, shall we?!)

Given human nature is said to be sinful, according to the christian bible, and there's a world of things one will need to be saved from. Give those sinners a god to pray to to allow them to feel better about what they're told is sinful, and you'll have a very profitable religion built by ego's and low self esteem. And for many that believe, it's an easy thing to assuage their guilt on Sundays, for all that they did the other 6 days of the week, only to go out and sin again, come Monday. But because they first accept there is a judgment after life, for all they do while alive, it's easy to abdicate responsibility to some other source that compels their behaviors, rather than face the fact it's all on them.

I didn't become Atheist, I was raised so. My family, on both sides, are multi-generation Atheists as far back as the family records can recall. However, witnessing many hypocritical christians, elitist mind set's , separatist values, etc... I've never been inclined to change my mind, so as to abdicate my reasoning abilities and follow myth, as a moral compass for real life. I am responsible for my actions. No devil compels my actions, no god saves me from myself. It's all me, living a choice. A Paraphrase from a superb quote I once found, that fit's the bill perfectly.

you have a lot of anger in you for christens and their god. not all christens sin 6 days and repent on sunday. some try all week to do the best they can. i am sorry that the ones you came across were like that but you cant throw all in the same barrel unless you know them all

[Jodie.Lynne]

why not? Christians ( and muslims) do that to other belief systems all the time.

I mean, aren't all witches and pagans devil worshippers?

Aren't all atheists trying to destroy the church?

Isn't science's sole purpose to discredit god?

Look around these boards, objectively. Try to look at the responses from believers from a non believer POV. We hear the above plus things like "your god doesn't exist", "your following a false god", "I feel sorry for you non believers", "I'll pray for you to see the light", etc, etc, ad nauseum.

Kind of tends to, make one think that "you people are all alike"

Although there are a few christians here that aren't like that.

Edited February 17, 2007 by JMPD1

[GoddessWhispers]

you have a lot of anger in you for christians and their god. not all christens sin 6 days and repent on Sunday. some try all week to do the best they can. i am sorry that the ones you came across were like that but you cant throw all in the same barrel unless you know them all

I don't have any anger toward christians as a whole unless they decide to take issue with me, on behalf of their believing they have a right to. My observations in my reply said, "many" christians/believers, and was not an indictment of all. Perhaps it is your anger that caused you to read me your way.