Atheists for Understanding

[Benevolent_Rabbit]

Not trying to be goofy.

Being an atheist sets one on a certain clear mental path.

How does a religious person maintain a belief that they have a clear mind with all the dogma floating around in their mind?

[Benevolent_Rabbit]

1. I sometimes like being devils advocate

to get a good discussion.

dang - it's working

[Maple]

2. Posts like this

are more likely to create...rabbit stew.

[Benevolent_Rabbit]

3. whoops

I'll be getting in the hidey hole now

[Clete]

4. Hey I'm an atheist.

I get tired of all the religious battles. It would be nice to be able to post things to the choir for a change.

[Benevolent_Rabbit]

5. ssshhhh!!!!

I'm in the hidey hole, but

where do thoughts go when they aren't stuck on religious themes?

I didn't say that. I'm in the hidey hole.

[Maple]

6. LOL

I am also an atheist, but there have been a lot of religious battles on here, and things can be tense sometimes.

Depends on the mood people are in I guess, and that depends on the state of the union.

Given what THAT is, you can decide about your hidey hole. ;-)

[arwalden]

7. I Definitely Agree That My Mental State Improved DRASTICALLY...

... about 15 years ago when I finally realized that it was all a hoax and a myth.

Guilt? GONE!
Paranoia? GONE!
Regret? GONE!
Disappointment? GONE!
Fear? GONE!

My life and mental attitude has gotten 1000% better. I shudder to think at how much time and energy I absolutely WASTED actually PRAYING for things. "Dear-Lord-Get-Me-A-Better-Job" "Dear-Jesus-Help-Me-Find-Love" "God-Show-Me-My-Keys" "Jesus-Make-Me-Straight" (Can you imagine?)

I was wasting time just waiting for some magical gift from heaven to appear on my doorstep. I was wasting time wondering if I had been good enough.

Worst of all... in wondering if I had been "good enough", I too tried to "fool God" into believing that I was good by dragging down and putting down and being harshly judgemental of others so that I could look better.

-- Allen

[Darranar]

8. I'm an agnostic...

since around age 10. I think of myself as a very smart person, but I can't really tell if my mental path has improved.

[BlueJazz]

9. People can get very defensive when ....

they feel like you are attacking their "Gods"
I don't have any problem with posts that talk about how people feel, wheather it's about kittens, Yaks or Gods...

One other thing (while I'm thinking about it)

I get pissed when I see a poster who says:
"Do we have to talk about this AGAIN??"
My answer is: #1 No, WE don't have to talk about it but maybe the other folks might.
#2. Did it ever dawn on you, pal, that maybe everybody doesn't read (or have time) to read EVERY post on DU that has been written the past month? Maybe this is the first time they've seen the subject matter. I think those of us who spend a lot of time here forget that
just because we've seen a subject matter 20 times does not mean it's not new to somebody else....very mild rant over :)

[quinnox]

10. Just tell yourself

I'm right and everyone else is wrong. That way you won't have to ask these questions.

[Loonman]

11. Does being an atheist make you better than everyone else?

(devil's advocate)

[Interrobang]

15. Why would you assume a value judgement?

It just makes you different...especially these days, when public professions of religion are cool.

Then again, I've been saying for years that the reason many religious people with otherwise logical thought processes go into computers instead of the sciences is because they can't stand the cognitive dissonance, so perhaps I'm not one to judge.

[Blue_Chill]

12. yawn

whatever.

[Ellen Forradalom]

13. You are confusing literal, physical-world truth

with a given approach to one's spiritual life. I consider myself a religious person, not a superstitious one.

I too have a clear mental path. Since the existence of God can't be proven, it is pointless to base one's spiritual life on this proof. What's interesting is the ongoing fascination with the idea of God (or somesuch higher power) and the conception of what demands such a higher power may place upon us as human beings.

[ArkDem]

14. BFD

.

[sangha]

16. Simple

1) I ignore the dogma.

2) I realize that I dont, and have never had, a "clear" mind. I have a human mind.

[nini]

17. the problem with the atheist vs religion posts

are each side tends to take on the 'you're stupid' attitude.

It kills a civil discussion before it even gets started.

I don't have to explain myself to anyone.. I'm willing to hear views other than my own, but do not accuse me of being stupid, close minded, or any other demeaning state of mind because you don't see things the way I do.

You are free to believe what you want - just as I am.