Why do atheists spend so much time arguing about the existence of God?

Christianity is suppose to have better things to do with it's time than politics.

 

lol ironic shot politics

 

Doesn't seem to stop a lot of us from "trying" though.

I'm bumping this thread because I kind of miss it, and because I still don't think I got an answer from most of us.

 

true western ideologists see god as a more literal manifestation, and his teachings are parables, or stories to learn from, eastern ideologists see it as more metaphors.

 

I think atheists continue to argue against God for the same reasons Christians argue for Him. In some cases, its a desire to combat a force they consider to be oppressive and threatening. I must say, as a Christian reading a post on another Forum recently by a young gay man who felt that God despised him and Satan must have made him, I asked myself: Richard Dawkins, where are you when we really need you? Some forms of religion are (Dawkins would say all are) pathological memes or viruses, and I think many upstanding atheists who care about others are called to fight them with all their might. Also, I think some atheists are proselytizing because they are, especially in the United States, a despised and embattled minority and want to increase their numbers. Like gays, they're also tired of being in the closet. And many are seriously puzzled and curious about how intelligent people can believe in the supernatural. I'm glad atheists are willing to argue, because that's how I learn.

 

right, your likening them unto gays is irrelevant though.

 

I'm likening their situation to that of gays, and I think the analogy is apt. I have nothing against either group, and don't regard the analogy as disparaging to either.

 

what exactly does calling oneself a christian entail....in your opinion

 

Personally I've made it to the "Not caring if God exists or not" stage which I quite enjoy and might spend the rest of my life at. I no longer argue with other people because there's no way to prove it one way or the other and it just ends with both parties pissed off for no good reason. Change the subject and move on imo, God if he does exist plays no role in our every day lives so why both arguing about it.

I think Athiests that DO argue about it constantly are still struggling with their own beliefs and need to reaffirm them by finding out if anyone can prove them wrong. That or they're just assholes that like to argue.

 

perhaps you would be more inclined towards interest and dialogue if you lost a family member, were prevented from marrying a loved one, witnessed social injustice or cared about the instances and possible implications of these events.....

apathy towards social institution is apathy towards human potential

also, inexistance can only be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. to the unreasonable, dragons and unicorns can be as real as god can.

that is -it is reasonable to say god doesnt exist, but it isnt exactly correct

 

Oh don't get me started, I've lost too many family members in the last few years. I've had loved ones cheat on me, I've had them move away never to be seen again. I've witnessed social injustices and I care about the implications. Why are you prejudging me? I've gone through so much inner religious turmoil that the only solution for me was to stop caring about it. I went from believing in God, to God not doing anything for me, to me not doing anything for God, to believing God doesn't exist, to doing things against God, then turning around and believing in the virtues of the bible but not God himself, and most recently I believe that God, if he created us, doesn't care how we lead our lives as individuals. More of a naturalistic God, something arcane that created our evolutionary ancestors and let us be, gave us the freedom to do good or evil as we please, and any structure we place upon our behaviors is placed there by man even though its intentions are good. But I realize everyone else is on their own path of faith and on different steps in their cycle of beliefs, and some may not fall as low as i have, some may fall lower, some may maintain a belief in God their entire lives. I adopted the "Not caring if God exists or not" attitude as a way to save myself time I would spend trying to convince others of something even I'm not sure of, and spend more time enjoying life.

What does that even mean? How do you make the link from me not caring if God exists, to me being apathetic towards social institution? My greatest faith lies in human potential, and that is not necessarily a potential put there by some God. I believe we need to continue evolving, technologically, mentally, physically, we are now the masters of our own evolution, and we need to be the best we can be. We need to cherish our world and our short lives, and contributions to the greater human cause are even more important since I don't believe in the afterlife. All we can hope for is to make the world better for our descendants.

And prove this connection between "apathy towards social institution and human potential." I don't see it. I can be anti-god (social institution) and support stem cell research (human potential), please explain.

what are you talking about? Of course you can't prove any of those things as fact. That's why it's better not to care. Just live your life, believe in what is real to you.

And yes I realize the irony in me posting this.

 

if everyone was apathetic towards the notion of god their would be no discrepancy to be acted on by way of apathy....but since this isnt the case we should just stand around and let the crusaders mount back up and continue slaughtering millions because we arnt interested in being accurate, and sharing our accuracy with the world?

-things that matter to you might matter to others....i mean how will the citizens of earth know what matters at all if a considerable reason for "right" and "wrong" isn't shared, how can reason be evaluated and implemented if not through social institution?

social institution is all we have.....and god is an exceedingly considerable part of that.....if the fact that gods existence, being unknowable, is why you don't care, why then do you choose not to share your reason, and make the world a better place.

 

You sure like this; "dragons and unicorns" bit don't you? As if lumping God in with dragons and unicorns in the same breath somehow proves God is a myth or that his inexistence has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Sorry, it just doesn't.

 

As for why do atheists spend so much time arguing about the existence of God?

I would say the reasons are the same for the most part for atheist and non-atheist alike and would vary as much as there people, such as the theist you cite, I’m not even an atheist but I would bring to his attention that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and that such statements bring a bad name to theists.

Honestly saying things like:
Every particle of matter when observed under a microscope is composed of living micro-organisms.
I’ve looked though a microscope and know this isn’t true.

The earth's atmosphere also just happens to contain magnetic particles to produce gravity to keep the earth's inhabitants from floating away.
I have to ask; okay, if that’s true what keeps the things that aren’t attracted by magnetic force from floating away?

Things that can easily be disproven and stated as fact, I feel should be pointed out. But if the person still continues to argue that what he says is true, then I move on.

Also, there are some who have fallen in love with ridicule and really don’t bother to discuss, they just like to laugh and ridicule someone for their beliefs just because they don’t believe the same things they do and seem to revel in inventive or sometimes not so inventive name calling and calling something stupid is the height of their reasoning powers.

There are some who argue because they feel their beliefs threatened and that shakes them to their foundations and they are fighting just to keep their sanity, because without their beliefs, to them the world would no longer make sense. We are all in this boat to some extent, some more than others.

But then there are the grayer areas where there is no definitive proof one way or the other, in such cases I feel that discussions on such things help a person to see what they believe in a different light. It helps you to find holes or gaps in your beliefs that for one reason or another you haven’t filled in yet and now you can fill them in or decide that the gap can’t be filled and change your belief. Although there are those when they find those gaps go into denial and fall back on re-reciting their memorized beliefs, name calling or changing the subject.

These are a few reason for carrying on discussions with people, whether an atheist or not.

 

I don't believe in arguing about it either. Let folks believe what they want.

We don't need anymore wars "in the name of God"

 

im an atheist i dont spend time arguing.

I do spend time searching for answers....
Never argue, it's self defeating.

 

But it's fun, and how else are atheists and Jesus freaks going to test their views, and thereby learn and grow?

To many Christians, it can entail lots of doctrines and creeds. To me, it entails passionate committment to the teachings and example of Jesus, as I understand them, as a model for the meaning and purpose of my life. I'm also ok with the traditional formulation "accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior", interpreted as turning my life around by embracing this outlook. To me, Jesus was a good hippie, preaching and practicing peace, love and understanding, and concern for society's rejects. These values and teachings seem to be consistent with Buddhism, and I honor that tradition, as well. But as I understand it , the Buddha died a peaceful death from natural causes when he was in his eighties, rather than the more grotesque fate suffered by Jesus in his thirties for preaching similar ideas threatening to the establishment. I think the cross is important to my faith in reminding me of the horror of human inhumanity that is still a part of our reality (think waterboarding), and the possibliity of redemption by taking the event and his message to heart. The more recent figures I look up to as modelling Christian values are Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi (a Hindu), and Warren Buffet (an atheist). I see Christianity, understood in this way, as offering an antidote to the economic materialism, consumerism, mean-spiritedness and grosser forms of hedonism that infect the world today (sometimes in the guise of organized religion). It's how I choose to live.

 

i search for truth in philosophy

 

yes yes yes yes

"to be proven wrong should be celebrated, for it is elevating someone to a new level of understanding, furthering awareness."

how do you determine whats true

;/

 

proving something is exactly what i am not trying to do. a first cause is something unknowable. i am just illustrating how it is reasonable to doubt this first cause, just as it is reasonable to doubt dragons and unicorns.

the basis for these ideas is far more reason than what is required for doubt...

if you believe in god i would not call you incorrect, as i have reason to avoid the notion, but i would stress that you ask why to every question you consider with regards to everything.

why should we ask why?

because doing so is beneficial to growth of consciousness

why is growth of consciousness beneficial?

because you become aware of discrepancy and reason towards it.

why is awareness of reason towards discrepancy beneficial?

because through this awareness we can elevate consciousness through reason, and reduce discrepancy

why should we reduce discrepancy?

because discrepancy indicates a deficiency in consciousness

why is a deficiency in consciousness undesirable?

because reason can manifest through ignorance as unreasonable action and sometimes, undesirable unreasonable action



this is only one train of though with regards to these questions, which do have more than one answer....some of my answers might be inaccurate, and i can accept that, because that is the entire reason behind the social aspect of ideas like these....

why would someone be reluctant to let go of an idea if it was to be replaced by one that did not require assumptions?

please.....help me learn