Evangelical atheists

Rev Hellfire

I think if we can ignore the debate about the validity of religion for a moment one thing we can agree perhaps on is the motivation of the committed believer when it comes to the spreading their faith, they do it in the belief that are genuinely helping the person to a better outcome.
We’ve all had experiences of pamphlets delivered to through the door, individuals calling to attempt to sway us to a brighter path etc. It’s always done in the belief misguided or otherwise that they are attempting to help.

Now having looked at the posts we’ve had you can certainly see that a sizable number of the posters here (no surprise for here, but in the other religious forums) feel equally strongly that religion is major source of strife and hindrance to the advancement and betterment of humanity. A point they have succeeded in putting forward in an eloquent and concise manner at times.

If we are to believe that they hold to their views with an equal fervour to that of an evangelical Christian for example. Why is it that we do not get a more active outreach to educate those misguided individuals who follow a religion?
Should there be leaflets in doors, people calling around etc to provide the facts and reach out to those who either won’t or can’t access the data themselves?

Or is it simply a ego-centric activity to be taken only bulletin boards or student debating societies, you say you believe but you don’t believe strongly enough to do anything which might inconvenience you?

Or maybe these activates do happen I merely haven’t encountered them. The closest I’ve seen is show on public access TV in Texas that set out to debunk scripture etc.

pH

There are lots of individuals and groups whose agenda incorporates a form of (to use your own words) 'Evangelical Atheism'. Just because they're not ignorant enough to knock on your door and hassle you at the doorstep does not mean that they're not trying.

http://www.irish-humanists.org/

Richard Dawkins is about as evangelical as you can get, and writes in the UK press regularly with a strong atheistic and anti-religious views

http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/index.shtml

BBC recently ran a great series "JONATHAN MILLER'S BRIEF HISTORY OF DISBELIEF"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/atheism.shtml

And obviously atheism is a religion : http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/

I suppose in today's society, conversion is seen as passe and ignorant.

If you really believe in Christianity then I cannot understand how you can not spend a large portion of you time trying to convert members of say the Jewish faith. Either the way to salvation is through 'Jesus Christ your Lord and Saviour' or it's not.

That said, we see very little of this happening, and certainly any effort to deliberately target members of minority faiths (say by standing outside a synagogue) would be frowned apon - There is a general 'live and let live' feeling in modern European society - In as much as I disagree with your views/faith/lifestyle as long as it doesn't affect me then I let you get on with it, and you return the favour.

Stephen

Yeah, I get the impression that were I to go door to door telling people that their religion is a bunch of arse (not in those exact words, of course), it wouldn't be very long before I had a few broken bones.
I've had a few christian (can't remember which flavour) nutters calling to my door in the past trying to push their literature and stuff on me, and the only way I could get them to bugger off was to take the stuff off them. I certainly would not want to be perceived as the same as them, no matter what my cause was.

robindch

> Why is it that we do not get a more active outreach to educate
> those misguided individuals who follow a religion?

Because atheists don't subscribe to a religious belief system which tells them that they have to go out and propagandize. Don't forget that atheism is not a religion, so it doesn't behave like one!

lostexpectation

will you give an f'ing rest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tar.Aldarion

lostexpectation wrote:

will you give an f'ing rest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quiet down you, if there was a mod s/he would slap those wrists!
Valid question, he just wants to know.
The answer rev, has been given above, atheists are not bound to by their beliefs and if they do go for propaganda they are quite decent about it and don't shove it in peoples faces.
With religions there are set rules and a lot of these religions advocate trying to get 'heathens' to be enlightened and repent.

Rev Hellfire

I don’t think that asking why if both sides of a debate are equally passionate about a topic, is a reason why one side will go to more extreme lengths than the other. And I more than accept the answers give.

Now I have been told by a poster here (via a mail) to stop 'constantly and relentlessly bombarding people with your opinion on atheists'. This all out, take no prisoners, relentless bombardment of mine has consisted of an unbearable 3 topics started and no real opinion stated! But I’m going to humour them and will not start any new topics for the week. I’m going to give it a f'ing rest.

Naturally I do reserve the right to reply to any interesting topics which may arise.

See everyone happy.

Btw lostexpectation I would be grateful if you would quit with the constant rev hellbound quote, I haven’t directed any personal attacks at you so it would be nice to get the same respect in return.

Dades

Rev Hellfire wrote:

If we are to believe that they hold to their views with an equal fervour to that of an evangelical Christian for example. Why is it that we do not get a more active outreach to educate those misguided individuals who follow a religion?

Just because you don't believe something doesn't mean it must be eradicated.

Certain Christians believe that you will burn in hell if you don't seek salvation. What does an atheist believe will happen to a Christian when he dies? The same thing as them. We have nothing to save anyone from.

The only time action is called for is where your rights are being dictated (against your own moral or ethical code) by a religious organisation. Otherwise live and let live.

Zombrex

Rev Hellfire wrote:

they do it in the belief that are genuinely helping the person to a better outcome.

I wouldn't agree with that. In my experience they do it because if they can convince other people of their religion it gives them some feeling of validity that their beliefs are correct.

Rev Hellfire wrote:

Why is it that we do not get a more active outreach to educate those misguided individuals who follow a religion?

Because most Atheists, I would imagine, think it is rude to push your views on other people when they haven't ask for a discussion on religion, just like they think it is rude for JW to turn up at your door and not fecking leave until you have read their bloody pamflet on why evolution is wrong.

Rev Hellfire wrote:

Or is it simply a ego-centric activity to be taken only bulletin boards or student debating societies, you say you believe but you don’t believe strongly enough to do anything which might inconvenience you?

No it is a realisation that there is a time and a place for these types of discussions.

Calling around to peoples house to chat to them or push anti-religious panflets under the door is rude because it is not the place for that sort of thing. If someone is on a discussion board (or at a debate for example) they are expected a discussion.

robindch

> The only time action is called for is where your rights
> are being dictated (against your own moral or ethical
> code) by a religious organisation.

...or the trickier ethical area of some religious person's "right" to evangelise unsuspecting third parties in a predatory way.

In the last two years, I've bumped into fundamentalist American christians in Cuba, Russia, Honduras and Ukraine, spreading their religion by a careful mix of propaganda and social engineering.

I found this journal when I got back from Honduras:

http://www.robertbreaker.com/honduras/honduras/honduras.htm

...which is worth a quick scim through to give a pretty good idea of what missionaries are doing and thinking.

lostexpectation

as I politely pointed out in a PM, as opposed to on this thread , it is his sarky comments
"Why is it that we do not get a more active outreach to educate those misguided individuals who follow a religion? " and his representation of an atheist opinion
"Or is it simply a ego-centric activity to be taken only bulletin boards or student debating societies, you say you believe but you don’t believe strongly enough to do anything which might inconvenience you?"
in which he _has_ been bombarding the new board with thats rubbing me up the wrong way, I proposed he "could calm down and come back when there's a charter and a new mod etc" which strangely he (and tar maybe) seem to agree in even if its to keep me behaving aswell.

so...