I cringe more when someone says they're an Atheist

Fighting Irish

...than when someone says they're religious


I don't know why though
Anyone else feel the same?

As i would have said when i was 15 "It just sounds gay"

I prefer to say "i don't do religion" :pac:

Galvasean

Oh look, it's one of them new fangled 'cool' atheists.

Fighting Irish

Galvasean wrote: »

Oh look, it's one of them new fangled 'cool' atheists.

Not even that, i hate all that bullsh1t too, its kind of a hard one to explain

PDN

Galvasean wrote: »

Oh look, it's one of them new fangled 'cool' atheists.

And his signature sounds gay.

Fighting Irish

ib11tythanks

Fighting Irish

PDN wrote: »

And his signature sounds gay.

I thought it was an interesting way of putting your point across, it isn't my quote

achtungbarry

In theory, we shouldn't even need the word "atheist".

I mean do we need words like.....

afairyist

agoblinist

apixieist

azeusist

asantaist

?


Atheists must be the only group of people that are have a word to describe what they don't belive in. Weird really.

markfla

As a 100% athiest myself, people that say they're atheist doesn't really make me cringe, but a recent episode of family guy made me face palm.....it was really preachy from an athiest point of view....ye don't need that kind of stuff in a comedy show...

stevejazzx

I slowly took on the phrase. Initially I had many problems with it but if someone wants a fast description of my belief in relation to 'gods' then that's what they get. If someone wants to talk about a bit more about the cosmos I can do that too. Atheism isn't nihilism. Sometimes I think it suits religious believers to say so. With that said I am always nervous to hear young teenagers proclaiming it from the rafters!

2Scoops

Just copy Dougal from Father Ted and say something like, "I'm Catholic, I just don't believe in God or Jesus or heaven or any of that mad stuff." :pac:

Goduznt Xzst

Fighting Irish wrote: »

I don't know why though
Anyone else feel the same?

As i would have said when i was 15 "It just sounds gay"

I prefer to say "i don't do religion" :pac:

how old are you, around 18 to 22 or there abouts? I think a lot of people go through a phase where they don't like to think that they fit into some bracket or definition. But as you get older you will want to define yourself more and more by your opinions and principles.

I was the same, I didn't like the term Atheist. I went through a period where I just wanted to be free of fitting into any bracket. But that has since changed.

All I can I say is to just remember that you are unique and an individual... just like everyone else :pac:

studiorat

personally I prefer the term Anti-theist.

Húrin

You shouldn't be ashamed to be an atheist and call yourself that. Ireland needs more honesty.

ChocolateSauce

I have no problem with the term. If, when I say I'm an atheist, they assume I'm one of those arrogant anti-theists who ridicules religion, they'd be right. The flip side is of couse they don't automatically think I'm an asshole, which is fine too.

I like when people identify themselves as "atheists". That all being said, I would consider myself an anti-theist first and an atheist second. Even if I did believe in some higher power or force, it wouldn't be any mainstream religion. Those are far, far too stupid for me to be taken in by them.

King Mob

I wanna be an azuesist now.

Zombrex

I tend to not say I'm atheist, I say I'm not religious. I mostly do this because a lot of people seem to think that atheism is a type of religion ... go figure

You do still get the occasional "but you still believe in God don't you..?" comments, at which point I start beating people with broken chairs screaming "NO YOU IDIOT IF I BELIEVED IN GOD I WOULD BE RELIGIOUS YOU **** **** **** ***** *** MORON!!!"

kiffer

Darkness doesn't exist... it is merely the absence of light.

Cold doesn't exist it's the absence of heat.

Soberness doesn't exist it's the absence of alcohol...

Is sanity the absence of insanity or is it the other way around?

If you don't believe in God then you don't believe in God... it is entirely accurate to say you are not a Theist... so you are an Atheist (unless you totally refuse to take any stance on the topic, not even an agnostic position). Language is full of useful terms like this. What's the problem?

Of course these things only make sense or matter when you are talking about religious topics, if someone, suddenly, out of the blue inserts "I am an Atheist" into normal conversation then gird you loins for a rant.

Valmont

Ever since I told a group of armed teetotaler mormons in Alaska that I was an atheist (they didn't shoot me but I was worried for a while), I just tend to say I'm not religious. Another part of it for me is not wanting to be associated with the arrogant anti-theists, they annoy me more than pro-theists.

Húrin

Wicknight wrote: »

I tend to not say I'm atheist, I say I'm not religious. I mostly do this because a lot of people seem to think that atheism is a type of religion ... go figure

You do still get the occasional "but you still believe in God don't you..?" comments, at which point I start beating people with broken chairs screaming "NO YOU IDIOT IF I BELIEVED IN GOD I WOULD BE RELIGIOUS YOU **** **** **** ***** *** MORON!!!"

A lot of people who believe in God are not religious.

Zombrex

Húrin wrote: »

A lot of people who believe in God are not religious.

The only people who believe in "God" and are not religious are the ones who have made up their own god.

Anyone else, if they take a god from a religion, are being religious. If they take their ideas of what this god is, his characteristics, and what he wants from a religion they are being religious.

Just because they don't associate with other religious people or current religious teaching does not mean they aren't religious.

You get this a lot on the Christian forum, people saying "I'm a Christian but I'm not religious, I can't stand religion I just follow what is in the Bible".

Well guess what, that is religion.

Just because it was written years ago doesn't make it not a religion. Just because it is just you and the book doesn't make it not a religion. In fact it is hard to think of a better example of "religion" than a person following the supernatural teachings of a book written by another group of people. In Christianity the only person who wasn't religious was Jesus.

I also never say im an "atheist" unless it slips out by mistake. Saying "I'm atheist" sounds like you're saying "i hate god and religion and all that bollocks. Them religious people are a shower of cnuts" instead of what i'd actually like to say, which is "i don't care about any religion or its followers. It's good that you're into it, but it's not for me".

Húrin

Wicknight wrote: »

The only people who believe in "God" and are not religious are the ones who have made up their own god.

Indeed, that's who I was thinking of.

Zamboni

I think of the word atheist like the word Caucasian.
I am one but I don't really need to use the term.

I tend to say that I don't believe in any gods.
If you say I don't believe in god people tend to assume you don't believe in their god.
At least when you say any, it puts it into the larger context that there are more gods than theirs and that you think they are all ****e

Dades

kiffer wrote: »

Darkness doesn't exist... it is merely the absence of light.

Cold doesn't exist it's the absence of heat.

Soberness doesn't exist it's the absence of alcohol...

Is sanity the absence of insanity or is it the other way around?

Pioneers - people who don't drink!

Zamboni wrote: »

I tend to say that I don't believe in any gods.
If you say I don't believe in god people tend to assume you don't believe in their god.
At least when you say any, it puts it into the larger context that there are more gods than theirs and that you think they are all ****e

Hmmm. In my experience you just need to say "God" and people figure you for an atheist/agnostic. They rarely think outside of their own box. Unless of course you don't look "Irish".

Hivemind187

PDN wrote: »

And his signature sounds gay.

Just one more dazzling piece of PDN's religiouos tolerance for lifes alternatives there.

Excelsior

achtungbarry wrote: »

Atheists must be the only group of people that are have a word to describe what they don't belive in. Weird really.

Which is a major problem for atheists since no one can ever be truly convinced by a negative proposition.

PDN

Hivemind187 wrote: »

Just one more dazzling piece of PDN's religiouos tolerance for lifes alternatives there.

And one more dazzling example of the kind of humorless people that give atheism a bad name.

Try reading the OP. :rolleyes:

Dades

Excelsior wrote: »

Which is a major problem for atheists since no one can ever be truly convinced by a negative proposition.

Isn't that a contradiction? Are atheists not people who are convinced by a negative proposition?

Perhaps they find a negative proposition more convincing than an invisible one!

Mena

What usually gives me away is one of the three shirts I have that have "Raging Anti-Theist" sprawled across the front and back

robindch

Excelsior wrote: »

no one can ever be truly convinced by a negative proposition.

Hey, there are hundreds of millions of people out there who think they're hopelessly damaged beings in constant need of something called "saving".

That's one of the most negative propositions around, but if, as a believer, you say that nobody can ever be truly convinced by such negative propositions, well, there's hope for the world yet!

pH

Excelsior wrote: »

Which is a major problem for atheists since no one can ever be truly convinced by a negative proposition.

That's unfortunate, it means that Christians aren't truly convinced other gods don't exist, none of us convinced that vampires don't, and you'd appear not to be convinced that having sex with a small child isn't a cure for AIDS.