nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Being an Atheist in Ireland is a Cnut

My name is URL

My mam is up in my house for the weekend and it being Sunday morning, she tried to make me go to mass with her. I refused, using the old "but I'm an Atheist" reasoning to broach the subject. So off she went, noticeably indifferent to my proclamation of faithlessness.

She returned an hour later with some of her friends for tea and a Chocolate Kimberley in my kitchen. I went in to feed the dog and mam said to her friends "he says he's an Atheist, so he wouldn't go to mass with me". The other women laughed, and basically dismissed that such a thing existed.

I tried my best to explain my position on the whole religion thing, and even quoted Darwin. It had little effect on them.

One of the women is a real Jesus freak, and part of the parish brigade. She looked visibly shocked at what I was saying and didn't even crack a smile.

Do any of you experience such rejection of your views by family or friends?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

Sam Vimes

Jakkass wrote: »

Sam, I'm not interested in any debate where you somehow think that you have everything about Christianity sussed out. It's a waste of time, and nothing will be gleaned from it.

And I'm not interested in a debate where you think you have everything about Christianity sussed out either. Your interpretation of Christianity is just that, an interpretation, and is very different to most interpretations I've seen before

Jakkass wrote: »

Interpretations that you have been told where and by who? Those two questions are crucially important. Just because I have a different viewpoint to others doesn't mean I should be automatically deemed in error?

Interpretation I have got from living in a Christian country my entire life. Interpretations I have got from seeing how Christianity works in practice, and yes, reading relevant parts of the bible to see if claims that were being made were true.

Jakkass wrote: »

As for all forms of logic, I really think this is absurd. I explained everything clearly to you in that thread. You are without excuse in that regard. However let's not derail this thread. Please PM me if you have any more issues.

Ok, I retract that. Not all forms of logic, bad logic is a form of logic. Logic such as the fact that Sodom probably existed being evidence for God. It's not at all. It's a form of logic with a gaping hole in the centre that you have to jump across to come to that conclusion

Jakkass wrote: »

I've told you, I won't be dealing with your posts here. I believe you'll find it's referring to murder in the passage in Exodus 20. Murder = unlawful killing.

It's unfair to the OP to get into a theological discussion in the middle of this thread.

It's already a theological discussion and has been since the OP so you probably should respond here.

Is killing someone who doesn't believe in God not unlawful killing? By your holy law could you kill me? And if so, can you reconcile that concept with the idea of a moral god?

shamblertine

Zillah wrote: »

Is there any evidence other than anonymous texts?

(Because I'll tell you right now, I saw Thor ten minutes ago and he said that anonymous testimony is unreliable)

Theres the only evidence which was possible at that time- first hand accounts, and acknowledgements by other religions that he existed. Obviously theres not going to be videos of it on youtube :rolleyes:

MagicMarker

shamblertine wrote: »

Theres the only evidence which was possible at that time- first hand accounts, and acknowledgements by other religions that he existed. Obviously theres not going to be videos of it on youtube :rolleyes:

That's not evidence.

Zillah

Elmo wrote: »

I suggest that you go Private so and get some insurance, because my taxes don't want to foot the bill for your Liver transplant. BTW I agree with the ban of smoking in pubs.

I agree with free health care too. Interesting. But of the topic.

Yeah and I don't like paying for the treatment fat people require either but I'll still pay taxes because that's how social welfare works.

I also notice you didn't respond to my questions about all the other health days we should institute.

Sam Vimes

MagicMarker wrote: »

That's not evidence.

And even if it was evidence of his existence, it's not evidence of his divinity

Sam Vimes

Jakkass, I'd also like an answer to a question that you didn't answer before. Can you give me a logical reason why one would choose Christianity over the other thousands of religions which have as much historical evidence to back them up.

If I was to switch to theism tomorrow, why would I choose Christianity over all the others?

And which branch of Christianity should I choose and why?

philologos

Sam, I'm not going to have a theological discussion here. As for me thinking I have Christianity completely sussed out, I don't. I think I have a relatively good knowledge of it.

Also as for you being raised in a Christian country? Was I not raised here also? How does my interpretation differ? Or is it a denominational bias I have do you think?

As for what denomination you pick. It's irrelevant. If you come to faith in God, through reading the Scriptures, try out a few churches, ask the pastors questions, pray to God about which church would be best for you. I don't think denominations are all that important, but it is important that you find a comfortable group of people to worship with and who you could see becoming your friends.

I consider the Christian Union at my university to be a group of people like this too, although they aren't a church.

Elmo

Zillah wrote: »

Would you also have days where we close down all shops that sell fattening foods? Cigarettes? No high-sugar products day? Where do you draw the line? I draw it at the very start; my health is my concern, not the government's.

I had pretty much answered that in a post before that about the Jewish religions rule on Pork products didn't feel the need to restate myself ten times over.

As I said I agree with the smoking ban, and that has nothing to do with religion.

With regards fat people and drug takers etc there are health promotions all over the place for them. This health promotion is two days in the year.

My name is URL

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Jakkass, I'd also like an answer to a question that you didn't answer before. Can you give me a logical reason why one would choose Christianity over the other thousands of religions which have as much historical evidence to back them up.

If I was to switch to theism tomorrow, why would I choose Christianity over all the others?

And which branch of Christianity should I choose and why?

Good point. We're all non-believers really, some of us just go 1 religion further

philologos

Upward Spiral wrote: »

Good point. We're all non-believers really, some of us just go 1 religion further

Not really. If I don't believe in Thor, I still believe in Christ, so therefore I'm not a non-believer at all.

Sam Vimes

Jakkass wrote: »

Sam, I'm not going to have a theological discussion here. As for me thinking I have Christianity completely sussed out, I don't. I think I have a relatively good knowledge of it.

Also as for you being raised in a Christian country? Was I not raised here also? How does my interpretation differ? Or is it a denominational bias I have do you think?

You keep saying you're not going to get into a theological discussion and then you keep making points. Either get into a discussion or don't. You can't keep making your case and then refusing to answer me when I respond. That only adds credence to my idea that you don't care what I say and just want to preach your own beliefs

You asked where I got my interpretations and I told you. I never said anything about where you got yours. One of the main things about yours that differs from what I've heard before is the idea that if there is anything in the old testament that differs to what Jesus taught, we are to take Jesus' version because he essentially overrules it. I've never heard that idea before and it is not practised as far as I have seen

Zillah

Elmo wrote: »

I had pretty much answered that in a post before that about this Jewish religious rule on Pork products didn't feel the need to restate myself ten times over.

Ten times over? Let's not be melodramatic. I'll see if I can find your response.

Ah, here it is:

Elmo wrote: »

Well that would be everyday. I know pork can be bad for you but I don't think it is as bad as Alcohol. We wouldn't be able to eat crickets either

You're missing the point. Small amounts of alcohol are not bad for you. Small amounts of pork are not bad for you. Same with sugar. Any of these things in excess are bad for you, however. You're defending a day where no one is allowed to purchase alcohol because we drink too much and it's bad for your health...if that's the real reason then you should also be calling for no sugar days due to rising obesity levels.

As I said I agree with the smoking ban, and that has nothing to do with religion.

Well no, we're not really talking about religion any more, are we? I agree with the smoking ban because everyone deserves a work place that is not detrimental to their health. If there was no such thing as second hand smoke then the smoking ban can kiss my ass.

[Deleted User]

bigeasyeah wrote: »

Oh yeah its rumbling on just fine but you know,to me it just seems a waste of space.Thats all.

pro-tip: stop clicking into thread.

Sam Vimes

Jakkass wrote: »

Not really. If I don't believe in Thor, I still believe in Christ, so therefore I'm not a non-believer at all.

Well yes you are a non-believer. To quote someone whose name I can't remember:

"I contend that we are both atheists; I just believe in one fewer god than you. When you understand why you reject all other gods, you will understand why I reject yours"

Say for instance there have been 30,000 Gods in human history, I lack belief in 30,000 of them and you lack belief in 29,999 of them. Are we so different?

Elmo

Jakkass wrote: »

Not really. If I don't believe in Thor, I still believe in Christ, so therefore I'm not a non-believer at all.

What he is saying is if you believe in Zeus, Thor etc you are a non-believer and vis-a-versa.

However most religions believe in one god, those that don't are considered pagans.

philologos

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Well yes you are a non-believer. To quote someone whose name I can't remember:

I believe in God, so even if I do not believe in others, I still believe in God, therefore I am a believer. I don't see how it works.

I don't think it's the role of other individuals to put labels on others anyway

Elmo wrote: »

However most religions believe in one god, those that don't are considered pagans.

I don't think most religions believe in only one God. You'd need to back that up.

Sam Vimes

Jakkass wrote: »

I believe in God, so even if I do not believe in others, I still believe in God, therefore I am a believer. I don't see how it works.

Yes and I believe that toast exists which technically makes me a believer too. It all depends on how loosely you define believer. The question is why you disbelieve in all other gods

Elmo

Zillah wrote: »

Well no, we're not really talking about religion any more, are we? I agree with the smoking ban because everyone deserves a work place that is not detrimental to their health. If there was no such thing as second hand smoke then the smoking ban can kiss my ass.

I find on this thread many people repeating themselves.

I just think it is good that we have a day or two where pubs are closed. Both for the pub worker and for the general population.

Many schools have introduced a healthy eating policy with relation to chocolate, peanuts and sugar to raise awareness (They ban many products from lunch). It is against the law to be served drink before the age of 18, perhaps we should remove this age limit.

As I said for me this is not a religious issue it is a health issue. I truly believe it is a worthwhile ban. I think it should be rolled out to hotels as well.

Sam Vimes

So are you going to answer my question about why God tells us to kill non-believers or are you going to stop posting?

Or are you going to keep preaching your own beliefs while saying that you won't get into a discussion and ignoring responses you can't answer, thereby showing yourself to be exactly the way you accuse atheists of being?

Zillah

Elmo wrote: »

With regards fat people and drug takers etc there are health promotions all over the place for them. This health promotion is two days in the year.

Yes but you're not making it illegal to sell sugar to fat people on certain days, are you? But you are defending making it illegal to sell me alcohol on certain days. Your position is inconsistent.

Elmo wrote: »

What he is saying is if you believe in Zeus, Thor etc you are a non-believer and vis-a-versa.

However most religions believe in one god, those that don't are considered pagans.

Basically all I was saying was that the fact that someone claims that something happened should not be taken as evidence that it did happen. You can trust me on this, the God of the Bible just told me that it's true.

It is against the law to be served drink before the age of 18, perhaps we should remove this age limit.

Ok, you appear to be not very good at understanding stuff and I'm getting tired thinking for you so I'm giving up here.

Elmo

Jakkass wrote: »

I don't think most religions believe in only one God. You'd need to back that up.

I thought Islam believes in one god, it being a spin off from Christianity. (Could be wrong)

Christians and Jews believe in the same god.

I will look it up for you.

Sam Vimes

Elmo wrote: »

I thought Islam believes in one god, it being a spin off from Christianity. (Could be wrong)

Christians and Jews believe in the same god.

I will look it up for you.

You're right, no need to look it up

pablomakaveli

FFS.

Looks like the atheists or off another rant.:rolleyes:

Heres a better website for those atheists out their to vent their concerns:

www. nobodyreally givesa****.com

Elmo

Zillah wrote: »

Yes but you're not making it illegal to sell sugar to fat people on certain days, are you? But you are defending making it illegal to sell me alcohol on certain days. Your position is inconsistent.

I am not being inconsistent in my position. I think it is a good thing that Alcohol is not served one/two days a year. It is only one small thing each year.

Other food stuffs aren't drugs, alcohol effects so in so many other ways.

Why don't the government up taxes on all products one of the reason for high taxes on cigarettes and drink is that they are bad for you. According to most worse then other substances.

But perhaps sugar is the new alcohol. Don't most foods have sugar in them?

I suppose we should legalize all drugs.

Sam Vimes

pablomakaveli wrote: »

FFS.

Looks like the atheists or off another rant.:rolleyes:

Heres a better website for those atheists out their to vent their concerns:

www. nobodyreally givesa****.com

Look, I'm just responding to comments from believers. I didn't start the thread and I didn't start preaching my beliefs, I just responded to comments from others. If you don't want to read it there's a big X on the top right of your screen there

Ass

The most hilarious thing about this thread is that most of the Atheists in here fit the Atheist stereotype.

Elmo

Sam Vimes wrote: »

You're right, no need to look it up

That the easiest argument I have ever one on boards. Are you sure I am right? :cool:

Ass

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Look, I'm just responding to comments from believers. I didn't start the thread and I didn't start preaching my beliefs, I just responded to comments from others. If you don't want to read it there's a big X on the top right of your screen there

MUST POST.

SOMEONE WRONG ON INTERNET.

pablomakaveli

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Look, I'm just responding to comments from believers. I didn't start the thread and I didn't start preaching my beliefs, I just responded to comments from others. If you don't want to read it there's a big X on the top right of your screen there

Relax. That was'nt targetted at you specifically.

This is AH where a sense of humour is a bit of a necessity.

Sam Vimes

Ass wrote: »

The most hilarious thing about this thread is that most of the Atheists in here fit the Atheist stereotype.

The atheist stereotype being that we force our beliefs on others.

This is a discussion forum. People come here to discuss things. People who believe in God came here to preach their beliefs and I responded to them. That does not mean I'm forcing my beliefs on anyone, it means I'm asking them to defend their beliefs since they decided to state them publicly.

I don't actually have any beliefs to force on anyone and unless you look behind you and see me standing there with a gun to your head forcing you to read then I'm not forcing you now