I cringe more when someone says they're an Atheist

Fighting Irish · 11-04-2009 3:24pm #1

...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 · 11-04-2009 4:16pm

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

Fighting Irish · 11-04-2009 4:19pm

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 · 11-04-2009 4:19pm

Galvasean wrote: »

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

And his signature sounds gay.

Fighting Irish · 11-04-2009 4:20pm

ib11tythanks

Fighting Irish · 11-04-2009 4:21pm

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 · 11-04-2009 4:26pm

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 · 11-04-2009 4:34pm

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 · 11-04-2009 4:50pm

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 · 11-04-2009 5:13pm

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 · 11-04-2009 5:13pm

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 · 11-04-2009 5:33pm

personally I prefer the term Anti-theist.

Húrin · 11-04-2009 5:45pm

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

ChocolateSauce · 11-04-2009 5:57pm

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 · 11-04-2009 6:00pm

I wanna be an azuesist now.

Zombrex · 11-04-2009 7:26pm

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 · 11-04-2009 8:02pm

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 · 11-04-2009 11:53pm

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 · 12-04-2009 12:06am

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 · 12-04-2009 12:21am

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.

12-04-2009 12:31am

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 · 12-04-2009 1:02am

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 · 12-04-2009 2:00am

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 · 12-04-2009 6:51am

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 · 12-04-2009 7:20am

PDN wrote: »

And his signature sounds gay.

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

Excelsior · 12-04-2009 7:20am

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 · 12-04-2009 7:33am

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 · 12-04-2009 7:35am

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 · 12-04-2009 7:38am

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 · 12-04-2009 8:16am

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 · 12-04-2009 9:29am

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.

The Mad Hatter · 12-04-2009 9:59am

Wicknight wrote: »

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".

I know plenty of people who aren't even this religious. They're culturally Christian - that is, they may partake in mass and that, and they may even say they believe in God, but by-and-large they don't let the religion influence their lives in any way other than as part of a community.

A case in point is what Nuala O'Faoláin called 'Irish atheists': In Ireland (particularly a decade or two ago) it's easier and safer to just go through the motions of being a Christian and never really confront the question, than to assert atheism.

Dades · 12-04-2009 2:10pm

robindch wrote: »

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!

Now I think about it - an atheist isn't convinced by a negative proposition - just unconvinced by a positive one.

Rb · 12-04-2009 2:34pm

I'm quite happy using the term Atheist to describe myself.

Fighting Irish · 12-04-2009 3:12pm

Goduznt Xzst wrote: »

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:

25 and i don't think i'm trying to be unique

Húrin · 12-04-2009 3:47pm

Excelsior wrote: »

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

That's clearly not the case; there are plenty of atheists around who are pretty certain about it.

Zillah · 12-04-2009 3:59pm

robindch wrote: »

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

A lady once tried to convince me that I should pray because she found it to be a great "crutch" in life.

Crutches are for the crippled my dear.

Goduznt Xzst · 12-04-2009 4:27pm

Valmont wrote: »

not wanting to be associated with the arrogant anti-theists, they annoy me more than pro-theists.

I'd love to know who created this definition and is propagating it. I see a common misunderstanding happening alot with the position of Atheists.

An Atheist will say to a theist "you're wrong" and the Theist will instantly assume the Atheist is arrogantly saying "I'm right". When this rarely is the case. The Atheist is merely saying "both of us can't know what is right, so by assuming you are right, you are wrong".

I'd love to know how arrogance can be applied to an Atheist who tries to say that nobody knows if God exists and is pushing for the neutral position, when it is rarely applied to a Christian who says they "know" their God exists. Surely, thus, every Christian should be re-labeled as the Arrogant Christian.

Fighting Irish wrote: »

25 and i don't think i'm trying to be unique

hmm... ok perhaps you could expand further on why you are of the opinion that someone calling themselves Atheist is cringe worthy. Is it connotations that you tie to people who would be confident enough to call themselves such?

Valmont · 12-04-2009 5:35pm

Goduznt Xzst wrote: »

I'd love to know who created this definition and is propagating it. I see a common misunderstanding happening alot with the position of Atheists.

I just meant general smart arses who think it was their supreme intellect that brought about their non-belief, like it's an achievement or something. It doesn't take that much deliberation to reject god.

GallowsGhost · 12-04-2009 9:39pm

Valmont wrote: »

I just meant general smart arses who think it was their supreme intellect that brought about their non-belief, like it's an achievement or something. It doesn't take that much deliberation to reject god.

I disagree. It took a lot research and self examination before I was willing to let go of religion. It was something I'd always believed whole heartedly "There must be a good, how can there no be? Millions of people believe in him, how can they be wrong? He has to exist!"
Becoming an atheist was not something I took lightly and as a result it's something I'm very passionate about.

Húrin · 13-04-2009 2:11am

Goduznt Xzst wrote: »

I'd love to know who created this definition and is propagating it. I see a common misunderstanding happening alot with the position of Atheists.

An Atheist will say to a theist "you're wrong" and the Theist will instantly assume the Atheist is arrogantly saying "I'm right". When this rarely is the case. The Atheist is merely saying "both of us can't know what is right, so by assuming you are right, you are wrong".

I'd love to know how arrogance can be applied to an Atheist who tries to say that nobody knows if God exists and is pushing for the neutral position, when it is rarely applied to a Christian who says they "know" their God exists. Surely, thus, every Christian should be re-labeled as the Arrogant Christian.

I think a better equivalent would be those Christians who insist that every atheist is actually just suppressing their knowledge of the existence of God.

Many atheists are certain that there is no God, and no Christian/monotheistic God. People who are in a position of not feeling that they know are called Agnostic.

Zillah wrote: »

A lady once tried to convince me that I should pray because she found it to be a great "crutch" in life.

Crutches are for the crippled my dear.

I'm sure she understood that. She surely recognised that she is weak, flawed and full of doubt. You're lucky to be such a smart, strong übermensch!

ynotdu · 13-04-2009 2:29am

first sign of a health problem atheists transistion to agnostic !

seanybiker · 13-04-2009 2:42am

kiffer wrote: »

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

Thats nearly same as quote from hellboy the movie.
In the absent of light, darkness prevails.

Cool . Im happy now cos I dont like religion but do like movies.

Zillah · 13-04-2009 2:47am

Húrin wrote: »

I'm sure she understood that. She surely recognised that she is weak, flawed and full of doubt. You're lucky to be such a smart, strong übermensch!

Ah, vapid sarcasm. Touche.

Valmont · 13-04-2009 12:20pm

GallowsGhost wrote: »

I disagree. It took a lot research and self examination before I was willing to let go of religion. It was something I'd always believed whole heartedly "There must be a good, how can there no be? Millions of people believe in him, how can they be wrong? He has to exist!"
Becoming an atheist was not something I took lightly and as a result it's something I'm very passionate about.

I suppose it's different for everyone. I found it very straightforward to be honest and I didn't have a "moment". Although reading Bertrand Russell's Why I am not a Christian. helped me along to learning more about the whole thing.

philologos · 13-04-2009 12:56pm

Valmont wrote: »

I suppose it's different for everyone. I found it very straightforward to be honest and I didn't have a "moment". Although reading Bertrand Russell's Why I am not a Christian. helped me along to learning more about the whole thing.

I think it is reasonable that you read material from an atheistic point of view, but did you consider Christian defences of the Gospel in your reading also, or was it just a one way look into a path you were already inclined to go down. Just curious.

allabouteve · 13-04-2009 3:36pm

Mena wrote: »

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

I got one that says ''Rabid Atheist - keep back!''

Valmont · 13-04-2009 7:08pm

Jakkass wrote: »

I think it is reasonable that you read material from an atheistic point of view, but did you consider Christian defences of the Gospel in your reading also, or was it just a one way look into a path you were already inclined to go down. Just curious.

Well I initially decided I didn't like the Catholic church, so I called myself a Christian for a while as I still believed there was a God and heaven. The problem is I don't remember exactly how I even rejected this in the end. I was about 16 or 17 at the time and to be honest I wouldn't have read any Christian defences because a large part of it was my own little rebellion but after I read up on the subject I found that I really agreed with the whole thing (more or less) and then I joined boards when I was 18 and started reading this forum which helped me refine my opinions on the subject.

Personally, I found dispensing with the idea of eternal life in heaven to be the hardest part. If I got anything out of religion it was the concept of heaven as my folks would tell me about it when relatives died etc when I was younger. That said, I felt, and still feel supremely liberated realising that I don't have to believe in this and worry about getting in and all that if I didn't want to. Helped me to focus more on the here and now I suppose.

JimiTime · 13-04-2009 8:07pm

achtungbarry wrote: »

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.

Its one of the main reasons I don't accept the explaination that it is a 'non' belief. To say you are atheist emplies thought and opinion, and in turn a belief. Basically that being the belief that no God/s exist. Its also 'part' of the reason why I reject the burden of proof arguement. The reason atheism exists, is because of the need to express an opinion that goes against the grain of human history. For millenia, our ancestors have worshipped gods and goddesses etc. Such worship being such an integral part of the various societies both ancient and modern. Someone who decided to reject these things, needed a word to describe their opinion. Atheist, was that word.

Schuhart · 13-04-2009 9:02pm

JimiTime wrote: »

For millenia, our ancestors have worshipped gods and goddesses etc. Such worship being such an integral part of the various societies both ancient and modern. Someone who decided to reject these things, needed a word to describe their opinion. Atheist, was that word.

I actually think this is a reasonable point. Atheism is the aberration, only recently popular. It requires us to maintain that most folk are deluded.

It sort of struck me again reading that Humanist Association advert about there being 250,000 non-believers in Ireland. Presumably that means there's 3,750,000 who believe in some kind of a deity.

Atheism is the contention that those 3,750,000 are labouring under a massive misconception of what reality is.

13-04-2009 9:04pm

Schuhart wrote: »

I actually think this is a reasonable point. Atheism is the aberration, only recently popular. It requires us to maintain that most folk are deluded.

It sort of struck me again reading that Humanist Association advert about there being 250,000 non-believers in Ireland. Presumably that means there's 3,750,000 who believe in some kind of a deity.

Atheism is the contention that those 3,750,000 are labouring under a massive misconception of what reality is.

Thankfully popularity and numbers are never necessarily a measure of actual truth

I cringe more when someone says they're an Atheist

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