Atheists - why do you care?
First post on this forum. Please excuse if this has been done before. Have searched boards before posting.
Mods, if this should be moved to After Hours, then please move it. However, I thought that this would be the most appropriate forum.
Bear with me on this, for a moment. I'm not very well read on this subject, as it does not usually interest me. I was asked about it recently, and it piqued my interest, somwwhat.
Cards on table: I regard myself as a skeptic. I think that is enough for the purposes of this discussion.
I think of theism as a harmless and/or beneficial belief. I understand about the wars in the name of Allah, God, etc. None of that affects me here in Ireland. I understand about oppression by the Catholic Church in Ireland. I'm inclined to think that the separation of Church and State is a work in progress, and that we have moved on rather a lot over the previous 60 years.
From what I've read, people who believe in a God are generally happier and live longer. It must be a pretty comforting to believe in a benevolent higher power; a being who has made a plan for you, even if you haven't bothered to make one of your own. I don't see the reasoning, but I understand the comfort.
At the same time, I see that some theists wish to evangelise. They want to spread the good news, etc. I can see why one would want to spread good news. The people who mapped the human genome didn't keep that to themselves. I expect that the people at CERN will broadcast their findings concerning the possibility that the Higgs particle was discovered last year. Before the obvious is pointed out to me, I understand that there is no scientific proof of the existence of any God, but that the mapping of the himan genome has been proved.
What I do not understand is why atheists feel the need to preach what they believe. I just think that there's no point. In my opinion, there is nothing to be gained from engaging theists in conversation on the subject. In my opinion, there is nothing to be gained in convincing someone of the non-existence of God.
At the risk of using a possibly condescending yet hopefully apt cliché, I think it's like telling a child that there's no Santa Claus. I still remember that sad school day, long ago, when another seven year old classmate told me that. I was simply unable to convince myself that what I had heard was not true, but there's no going back once you're through the looking glass.
My question boils down to this: If people can't see it for themselves, why bother telling them, when they clearly do not want to know?
