I Am An Atheist: Correspondence

I am no longer updating these pages. If you want to read current correspondence (and my responses), take a look at the IAmAnAtheist Blog. Thanks!

Thanks for tackling an insurmountable problem. Your work is a noble step toward peace on earth. I know it is frustrating to talk to religious people who claim to know the meaning of life already. I feel for ya'!

I appreciate the kind words. Actually, I don't find it frustrating talking to religious people in general, and we have had a lot of very worthwhile correspondence here. What I do find frustrating is talking to anyone, no matter what their beliefs, who think that shouting down others is an argument and asking questions is an insult. I've seen a lot of that, too.

You really kind of like making up the minds of people for them like (am i an athiest no. Yes. Can i change my mind? NO.) why do you do this and please don't give me an answer like christians haven't thought for themselves without a preist all their lives. (some) Religious people think for themselves, and there are other religions out (whether those christians want to beleive it or not)so just don't critisize christians theres a ton of others out there (even though christians seem to be the most player haters out there)to punt on, i myself am somewhat of a buddist so find something intelegent to joke about that and not something like (the idea of reincarnation is that one day my friend dies, he becomes the gas, a cow eats him, he then passes through the digestive tract, and then plops out of there all brown and wet, i then walk up to this turd and say "boy my friend sure hasn't changed a lot.") Because thats not reincarnation and i couldn't say im a full buddist becau se when i meditate it kind of scares me plus i dont know how to practice everything so best to say im really nothing more than a dream. forther more (stop me if im getting too long winded) as an athiest you claim to be seperate from all religions with no bais or prejudical veiw so instead of just joking on all the religions (which isn't half bad) you should be able to find something that is also good about them that isnt sterotypical or sarcastic. if you are a ture athiest you could do this and more. so please respond to theis comment somewhere on this site cause i have no e-mail and for the benefit of others to

Your note is a bit rambling, but I think there's a good question or two buried in there.

I don't attempt to make up other people's minds for them, despite what the site's home page might say. The "you are now an atheist" concept is a joke, largely at the expense of those who believe that an intelligent person can just choose what to believe.

I agree that there are many thoughtful and intelligent Christians and other religious people. I do talk about Christians more than I talk about people of other religions, largely because most of the correspondence I get is from Christians, and most of the conversion attempts (and verbal attacks) I've experienced have come from Christians.

I don't claim to be separate from all religions, since I'm not quite sure what that would entail. I am certainly affected by religion, whether I want to be or not. As an atheist, I simply claim to be without religion. I also do not claim to be without bias or prejudice, although I do my best to be, and I don't claim that all religions are equal — some are, to me, clearly worse than others for one reason or another.

What is good about religion? Well, religion does bring comfort to many people. It also inspires some people to do great things. I don't say that religion is all evil, but I will say that there has been evil that came from religion.

Oh Noez! I'm an Atheist! That's okay, I was already one before I visited this site.

We need more active atheists in the world. I get really sick of Christian Fundamentalist telling me what's best for me.

Don't get me wrong, I don't HATE Christians or any other religion, just the judgemental, uneducated, ignorant individuals that push their beliefs unwillingly on other. (Which is why I love the irony of your introduction paragraph to this site!)

Thanks for the laugh, and the spead of Atheist pride!

I must say i am impressed with your site yet heres the rub i can only look at your opinion and point of veiw and those hateful people who send out hate mail but how can anyone tell which is bullshit i know you encourage others to seek out research on religious or philosophical veiws on their own but how can you make a real point to any one with out doing it yourself. Show poeple the religious fanatics are realy the crazy ones merely asking themselves the question have you accepted christ when they lean over you with those judgmental eyes. People need to see that religion is no longer spiritual when used to control people with sensless riturals and in fact when they are no longer spirtual and only ritual is when the have become a cult

In the area of religion, it can be difficult to sort truth from falsity because the concepts can be very complex and, in some cases, untestable. I would say that the first step should always be to make sure that a religious system follows my two rules for acceptable belief (it doesn't contradict itself and it doesn't condemn others who use the same thinking). If it does not, then it is probably in danger of falling into the "bullshit" category.

I have repeatedly pointed out that it is not the fact of being religious but the actions of one once they are religious that I consider most important. Anyone showing fanatical behavior — whether theist or atheist — is a problem in my book. And anyone using a system of belief (religion, prejudice, politics, etc.) to control others is also a great danger. My hope is that by encouraging people to think for themselves that they will be able to build up defenses against such things.

I disagree with you a bit about rituals, though. Many people find rituals comforting or consider them to be important landmarks in life (such as a wedding). So long as a ritual isn't being used to substitute for thinking or to placate those who might otherwise question, I don't have a problem with them.

nice site, i was reading teh hate mail. from my previous experience, people always state that there IS PROOF OF GOD and thats its EVERYWHERE, but they never say what IT IS!?!?! this is very amusing to me beecuase i study social anthropology and psychology

Actually, I hear people offer proof of God's existence all the time. I ranges from miracles (words from the Koran on the side of a fish), to scientific proof (irreducible complexity), to personal revelation (the feeling of God's presence). What I don't see is proof of the existence of God that both compelling and stands up under examination.

During you're arguments, you have come mainly to the premise as follows

That people who have utter faith in God due to feelings cannot be construed as unintelligent, since that is their feeling and is not able ot be proved or disproved. You also claim that a person who has this faith would be wrong or unintelligent to use this faith as a belief and try to justify a similar belief to others.

I ask you this: if I, and I believe myself a rational person, feel overwhelmingly that God exists; how can I morally ignore people who sin will go to hell if they are not Enlightened? Your reader claims unintelligence lies in not recognizing the source of your beliefs. I fully recognize that God has implanted in me feelings of His Glory, and I also understand that He has chosen not to do this in others. As a rational person, I ask myself why would He do this? The only answer I can get is that He has set out this as a challenge for me. Intellectually, if I believe that you will go to Hell for not recognizing the Truth, how can I allow you to succumb to your fate without trying to convert you?

I put it to you that those people - even those misguided persons that swear and insult, who try to convert you because of their faith do so only to redeem your soul, they do you out of love for you and their Lord.

You also say that most religious people place their belief in God on emotion, not scientific reasons. Even though I myself am one of the former, I want to know whhy you find it so hard to believe that we could believe n the Bible. You say yourself it is a historical text, and most historians agree that Jesus existed and spread the word of God. They have even found evidence of a flood of Noah's proportions!

If I choose to believe this evidence over speculation and elaboration that supports evolution, or scientific mumbo jumbo about carbon dating which was propagated by a bunch of non-believers itself, than how am I unintelligent?

You misstate my position slightly. I don't say that someone who has faith based on feelings is not unintelligent, but rather that such faith is not in-and-of-itself evidence of unintelligence. However, I don't think that this misstatement make much of a difference in the context of you letter, and you make some very good points.

You are absolutely correct that if you believe certain types of behavior will lead others to hell then you may be morally compelled to try and show them the error of their ways. In fact, I wish more people took their professed beliefs this strongly -- I see far too many examples of people who say that they are religious breaking significant commandments, seemingly without batting an eye. As a concept, I have no problem with attempts to convert others to a certain belief system for their own good (in a sense, that's what this Web site is, so I can't very well argue against such actions). However, I do believe that we can condemn certain methods of attempted conversion (physical force, harassment, discrimination, force of law, etc.)

I have met many people who really, honestly want me to be religious for my own good. On the other hand, I am going to need quite a bit of convincing before I accept that those who curse at me, spit at me, or try and have me silenced are motivated by anything but their own needs.

I don't find it hard to accept that many people believe in the Bible. There are, however, degrees of Bible belief. For example, I can accept that someone might believe that the Bible is truth and science is not an effective means of obtaining knowledge. I start to worry about consistency, though, when you speak about evidence of Noah's flood (which is, so far as I have read, incredibly shaky) but seem very skeptical about evolution (for which evidence is monumental -- and which was popularized by Darwin, a Christian).

If you have looked into the subject of science versus Biblical literalism as I have, then I applaud you for having the intellectual courage to do the research, even if you have come to a different conclusion that I. I find that one of the most valuable exercises is reading texts from all points of view and trying to figure out what I agree with and what I disagree with. I would not call you unintelligent just because we disagree or because you have a different criteria for judging scientific truth than I do. I would, however, be interested in learning more about your beliefs.

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