"Reasons" people become atheists

[Danmark]

A DCR debater claimed:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... &start=690

I have discovered 4 reasons for people being atheists:
1. Their father was abusive or absent in their childhood.
2. They are disappointed how God has acted, or failed to act, in some situation.
3. A spirit or vision or flashing insight has told them there is no God.
4. A "No-God" universe obviates the need for moral behaviour.

The affirmative for debate:
People become atheists for the reasons stated above.
A related issue:
What are the reasons for "people being atheists?"

[Thonord]

[Replying to post 1 by Danmark]

4. A "No-God" universe obviates the need for moral behaviour.
Yes, and this terrifies me!

Christians are convinced that without God and the threat of losing their immortal soul, there is no reason for morality.
They know this by looking into their own hearts. Without God they would rape, whore, kill, torture, lie, steal. cheat etc.

I sincerely hope these monsters stay Christians as long as they live.

[JoeyKnothead]

A DCR debater claimed:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... &start=690

I have discovered 4 reasons for people being atheists:
1. Their father was abusive or absent in their childhood.
2. They are disappointed how God has acted, or failed to act, in some situation.
3. A spirit or vision or flashing insight has told them there is no God.
4. A "No-God" universe obviates the need for moral behaviour.

The affirmative for debate:
People become atheists for the reasons stated above.
A related issue:
What are the reasons for "people being atheists?"

A rejection of being told how he's up there, and never getting anyone to show us where.

I'm gonna mark this as a comment so folks don't think I'm drunk with power, but be advised I won't tolerate much disagreement on this issue.







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[Hatuey]

[Replying to post 1 by Danmark]

There's all sorts of reasons a person might be an atheist. Some people are atheists for completely weird reasons that are twice as stupid as some of the reasons believers are believers.

[Zzyzx]

[Replying to post 1 by Danmark]

There's all sorts of reasons a person might be an atheist. Some people are atheists for completely weird reasons that are twice as stupid as some of the reasons believers are believers.

Kindly list weird reasons to which you refer that are "twice as stupid"

[Hatuey]

[Replying to post 14 by Zzyzx]


Gosh, I don't think I can. When I hear explanations that are really dumb, I try not to dwell on them very long. I've heard/read some very strange reasons people have given for not believing, but it's not like I filed them on index cards or anything. I'll try to remember a few and let you know later today, though.

[Divine Insight]

[Replying to post 1 by Danmark]

4. A "No-God" universe obviates the need for moral behaviour.
Yes, and this terrifies me!

Christians are convinced that without God and the threat of losing their immortal soul, there is no reason for morality.
They know this by looking into their own hearts. Without God they would rape, whore, kill, torture, lie, steal. cheat etc.

I sincerely hope these monsters stay Christians as long as they live.

Boy ain't that the truth!

I've often heard far too many Christians proclaim that if there was no God they would have no reason to obey the law or consider behaving morally at all.

I can't believe anyone would actually take that position. They are basically proclaiming that they are an extremely horrible person left to their own sense of morality (or immorality) and that they are indeed a terrible person who is only trying to refrain from doing what they truly want to do just to please some God, avoid his wrath and potentially win a free trip to Disney Heaven.

This sort of attitude is truly unbelievable.

Here I am a non-Christian who thirsts for all that is righteous and good.

According to Jesus : Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

And yet these particular "Christians" of which you speak clearly hunger and thirst after evil. They are only restraining themselves for the sake of God.

That is scary. In fact, it's extremely scary because it suggests that these types of people could easily be coerced into doing extremely terrible things in the name of God. I mean, if they are already prepared to do horrible things if there is no God just imagine what types of horrible things they would do if they thought God wanted them to do it!

That's how we get to things like 9/11.

Some of these "Christians" are truly scary. This type of thinking is as bad as radical Islam.

[dianaiad]

.
The only requirement to be an Atheist is to not believe in gods.

Why one chooses to not believe is an individual matter. Perhaps the reason I encounter most often is something along the lines of "I see no evidence to indicate that a god exists."

It is the height of foolishness to attribute non-belief in gods to abuse -- just as foolish as attributing non-belief in fairies to abuse.

Some Theists indicate strange notions about all who do not worship their favorite "god" (among the thousands available) in their favorite way. "Lack of morals" is one such notion -- ignoring (or ignorant of) statistics showing that Christians are incarcerated at far greater per-capita rates than Atheists.

Actually...I'd like to see those statistics saying that "Christians are incarcerated at far greater per-capita rates than Atheists."

The question is: did they claim to be Christian at their arrests, or later when they were in prison?

For instance, Jeffrey Dahmer was an atheist at the time he had his alternative diet going on, but after his imprisonment, he 'became a Christian.' So the point of interest is...in which group would he have been put in the polls reflected by your statistics?



It is, I have found, a favorite ploy by prisoners to 'become Christian,' because conversion to a religion...doesn't make much difference which one...is seen as a way to tweak the system and make parole or get privileges. Oh, some of the 'conversions' are sincere, but most are not. Given this, I absolutely believe that there are more incarcerated Christians, per capita, than there are atheists. What I have trouble with is that this somehow proves that they were "Christians' at the time they committed the crimes for which they were imprisoned.

Yeah, yeah....but I've been dealing with the prison population, both youth and adult, for quite awhile. I know how this stuff works.

[Zzyzx]

.
Dianaiad, it is a pleasure to discuss / debate with a Thinking Theist. Your posts are interesting and often challenging.

Actually...I'd like to see those statistics saying that "Christians are incarcerated at far greater per-capita rates than Atheists."

Here is a link to the statistics you request.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyat ... -imagined/

Evidently the Bureau of Prisons records regarding prisoners' religious preference that can be accessed only by Freedom of Information Act processes.

The 2013 article disagrees somewhat with earlier (1997) figures, but comes up with roughly comparable numbers.

NOW, I would like to see the statistics that verify your statement:

It is, I have found, a favorite ploy by prisoners to 'become Christian,' because conversion to a religion...doesn't make much difference which one...is seen as a way to tweak the system and make parole or get privileges. Oh, some of the 'conversions' are sincere, but most are not.

Additionally:

The question is: did they claim to be Christian at their arrests, or later when they were in prison?

When a person became a Christian is not a valid consideration in counting the number of Christians in prison.

How "sincere" they are is also immaterial to the question (and is not measured for the population in general or the prison population).

The claim that "jailhouse conversions" account for the number of Christians in prison has not been verified; however, it is popular with those who wish to defend the morality of Christians (particularly when they discover that Atheists are much less likely to be imprisoned than Theists). Then all manner of excuses and conjectures are offered as though they constituted valid evidence.

[DanieltheDragon]

LoL I really want to know what the 1 person who agreed with the OP's for points has to say. Seriously. please enlighten us as to why we are atheists since obviously we don't know