I find your lack of faith disturbing.

[Tcg]

Do theists (some that is perhaps not all) have any reason beyond this to mistrust atheists?




Tcg

[nobspeople]

For me, I find one's lack of faith encouraging. This means more independent thought is occurring, which is always a good thing no matter the outcome.

The only reason I could think of theist to mistrust atheists, in general, is because they're indoctrinated to do so:
2 Cornth 6:14
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

[Tcg]

For me, I find one's lack of faith encouraging. This means more independent thought is occurring, which is always a good thing no matter the outcome.

Indeed.

The only reason I could think of theist to mistrust atheists, in general, is because they're indoctrinated to do so:
2 Cornth 6:14
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

That could be a big part of it. It's odd really, I don't see a big difference between theists and atheists in general. Some of the nicest people I've ever met are theists and some of the nicest are atheists. The same is true of the meanest people I've ever met. People are people no matter their opinion of god/gods and that opinion doesn't seem to change their character in any way. For some, the Bible will override their consideration of what they experience and expect.

When folks learn that I'm an atheist some seem to think they're talking to a monster. Funny thing about that is that about the only thing that is different about me from when I was a theist is that I no longer find any justification for considering gayness problematic. Of course, that alone may cause some to question my character. I consider it a vast improvement. In every other way I'm pretty much the same guy. Well, other than that believing in God thing.


Tcg

[TRANSPONDER]

It is disturbing, and this might have been said already, that atheists have been successfully smeared as monsters without morals, untrustworthy, unmoral and destructive. The Gay thing points it up. To the fundamentalist, support for this is regarded as proof of how wicked and depraved we are, though the fact that Christianity itself is making great efforts to encompass sexual diversity and the reaction against it is seen as wicked and immoral, should knock that one on the head, and I need hardly labour the hateful cult of fierce resistance (not to say rebellion) against any such progress that has been made (1).

We have been here before with racial rights and freedom and the same battle is being fought all over again and some Christians have learned the lesson and others haven't.

To get back to the lack of Faith related to the forum - lack of religious faith - it is a half century (or more) long smear, canard and lie that atheists have no morals, have no hope and believe in nothing.

Moral are human and atheists are (generally) affiliated to humanism. Religion hi -jacked morals for its' own enhancement. Atheists do not believe in Nothing - they believe in Everything - except gods. And we are not suicidally despairing, terrified of death and punishment and like a bunch of snarling Orcs (and not by accident) wanting to destroy everything along with ourselves, but we accept death (and whatever comes after) and with less fear that some Christians, I suspect. And value this life as the only one we get (so far as we know) and see the value for others rather than just ourselves. And the idea that Life has no meaning unless it is a Plan dictated to us by some Celestial dictator is just risible. We devise our own meanings for Life, above and beyond the 'eat survive, reproduce' that was the rubbish hand dealt to us by evolution, because we can Think. And it is better to have our own meanings than be told what they should be by someone else.

(1) and before anyone mentions it, I'm well aware of the bigoted hate - cult that has sprung up on the Left, and I say a pox on both those houses.

[nobspeople]

For me, I find one's lack of faith encouraging. This means more independent thought is occurring, which is always a good thing no matter the outcome.

Indeed.

The only reason I could think of theist to mistrust atheists, in general, is because they're indoctrinated to do so:
2 Cornth 6:14
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

That could be a big part of it. It's odd really, I don't see a big difference between theists and atheists in general. Some of the nicest people I've ever met are theists and some of the nicest are atheists. The same is true of the meanest people I've ever met. People are people no matter their opinion of god/gods and that opinion doesn't seem to change their character in any way. For some, the Bible will override their consideration of what they experience and expect.

When folks learn that I'm an atheist some seem to think they're talking to a monster. Funny thing about that is that about the only thing that is different about me from when I was a theist is that I no longer find any justification for considering gayness problematic. Of course, that alone may cause some to question my character. I consider it a vast improvement. In every other way I'm pretty much the same guy. Well, other than that believing in God thing.


Tcg

There are perceptions to all peoples, depending on the 'tribe' of which they belong. Some of it is very apt, but I can't say, no matter how much I want to, that all of XYZ people are terrible, worthless pieces of, well, you know, while everyone from ABC are wonderful, beautiful people.
People are much more alike than these differences seem to get us to believe IMO. If humanity could make their beliefs a much smaller part of who they are, I think the world would be a lot better off for it.

[William]

Do theists (some that is perhaps not all) have any reason beyond this to mistrust atheists?




Tcg

Lack of belief would mean that faith is unable to be practiced by atheists. How would that 'disturb' theists?

Do atheists ask theists to trust in atheists? What is there to trust in, that atheism has on offer?

[nobspeople]

Do theists (some that is perhaps not all) have any reason beyond this to mistrust atheists?




Tcg

Lack of belief would mean that faith is unable to be practiced by atheists. How would that 'disturb' theists?

Maybe it depends on what 'faith' and 'belief' is put in? Atheists don't believe in gods, but that doesn't mean they can't 'have faith' or 'belief in' other things - other non-deities?
Maybe?

Do atheists ask theists to trust in atheists?

Surely one somewhere has asked such a thing, Id' suspect.

[William]

[Replying to nobspeople in post #96]

Maybe it depends on what 'faith' and 'belief' is put in? Atheists don't believe in gods, but that doesn't mean they can't 'have faith' or 'belief in' other things - other non-deities?
Maybe?

Sure. But why should/would theists be 'disturbed' by that?

Do atheists ask theists to trust in atheists?

Surely one somewhere has asked such a thing, Id' suspect.

Can you give an example of what this might involve?

[nobspeople]

[Replying to William in post #97]

Sure. But why should/would theists be 'disturbed' by that?

Perhaps an atheist can chime in and help answer that?

Can you give an example of what this might involve?

Atheist: Excuse me. I'm not going to step on your foot - I promise. I just need to step past you.
Theist: OK

[William]

[Replying to nobspeople in post #98]

Can you give an example of what this might involve?

Atheist: Excuse me. I'm not going to step on your foot - I promise. I just need to step past you.

I wasn't asking for an example of normal interaction which occurs between individuals.

Can you give an example of where atheism actually asks theism to trust it?

[TRANSPONDER]

[Replying to nobspeople in post #98]

Can you give an example of what this might involve?

Atheist: Excuse me. I'm not going to step on your foot - I promise. I just need to step past you.

I wasn't asking for an example of normal interaction which occurs between individuals.

Can you give an example of where atheism actually asks theism to trust it?

We can ask but not expect them to do it. We can say (we have said) that we would not arrest Christians and herd them into concentration camps (a regular accusation on my old board, projecting rather what they'd do to us if they could) nor would we introduce Communism, Eugenics or fornication in the streets (except at atheist festival days) though Religious business would pay tax and not be above the law nor would it be taught in school any more than we teach astrology alongside astronomy or Gods from outer space alongside the Greeks and Romans.

Succinctly and basically as well as obviously, an atheist does not (by definition) believe in any gods (though one might argue about what a god is or is not) but could have 'trust' (1) in Dogma, conspiracy - theories and some 'supernatural' stuff - so long as it wasn't gods. I knew an atheist who believed firmly in the Daainken stuff. Another atheist who believed in a Jewish -run government conspiracy behind 9/11 and of course there was the Marxist dogma of Stalin and Mao.

That said, atheists do tend to use logical reasoning and evidence -based reason rather than Faith -based belief, and the last time the Atheist Central Committee had a Bigfoot believer as Chairbod ...was long before my time.

(1) the operative thing here here is 'trust without adequate belief or even in spite of it' Now this is a little tricky because one can never be sure. A case can be made for all sorts of stuff, Moon landing Hoax, Mars face, Bigfoot, Atlantis, Bacon wrote Shakespeare and (of course) the UFO thing. And it's absolutely on a par with the Moses site, the Ark on Mt Ararat and trying to validate the Star of the nativity as some astronomical phenomenon. The thing that what a rationalist should do in both cases is look at both sides because if Flying saucer pilots used advanced technology to build the pyramids I would love to know and I wouldn't be upset but I'd love it. The Believer however gets as upset as a Genesis -literalist if the evidence does not support it. The difference is (or should be) thinking as a tool of detection and thinking as unquestioning Faith.