An atheists world: A cold dark place.....?

[Cmass]

Note: This refers to the earthly world, not the spiritual world:
If you are Christian, do you think atheists laugh as much as you do?
Do you think they are capable of deep, committed relationships with their wives/husbands/families? As deep and committed as yours? Really?
Do you think atheists look with absolute joy, wonder and splendor at the world around them?
Are their lives as richly experienced as yours?
Since atheists do not believe in an afterlife, would they be more or less willing than a Christian to step in front of a moving train to save your child's life?
Do you think atheists allow themselves any silly, illogical superstitions even if they know further analysis would likely render the belief untrue?
Do atheists experience joy in the same way as you and/or experience the depth of joy you experience?
Do they partake in ritual?

You can take whatever part of this you want to and run with it.
Honest answers only please.

[QED]

Do you think atheists allow themselves any silly, illogical superstitions even if they know further analysis would likely render the belief untrue?

This is a good one. It prompted me to start a new topic titled Superstitious nonsense?

[Ami]

Do you think they are capable of deep, committed relationships with their wives/husbands/families? As deep and committed as yours? Really?
Do you think atheists look with absolute joy, wonder and splendor at the world around them?
Are their lives as richly experienced as yours?
Since atheists do not believe in an afterlife, would they be more or less willing than a Christian to step in front of a moving train to save your child's life?
Do you think atheists allow themselves any silly, illogical superstitions even if they know further analysis would likely render the belief untrue?
Do atheists experience joy in the same way as you and/or experience the depth of joy you experience?
Do they partake in ritual?

Yeah sure why not?

[Cmass]

Yeah sure why not?
Because they are the face of the lost and are responsible for supporting immoral behavior and they are cold and calculating.
No?

[methylatedghosts]

I am no longer christian, but was until about 2-3 years ago. I'll try answer as best I can

If you are Christian, do you think atheists laugh as much as you do?

I don't see why they wouldn't. If anything, athiests are able to see the humour in more things than christians. I know a few christians who are rather.... closed..... regarding humour.

Do you think they are capable of deep, committed relationships with their wives/husbands/families? As deep and committed as yours? Really?

Sure. Love isn't restricted to christians. Anyone can feel love. really.

Do you think atheists look with absolute joy, wonder and splendor at the world around them?

Don't know. Do christians ever feel depressed about their lives? Do christians ever feel a bit hopeless? I'm sure they do.

Are their lives as richly experienced as yours?

Yes of course. Why wouldn't they be? An athiest may even be able to experience more - not tied down by rules of the church - no need to worry about doing the wrong thing in the eyes of god.

Since atheists do not believe in an afterlife, would they be more or less willing than a Christian to step in front of a moving train to save your child's life?

That's an interesting one. I'd tend to say more willing. Athiests may view life as more prescious - that this child has much more life ahead of him than the person saving him, and that is all there is. For the christian, there is a life in heaven for all eternity. For the athiest, you die and that's it. The athiest saving the child may think along the lines "well, I have had a good 34 years, but this five-y-o has many more years ahead. I'm willing to die for him"

Do you think atheists allow themselves any silly, illogical superstitions even if they know further analysis would likely render the belief untrue?

Maybe, maybe not. Black Friday? Break a mirror - 7 yr bad luck? Spilt salt over the left shoulder?

Do atheists experience joy in the same way as you and/or experience the depth of joy you experience?

Maybe not the same way every time, but an athiest and christian can laugh at the same movie, have fun with the same group of people, like spending a day at the same beach, enjoying a trip around the same country.

Do they partake in ritual?

Weddings and funerals are rituals, so yes. Also maybe other little things (nothing specific comes to mind, but I'm sure someone else can come up with something) [/i]

[Ami]

Because they are the face of the lost and are responsible for supporting immoral behavior and they are cold and calculating.
No?

We could both go on about how much we feel the other hates, or feels adversion to the other, but a better idea would be show respect and get along. Eg. Atheists at least have this love of logic and science. A Christian would probably have to, it would be what God would want. If you wish to show that athiests are just as moral, and just as happy, show it by not saying how you feel the other is out to get you and pointing fingers at the other. Does that make you look content? Does that make you look that you want to get along and be moralistic?

Note:- Christians, also, BTW need to learn this. The outside world isn't out to get you either.

[seventil]

Greetings Cmass. I'll take a shot at a few of them.

Note: This refers to the earthly world, not the spiritual world:
If you are Christian, do you think atheists laugh as much as you do?

By laughter do you mean happiness? Or lunacy?

Do you think they are capable of deep, committed relationships with their wives/husbands/families? As deep and committed as yours? Really?

Of course. As deeply committed? I would say no: but this is because I believe God is a must-have in any relationship. I couldn't imagine my marriage without God. Actually, I could: it's called divorce... or in my case, never getting married in the first place.

Do you think atheists look with absolute joy, wonder and splendor at the world around them?

As much as a Christian, I would say. However, I don't believe this has much to do with faith (although it may put a different skew on things) and more on personality type.

Are their lives as richly experienced as yours?

Nearly so. I believe that the fellowship with others and your relationship with God makes a life richer, of course, but I have no true way to judge this.

Since atheists do not believe in an afterlife, would they be more or less willing than a Christian to step in front of a moving train to save your child's life?

I would say (and hope) it would be the same. I believe this would come down to a universal Moral Law, ingrained into every human being, that makes us do selfless things such as these.

Do you think atheists allow themselves any silly, illogical superstitions even if they know further analysis would likely render the belief untrue?

Perhaps. Some examples here would be good if you want to discuss any.

Do atheists experience joy in the same way as you and/or experience the depth of joy you experience?

I don't see why emotions such as joy would be different in an atheist and in theist - unless you're talking about "Joy" in the Lewisian meaning of the word, meaning the finding God and all that.

As far as depth of joy, I think that a relationship with God is the ultimate "Joy" (as Lewis did) and I do believe that not having that is missing out on a key experience of life.

Do they partake in ritual?

Perhaps in atheistic rituals. These could be defined as glowstick dancing to trance, or perhaps sitting around thinking of witty things to say to fundamentalists.

^^ Seriously, I think that atheists of course do partake in rituals. Any social or community ritual that isn't based off of religion would fit this category, no?

[Cmass]

These are some excellent comments!

[Madeline]

On a more constructive note, I sometimes comment that being an Atheist requires a TREMENDOUS amount of faith in the unproven and the illogical.

It requires one to believe that amino acids were struck by radiation, mere chemical chains, and this created a "cell" of organic life somehow, that led to multicelluar creatures, that led to ocean life, that led to animal (and plant) life on dry land, which led to the species and works of Man (mention any brilliant scientist or invention).... simply by accident.

That, to me, is a real long shot. That some random blast of radiation turned amino acids into a series of uncanny and purely accidental events leading to the rise of an intelligent species that could build cities and explore space.

Evolution is not that hard to understand, ie, the fact that organisms change to adapt to, or reflect the changes in, their environment.

Trying to explain how organic life first happened on earth and why is futile. We've never been able to create even viral life with radiation and amino acids... and believe me, the secular scientists have tried.

Love,
Madeline

[methylatedghosts]

On a more constructive note, I sometimes comment that being an Atheist requires a TREMENDOUS amount of faith in the unproven and the illogical.

It requires one to believe that amino acids were struck by radiation, mere chemical chains, and this created a "cell" of organic life somehow, that led to multicelluar creatures, that led to ocean life, that led to animal (and plant) life on dry land, which led to the species and works of Man (mention any brilliant scientist or invention).... simply by accident.

That, to me, is a real long shot. That some random blast of radiation turned amino acids into a series of uncanny and purely accidental events leading to the rise of an intelligent species that could build cities and explore space.

Evolution is not that hard to understand, ie, the fact that organisms change to adapt to, or reflect the changes in, their environment.

Trying to explain how organic life first happened on earth and why is futile. We've never been able to create even viral life with radiation and amino acids... and believe me, the secular scientists have tried.

Love,
Madeline

Not nearly as much faith in the unproven nature of the existence of god. It is not nearly as illogical to believe that this is how life was created as compared to Christianity's point of view.

Christianity requires TREMENDOUS faith in an unproven God.............