Athiests

[Lady]

i just found out that one of my really good friends is an athiest. i am a christian and of course i wasnt happy about that but i didnt tell her that and i dont treat her any different. what i want to know is what athiests really belive and who in here is one. i know that they dont believe in ANY GOD or that there is even such thing. I belive that there is a God and he died on the cross for my sins and then he rose again. I know everyone has there own ideas and beliefs, but if i am willing to LISTEN to their beliefs why wont they listen to mine? basically what i am trying to ask in some kind of way is, how can i talk her into LISTENING to me (not reforming just listening) and hear what i have to say if i am willing to hear what she has to say about God( or the lack there of)

[Skylarking]

*atheist.

Hi, I'm Colleen, and I don't know what I believe, but I can define atheism for you with the help of wikipedia. First of all, there are different types of atheism.

Implicit atheism, [weak atheism or negative atheism] is the lack of belief in any god or deity, but no absolute denial of any god existing. Explicit atheism, is the belief that no god exists.

[Shodan]

atheism is also sometimes used as a kind of general label that can include agnosticsm (strong or weak), secular humanism, and other non-theistic philosophies.

copy pasted from GP

I am an agnostic atheist. I combine both weak agnosticism and weak atheism into my views on religion.

Weak agnosticism is the belief that knowledge about God/gods and the supernatual is unknown, but may not be unknowable as the strong agnostic claims

Weak atheism is characterised by a lack of belief in God or gods. The weak atheist does not claim that God/gods do not exist as the strong atheist does, simply that there is no belief in them.

My reasons for my beliefs are grounded in logic. I am yet to see any evidence that any god exists. Due to the argument from ignorance's status as a logical fallacy, I do not make the leap from lack of proof to proof of lack. A famous example of the argument from ignorance is that of the swan. All observed swans were white, and swans of any other colour were thought to not exist. But what was found when the Europeans explored Australia? Black swans. There, a lack of evidence of non-white swans was not evidence of a lack of non-white swans.

So I do not take the lack of evidence for gods to be evidence of a lack of gods. Why atheism then? Because of the burden of proof, which lies with the theists. Just as people who thought all swans were white, due to lack of evidence for any other possibility, were justified in their beliefs, so to am I justified in a disbelief in gods untill I am shown otherwise.


That thread has now degenerated into the OP trying to convince me that Christianity must be true, and I am trouncing each one of their arguments.

ugahottie said:

but if i am willing to LISTEN to their beliefs why wont they listen to mine?

Because your average christian is notorious for using a simple "talk" about religion as an excuse to try to pressure their atheist counterpart into converting. she might fear talking to you about it, because if this were to happen it may come between you, and make her feel as if to you she is not so much a friend but a pawn to be claimed.

ugahottie said:

basically what i am trying to ask in some kind of way is, how can i talk her into LISTENING to me (not reforming just listening) and hear what i have to say if i am willing to hear what she has to say about God( or the lack there of)

Ask. If she says no, then do not push it or you may lose a friend. As I said, she may see your request to talk as an attempt to force her conversion, or to make her feel as if you think she is somehow less than you because of a difference in religious view.

Typing this I have to restrain the urge to simply say "she has different beliefs from you, get over it". Do not preach to those who do not want to hear it, that is my main advice.

[Lady]

well thank you for NOT saying "she has different beliefs, get over it". i know she does but i wont get over it. you have your reasons WHY you are a weak athiest/ weak agnostics, and i have my reasons to why i am a STRONG christian. i am not Methodist, baptist, anglican, or any of those. i am non dinominational. i dont try and force religon down peoples throats, actually i find it retarded to try to FORCE people to believe in something just because you do. but i do believe in trying to help others and being persistent to a healthy point. i know my limits/ when to stop. but on this subject we do have very different beliefs. I cant prove that God is really, only that thats what i believe in my heart. and you cant prove that God is not real. anyways i didt come here to debate, there is a section for that,all i want to know is how other people would feel if someone came up to them and asked you to listen(not make any life changing decisions or anything) to what they had to say. even if you dont believe in what they say. there is always a chance that someone might change their mind

[Shodan]

is that why you want her to listen to you, in the hopes that she will want to convert?

also, sure i can't prove that God is real, but the burden of proof is not on me to do that any more than it is up to you to prove that i do not have an invisible pink unicorn