Atheists: What drew you to CAF?

[CHRISTINE77]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here? Are you a former Christian or Catholic, are you curious about the Catholic faith, or are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists? I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

 

[HerCrazierHalf]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here?

I came here as part of my Google-fu regarding Catholicism prior to proposing to my wife (gf at the time). I’m still here because I find the thought process of believers absolutely intriguing.

Are you a former Christian or Catholic, are you curious about the Catholic faith, or are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists?

Former Christian here. Former Seventh Day Adventist. I find your faith intriguing but not one I’m interested in joining. And no, I’m not out to deconvert anyone. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that faith makes most people happy and helps them deal with the tragedies that come in life. Whether true or not I have no interest in taking that away provided their faith has limited impact on me.

I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

Honestly? I actually enjoy views I disagree with, provided some logical attempt is made to reason them out. I disagree with most opinions and implied assumptions presented here, but still find the whole thing intriguing.

 

[Lou2U]

Not an Atheist, but an Agnostic - thought I’d answer.

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here?

I’m at CAF because I want to learn more about Catholicism. Since I don’t know any really religious people in real life this is a good way to do it.

Are you a former Christian or Catholic, are you curious about the Catholic faith, or are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists? I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

I have been Christened in the Church of England, but was not raised with any religion. I am curious in the Catholic religion in the sense that I want to learn about it, but I am not intending to convert. I’m certainly not trying to get Catholics to become atheists - it would defeat the point of me trying to learn more about a religion

Lou

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here?

An internet search to a question brought me here. I stuck around because I had other things to find out.

Are you a former Christian or Catholic,

I was baptized, had my first communion, and was confirmed. I had doubts around that time and started researching atheism in the library (this was pre-internet).

are you curious about the Catholic faith, or are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists? I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

I am curious about the Catholic faith. I’m also curious about how Catholics interpret Catholic teaching and sometimes how they interpret the implications of such teachings. I’m not looking to convert anyone.

 

[Bradski]

I wandered over from another forum looking for someone who used to post there. I found everyone was friendly and polite (well, mostly), so I thought I’d stick around.

I enjoy a good discussion. Nothing I like more than propping the bar and arguing about sport, politics, religion etc. And I have found over the years that I have posted on Christian forums that it helps me clarify in my own mind what I actually believe.

It’s quite easy to say that you believe this or do not believe that, generally based on limited information, so having to put forward an argument to support one’s views helps you to discover if you really do walk the walk. And gee, you learn a lot.

And way back when, I was an Anglican, or Church of England. Head choirboy no less.

Oh, and I certainly don’t want to deconvert anyone.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

As a former atheist, now Catholic, I was drawn here because I knew I would meet other atheists who are still walking the walk I did many years ago. I am curious to know what holds them on that walk, which seems to be for them a tentative walk or they probably would not bother with Catholic Answers. I wish Catholic Answers had existed long before I re-entered the Church, as my self-imposed exile might have been much shorter than thrity years as a result of being stimulated by the provocative posts of so many good Catholics here.

 

[Sandlot]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here? Are you a former Christian or Catholic, are you curious about the Catholic faith, or are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists? I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

I enjoy debating ideas like morality, free will, etc with religious people. There aren’t many places online where such debates are permitted.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here?

Enjoyment of the discussions and enjoyment from reading some of the discussions in which I don’t participate. At least occasionally I read something that makes me laugh. Also from interacting here I’ve been able to gain a better understanding for what I’ve seen in certain political disagreements. In the environment in which I grew up there’s no one that I could identify as Catholic. I had heard people say a lot of things about Catholics (they are not real Christians, they worship statues and paintings, it’s a cult, so on) and I wanted to take a look for myself instead of taking the word of the people that had said these things.

Are you a former Christian or Catholic

Yep.

are you trying to get Catholics to become atheists?

Nope. If I think someone is on the edge of loosing their faith here I’ve got a self imposed policy against interacting with the person in threads where they are looking for assurance.

I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

Mostly answered above. I found my way here because someone within these forums had posted a link to a video on YouTube . This caused “As seen on Catholic Forums!” to show up under the video. Wondering why Catholic forums would have a link to a video I found the page on which someone had made the link. I’ve been here ever since then.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Mostly answered above. I found my way here because someone within these forums had posted a link to a video on YouTube . This caused “As seen on Catholic Forums!” to show up under the video. Wondering why Catholic forums would have a link to a video I found the page on which someone had made the link. I’ve been here ever since then.

Wow - that’s interesting!

Thanks everyone for your feedback so far. Very enlightening.

 

[WillyAL]

As an atheist, why are you at Catholic Answers Forum, and what keeps you here?

My wife is Catholic. I attend Sunday Mass with her every week. I come to CAF in order to learn about and understand her religion

Are you a former Christian or Catholic?]

I was raised in a mainstream protestant church. Haven’t really practiced any religion as an adult.

[A]re you trying to get Catholics to become atheists?

Certainly not.

I’m curious about your motivations for being here, and what keeps you here.

I’ve always been curious about religion in general and Catholicism in particular. I enjoy visiting beautiful churches when I travel, and I enjoy the ritual of the Catholic Mass. I was particularly intrigued by the one Latin Mass I attended. CAF seems like a good place to learn about the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church. As it happens, however, I don’t believe a word of it.

 

[SAVINGRACE]

thank you for sharing.

 

[rose_kelly]

Hi Christine…

I guess that other thread we were on inspired this one, yes?
I appreciate that you are curious about this and that you ask.

I accidentally stumbled onto CAF a few years ago when I was doing research for a book I was working on. One of my subjects was Catholic and I was trying to fact-check some teachings and doctrine via google. Each time I did, the CAF site was the top listing to come up. I had no idea what it was.

At first, I was reading to try and find the answers to my questions.
Then, I stayed because…after reading just a few of the questions, comments, and debates on the forum, I was…well, I was in SHOCK.
I was shocked by what some people were thinking, feeling, and saying here…I was stunned to learn what the Catholic teachings and doctrine were…and I had to stay to try and figure out why people believed it.
I’ve always been interested in psychology and I wanted to understand the psychology of faith and belief and why someone picked one religion, one set of beliefs, over others.

When I first stumbled onto the site, I wasn’t an Atheist.
Both my parents had been brought up Eastern Orthodox and I was baptized, etc. We didn’t go to church every Sunday, tho…it was more an Easter, Xmas thing. I do remember going to Sunday school as a kid and thinking: What they are saying makes no sense!!
But until a few years ago, I always in general believed there was a “God”.

A lot of what I read here led me to becoming an Atheist.
I began exploring the origins and evolution of Christianity with historical books, college courses, and lectures on my ipod as I walked in Central Park. I tried to learn as much as possible about Catholicism (and other religions, too) here on this forum, listening to members and apologists and making notes, keeping files, doing follow-up research.

The more I read, the more I listened…the stronger and clearer my disbelief got.

Another reason I stay is to hear people’s reactions along the way to the changing world–like the laws on same-sex marriage or the words of the new pope.
That so many here get so angry or fearful or confused when the pope speaks a tad more inclusively than other popes have in the past…compels me to stay and see what happens here, see if some specific people’s thoughts and feelings here will…soften, widen, lift.

Often, it’s frustrating. The people who complain here that many people–including the media-- have the wrong view of what a Catholic believes…are often the same people who make gross assumptions and have erroneous ideas about what an Atheist believes.

I have no specific desire to make anyone here an Atheist…even though many here have the opposing wish, wanting to evangelize and help steer people toward Catholicism.
But I do hope to encourage people–here and elsewhere–to think for themselves and research and ask questions.

The world is changing and the “nones” are rising and how people see religion is changing–quickly and drastically. The internet is speeding up the regular, organic process.

What people are talking about here is a good barometer of what’s to come in the near future.

I worry about many of you here.

And so…I stay.

I’m surprised you were “shocked and stunned” to discover how diverse we Catholics are. I always assumed Catholics had varied and differed in opinions since the church began.

Despite that, and through all its opposition, the church has survived throughout the centuries, and will continue to do so, long after you and I cease to exist.

So try not to worry about us too much, and just keep praying.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

When I first stumbled onto the site, I wasn’t an Atheist.
Both my parents had been brought up Eastern Orthodox and I was baptized, etc. We didn’t go to church every Sunday, tho…it was more an Easter, Xmas thing. I do remember going to Sunday school as a kid and thinking: What they are saying makes no sense!!
But until a few years ago, I always in general believed there was a “God”.

A lot of what I read here led me to becoming an Atheist.

I can’t imagine what you are talking about. What was said on this forum that convinced you to become an atheist.

For several years the subject of atheism was not even allowed in this forum.

My own experience here has been that no atheist has presented a cogent case for atheism. I have never seen a cogent case for Catholicism anywhere, even though at one time I counted myself an atheist.

The atheists who have visited this forum have not by any means conquered the Catholics.

But when they attack theism, what would you expect Catholics to do? Be silent?

If the defense of Catholicism seems like an attempt to convert you, what do you think apologetics is all about?

 

[Jeanne_S]

Hi Christine…

I guess that other thread we were on inspired this one, yes?
I appreciate that you are curious about this and that you ask.

I accidentally stumbled onto CAF a few years ago when I was doing research for a book I was working on. One of my subjects was Catholic and I was trying to fact-check some teachings and doctrine via google. Each time I did, the CAF site was the top listing to come up. I had no idea what it was.

At first, I was reading to try and find the answers to my questions.
Then, I stayed because…after reading just a few of the questions, comments, and debates on the forum, I was…well, I was in SHOCK.
I was shocked by what some people were thinking, feeling, and saying here…I was stunned to learn what the Catholic teachings and doctrine were…and I had to stay to try and figure out why people believed it.
I’ve always been interested in psychology and I wanted to understand the psychology of faith and belief and why someone picked one religion, one set of beliefs, over others.

When I first stumbled onto the site, I wasn’t an Atheist.
Both my parents had been brought up Eastern Orthodox and I was baptized, etc. We didn’t go to church every Sunday, tho…it was more an Easter, Xmas thing. I do remember going to Sunday school as a kid and thinking: What they are saying makes no sense!!
But until a few years ago, I always in general believed there was a “God”.

A lot of what I read here led me to becoming an Atheist.
I began exploring the origins and evolution of Christianity with historical books, college courses, and lectures on my ipod as I walked in Central Park. I tried to learn as much as possible about Catholicism (and other religions, too) here on this forum, listening to members and apologists and making notes, keeping files, doing follow-up research.

The more I read, the more I listened…the stronger and clearer my disbelief got.

Another reason I stay is to hear people’s reactions along the way to the changing world–like the laws on same-sex marriage or the words of the new pope.
That so many here get so angry or fearful or confused when the pope speaks a tad more inclusively than other popes have in the past…compels me to stay and see what happens here, see if some specific people’s thoughts and feelings here will…soften, widen, lift.

Often, it’s frustrating. The people who complain here that many people–including the media-- have the wrong view of what a Catholic believes…are often the same people who make gross assumptions and have erroneous ideas about what an Atheist believes.

I have no specific desire to make anyone here an Atheist…even though many here have the opposing wish, wanting to evangelize and help steer people toward Catholicism.
But I do hope to encourage people–here and elsewhere–to think for themselves and research and ask questions.

The world is changing and the “nones” are rising and how people see religion is changing–quickly and drastically. The internet is speeding up the regular, organic process.

What people are talking about here is a good barometer of what’s to come in the near future.

I worry about many of you here.

And so…I stay.

.

Well if nothing else,I finally have a clearer picture of where you stand,spiritually speaking.
Although I have to say,your concern for those of us on the forum who live our Catholic faith to the best of our ability,really shouldn’t be source of concern for you.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Hi Christine…

I guess that other thread we were on inspired this one, yes?
I appreciate that you are curious about this and that you ask.

I accidentally stumbled onto CAF a few years ago when I was doing research for a book I was working on. One of my subjects was Catholic and I was trying to fact-check some teachings and doctrine via google. Each time I did, the CAF site was the top listing to come up. I had no idea what it was.

.

What sort of books do you write? Are you published?

 

[Solmyr]

My road was quite close to DaddyGirl. I always liked intellectual challenges, to talk to people with different points of view. After all what can one learn from talking into a mirror? I frequented all sorts of religious on-line forums, and had interesting conversations with many people.

I saw a significant difference between the catholic and the protestant approaches. Only in Catholicism is there a central authority. When discussing a subject with a protestant it was always possible that their personal interpretation was only their own, and it was something I have never seen before. It was both interesting and frustrating.

I thought that with Catholicism it is different. Having one central authority it is more likely that the differences will be minor. Of course I was wrong - as usual. There is an ongoing “fight” here between the orthodox and the heterodox points of view, with very little tolerance for the other side.

Not to mention the extremely little tolerance for the views of the unbelievers. As posters we are tolerated, no problem there. But the views we represent are not. No surprise there… why tolerate the voice of the “evil ones”? The trouble is that there is a strong resistance toward the attempts to clarify the misunderstanding, to reach over the abyss. To be insulted like: “the fool in his heart say there is no God” is not a big deal, even if it is insulting. When the term of “scientism” is hurled all over the place, and when the explanation is being ignored, now that is quite hard to swallow. To see the same fallacies repeated all over the place is very hard to understand.

If and when I make incorrect assumptions about catholicism, and I am corrected, I learn something new. I have (almost) never seen an admission from the other side; like “Yep, I was wrong, thanks for the clarification”. Not even when we point out an incorrect assumption and we use a literal quote from the Bible to show the error. The answer is always: “you are not qualified to interpret the bible”. But they never give the “correct” interpretation. There is no “Catholic Annotated Bible”, which would point out which parts are to be taken literally, and which ones must be viewed allegorically.

As for myself. I was baptized in a Calvinist church, but of course I had nothing to do with the event, except being there. Later I went to church - pretty much every Sunday, also to bible study classes. And then I started to see the discrepancy between reality and the teachings. Finally I lost all my faith.

I am not interested in converting anyone. But I would very much like to see a common usage of the basic words and concepts. Without a common vocabulary there can be no real communication.

What I would very much like is to have a serious conversation with real apologists, who do not make elementary logical errors and fallacies. And who are able to argue based upon reason and logic. After all it is stated in the catechism that God’s existence can be demonstrated in a fully rational fashion, without even mentioning “faith”. Maybe it will happen, who knows? But I do not hold my breath.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I am not interested in converting anyone. But I would very much like to see a common usage of the basic words and concepts. Without a common vocabulary there can be no real communication.

What I would very much like is to have a serious conversation with real apologists, who do not make elementary logical errors and fallacies. And who are able to argue based upon reason and logic. After all it is stated in the catechism that God’s existence can be demonstrated in a fully rational fashion, without even mentioning “faith”. Maybe it will happen, who knows? But I do not hold my breath.

We are all learning here. What is a REAL apologist to you - someone like Thomas Aquinas? (Doubtful he would be on CAF).

I guess what I find irritating about most atheists on this forum is how irreverent they are. They seem to think there is nothing sacred about life. They seem to rely on the popular media or popular science for their answers to life. It seems like a cold and detached way of looking at the world. What is wrong with faith? Don’t you have faith in anything?

 

[Solmyr]

We are all learning here. What is a REAL apologist to you - someone like Thomas Aquinas? (Doubtful he would be on CAF).

Oh, no. What I have seen from his works, he does not qualify. Of course that is not a surprise, since in the times when he lived, the actual knowledge about reality was insignificantly small. Because of his lack of knowledge all he could do was to “speculate”, and those speculations simply did not “pan out”.

I guess what I find irritating about most atheists on this forum is how irreverent they are. They seem to think there is nothing sacred about life. They seem to rely on the popular media or popular science for their answers to life. It seems like a cold and detached way of looking at the world. What is wrong with faith? Don’t you have faith in anything?

The word “faith” is one of those abused words, which are used differently. My usage is: “to believe something for which there is no sufficient evidence”. Mind you, I do not need absolute, 100%, Cartesian evidence, but sufficient evidence to overcome reasonable doubt. Yes, there are things I believe for which there is no sufficient evidence, and I still accept them, but those things are pretty much irrelevant for my life.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

The word “faith” is one of those abused words, which are used differently. My usage is: “to believe something for which there is no sufficient evidence”. Mind you, I do not need absolute, 100%, Cartesian evidence, but sufficient evidence to overcome reasonable doubt. Yes, there are things I believe for which there is no sufficient evidence, and I still accept them, but those things are pretty much irrelevant for my life.

So you do not see any sacred mystery in life? It’s all science to you?

 

[Bradski]

So you do not see any sacred mystery in life? It’s all science to you?

If my grandson gives me a hug I don’t get all ‘sciency’. If a see a shooting star (which I actually did last night) I don’t wonder what material it is composed of. If my daughter says: ‘I love you Dad’, then I don’t try to work out why my eyes are a little wetter than usual.

It’s not all science. But there’s nothing behind the curtain. No sacred mystery. Some people might feel the need. Others, probably most of the guys who respond to this, probably don’t.