Dealing with Atheists?

[North_of_Nod]

Sorry to be causing you problems!

A few things:

1. 
   *]Don’t bother quoting from scripture, its like talking louder and louder to someone who doesn’t speaking English
   *]Know your stuff - Evolution has nothing scientifically to do with the question of how life started, for instance, little stubs that eventually evolved into wings ARE useful, etc…
   *]Realize that there are a lot of people (more likely your friends’ parents in this case) that have suffered at the hands of ‘religious’ people doing what they thought was right.
   *]Understand your similarities - hopes and dreams at school, loving their family, etc…
   *]Understand not how they are different from you, but how you are different from them.
   
   Maybe you’ll change your view, and realize that rather than a ‘problem’, seeking out people with different opinions than you will help you become a more understanding person with a better understanding of what makes you different.

1. 
   Nicely said.

 

[North_of_Nod]

To OP:

One thing I have noticed is that some atheists are very aggressive toward religion and anyone who has religious views. It may be that these individuals had bad experiences, which is very unfortunate. Try to remain calm and polite, and certainly don’t push anything on them. Instead, set a positive example and continue to pray for them. It’s difficult sometimes, but understand that there may be underlying reasons for their hostility.

I have also known some very good people who were not religious. One of my best friends is agnostic. We simply do not discuss religion, because we know our differing views and respect each other regardless.

God bless.

 

[PJM]

Hi PJM, been a crazy couple weeks and forgot about this thread but I’m back.

I respectfully disagree that there is clearly a supreme power. I don’t see anything that leads me to believe there is so I guess it’s a matter of perspective in this case and coming to different conclusions based on our experiences in life.

***Friend welcome back.

I fear your position might be a bit intellectually dishonest. If you are unable to discern some sort of Greater Presence in a Universe with millions of galaxies and Billions of stars that never get in each others way, live on a planet where the sun and moon rise and set in predetermined cycles, and where humanity are the only Created species with a mind, intellect, freewill and soul, which are all SPIRITUAL THINGS and cannot originate from any Physical Matter. Either there is a reason for these THINGS [which we call God] or they are mere figments of our imagination.

You don’t have to acknowledge God, but to deny some Super Force is lunacy.***

First, I don’t remember ever saying anywhere in my post about how spiritual things are also physical. Nor did I try to explain them or quantify them. I was just pointing out that many aspects of our lives are taught and that includes religion and belief in god. If you grew up on a desert island all alone you would probably not have any concept of god whatsoever. If you did it wouldn’t be in the form of Christianity because you would have no knowledge of Christ or the bible or any of the history behind it.

Christianity perhaps, God NO! Even the most remote and primitive societies have acknowledged some sort of Super power /gods of sun, moon, rain Ect. Were understood to not be mere accidents. It is from this point that I state again you are being intellectually dishonest with yourself.

Now you ask me to quantify free will, intellect, etc. That’s rediculous because no one can but I wasn’t trying to in the first place.

So where did they come from? That friend is the point I was / am trying to make. They do exist, where do they originate? It cannot be from a physical source.

Exactly my point. You were taught to believe in god and what you observed in life reinforced those beliefs but before you could relate those life experiences to something it had to be taught to you.

On the other side of the coin, disbelief in god also starts with teaching people about god. When I was a kid I went to church and was taught all this stuff also. The only difference is I didn’t believe any of it and you did so we took different paths.

Like so many others I left the Church for a period of years. It was my personal life experiences and plain old logic that brought me back.

Well you asked so now I’m going to be honest.

Going to the moon just means we figured out how to build giant rockets to blast us into space and got the thrust to weight ratio right so we didn’t fall back to earth before we ran out of gas. It’s physics and engineering.

We didn’t invent electricity we just figured out a way to use it for own purposes. Electricty was always there.

Cured Polio - We figured out how to use Medicine

Atom bomb - Figured out how to make big explosions

I’m sorry but lack of knowledge is just lack of knowledge and nothing else. That lack of knowledge leads people to believe in god because they can’t explain things but because people believe it doesn’t make it true.

---

I think you are confusing “understanding” and “knowledge.” Understanding is applied logic, using the gifts of mind, intellect and freewill. Knowledge is something we gain by study and life experiences. It may or may not include a degree of understanding.

So why is humanity the only species able to do the things you noted?***

Well I don’t know what your purpose is but mine is to live my life the best way I can and have fun doing it. I don’t need purpose beyond that.

***Are you being intellectually dishonest with yourself? Life. The reason humanity is Created has to be, HAS TO BE so much more than that! ***

Why? It just goes back to my original point. We can’t figure out the answer to something so god did it? I’m unwilling to accept that. There’s always an answer and god has been used to explain why something is the way it is until we figure out another answer then all of the sudden it’s not the work of god. It’s been that way throughout history and while the answers to the universe may be way more complicated than figuring out why lightning strikes where it does, the idea is the same.

***Your trying too hard to deny God. Lets cover one point at a time. Call this Super Force any [nice] name you choose to give it. I call it “My God;” you can use any name you think is appropriate. But is simple applied logic calling the Universe some sort of accident is beyond truth, and beyond your ability to logically discern.

Love and prayers,
Pat***

 

[InNomineDomini]

That because it isn’t seen by the opponent is evidence that it doesn’t exist is ego usurping honesty

‘I cannot possibly believe in the notion of a twelve foot tall, purple, one-eyed creature with golden horns, that lives in a cave deep within the Carpathian Mountains, and who communicates telepathically with the President of the United States, and who sits upon a throne made made by the hands of fairies who once created the seeds of ancient Pan-Celtic culture. The idea is simply so ridiculous to my reason, that I feel not even the slightest pang of doubt in saying that is almost certainly untrue; and forgive me, but I simply find no emotional need to believe such a thing. What say you?’

‘I say you are ego-driven, you are selfish, you care not a thing for anyone but yourself, and you are biased against belief because of such faults.’

‘Ah. But do you not also, in some sort of way, for even a moment, find such a notion to be as ridiculous as I do?’

‘I do not, because I know that men are not intelligent enough to understand certain realities of their world, but that, in moments when their minds are lifted to higher truths, they may see certain realities in a shadowy way. We see reflections, but not the thing itself. You find it ridiculous, because you refuse, because of your ego, to allow your mind to be lifted.’

‘How should my mind be lifted?’

‘By believing.’

‘But my mind must be lifted to believe, or else, I believe in the beauty of an image, but not in the reality of the image.’

‘You must believe, and your mind will be lifted, and then you will have a deeper belief.’

‘But how shall I know?’

‘You will one day know, but for now you will agree. If you do not agree, you will also one day know, but you will know whilst being in a state of pain, of remorse that you did not agree earlier. Such is justice, such is reality, such is our state in this world.’

 

[djeter]

So tell me how do you deal with atheists? I mean I have alot of atheist friends and I just feel like im the only true catholic teenager that I know.

How do ou deal with problems with atheists and other religions?

In the United States nowadays, atheism is out in the open: like gays and lesbians, it has come “out of the closet.” It used to be, in the good old days, that the only open enemy of their religion that American Catholics had to worry about was Protestantism. But the old dispute between Catholicism and Protestantism was small potatoes in comparison to the new dispute between Catholicism and atheism. Protestantism objected to certain particulars of Catholicism; atheism objects to the whole root-and-branch of Christianity. So I think it behooves us to pay closer attention to the phenomena.

May I give you two offerings: the first is Dr. David Carlin’s list of 12 motives for why atheists are atheists. You can find that here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/motives-for-atheism-%e2%80%93-david-carlin/

The second is the most persuasive argument I know for rejecting atheism as developed by great Catholic Theologian Hans Ur von Balthazar. It is presented by Fr.John Cihuk with an assist by Michael Novak. Within the post you will find a video of the atheist Penn (of Penn & Teller fame) describing the gift of a book of Psalms. He’s a complete nitwit but he will tell you what the most important thing in Apologetics is.

That is all here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/01/engaging-atheism/

Regards

DJ

 

[PJM]

***My dear young friend,

My advice is highly practical and extremely difficullt which is precisely why it works.

“Be the bible to them.” Please note that I specified "“BE” not read, not share, not quote. “BE” they will comprehend, the others they will at best deny!

Live your life as an informed, Practicing Roman Catholic. Anyway’s and everywhere!

That my friend is what Jesus ask you [and all of us] to do. Amen!

Love and prayers,***

 

[Chowdah]

Well, I’m not sure I did the right thing, but I went on the attack when I saw an awful article written by an atheist. This precipitated into a series of exchanges on my blog.

Here is my link: modernmilitarybrother.com/2011/04/responding-to-comments-made-by-humanist.html

 

[cho_pilo]

I will be impressed when scince can create matter.

I’ll be impressed when you learn something before spouting off.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_creation

 

[benedictus2]

I’ll be impressed when you learn something before spouting off.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_creation

I’ll be impressed if you realize that the link you gave is not exactly a refutation of CW Betts post.

 

[RebeccaJ]

So tell me how do you deal with atheists? I mean I have alot of atheist friends and I just feel like im the only true catholic teenager that I know.

How do ou deal with problems with atheists and other religions?

I recommend reading the book “The Religious Sense” by Fr. Luigi Giussani. It has been helpful to me in seeing how Faith is viewed in a secular world, and how we can respond to secularism.

Coming from atheism myself, it has also been helpful in articulating for me my own Faith, set against what I believed as an atheist.

The majority of secular arguments against Faith are reductions of Faith, and in conversations with atheists or others, the conversation will be based on these reductions.

For example, the assertion that faith is an emotional or psychological crutch of the weak minded. This is of course a reduction of faith, to emotion, rather than what Faith is, an encounter with Reality itself.

Secular atheism will also seek to reduce the experience of faith, the encounter with the Infinite, to something that cannot be trusted because of a lack of empirical evidence. Yet, this is the very basis of human nature itself, removing experience as a valid witness, is for Fr. Giussani, not even a human response. Our humanity relies on experience.

It is a densely packed book, and one worth reading more than once.

 

[tbcrawford]

Treat atheists in exactly the same way you treat all others around you with love. They are our brothers and sisters even if they do not know it! Be an example of Christs love.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” (Gandhi).