Have Any Of you Ever Personally Known An Atheist?

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pmoo said:
Yes, but that was your desire to change or the Holy Spirit speaking to you. You, yourself, cannot cause or force another person to change his/her beliefs.
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No, I can’t force anyone to believe otherwise, but I might convince others that their line of thinking is in error, or I can plant a suggestion that they may want to rethink their position, which is precisely what my daughther has done.

I think if they see others have followed their same path and have returned to the Church, they may get a hint that they were wrong to stray in the first place. People’s opinions do change over time. Folks tend to get more conservative as they get older.

There is a grain of truth in the saying, “if you are not liberal when you are young then you have no heart, but if you are not conservative when you get older, then you have no brain”.

Young folks tend to be idealist, while older folks tend to be more pragmatic.
 
wcknight said:
No, I can’t force anyone to believe otherwise, but I might convince others that their line of thinking is in error, or I can plant a suggestion that they may want to rethink their position, which is precisely what my daughther has done.

I think if they see others have followed their same path and have returned to the Church, they may get a hint that they were wrong to stray in the first place. People’s opinions do change over time. Folks tend to get more conservative as they get older.
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ahh…this is true. My mother was a christian till her mid thirties then went to school and studied history and theology.

She has since had a hint that it was all not true and is now a very confirmed athiest.

Amazing what age and bit of education does for a person.
There is a grain of truth in the saying, “if you are not liberal when you are young then you have no heart, but if you are not conservative when you get older, then you have no brain”.
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Funny, but my father, alway’s the staunch conservative is becoming much more liberal , accepting and forgiving in his old age. My mother…well. she became that way in her 30’s anbd is happy with her life, but to a degree she has become even more accepting. She does remains politically conservative in my country.

I would however suggest, that they’d rather just be comfy and preserve what they have. Old age is hard…hence the desire to conserve the status quo.
Young folks tend to be idealist, while older folks tend to be more pragmatic.
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Ah yes, my mother was like that. Now, as an athiest, shes a rather pragmatic “soul” and my father no longer believes in “stuff” because he was taught it as a child. She’s even taught that stubborn old man, what it is like…to think for oneself 🙂

I agree with you completely 🙂

Cheers
Dame
 
Dameedna said:
Amazing what age and bit of education does for a person.
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Yes, that old, I was Christian then I got an education story. Sadly, there is some truth in it. However, you’ve missed out the bit that goes and then she got some more education and her faith was strengthened. Having thought it all through for herself and not just read Dawkins et al and waved the flag for atheism. I’ve heard that one too. 😃

Ever heard of Anthony Flew? :rolleyes:
 
Starwynd said:
Have any of you ever personally known an atheist?
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i see a lot of talking about them, and I’ve seen a lot statement of beliefs about them, but really, how can you truly know what an atheist truly is if you have never really met one? If you have never really met one then you should really try to be friends with one.
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Yes. But I had to stop being friends with her because she kept trying to convince me to live my life according to her hedonistic values.
 
Neil_Anthony said:
Yes. But I had to stop being friends with her because she kept trying to convince me to live my life according to her hedonistic values.
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That’s interesting. I’ve always thought of heaven as hedonism.
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LutheranDK:
How on Earth can you joke about damnation?
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Because there isn’t any. It’s like the bogeyman hiding under the bed waiting to grab you in the dark room. Just not real. And without a bogeyman there’s no need to be saved or protected from the bogeyman. Your fear may be real. That’s something you control or not. But not the imagined bogeyman.
 
crowonsnow said:
That’s interesting. I’ve always thought of heaven as hedonism.
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Oh that’s quite a misunderstanding. The joy of heaven is being able to see God, and live with Him and serve Him. It’s very different from earthly pleasures.
 
Neil_Anthony said:
Oh that’s quite a misunderstanding. The joy of heaven is being able to see God, and live with Him and serve Him. It’s very different from earthly pleasures.
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It’s still hedonism. You’re just saying it’s heavenly hedonism.

But that’s off topic.
 
Neil_Anthony said:
Oh that’s quite a misunderstanding. The joy of heaven is being able to see God, and live with Him and serve Him. It’s very different from earthly pleasures.
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If hedonism involves a life of earthly pleasure and the seeking of pleasure, there should be a word for “a life of joy.” But I can’t think of one. Any help, anyone?
 
Starwynd said:
Have any of you ever personally known an atheist?
’
i see a lot of talking about them, and I’ve seen a lot statement of beliefs about them, but really, how can you truly know what an atheist truly is if you have never really met one? If you have never really met one then you should really try to be friends with one.
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Yes. In his case, he was one of those types who expects traditional morality to continue without a religious basis. He is, I suspect, someone who believes in altrusim, Kant’s categorical imperative, perhaps, who explains Schindler, for instance, in terms of humanitarian feeling, without explaining its source.
 
RobbyS said:
Yes. In his case, he was one of those types who expects traditional morality to continue without a religious basis. He is, I suspect, someone who believes in altrusim, Kant’s categorical imperative, perhaps, who explains Schindler, for instance, in terms of humanitarian feeling, without explaining its source.
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What is god’s source?

Religious stories can be vehicles to teach values, same as picking up a Dr Seuss book. But those stories don’t make the characters real.

I’ve worked for people who were religious and who were atheist. In my experience the atheists were far more humanitarian and compassionate and honest than their religious counterparts. That’s probably served to reinforce my own beliefs.
 
crowonsnow said:
I’ve worked for people who were religious and who were atheist. In my experience the atheists were far more humanitarian and compassionate and honest than their religious counterparts. That’s probably served to reinforce my own beliefs.
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A bit anecdotal, but I am sorry you’ve had this experience. If we extrapolate, however, where is the Atheists’ Children’s Fund? The St. Bertrand Russell Hospital? The many schools founded by atheist organizations? The Richard Dawkins’ Relief Organization? The Daniel Dennett Home for Unwed Mothers? Etc.
 
cpayne said:
A bit anecdotal, but I am sorry you’ve had this experience. If we extrapolate, however, where is the Atheists’ Children’s Fund? The St. Bertrand Russell Hospital? The many schools founded by atheist organizations? The Richard Dawkins’ Relief Organization? The Daniel Dennett Home for Unwed Mothers? Etc.
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The atheists I worked for cooked tons of food for meals on wheels, and were always volunteering time for other charitable and worthy causes. The theists I worked for only gave money at church.

Look what Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just did. That’s got to mean something.
 
I was a true Atheist in my younger years now I am a devoted Catholic. Thank God.
 
crowonsnow said:
The atheists I worked for cooked tons of food for meals on wheels, and were always volunteering time for other charitable and worthy causes. The theists I worked for only gave money at church.

Look what Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just did. That’s got to mean something.
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You are right; these things are worthwhile. I’m assuming by your post that Gates and Buffet are atheists? (I don’t know either way.)
 
I have come across a few in my life, and the sad thing is they were the most empty people I knew. Depended so much on worldly things to keep them happy.😦
 
Starwynd said:
Have any of you ever personally known an atheist?
’
i see a lot of talking about them, and I’ve seen a lot statement of beliefs about them, but really, how can you truly know what an atheist truly is if you have never really met one? If you have never really met one then you should really try to be friends with one.
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No.

All so-called atheists I’ve ever run into were really self-deified gods, whom they themselves worshiped of course, which makes them self-defined non-atheists.

I’ve had many self-deified gods as friends, though, if that’s what you’re REALLY asking. 🙂

:shamrock2:
 
I was - untill recently - an atheist myself, just like all my friends and family. In fact I’ve only ever met 3 devoutly religous people in my life!
I didnt understand how there could be a God when horrible things happen like death, natural disasters, hate, terrorism, and the such like.
Obviously I have now found a reason for these given I now am Catholic (I’ve gone the whole 180 really).
But it wasnt until my grandfather died that I even began to really question my athiest beliefs and reasoning - all this because i felt i had a calling from God - that he wanted to ‘show me the light’, as such, of his religion and following. This threw everything and te way I understood the world into the air. I had a lot of questions an I ended asking my Religious Education teacher at school in a general way, and in the process I found out she was a Roman Catholic herself, which may well have guided me towards the faith I have taken as my own, but I think God would have led me towards someone else if this wasnt the path I was meant to follow.
I think I was also very stuck in atheism as I have shown in school and through the media aout what science discovers and how much it can explain, so believed solidly in this, until that was also questioned. I personally think science and religion compliment each other, and it isnt a case for either-or.
Your question made Atheists sound like some other species - we are all the same no matter what we believe…
  • God Bless -
 
crowonsnow said:
The atheists I worked for cooked tons of food for meals on wheels, and were always volunteering time for other charitable and worthy causes. The theists I worked for only gave money at church.

Look what Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just did. That’s got to mean something.
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Well,yeah,…just because someone doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean that they can’t see the need for altruism.Besides,…they probably get really good tax incentives!
 
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