Have Any Of you Ever Personally Known An Atheist?

[Dameedna]

Atheists ALWAYS worship themselves, as they have nothing else to worship (as nothing else is “real” to them), and one of the primary functions of the human being is to worship.

No they don’t.

I’m quite charitable toward “atheists”,

You have been told you must be charitable toward others, as a christian. CLAIMING this is what you are doing, does not mean…that’s actually…what you are doing. You are demonizing them and quite frankly, making a bit of a fool of you and me.

in other words I love “atheists”, and I do so so much that I’m not afraid to explain to them that which will send them to eternal torment if persisted in.

You seem to care a great deal about what you believe. I wonder if you even see the athiest in the mix, or if they are just a sounding board so you can feel stronger in your faith.

I love the people who behave atheistically (satanically), but I vehemently hate, with all my heart, their acts of atheism.

So, sue me!

:shamrock2:

Acts of athiesm huh?

Sounds like, you simply love…to hate.

 

[Dameedna]

I was never an atheist, but I was never “religious” as a kid (and young-to-middle adult). I always knew there was a God. It was always just a question of what God was “like” that confused me, until I discovered I was Catholic.

Oh I can tell, you have never been an athiest. You don’t appear to know the first thing about them.

Actual atheists are not a-theists, in reality, but rather anti-Christian.

An athiest doens’t believe in God. It has nothing to do with christianity. They don’t believe in Zeus or appollo either.

I would suggest you spend some time learning more about your faith. I really can’t see you in a position to discuss anything with athiests. Your hate for them, is palapable.

 

[Fran65]

Dameedna and Starwynd,

You seem to have a very limited understanding of what is meant by self worship.

Self worship is the act of placing *one’s own *thoughts, feelings, beliefs and understandings above everything else.

This is my understanding of your relative positions. *I *think that, this doesn’t make sense to me, my education tells me, *I *can do x, y and z if it makes sense to me… You are incapable of seeing anything beyond self and your own limited and human understanding of ‘how things are’. That is self worship. No imagination, no room for anything or anyone bigger than you, or beyond your understanding.

This is not the same as worshipping God or being Catholic. We are constantly placing God, the Gospel and Church teachings and community above our own limited, flawed views, desires and base instincts.

 

[Dameedna]

Dameedna and Starwynd,

You seem to have a very limited understanding of what is meant by self worship.

Self worship is the act of placing *one’s own *thoughts, feelings, beliefs and understandings above everything else.

Yes, we do understand what you mean.

To claim this is what athiests do, is offensive Fran so if you really do care about communicating with athiests and understanding them, #1 rule. Stop calling them self-absorbed in any form or another.

We do put other’s first in many circumstances, and more than that, we put a greater IDEAL, than ourselves as primary importance( just like you).

We don’t “agree” with a lot of what you say. YOU do not agree with a lot of what we say. That puts us on the same grounding. And no you don’t have the outclause of “but it’s god I’m following”. See below.

We do not worship ourselves when we disagree with you and your human religious institution and human description of God, anymore than You worship yourself, when you disagree with us. No-one forced you to be catholic. You chose it. Your choice, is not better than ours, and your ability to “submit” to a higher goal is no greater than ours either.

We do the same thing. We put something above ourselves, and we…“like you” decide what that more shall be. The real problem for believers, is the “why” are people athiests. We don’t believe in a promise of an eternal life and a God that will fix all. We don’t believe it exists Fran. Not because we don’t want it to, but for our own reasons we don’t. Those reasons do NOT include, an inability to follow and support something greater than ourselves.

This is the primary assumption of christians, and it is flat out wrong.

No-one is deciding for either of us Fran. We are in the same place.

This is not the same as worshipping God or being Catholic. We are constantly placing God, the Gospel and Church teachings and community above our own limited, flawed views, desires and base instincts.

The fact that you place a concept, called God, a book, you call the Gospel and an institution you call the church above your own desires does not make your “choice” to follow these things any greater than our choice. In fact, considering what your church promises you, as long as you do what it asks you end up with eternal life, I would say they are offering you the greatest of all human desires, and hence…you submit to nothing, but what you actually want. The ability to live forever.

Are you sure you aren’t worshiping your own desires, more than we are?

You, nor anyone like you can claim a greater view of the world, just because you follow a certain religion or ideal. The important point here Fran, is that NEITHER can I. I cannot claim I am “better” than you in my submission to something, just because I claim it is the “higher” entity, or concept.

If you continue to believe that your “choice” is greater than my choice and your “submission” is greater than mine, then you and I will never be able to see the actual humanity in each other. We only see ourselves and our own choice in submission and not the human behind the computer.

Stop calling athiests self-absorbed and self-worshiping. You are wrong.

 

[KingAlfred]

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.

I’ve known many. I work with many. I’ve considered them all lost in some way, as evidenced by the way they live their daily lives. Most have wanted to believe in something positive, but in doing so, they’ve borrowed from Judeo-Christian beliefs, as members of our culture here in the U.S. Their doing so is contradictory, IMO. They don’t believe in God, yet need, want and embrace the values of the God worshipped by most of the Western world. Why not Hitlerian morality, which was based on extreme social Darwinism? Why not? Hitler argued that Man was just another creature of Nature, and since Nature is cruel, why shouldn’t so-called superior creatures (e.g., the Aryan race) be any less cruel in securing there future? Why not? What moral authority can the atheist point to, without borrowing from religion, that says that’s wrong?

 

[ellabelle]

I think most ppl can say they have known or do know an athiest!

Im not sure what i would call myself…maybe agnostic? But i was raised athiest by my parents and schooling the same way some people of all different religions are raised to be in the religion they are.
However im lucky enough to be in a relationship with a catholic man who practices his faith and has introduced me to a world of people who beleive in a god. I have come to learn a lot more about what religion and the church really means which has dispelled most of the predjudices i had of catholics and the church from growing up in a secular world.

I cant completely believe there is no God (like i used to) yet i struggle to convince myself that there is a God because it still seems hard to believe! Ultimately i think i need a relationship with God to truly believe in Him or have a conversion and that might not happen overnight. So i cant say im a believer but i dont think i worship myself simply because im not worshipping a God that im not sure to believe in or not! At least i hope im not and i would try not to if i was aware of it!

But sorry this post is so long and probably off topic lol! I have met some wonderful ppl through my bf in the church and have many wonderful athiest friends too. I’m glad i found room in my heart and my life for people who have different beleifs to me and challenge my thought. I would hope that christians would feel the same about athiests! actually i know some do, otherwise i wouldnt have been accepted into their lives!

I will say its hard to convert someone by tellling them they are going to hell i dont think that helps either the christian or the athiest.

 

[crowonsnow]

Stop calling athiests self-absorbed and self-worshiping. You are wrong.

To worship is to elevate something above self. How can atheists elevate themselves above themselves? Clearly atheists are not engaged in “self worship.” The very phrase is nonsensical.

Worship also therefore implies a degree of subjugation. How can atheists subjugate themselves to themselves? Again, “self worship” is mere religious semantics that feels good to say, but can’t be intelligently defended.

As an atheist I respect myself enough to not engage in subjugation and worship, or demand same from others. To require subjugation and worship from someone else would be to disrespect both myself and that person.

 

[CatsAndDogs]

Quote:
Atheists ALWAYS worship themselves

Now that’s just silly, wrong, and highly prejudiced.

I can just imagine myself as an atheist making prayers to myself. Having a little altar with pictures of myself where I pray to. Then I have a Rosary with myself as Jesus in which I pray over. Oh and I go to a church that I dedicated to myself on every Sunday.

I love literalistic fundamentalist (so-called) atheists!

Do they REALLY have no idea what the word “worship” means, or what? <chortle, chortle, chortle!>

Give me a break.

Quote:
atheistically (satanically)

I have nothing but rude and crude gestures for that junk.

As is right in character for atheists.

Oh wait, anything that dares question the will of God is from Satan. Got it.

Actually, you got that one correct! Congratulations!

I’m so tired of the constant demonization of atheists. That’s all junk like this is, is demonization.

Demonizing demonic behavior shouldn’t be overly surprising, should it?

I’m SURE you’re tired of it. I’d be tired of being reminded of the truth too if the truth hurt and I wasn’t prepared to change myself to accommodate that reality.

I empathize, dude!

:shamrock2:

 

[CatsAndDogs]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dameedna View Post
Stop calling athiests self-absorbed and self-worshiping. You are wrong.

To worship is to elevate something above self. How can atheists elevate themselves above themselves? Clearly atheists are not engaged in “self worship.” The very phrase is nonsensical.

But atheists DO elevate themselves above themselves in worshipfulness.

The self they elevate is their (so-called) reason above their self that is their perception.

They worship their “intellect” over their “being”.

Their “self-constructed castles in the air” are where their “gods” live.

:shamrock2:

 

[Starwynd]

You are clearly stating your ill-informed opinion as fact.

Atheists do no such thing.

Worship is acts of religious devotion to a deity. Atheists are not deities not do they make themselves out to be one. Saying otherwise is a lie, period.

We can use that definition of yours to describe religious people as well, since religious people often put their interests ahead of themselves and use a higher power to justify their beliefs. We all make God in our own image, and his interests often coincides with the person’s who using Him. Just like you’re doing.

What you are describing is Narcissism, and it’s not limited to atheists alone.