Why do some people prefer to be atheists?

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Bradski said:
This is for the most part that they live under principles which coincide with some of those of Christianity. Just like two thirds of the planet.
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Who two thirds of the population accept those principles? Do you? 😉
 
Birdpreacher said:
Atheist here.

I love my Catholic Heritiage, and the lessons that it has taught my family and ancestors.

To me, Religon is just a social construct. It contains the stories and values of a people throughout history. I love being able to look at what values and character traits my ancestors enshrined.

Having said that, Catholicism is a good story, but its not the only story. There are many religions and epics, and mythologies out there that all have good qualitites as well as bad ones. So while I enjoy my heritage, I can also recognize that my ancestors and their beliefs were far from perfect and definitely not the divine word of god that shapes my reality and how I live my life.

I love catholics, I have close friends in the priesthood and enjoy the community it provides. I think that we live in an age were there are just people who are more concerned with “being right” than getting it right. THey exist in CAtholic and athiest camps. These outspoken people just want to cram their views down your throat and disregard yours. Its quite unattractive
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Which Catholic beliefs are far from perfect?
 
Jelrak_TB said:
I agree with all that you have written but it doesn’t prove genuine love is rare. There are many unselfish people who dedicate their lives to others and even die for them.
“appear” is the key word. If there were coercive evidence we would no longer be free to shape our own destiny.
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Do you believe we are free to shape our own destiny (within limits of course)?
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tonyrey said:
That is because for the most part they live according to Christian principles which are not limited to Europe but are the basis of the UNDHR and prevalent in most countries throughout the world. They reject Christ but not the core of His teaching.
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Quite so…
 
tonyrey said:
I lived in Algeria and found life was safer than in the UK where I have been mugged. I’m sure that even now the terrorists are a small minority who give the rest a bad reputation. Most people want to live in peace unless they are being oppressed and lack the basic necessities of life.
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It is not the percentage of terrorism per se, but more so the reality that said activity may be imagined justifiable within a certain interpretation of Islam…so the question is would the average peace-loving Muslim be more inclined to protect against such an ideology becoming a worldview as would the average atheists…?
 
Jelrak_TB said:
Mark 3:29 or Matthew 12:31
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Both quotes you cite are from the mouth of Jesus. They are charitable quotes, calculated to save men from perdition, not to mock or ridicule as the law firm of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens would behave.
 
Charlemagne_III said:
Both quotes you cite are from the mouth of Jesus. They are charitable quotes, calculated to save men from perdition, not to mock or ridicule as the law firm of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens would behave.
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Both serve merely as a reference to the question asked…no more…no less…
 
Jelrak_TB said:
It is not the percentage of terrorism per se, but more so the reality that said activity may be imagined justifiable within a certain interpretation of Islam…so the question is would the average peace-loving Muslim be more inclined to protect against such an ideology becoming a worldview as would the average atheists…?
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I believe the vast majority of ordinary people throughout the world are not fanatics but peace-loving and do not want trouble of any description regardless of their ideology.
 
Jelrak_TB said:
It is not the percentage of terrorism per se, but more so the reality that said activity may be imagined justifiable within a certain interpretation of Islam…so the question is would the average peace-loving Muslim be more inclined to protect against such an ideology becoming a worldview as would the average atheists…?
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The genocides of the 20th Century prove that atheism offers no protection from engaging in group violence. The actions of ISIS, and other religious extremists, prove that religion does not immunize a person from the same activity. Adolf Hitler tried to form his own bizarre religion, but he was elected in a country where Christianity was the dominant religion. So, none of us are immune.

The cause of war in general, and even the cause of genocide is unknown. Religion, or the absence of religion, is not mentioned in any of the leading or even secondary theories of why nations go to war.

Nevertheless, if you believe in God, then it is reasonable to believe that we cannot solve this problem without God.
 
dedo said:
The genocides of the 20th Century prove that atheism offers no protection from engaging in group violence. The actions of ISIS, and other religious extremists, prove that religion does not immunize a person from the same activity. Adolf Hitler tried to form his own bizarre religion, but he was elected in a country where Christianity was the dominant religion. So, none of us are immune.

The cause of war in general, and even the cause of genocide is unknown. Religion, or the absence of religion, is not mentioned in any of the leading or even secondary theories of why nations go to war.

Nevertheless, if you believe in God, then it is reasonable to believe that we cannot solve this problem without God.
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I am not quite clear if what I have stated is what you are properly addressing…

However let me simply agree with you on most points to simplify further discussion. I would only tend to disagree that the cause of genocide is unknown: it seems fairly straightforward that in times of scarcity or extreme stress each tribe may be tempted to eliminate the perceived competition…
 
tonyrey said:
I believe the vast majority of ordinary people throughout the world are not fanatics but peace-loving and do not want trouble of any description regardless of their ideology.
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I agree…though the original point remains as stated…
 
Jelrak_TB said:
I am not quite clear if what I have stated is what you are properly addressing…

However let me simply agree with you on most points to simplify further discussion. I would only tend to disagree that the cause of genocide is unknown: it seems fairly straightforward that in times of scarcity or extreme stress each tribe may be tempted to eliminate the perceived competition…
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Perhaps what you were addressing is “indifference”. Is the average Muslim more or less likely to oppose extremists compared to the average atheist?

Perhaps extremists flourish in the setting of indifference because they are not opposed.

However, I cannot say that any particular group is more or less indifferent than any other group.

It would be interesting if there was a way to combat indifference such as by making activism cool or popular.

Unfortunately, activism can go into many bad directions as extremists demonstrate, so any effort to encourage activism from my perspective would need to be at least grounded in Christian ideology, to hopefully reduce the risk of going off course.
 
“The most primitive cells may require at least several hundred different specific biological macromolecules. How such already quite complex structures may have come together, remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a Creator, of God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem” - Werner Arber microbiologist, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine 1978, Professor in Biology University of Geneva, visiting Professor. Berkeley, California.

For Catholics among you - 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Arber as President of the Pontifical Academy—the first Protestant to hold that position.
 
Peccavi said:
“The most primitive cells may require at least several hundred different specific biological macromolecules. How such already quite complex structures may have come together, remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a Creator, of God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem” - Werner Arber microbiologist, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine 1978, Professor in Biology University of Geneva, visiting Professor. Berkeley, California.
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Too hard for God to do it naturally I guess.
 
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