Are we approaching a "golden age of atheism" in America?

S.A.M. said:
I learned a lot. I had no idea about atheism when I first started posting. They just were there. People who did not believe in God. full stop. No idea they had so many psychological issues or spent so much time thinking about God and religion.
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M*W: S.A.M., can you provide the statistics for atheists with "psychological issues," or is that your personal opinion?

Be realistic, S.A.M., if we had not been thinking and learning all we could about "God and religion," we wouldn't have become atheists! It's not that we have the lack of knowledge about "God and religion," it's the complete and rational understanding of it that does.
 
(Q) said:
Theists are forced, by their religions, to detest me. Theists are forbidden to have friends who are non believers.
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Sorry to interrupt.

Q,

Does this statement apply to all religions? If so it is complete hogwash.
 
S.A.M. said:
Parasites of the world? Theists created the society where you could have these empirical wonders. Its teh man of faith who makes things happen, not the cynic who does not believe.
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It's truly boring and predictable how you can say one thing one day and the complete opposite the next.
 
Medicine*Woman said:
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M*W: S.A.M., can you provide the statistics for atheists with "psychological issues," or is that your personal opinion?

Be realistic, S.A.M., if we had not been thinking and learning all we could about "God and religion," we wouldn't have become atheists! It's not that we have the lack of knowledge about "God and religion," it's the complete and rational understanding of it that does.
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Sure, the suicide rate is higher in atheists. I can fully comprehend why. I would want to kill myself too.

Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members. Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics, religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity, aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differences in the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness, or stressful life events were found.
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Kanita Dervic, Maria A. Oquendo, Michael F. Grunebaum, Steve Ellis, Ainsley K. Burke, and J. John Mann. "Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt" The American Journal of Psychiatry (161:2303-2308, December 2004).
 
S.A.M. said:
On the contrary, I now have interesting discussions on faith with my atheist and theist friends. You on the other hand probably have no theist friends at all.
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M*W: Again, S.A.M., atheists have friends in all types of religions. I know I do. I rarely come across another atheist (or at least someone who verbalizes it). My close associates are, for the most part, people of faith. I would like to find other atheists to converse with, but that's why I come here.
 
davewhite04 said:
Sorry to interrupt.

Q,

Does this statement apply to all religions? If so it is complete hogwash.
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I have no problem with the interruption, Dave, as long as it's worthwhile.

It most certainly applies to the Abrahamic religions, Dave. Are there passages in scriptures somewhere demanding you embrace non-believers as friends?
 
Q,

I'm sure you know that Jesus said: Love thy neighbour as thyself.

As a Christian I try to follow this.

Most of my friends are atheists or agnostics.
 
Very odd Q.

You heard the parable of the Good Samaritan?

Jesus obviously had time for non Jews, he healed a Roman soldiers child.
 
Enmos said:
It does get old.. so why don't you guys just delete this subforum..[/QUOTE

What else would they do ? Sam believes there is a discussion going on when all we have is confrontation. It lends creditto the study which showed that there is an inverse correlation between intelligence and religious belief.
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davewhite04 said:
You heard the parable of the Good Samaritan?
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Yes, it teaches that compassion has nothing to do with religion, which I've been bleating here a long time, much to the denial of the theists.

Jesus obviously had time for non Jews, he healed a Roman soldiers child.
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Am I to take magic seriously, Dave, as an argument?
 
(Q) said:
Yes, it teaches that compassion has nothing to do with religion, which I've been bleating here a long time, much to the denial of the theists.
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You are correct.

Am I to take magic seriously, Dave, as an argument?
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I'm not arguing.

Christians believe in Jesus, they believe in this passage which illustrates that Jesus wasn't here exclusively for the Jews, which is the point that I made.

So why would they hate you?
 
davewhite04 said:
Christians believe in Jesus, they believe in this passage which illustrates that Jesus wasn't here exclusively for the Jews, which is the point that I made.
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No Dave, it does not suggest in the least that the passage illustrates the non-exclusivity of Jews, but is instead of reflection of the current Jewish state of that time, which was entirely based on the Old Testament, which is the only thing they knew.

Hence, Jesus followed the Old Testament tradition of limiting his "in-group" of the saved strictly to Jews. "Thou Shalt Not Kill" very specifically references thou shalt not kill Jews. "Love Thy Neighbor" very specifically references 'neighbor' as fellow Jew.

"If one slays a single Israelite, he transgresses a negative commandment, for Scripture says, Thou shalt not murder. If one murders willfully in the presence of witnesses, he is put to death by the sword. Needless to say, one is not put to death if he kills a heathen." ~~ Rabbi Moses Maimonides.

So why would they hate you?
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I would be considered a heathen.
 
Have you met many religious people who hate you for being a heathen?
 
S.A.M. said:
Have you met many religious people who hate you for being a heathen?
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Only the ones who welcomed eternal damnation for me, as their religion prescribed.

I suppose that would include all of them, wouldn't it?
 
(Q) said:
Only the ones who welcomed eternal damnation for me, as their religion prescribed.

I suppose that would include all of them, wouldn't it?
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So you are upset because they want to save you from an eternal damnation you don't believe in? Isn't that illogical?

I bet you try to save them by telling them its all delusion.
 
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