Why Are Atheists So Stubborn?

[eagle_eye222001]

[quote name='fidei defensor' post='1919270' date='Jul 13 2009, 11:38 PM']Most people don't think that far ahead, especially if they are worried about the here and now of today.[/quote]

Yes. It is easy to get caught up in the immediate "now" of life. However when one reflects on the awe of life and humanity, one realizes that there is so much more than just the daily schedule of work and play

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[tinytherese]

As far as my non-theist friend goes, she has in fact asked questions regarding my faith on numerous occasions so I wouldn't say that she entirely went without seeking any truth. She wasn't at all offensive in what she asked or how she asked it. She seemed intrigued by my convictions. You see she hadn't been raised with any particular religion. Her parents seemed to go with the "believe whatever you believe, whatever" approach. Her mom seems somewhat hippie like and free spirity and she's from California which is known for being liberal where she probably was swimming in relativism all around her.

I think that she also just doesn't know where to begin when it comes to searching for truth. All of the different religions out there might be too overwhelming and intimidating for her.

[bonkers]

[quote name='Marie-Therese' post='1918758' date='Jul 13 2009, 12:33 PM']This is an interesting statement you made...however, I need to bring your attention to something.

"A"= without.
"Theist"= believer in the existence of a god.
The definition of an atheist is someone who believes GOD DOES NOT EXIST, not someone who thinks all current acknowledged gods are dumb. You have, here, very clearly given defense to Lillabett's #2, the intellectual atheist. I know, because I was that person once. My main argument against God was that I thought Christians were stupid. I do not attempt to state that this is your position (i.e. the Christians are stupid thing), merely stating that you have drawn a clear connection between the intellectualized position and your personal "atheist" position, which is, in fact, not really atheist by definition.[/quote]

You need to get your facts right. An atheist is someone who has absence of belief in god. In fact, there are two kinds of atheists, strong atheist, who deny the existence of gods (god does not exist, there is NO god) and weak atheists (lack belief in god, but possibility of one existing). Most intellectual atheists fall into the latter category of atheism (i.e. Dawkins), and admit the possibility that a god or gods or supreme being may exist, but so far lacks evidence to make a convincing argument and advancements in science, cosmology etc are giving us a greater, more accurate perspective of the universe and its origins which do not include an omnipotent being. I suppose technically I would be a agnostic atheist, but I lean more towards atheism because I think it CAN be known one day whether a god exists and also because I think the probability of a god existing is pretty small given the ludicrous claims made by all religions.

[quote]My main argument against God was that I thought Christians were stupid.[/quote]

Well that's a pretty stupid argument. Obviously some religious people are very intelligent, perhaps even more so than myself, but they use their intelligence in ways that rationalise even the most absurd concepts and make it seem plausible to them alone.

[quote]If your above statement was correct, then atheists would have to concede that there is the possibility of the existence of god if that god were not currently worshiped, did not claim factual superiority, and had evidence, reason and substance to prove its existence. As Lillabett noted, these people are called agnostics, not atheists.[/quote]

Yes, atheists admit the possibility of gods such as the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Spaghetti Jelly Monster, and no they are not agnostics.

[quote]This is very true...and yet across all cultures people with absolutely no similarities outside their own humanity defer to the acknowledgment of a Higher Power. Paraphrasing St. Paul, God is proven in the existence of the created world.[/quote]

Buddhists don't believe in a theistic higher power. I don't all cultures believing in a higher power is evidence of god. Before science there were things that seemed odd and disturbing and required a rational explanation, the most rational for that time being god or gods. Now we have evolved and we're smarter we know god doesn't do lightning strikes and cause earthquakes to punish his people, these are natual things and there are natural explanations for almost everything and the whole concept of supernatural phenomena is dying out.

[quote]Thank you. It is rare that a self-identified atheist makes this statement. I'm not being coy in my thanks, I'm being very serious. So many atheists base their arguments on this premise of intellectual honesty, so it is refreshing to see it exhibited. [/quote]

I'm not saying there aren't any, I'm just saying I don't have any. I'm comfortable in my atheism, and I don't care for the arguments for or against it. I think religion is evidence against itself.

[quote]I don't think atheism is absurd, as I was once one myself. I think it is misguided, but not absurd.[/quote]

With all respect, I don't think your ex atheism means anything. Atheists arent impervious to the power of religious experience, and some feel deeply saddened and miserbale by what they see as hopeless, empty and futile existence. My best guess is you had a need and felt Catholicsim best satisfied it. We are conditioned to fulfill needs more than find truth, knowing truth isn't required to be a functional and successful human being and sometimes needs can be better fulfilled by fantasies rather than the harsh reality.

[quote] This is a doozy. Um...you just gave an argument for the absurdity of Christian belief, then stated that "if true the truth is absurd," then stated that if atheism is absurd it might be the truth. Whew. Your qualifier here was that if the absurd Christian perspective WERE TRUE, then Truth is absurd. This would completely disqualify atheism as holding any truth, since the absurd (Christianity) was true.[/quote]

Yeah, the point being the truth might be absurd, whether its religion or atheism.

[quote]You're right about one thing. Christian belief is kind of out there, if you want to view it from the pseudointellectual position. Virgins and angels and demons, oh my! Yet, over thousands of years, highly educated and completely sane people believe it enough to spend their lives devoted to these ideas. Believing in nothing is easy. Believing in something, especially an improbable something...now, that's something. [/quote]

All kinds of highly educated and completely sane people have believed in things like ghosts and vampires and UFO's and all kinds of absurd things and dedicated their lives to these things. Being intelligent doesn't really give you an advantage if there isn't that hardcore willingness to accept the truth no matter how ugly or undesirable it might seem.

[Fidei Defensor]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' post='1919301' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:54 PM']Yes. It is easy to get caught up in the immediate "now" of life. However when one reflects on the awe of life and humanity, one realizes that there is so much more than just the daily schedule of work and play[/quote]
I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm just saying it can be very hard and I don't blame people for being "atheists" by "laziness."