What is your general impression of Atheists? have you ever known any? are you one yourself?

[Still-alive]

Most i have known were cool people

Most i have known were not cool people

I only know of them and never met any but think they are just like any other group of people, there's good and bad ones

I never personally met or known any but they seem like people i wouldn't like

I am one myself

Updates

+1 y

im glad most here are not judgmental. thankfully there's very few of those on here... or they just haven't answered this question...

Anyways as long as religious people don't attempt to convert us or something atheists are just like anyone else really.

[purplepoppy]

I'm an atheist but I do have a passing interest in religion from a historical view point. I don't believe because I've never seen anything remotely plausible and I don't follow the logic if I can't explain something then it must be god.

But I understand religion gives people comfort and I'm not going to take that away from them.
The question to ask is if you meet a religious person who's just lost a family member could you look them in the eyes and tell them it's all bollocks.

[DrPepper12]

Yes.

[Simslover92]

I voted for the wrong one. I never met one but I'm sure I would find them okay people. Their people just like us Christians.

[bnonymous]

I treat the subject of a deity just as I would any other hypothesis: it needs to be supported the same way as any other scientific hypothesis. Simply "the world exists in all its amazing glory and complexity, so it must have been created by something" isn't sufficient; for one, we haven't found anything that outright cannot be explained by more mundane mechanisms (even if they aren't all yet currently explained), and if one hypothesizes an all-powerful creator, one needs a mechanism for how that came into existence, and finally none of that would be evidence for a particular creator.

If others see it otherwise, that's fine. Where I draw the line is when people try to impose their religious beliefs on others who don't wish to participate. For example, a military officer who "invites" subordinates to a religious-themed event, or organized prayer in public schools, are examples of coercive situations even if they don't technically have the legal force of a mandate. An individual who chooses to pray unobtrusively in such situations is not a coercive situation.

[avery58]

As an agnostic person (I don't consider myself atheist, I believe there probably is a God but I don't follow a religious institution), I think they often complain about people pushing their religions onto others but many of them try to force their belief onto religious people, and think they know everything

[ManOnFire]

I've known atheists here and there, yeah. Especially co-workers. Some of them are cool but I do notice others tend to have a kind of vibe that isn't good. I respect their decision and let them have it. It's not my place to tell them what to do.

[electromagnetic]

The way I see you, you gotta believe in something. Doesn’t have to be something. SOMETHING! Big bang, evolution, aliens, science… as long as it’s something.

[Still-alive]

i believe in life. the one we are living now, and living as best as we can with as little suffering to get from A to B as possible.

[slatyb]

No, you don't. I accept the truth of some scientific theories because they match the experimental evidence. I didn't accept propositions unsupported by evidence.

[electromagnetic]

@slatyb either way, you still believe in something.. scientific theories is something.

[slatyb]

Not the same as a belief unsupported by evidence. I accept scientific theories as true because they work -- they make testable predictions that come true. Religious claims are untestable.

[DrPepper12]

Humanism. Stoicism and the Flying Spaghetti monster!!

[electromagnetic]

@DrPepper12 it’s something. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[Caroline91]

Can’t pick any of the choices bc I used to be atheist but am not now. So, yes I have known one quite intimately but no longer know her.

[Still-alive]

and how was she as a person?

[Caroline91]

Well, since she was me…

[Caroline91]

@Still-alive what are your thoughts?

[Still-alive]

Well i am one and hope the perception about us isn’t bad

[Caroline91]

I don't think individuals should be put in a box and labeled good or bad based on who else is in the box. I think there are a lot of angry, rude and discounting atheists out there based on what I am seeing on social media but I also think there are a lot of thoughtful, polite people who identify as atheists. Some of the most hypocritical, rude and aggressively obnoxious people I have ever come across profess to follow one religion or the other. If they aren't at least trying to live the precepts of their religion or if they will not leave off trying to convert me from my own faith, I will 100% disengage. My faith extols me to eliminate all prejudices, to promote the unity of mankind and to accept that there is only one race -- the human race, to perform acts of service to mankind and that those acts are equivalent to prayer, that men and women are equal and must work together like the two wings of the bird in order for the bird to soar. Further, members of my faith are enjoined to consort with all the people of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindness and good-will. It is a tall order and I often miss the mark, but to live by these precepts is my goal, at least. I am so glad you are @Still-alive.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

My cousin is an atheist and I don't talk or say much, it's her decision in life. But she is battling mental illnesses, and it appears she has Munchhausen Syndrome By Proxy. On my end, I just wish someone can save the child from her mother's behavior, she got her daughter listed with all these physical and other illnesses.

[Belgie]

They aren't all of a type. They just have that one thing universally in common. It's a mistake to try to generalise based on their lack of something.

[XHopelessRomanticX]

I don’t have a problem with atheists in general, but it’s when they start making fun of my beliefs and my God, calling the Bible a “fairytale” that I start to have a problem.

[DrPepper12]

I'm JUST curious. What if someone said where is your proof? Not insultingly but as part of a respectful dialogue.

[XHopelessRomanticX]

The first place I would probably start would be the Gospels of Jesus, as that is the ultimate foundation of my faith. Who is Jesus? What did He do and why? Did the resurrection of Jesus actually happen and how do we know it happened? What are the Gospels, and are they reliable?

[DrPepper12]

Ok. But the Bible was made by men by committee. The metaphors and parables are great but it doesn't prove anything.

[XHopelessRomanticX]

Then we need to address the following questions: What is the Bible? What are its components? And if it is made up, how did it spread and why do people go to such lengths to defend it, even to the point of being killed?
Here is what I believe: The Bible was recorded by man, but the content didn’t originate with man. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” This verse tells us that the holy writings arrived from God. We call the Bible “God’s Word” because they are the words God wanted man to write down.

[XHopelessRomanticX]

The Bible is a truly an amazing book written by at least 40 different authors over the span of (give or take) 1,500 years! One think I love is just how many fields of study it encompasses: theology, history, philosophy, archaeology, law, mathematics, poetry, community relations and more!

[DrPepper12]

I agree. Ad a work of human significance as well as literature, sometimes morality, parables and insights into human nature it is unsurpassed ( although I've read the Korean too and it IS pure poetry). I just take it metaphorically not literally.

[Summeroflove]

It just depends. Some hate Christian’s and do everything they accuse Christian’s of. They’re judgmental, they laugh at Christian’s being easily offended then get offended at the drop of a hat, they think they’re better then people, the list goes on.

[petitedollbabee]

I’ve met more atheists than religious people, and they’re a lot easier to get along with.. likely because I’m not super religious myself.

[John_And_Elijah]

I actually agree with you and I'm very much Christian. Religious people are indoctrinated. They don't rely on the word of God as much as they believe and slam everybody over the littlest things.

[John_And_Elijah]

Christmas is a pagan holiday for example. I've had so-called "Christians" personally attacking me for exchanging gifts with my family on the holiday. Even though nowhere in the bible does Christ forbid joy.

[DrPepper12]

@John_And_Elijah I'm athiest And I think religions have given us amazing rituals, architecture, literature and art. I'm told I'm not a real athiest bc I admire and study it.

[menina]

I've never met an atheist, but I don't have a bad impression of them. As an agnostic I feel that I would get along better with an atheist versus someone who's religious.

[Wiredone]

I don't care about a person's religion. I care about their personality. If they are nice to me, I'll be nice to them.

[Still-alive]

Or in this case a person’s lack of religion

[Wiredone]

Either or. It doesn't matter. If they respect me, I'll respect them

[4ngelic]

i'm one, and would say most people i've known were either atheists, agnostics or barely religious

[GOLDFISH_smile]

Lol notice which option has zero votes. Hmm...

[WhitneySnow]

I don’t agree with them but I don’t have anything against them either.

[llorando]

As a Christian, I'm neutral when it comes to Atheists and other religions, not up to me to judge what other choose or not to choose believe.

[yulbsari]

Some of the most vicious, cruel and vile individuals that I know are members of some organized religious group.

[DrPepper12]

It's the ONLY logical conclusion and hasn't religion done enough damage?

[Caroline91]

I don't think it's religion that has done the damage... It's what people do with religion that does the damage. A person's religion should never be an excuse for hatred or brutality. In fact, exactly this opposite.

[Awesomesauce2005]

I am am atheist and I respect all religions. I have not experienced divinity therfore I do not believe in it. Same goes for love.

[John_And_Elijah]

They're idiots, but I do tend to get along with them better than religious people.

[katiesmuff]

Any that I have known seemed ok to me.

[Twalli]

I used to be one.

[DrPepper12]

What changed?

[Twalli]

@DrPepper12 prayed once and it was answered. Granted I prayed to multiple different gods though. The transaction was, they do that, I'll believe that they exist.

[DrPepper12]

👍🏻💯👊🏻

[jjj101010]

I am one