Amber

but isn't it the atheists who have nothing to lose?

If we're right, then we're exactly where we started. If we're (very hypothetically) wrong, and the Abrahamic god is real and sends us to be tortured for eternity just because we didn't believe, even though we lived good lives, why would we have wanted to worship a vindictive god like that anyway?

And if it's not the Abrahamic god, all the better because other gods tend to care more about exactly how you lived your life and what good you did, not if you spent it stroking their ego.

I'm not saying anyone should believe or not believe based on wagers like this, but I'm curious to see any thoughts. And please, if you disagree, state reasons other than bible verses, To me, the bible is no more reliable than Harry Potter.

just to get the last word in?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the 10 points, but it's so annoying when you see that they gave you 1 star and their comments were like "well, you're wrong because blah blah blah, and this just proves I'm right!" If you have a problem with my answer, why not argue in a way that lets me argue back?

I'm always tempted to send them an email and tear them down. I never have, because I don't want to sink to that level, but it's just oh so tempting. Anyone else feel this way?

This was inspired by another question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvL9R...

Some of the Christian answers were saying how they didn't care how atheists interpreted their bible, and since we didn't believe in it we had no right to use it.

If you're going to go around preaching about your religion, you should practice what you preach. Why do some of you get so offended when we use the book that you say is the "truth" to call you out on your un-Christian-like behavior?

Just a couple examples which immediately come to mind are:

-Being intolerant of those who are different, even though your Jesus told you to love all people.

-Pride.

I'm not saying all Christians are like this, but for the ones who are, why so angry when we use your own book to point out your hypocrisy?

1) You cringe and think "geez, what NOW?"

2) You grin and look forward to some good fun?

3) Other?

Personally, I'm number 1 :D

...spiritually speaking, of course.....

So many people on this site are going on and on about how evolution and the big bang are "just theories." I just want to know how many of those people know what a theory actually is, not just the common usage of the word.

According to Princeton:

"Theory: a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena."

The title of theory is not given lightly. Gravity is just a theory. Plate tectonics is just a theory. Yet most people take those as fact, so how can there be an argument that evolution and the big bang are "just theories?"

people would stop assuming Richard Dawkins is our version of god, and The God Delusion is our bible?

I mean, it just seems like there are so many questions that say "well Dawkins said this so blah blah blah." It's like, yeah, Dawkins said it. And your point is....? Not all of us agree with everything he says.

Do theists honestly think we worship him?

A girl asked a question about believing in the Greek gods instead of the Christian one: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuDx7...

and one of the answers was: "A long time ago the greeks just made up this mythology to give their people something to believe in, to make the moral of people better." Other answers basically said the same thing.

Do some Christians really not see the similarity between this and their religion? People back then really believed they were right too, what makes Christianity so different?

I remember when it was just the Pastor, then his "wife" popped up and now it seems like they're just procreating like crazy :)

The only thing that ties us together is our disbelief in any god(s). There's no 'Church of Atheism' or 'Book of Atheism', so why are there so many people that seem to think we all have weekly meetings to decide exactly what we believe? And so many people seem so surprised when two atheists disagree and don't hate each other. Is it really that weird to accept differences of opinion?

And before a bunch of fundies scream: "Well then why are you in R&S if you're not a religion?!" It's a public forum for the sharing of opinions. There's no "you must be religious to be here" sign. If you think there is, get over yourself.

I mean, it seems obviously unconstitutional to me. It takes away the rights of a group of citizens, effectively making them "second-class," and it's based on religious reasoning, which clearly violates separation of church and state. Can anyone explain to me, in NON-RELIGIOUS terms, why gay marriage is "wrong," and how Prop 8 is not unconstitutional?

And btw, the whole "well it's just not natural" thing, is based on what your religion taught you, because there have been many homosexual acts observed between other animals, so don't even bother if that's your argument.

I agree with evolution and the big bang theory, and I know the evidence for each, but that doesn't mean I can tell you every single little detail about when/how life began exactly, because frankly we don't exactly know yet and we admit that. Just because I use logic and scientific evidence to determine that god doesn't exist doesn't mean I'm the next Einstein, yet a lot of theists seem to think it does.

A friend of mine in the military recently said that the reason we haven't "won" this war is that "the army is at war, but the country is not. If the country was at war, it would have been over a long time ago."

I never really thought about it like that, but it makes sense. I'm not saying I would go back and support the war, but it makes you think. What do you think?

Just because we don't believe in an afterlife doesn't mean we spend our whole lives thinking about how we're going to rot in the ground when we die. It just means that we live this life to the fullest because it's the only one we've got. Personally, I'm very happy, and most of my atheist friends are too.

But I've noticed a lot of theists, both in real life and on Y!A, apologize for what atheists are "missing." Are theists saying that their lives would be completely meaningless without god? That seems more depressing to me than anything else.

What other books have you actually read (outside of school) and liked?

Personally I'm not a fan of the series at all, so please don't go all Twilight-fan-girly on me in your answers.

I mean, you guys make up about 78% of Americans and 33% of the world population. Here in America you have politicians trying to inject god into the school system and federal law, going against separation of church and state. Just because someone doesn't agree with you or doesn't want your religion shoved down their throats doesn't mean you're being persecuted.

And I'm not saying all Christians have it, but a lot of them do. Especially the one's on Y!A, but also in the real world. I just don't get it.

So I'm not so much asking for "hw help" as brainstorming help. I'm supposed to pick a topic for a 3 minute speech that's relevant to today, but it's also supposed to be something that not a lot of people know about. In other words, nothing about the election, war, stuff like that. I've tried looking through the NY Times for a couple days, but can't seem find anything interesting and original. Any ideas? Thanks.

Seriously, what's the point? I mean, clearly you are so sure of your beliefs that nothing anyone says will change them, so why do you think other people will change based on what you say? Wouldn't it just be better to leave people alone to believe what they want? I mean, yeah sometimes it can be amusing, but most of the time it's just annoying.

And before I get a bunch of answers screaming how I'll "convert if I only knew about god!" let me just say now that most Atheists--myself included--have reached our position after thoroughly questioning Christianity and other religions, and know just as much, if not more, about religion than believers do.

I wouldn't, because my ink is an expression of myself and a very integral part of who I am. The person I'm with doesn't necessarily have to love my ink, just respect it. But I was talking to one of my friends (non-tattooed) who said that I was being shallow and closed-minded. So I just want to know if you guys would or wouldn't date someone who really didn't like your tattoos.

think that everyone else on the planet has to worship it too? I don't like it. I think the writing is poor, the plot is generic, and the characters are flat. But that's just me. If you want to read it, fine, doesn't make a difference to me. We all have different preferences, I just don't understand why a lot of you seem to care so much what I do and don't like and why some of you even send hate mail over it. Seriously, grow up.

Don't you realize that no part of you looks good when you're older, tattooed or not?