HelenM

And I thought I had covered my tracks so well!

galiel

I suspect Colonel Mustard with the Candlestick in the Library!

ELECTROGOD

Nice persecution complex GeoTheo. Maybe if theists could give us one lousy shread of real evidence regarding their claims over the past couple millenia they wouldn't feel put upon by non-belivers...always after they present some cock & bull story with the expectation that you will buy it.
Hey, if no one has told you yet, that ain't how you sell a product...unless you are looking to rip-off suckers who don't know any better.

Daggah

I think Helen is a perfect example of what I'm about to say:

It's simple. Christians who treat atheists with respect get treated with respect in return.

You know why this is so? It's true for a much simpler reason:

People who treat people with respect get treated with respect in return.

Gurdur

Wrong. It's meant to be a discussion forum - the FPF is where atheists let their hair down.
Last time I looked, part of the total SecWeb site prided itself on being an agora.

It'll be bugger all of an agora if a lot of the meaningless and rather puerile ranting that goes on here typifies SecWeb as a whole.

Naw.
According to a real humanist sense of ethics, some are more irrational than others.
According to basic empiricism, a lot of atheists are damned irrational too.
Objectivism or nihilism, anyone ?

GeoTheo,
since so far I can't see any real reply on this thread to you, I'll provide my own.

Why should Christians like atheists ?

Because atheists have improved Christianity over the years.
The secular responses to Christianity, and to intra-Christian fraternal warfare (see Spinoza, the Simultankirchen, other responses to the Thirty Years' War), have led to strengthening of religious humanist strands within Christianity, and on the whole made it a much nicer thing than it used to be .... for Christians as well as non-Christians.

That's the long answer.

The short answer is:
I'll be buggered if I can see why Christians should like atheists, since a lot of them are jumped-up wankers, but then you can say that about a fair few Christians (especially the born-again crowd) as well.

agapeo

Having read most of the posts within this topic I returned to this opening statement . . .
and thought -- Why should anyone like anyone that is haughty? I can't think of a good reason to like them (and by them I make no distinction, for Christians can be just as "haughty" as any other person of any belief or non-belief). I think the best that one can do with "haughty" people is at the very least try to understand what makes them haughty and as much as possible tolerate their haughtiness. And if that is intolerable for one to do, then walk away. But how does one do that on a "public" discussion board when those we find offensive are in our face? Ignoring them might help.
In any case GeoTheo, I wonder if your question should not be phrased "Why should Christians like atheists that (instead of when you)are so haughty?" And then ask yourself: "Why should atheists like Christians that are so haughty?"

Goliath

agapeo,

Excellent question! This single question perfectly sums up most of my thoughts on the OP.

Sincerely,

Goliath

atheist_in_foxhole

Why should Christians like atheists? I don't think we're asking for you to like us, but I think you should show us some respect. After all, we atheists were around long before your ridiculous "religion" was invented, and we'll be around long after it has collapsed into dust like so many other "true" faiths and superstitions.

As for being liked, I could really care less about what someone who believes in nonsense like "hell" or "satan" or the "virgin birth" thinks about me.

[ November 09, 2002: Message edited by: atheist_in_foxhole ]</p>

Starboy

agapeo:

I guess you are using the Christian definition of haughty: anyone who disagrees with and disdains the Christian position. From this I can see that it is impossible for a Christian to be haughty, least of all you agapeo. If someone calls a Christian irrational and they have an argument to demonstrate their claim then I guess that means they are haughty. And a Christian who cannot recognize the merit of the argument and who can at best refute it with insults and disdain is full of grace. I now see that the Christians that frequent these boards are fine examples of Christianity.

Agapeo, consider the possibility that atheists think poorly of Christianity because they have good cause. This doesn't make them haughty, it makes them the victims of a program of suppression that has been going on for the last 1,700 years. When Christians learn how to live and let live then you may have cause to feel that our disdain is unwarranted. In the meantime, if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

Starboy

&lt;&lt;edited to correct spelling errors&gt;&gt;

[ November 09, 2002: Message edited by: Starboy ]</p>

HelenM

I'm mystified. Here's one part of agapeo's post:

Why didn't you read it before you guessed? Quite clearly, you guessed wrong...

take care
Helen