Freethought & Rationalism Archive

never been there · 12-30-2002, 09:34 AM

People just assume that I'm atheist. I honestly wish I could tell you why.

What does seem to work, besides being an engineer, is being very, very Politically Correct about Christianity the same way one is about other religions.

"Would you like a minute to say grace? Honestly, I don't mind."

Strawberry · 01-03-2003, 10:54 PM

I can be pretty vocal about my non-theism. Part of it is, I think, that it's relatively new to me. Equate it to being a born-again xtian, if you will. I discover a world view that is actually compatible with the tenets I already hold and I want the whole world to know about it.

I'm not stupid, of course. When I tell someone my dad is a minister and he/she looks at me with a huge, gaping smile and quarter-sized eyes and gushes, "Come to Kampus Krusade for Khrist this Tuesday, you'll love it!", I know the "No, I'm kind of a stereotypical, rebellious minister's daughter, so I'm taking a break from going to church for a while" line is about as far as I should take the conversation.

But I feel like my non-theism is a huge part of who I am (mostly because theism is a huge part of the world I grew up in), and so people don't really know me until they know I'm an atheist. Also, starting the "Gawd, I really hate those cross necklaces..." discussion can be a relatively quick way to sort out the people who hold the same views I do from the people who hold views I consider repulsive.

And then, of course, I find the odd xtian who has never heard that the Bible contains contradictions and is fascinated to hear what I have to say. That really makes my day. (Not as much as, say, finding out that the sexy guitarist guy who's been flirting with me in music history lecture is also an atheist, mind you, but it makes my day nonetheless.)

openeyes · 01-04-2003, 07:33 AM

The other day at work we were discussing the unfortunate death of a former fellow-worker's father in a car accident that killed 3 kids from the same family. One woman remarked, "I don't see how God could allow such a thing to happen." I said, rather softly I'll admit, that there was no god directing things, that it was just us to deal with the world. The assistant manager, a twenty-something male, looked at me rather curiously--not sure what he thought. I'm not sure if the woman making the remark heard me, but we often share a good laugh about a variety of things, so I'm sure we'd still get along no matter what she heard or thinks. I was glad I found myself saying something anyway. Probably would have kept quiet have a few years ago.

Dark Jedi · 01-04-2003, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Melusina

Quote:

Originally posted by Dark Jedi:
<strong>

My response to this common gem (or variants thereof):

"If I profess no belief in your superhero, why would I fear your supervillian?"

</strong>

Sweet! Can I steal that?

Sure thing!

elanah · 01-04-2003, 08:17 PM

Like many others, I don't normally go out of my way to let people know about my iews, but I will state them if the topic comes up. However, I've been known to start discussions from time to time, especially about separation of church and state.

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12-30-2002, 09:34 AM	#71
never been there Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 2,144	People just assume that I'm atheist. I honestly wish I could tell you why. What does seem to work, besides being an engineer, is being very, very Politically Correct about Christianity the same way one is about other religions. "Would you like a minute to say grace? Honestly, I don't mind."

01-03-2003, 10:54 PM	#72
Strawberry Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, PA/Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 627	I can be pretty vocal about my non-theism. Part of it is, I think, that it's relatively new to me. Equate it to being a born-again xtian, if you will. I discover a world view that is actually compatible with the tenets I already hold and I want the whole world to know about it. I'm not stupid, of course. When I tell someone my dad is a minister and he/she looks at me with a huge, gaping smile and quarter-sized eyes and gushes, "Come to Kampus Krusade for Khrist this Tuesday, you'll love it!", I know the "No, I'm kind of a stereotypical, rebellious minister's daughter, so I'm taking a break from going to church for a while" line is about as far as I should take the conversation. But I feel like my non-theism is a huge part of who I am (mostly because theism is a huge part of the world I grew up in), and so people don't really know me until they know I'm an atheist. Also, starting the "Gawd, I really hate those cross necklaces..." discussion can be a relatively quick way to sort out the people who hold the same views I do from the people who hold views I consider repulsive. And then, of course, I find the odd xtian who has never heard that the Bible contains contradictions and is fascinated to hear what I have to say. That really makes my day. (Not as much as, say, finding out that the sexy guitarist guy who's been flirting with me in music history lecture is also an atheist, mind you, but it makes my day nonetheless.)

01-04-2003, 07:33 AM	#73
openeyes Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Minnesota Posts: 4,215	The other day at work we were discussing the unfortunate death of a former fellow-worker's father in a car accident that killed 3 kids from the same family. One woman remarked, "I don't see how God could allow such a thing to happen." I said, rather softly I'll admit, that there was no god directing things, that it was just us to deal with the world. The assistant manager, a twenty-something male, looked at me rather curiously--not sure what he thought. I'm not sure if the woman making the remark heard me, but we often share a good laugh about a variety of things, so I'm sure we'd still get along no matter what she heard or thinks. I was glad I found myself saying something anyway. Probably would have kept quiet have a few years ago.

01-04-2003, 08:17 PM	#75
elanah Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Waukesha, WI Posts: 309	Like many others, I don't normally go out of my way to let people know about my iews, but I will state them if the topic comes up. However, I've been known to start discussions from time to time, especially about separation of church and state.

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