Why Don't Atheists Contribute To Society?

[MizMolly]

Wow, so-called Christians judging others. I am not an atheist, but there were a lot of people helping during Katrina, I doubt y'all asked all the helpers what religious affiliation they belonged to. I do know atheist who help the elderly and children in need. Shame on those of you for thinking you have to be religious to have a kind heart.

 

[koshergrl]

It's only stupid when framed by your mind, boob.

Stupid people can't conceive of the big concepts, and think they prove their own intelligence by insisting that if they can't understand it, everybody else who DOES understand it are big dum-dums.

Free your mind and accept salvation. Or reject it, and enjoy your time in hell.

I reject you, your god and the concept of hell.

I know you do. And what's sad...it makes no difference to me. You're the one who will suffer.

No I won't. While you sit there and worry about god(s)

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” – Carl Sagan

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark Twain

Also:

When I became convinced that the universe was natural, that all the ghosts and gods were myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space.

I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the inspired books that savages have produced, and the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.

There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, no following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.

My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heros, the thinkers who gave their lives for liberty of hand and brain, for the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell on the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, to those by fire consumed, to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still.

-Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I never worry about God. Ever.

 

[koshergrl]

Wow, so-called Christians judging others. I am not an atheist, but there were a lot of people helping during Katrina, I doubt y'all asked all the helpers what religious affiliation they belonged to. I do know atheist who help the elderly and children in need. Shame on those of you for thinking you have to be religious to have a kind heart.

Nobody said you have to be religious to be kind, though typically, that is true...

What was said was that Christians, as individuals and groups, do more than any other group of people in the world to help others.

How many atheists are on the ground in, say, China...or India...Somalia....helping the Christians being persecuted, tortured, and killed? At risk of their lives?

Prate some more about how kind and loving atheists are. There are atheists posting on this board, in this thread, who have stated repeatedly that they can't wait till all the Christians are dead.

 

[sealybobo]

It's only stupid when framed by your mind, boob.

Stupid people can't conceive of the big concepts, and think they prove their own intelligence by insisting that if they can't understand it, everybody else who DOES understand it are big dum-dums.

Free your mind and accept salvation. Or reject it, and enjoy your time in hell.

I reject you, your god and the concept of hell.

I know you do. And what's sad...it makes no difference to me. You're the one who will suffer.

No I won't. While you sit there and worry about god(s)

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” – Carl Sagan

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark Twain

Also:

When I became convinced that the universe was natural, that all the ghosts and gods were myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space.

I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the inspired books that savages have produced, and the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.

There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, no following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.

My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heros, the thinkers who gave their lives for liberty of hand and brain, for the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell on the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, to those by fire consumed, to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still.

-Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I never worry about God. Ever.

No, you worry about dying and the afterlife. For yourself, your love ones. You fear or wonder what happens after you die and just like every other human you hope the stories are true and you get to live forever after you die. It is a very nice thought.

The part about going to hell? That's just one particular church's way of trying to recruit people.

I love all the different church's angles on why you should join them. The Mormon story of why they are the one and only real church. The Jehova & Born Agains angles. Catholics say they've been the one true church all along. Each having their own unique angle on why they are the one true church. Muslims and Jews too of course.

So what are you? Were you born into it or were you converted? What if you were born in Saudi Arabia? Do you deny you would be a Muslim right now?

 

[koshergrl]

It's only stupid when framed by your mind, boob.

Stupid people can't conceive of the big concepts, and think they prove their own intelligence by insisting that if they can't understand it, everybody else who DOES understand it are big dum-dums.

Free your mind and accept salvation. Or reject it, and enjoy your time in hell.

I reject you, your god and the concept of hell.

I know you do. And what's sad...it makes no difference to me. You're the one who will suffer.

No I won't. While you sit there and worry about god(s)

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” – Carl Sagan

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark Twain

Also:

When I became convinced that the universe was natural, that all the ghosts and gods were myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space.

I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the inspired books that savages have produced, and the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.

There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, no following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.

My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heros, the thinkers who gave their lives for liberty of hand and brain, for the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell on the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, to those by fire consumed, to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still.

-Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I never worry about God. Ever.

No, you worry about dying and the afterlife. For yourself, your love ones. You fear or wonder what happens after you die and just like every other human you hope the stories are true and you get to live forever after you die. It is a very nice thought.

The part about going to hell? That's just one particular church's way of trying to recruit people.

I love all the different church's angles on why you should join them. The Mormon story of why they are the one and only real church. The Jehova & Born Agains angles. Catholics say they've been the one true church all along. Each having their own unique angle on why they are the one true church. Muslims and Jews too of course.

So what are you? Were you born into it or were you converted? What if you were born in Saudi Arabia? Do you deny you would be a Muslim right now?

Er..no, I don't fear what happens after I die.

I know what will happen to me when I die, and I want that wonderful feeling and I want that eternal life for everybody. The way that people want all the children of the world to live in comfort and abuse-free.

No, hell isn't about recruiting. Your conspiracy theory grows tedious. Christ and the disciples didn't gain anything at all (except excruciating deaths) by *recruiting*. They, and today's Christians, recruit because they want what is best for people. Salvation is what's best for people. I don't think there's a person on this site who doubts that you live a sad, limited and angry life, bobo. We would like you to be happier, and live forever. There's nothing wrong with that.

I have told you many times...I was raised by atheists. We didn't attend church. I was convicted, though, at a very young age...and it came about solely because I read the bible. It had nothing to do with any church. I was baptised at 22, because it took me that long to figure out what to do with myself, living as I did in a family (and extended family) of confirmed and adamant atheists who eschewed the very concept of church and God.

If I had been born in Saudi Arabia, I would still be a Christian.

 

[sealybobo]

I reject you, your god and the concept of hell.

I know you do. And what's sad...it makes no difference to me. You're the one who will suffer.

No I won't. While you sit there and worry about god(s)

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” – Carl Sagan

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark Twain

Also:

When I became convinced that the universe was natural, that all the ghosts and gods were myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space.

I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the inspired books that savages have produced, and the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.

There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, no following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.

My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heros, the thinkers who gave their lives for liberty of hand and brain, for the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell on the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, to those by fire consumed, to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still.

-Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I never worry about God. Ever.

No, you worry about dying and the afterlife. For yourself, your love ones. You fear or wonder what happens after you die and just like every other human you hope the stories are true and you get to live forever after you die. It is a very nice thought.

The part about going to hell? That's just one particular church's way of trying to recruit people.

I love all the different church's angles on why you should join them. The Mormon story of why they are the one and only real church. The Jehova & Born Agains angles. Catholics say they've been the one true church all along. Each having their own unique angle on why they are the one true church. Muslims and Jews too of course.

So what are you? Were you born into it or were you converted? What if you were born in Saudi Arabia? Do you deny you would be a Muslim right now?

Er..no, I don't fear what happens after I die.

I know what will happen to me when I die, and I want that wonderful feeling and I want that eternal life for everybody. The way that people want all the children of the world to live in comfort and abuse-free.

No, hell isn't about recruiting. Your conspiracy theory grows tedious. Christ and the disciples didn't gain anything at all (except excruciating deaths) by *recruiting*. They, and today's Christians, recruit because they want what is best for people. Salvation is what's best for people. I don't think there's a person on this site who doubts that you live a sad, limited and angry life, bobo. We would like you to be happier, and live forever. There's nothing wrong with that.

I have told you many times...I was raised by atheists. We didn't attend church. I was convicted, though, at a very young age...and it came about solely because I read the bible. It had nothing to do with any church. I was baptised at 22, because it took me that long to figure out what to do with myself, living as I did in a family (and extended family) of confirmed and adamant atheists who eschewed the very concept of church and God.

If I had been born in Saudi Arabia, I would still be a Christian.

You think you know what happens. You don't. That's why people cry when their love ones die. They aren't happy grammas with jesus.

Christ and his desciples didn't write what the bible says. Men 80 plus years did and then the church got hold of it. God knows what's real true. None of it sounds real to me.

They want what they think is best for people. If you'd/they'd been born in Saudi Arabia you'd be a brainwashed Muslim.

See how you have to resort to saying "everyone agrees" you live a sad angry life. You mean everyone who thinks like you? Well I'm here to cure the dumb just like you are here honestly believing you are saving souls. I truly believe you and your ilk are dumb.

I just found out my aunts been calling into those religious shows who promise a miracle if you pay $77 a month x 10 months, or $35 a month for 10 months. I feel sorry for her. She's so desperate.

That's you theists problem. You don't realize I'm not arguing from anger. I'm frustrated at your stupidity. And then you try to use guilt or emotion to argue your point. You feel sorry for me or you think I'm angry? Sorry if it comes across that way. My atheist preacher who converted me had to call me dumb to wake me up too. It was a verbal smack in the face. I understand how you take insult. But I'm trying to do you and society a favor. Just because you like the delusion you are in, doesn't mean is should be passed on to anyone other than your kids. And just as hard as you guys try to convert, so will I. Why am I angry because I don't like people getting conned? Religions are the oldest lie. They say prostitution is the oldest profession? Bull. It's preachers. They've been bamboozling man since societies first began.

Are you angry about the greek gods not being real?

Are you angry denying the Muslim or Mormon stories?

I'm just more vocal than you and I include your religion in the list.

We're both atheists. You just believe in one more god than me.

22 is exactly the age religion prays on if you were not raised in a religious home and you are looking for religion. I have many cousins that were raised Greek Orthodox who heard the Born Again schtick and they were sold. I am not. For awhile I considered myself Greek Orthodox. Then I realized all religions were garbage including my own. That's the only diff between us. You, like everyone else, believes your church is the one true church.

No you would not be a christian in Saudi Arabia. You would have been a Muslim. So would your parents have been. Its not that convincing of a story unless you are gullible.

So what sect of Christian are you? presby, baptist, non denom, lutheran, apiscopalian, born again, etc?>

 

[Derideo_Te]

I am an atheist and during a full career in the military, I regularly donated to the Combined Federal Campaign by choice. That was 23 years of donating. I did my part. The initial poster of this topic is an idiot.

Most Americans donate to charitable organizations. The OP is about what atheists personally do to help.

Do you want to know what I personally do to help others?

I volunteer as a CERT member and we provided aid to Hurricane Katrina.
I volunteer at my local library and we provided aid following Hurricane Sandy.
I volunteer in soup kitchens and food banks and building homes for Habitat for Humanity.
I am a fully trained and qualified Red Cross Shelter operator.
And yes, I donate online to people who are suffering from disasters overseas like Fukashima.

Atheists, like myself, are good caring people who do what is right for those less fortunate than ourselves. We don't do it because some holy book tells us to do it. We do it because that it is the right thing to do. We don't need to be thanked, we don't need to be acknowledged, we don't do it in order to "earn a place in heaven".

We do it because we see that others need our help and we do it willingly and gladly out of the goodness of our hearts.

 

[Derideo_Te]

......................................................................................

Surely you are aware of missionaries?

Okay, up until now your holier-than-thou thread has added a bit of humor to my Sat. morn. But now you're talking some serious shit. I could give you hundreds of pages relating the horrors and destruction bestowed on indigenous populations by do-gooder "Christian" missionaries. Let's start with one.

The South Pacific

"We start our catalog of the brutality of Christian missionaries in the island of Tahiti. In 1797, thirty years after the discovery of Tahiti by Wallis, the first missionaries landed on the island. The missionaries, sent by the London Missionary Society, tried for seven years to convert the natives but were unable to make any headway.
It was then that they discovered, as if by miracle, the proper method of converting the Tahitians. They discovered that the local chief, Pomare, liked alcohol (distilled by the missionaries) - so much that he became an alcoholic. Addicted to the distilled spirit (perhaps the holy spirit), Pomare agreed to back the missionaries in their work of conversion. Pomare, supplied with western firearms, easily subdued his native opponents. Upon his victory over his rivals, the whole island was forcibly converted in one day.

Then the process of inculcating "Christian virtues" began. Persistent unbelievers, those who refused to be converted, were executed. Singing was banned (except for hymns) and all forms of adornment, flowers or tattoo were disallowed. Of course, surfing and dancing were not permitted as well. The punishment for breaking any of these rules included, among others, being sentenced to hard labour.

Within thirty years of missionary control, the population of Tahiti fell from an inital estimate of 20,000 to 6,000.

From Tahiti, the missionaries moved on to the neighbouring islands. They employed the same tactic that had served them so well in Tahiti: they would introduce the local chief to alcohol, made him and alcholic, convert him to Christianity and then leave it to the chief to convert the locals. After converting the majority the minority that refused to convert were persecuted and sometimes executed. On the island of Raratonga, men were conscripted into the missionary police to help eliminate the remaining idolators. On another island, Raiatea, a man who was able to forecast the weather by studying the behaviour of fish was executed for witchcraft.

This was how the South Pacific was Christianized".

I have never agreed with proselytizing. Christian principals should be able to stand on their own merit. There is no need to cram it down the throats of nonbelievers. So much of the worlds problems are result of trying force one's religion on others. If Christians believed as Buddhist, that there are many paths up the mountain and each person should find their own path, the world would be a lot better place to live in.

I agree but I must point out that as it appears to me, most of the complaining and sheer hatred exhibited is from the atheists crowd.

Ironic given that the OP started this thread by complaining about atheists.

 

[Carla_Danger]

Wow, so-called Christians judging others. I am not an atheist, but there were a lot of people helping during Katrina, I doubt y'all asked all the helpers what religious affiliation they belonged to. I do know atheist who help the elderly and children in need. Shame on those of you for thinking you have to be religious to have a kind heart.

And thank you for saying that!

 

[Derideo_Te]

Actually it was Jesus: Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." Matthew 22

Go back and read it and try to understand the conversation and with whom Christ was having the conversation. He gave no such instruction to the Church at large. He was having a conversation with a man who had expressed a desire to become one of the disciples, but please don't allow your own lack of knowledge to get in your way.

Are you a follower of Christ or not? If you are, it is you who those words are for. Don't confuse my lack of faith with a lack of knowledge. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you realize there was no Christian religion in Jesus' lifetime, let alone a Church. (Jesus lived and died a Jew. If there was a Christian Church Jesus probably would not have been a member.)

I have to admire how you hide behind the "church" and don't take responsibility for your own actions but feel free to criticize the actions of others.

Well, you are absolutely wrong this time. You are simply trying to confuse terms. Christ was addressing a man who was petitioning him to let him become one of the disciples. That is the truth as anyone who understands what the conversation taking place was about. I am a Christian. I am not and was never one of Christ's apostles.

Here's another one for you. Where in the whole of the Bible does it instruct me as a member of the Church to go out and preach or try to save anyone at all? Please post the scripture if you think I am supposed to either preach to you or try to save your soul.

I guess you are right. He told his disciples to go spread the word. He didn't tell them to tell you to do it too technically. But I would guess Chistians want to do what Jesus asked so they spread the word.

Exactly. Christians are to set an example by living a life pleasing to God. They were never commanded to either preach or try to save anyone's soul. The Bible plainly states that it is God himself who does the calling - not man. God has a way of getting one's attention as He illustrated with Paul.

Seriously?

Your ignorance of your own religion is astounding.

 

[alang1216]

[QUOTE="koshergrl, post: 9810195, member: 31640]
Er..no, I don't fear what happens after I die.

I know what will happen to me when I die, and I want that wonderful feeling and I want that eternal life for everybody. The way that people want all the children of the world to live in comfort and abuse-free.[/QUOTE]

How do you know, you've never died and returned to tell the tale? You believe in God but there are so many religions that claim to speak for him how do you know Christianity is the correct one? How do you know which flavor of Christianity is the correct one?

You believe in Jesus but all the quotes we have from him wouldn't fill 2 pages in a book. In fact, the only words we know he may have actually spoken would not fill a paragraph (do you even know which words they are?). Every other bit of information has been handed down for generations, first orally and then by handwritten manuscript. NONE of manuscripts is in complete agreement with any other. Parts of the NT were added later. And every word was written down by men.

Yet, despite all that you are without any doubt?

 

[koshergrl]

This is the crux of the matter.

The fearful atheists resent the fact that Christians aren't fearful at all..so they must assign thoughts and fears to them, in order to justify their own terror.

Or something.

I am without any doubt whatever. If you would like to feel the same degree of surety, I encourage you to read the Gospel, and accept Christ as your savior.

 

[the_human_being]

I am an atheist and during a full career in the military, I regularly donated to the Combined Federal Campaign by choice. That was 23 years of donating. I did my part. The initial poster of this topic is an idiot.

Most Americans donate to charitable organizations. The OP is about what atheists personally do to help.

Do you want to know what I personally do to help others?

I volunteer as a CERT member and we provided aid to Hurricane Katrina.
I volunteer at my local library and we provided aid following Hurricane Sandy.
I volunteer in soup kitchens and food banks and building homes for Habitat for Humanity.
I am a fully trained and qualified Red Cross Shelter operator.
And yes, I donate online to people who are suffering from disasters overseas like Fukashima.

Atheists, like myself, are good caring people who do what is right for those less fortunate than ourselves. We don't do it because some holy book tells us to do it. We do it because that it is the right thing to do. We don't need to be thanked, we don't need to be acknowledged, we don't do it in order to "earn a place in heaven".

We do it because we see that others need our help and we do it willingly and gladly out of the goodness of our hearts.

No. Actually, I don't really want to know.

 

[alang1216]

This is the crux of the matter.

The fearful atheists resent the fact that Christians aren't fearful at all..so they must assign thoughts and fears to them, in order to justify their own terror.

Or something.

I am without any doubt whatever. If you would like to feel the same degree of surety, I encourage you to read the Gospel, and accept Christ as your savior.

I have absolutely no fear of death (dying on the other hand is pretty scary) so I certainly don't resent that you don't fear it either.

I don't resent people without doubt but I do fear them. They are capable of anything: flying planes into buildings for example. I'm sure those men had no doubts either.

 

[the_human_being]

[QUOTE="koshergrl, post: 9810195, member: 31640]
Er..no, I don't fear what happens after I die.

I know what will happen to me when I die, and I want that wonderful feeling and I want that eternal life for everybody. The way that people want all the children of the world to live in comfort and abuse-free.

How do you know, you've never died and returned to tell the tale? You believe in God but there are so many religions that claim to speak for him how do you know Christianity is the correct one? How do you know which flavor of Christianity is the correct one?

You believe in Jesus but all the quotes we have from him wouldn't fill 2 pages in a book. In fact, the only words we know he may have actually spoken would not fill a paragraph (do you even know which words they are?). Every other bit of information has been handed down for generations, first orally and then by handwritten manuscript. NONE of manuscripts is in complete agreement with any other. Parts of the NT were added later. And every word was written down by men.

Yet, despite all that you are without any doubt?[/QUOTE]

It's called FAITH. That is the word you seek.

 

[Derideo_Te]

I am an atheist and during a full career in the military, I regularly donated to the Combined Federal Campaign by choice. That was 23 years of donating. I did my part. The initial poster of this topic is an idiot.

Most Americans donate to charitable organizations.

Do you want to know what I personally do to help others?

I volunteer as a CERT member and we provided aid to Hurricane Katrina.
I volunteer at my local library and we provided aid following Hurricane Sandy.
I volunteer in soup kitchens and food banks and building homes for Habitat for Humanity.
I am a fully trained and qualified Red Cross Shelter operator.
And yes, I donate online to people who are suffering from disasters overseas like Fukashima.

Atheists, like myself, are good caring people who do what is right for those less fortunate than ourselves. We don't do it because some holy book tells us to do it. We do it because that it is the right thing to do. We don't need to be thanked, we don't need to be acknowledged, we don't do it in order to "earn a place in heaven".

We do it because we see that others need our help and we do it willingly and gladly out of the goodness of our hearts.

No. Actually, I don't really want to know.

"The OP is about what atheists personally do to help."

So you were lying when you wrote that?

Hardly surprising that you don't want to know that atheists are just nice normal caring giving people who help those less fortunate than themselves without ever needing to be preached at each and every Sunday.

 

[the_human_being]

I know you do. And what's sad...it makes no difference to me. You're the one who will suffer.

No I won't. While you sit there and worry about god(s)

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.” – Carl Sagan

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark Twain

Also:

When I became convinced that the universe was natural, that all the ghosts and gods were myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell. The dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles turned to dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world, not even in infinite space.

I was free to think. Free to express my thoughts, free to live in my own ideal. Free to live for myself and those I loved. Free to use all my faculties, all my senses. Free to spread imagination’s wings, free to investigate, to guess, and dream and hope. Free to judge and determine for myself. Free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the inspired books that savages have produced, and the barbarous legends of the past. Free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies. Free from the fear of eternal pain, free from the winged monsters of the night. Free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free.

There were no prohibited places in all of the realm of thought. No error, no space where fancy could not spread her painted wings. No chains for my limbs. No lashes for my back. No flames for my flesh. No Master’s frown or threat, no following in another’s steps. No need to bow or cringe or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free; I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.

My heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heros, the thinkers who gave their lives for liberty of hand and brain, for the freedom of labor and thought to those who fell on the fierce fields of war. To those who died in dungeons, bound in chains, to those by fire consumed, to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then, I vowed to grasp the torch that they held, and hold it high, That light might conquer darkness still.

-Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I never worry about God. Ever.

No, you worry about dying and the afterlife. For yourself, your love ones. You fear or wonder what happens after you die and just like every other human you hope the stories are true and you get to live forever after you die. It is a very nice thought.

The part about going to hell? That's just one particular church's way of trying to recruit people.

I love all the different church's angles on why you should join them. The Mormon story of why they are the one and only real church. The Jehova & Born Agains angles. Catholics say they've been the one true church all along. Each having their own unique angle on why they are the one true church. Muslims and Jews too of course.

So what are you? Were you born into it or were you converted? What if you were born in Saudi Arabia? Do you deny you would be a Muslim right now?

Er..no, I don't fear what happens after I die.

I know what will happen to me when I die, and I want that wonderful feeling and I want that eternal life for everybody. The way that people want all the children of the world to live in comfort and abuse-free.

No, hell isn't about recruiting. Your conspiracy theory grows tedious. Christ and the disciples didn't gain anything at all (except excruciating deaths) by *recruiting*. They, and today's Christians, recruit because they want what is best for people. Salvation is what's best for people. I don't think there's a person on this site who doubts that you live a sad, limited and angry life, bobo. We would like you to be happier, and live forever. There's nothing wrong with that.

I have told you many times...I was raised by atheists. We didn't attend church. I was convicted, though, at a very young age...and it came about solely because I read the bible. It had nothing to do with any church. I was baptised at 22, because it took me that long to figure out what to do with myself, living as I did in a family (and extended family) of confirmed and adamant atheists who eschewed the very concept of church and God.

If I had been born in Saudi Arabia, I would still be a Christian.

You think you know what happens. You don't. That's why people cry when their love ones die. They aren't happy grammas with jesus.

Christ and his desciples didn't write what the bible says. Men 80 plus years did and then the church got hold of it. God knows what's real true. None of it sounds real to me.

They want what they think is best for people. If you'd/they'd been born in Saudi Arabia you'd be a brainwashed Muslim.

See how you have to resort to saying "everyone agrees" you live a sad angry life. You mean everyone who thinks like you? Well I'm here to cure the dumb just like you are here honestly believing you are saving souls. I truly believe you and your ilk are dumb.

I just found out my aunts been calling into those religious shows who promise a miracle if you pay $77 a month x 10 months, or $35 a month for 10 months. I feel sorry for her. She's so desperate.

That's you theists problem. You don't realize I'm not arguing from anger. I'm frustrated at your stupidity. And then you try to use guilt or emotion to argue your point. You feel sorry for me or you think I'm angry? Sorry if it comes across that way. My atheist preacher who converted me had to call me dumb to wake me up too. It was a verbal smack in the face. I understand how you take insult. But I'm trying to do you and society a favor. Just because you like the delusion you are in, doesn't mean is should be passed on to anyone other than your kids. And just as hard as you guys try to convert, so will I. Why am I angry because I don't like people getting conned? Religions are the oldest lie. They say prostitution is the oldest profession? Bull. It's preachers. They've been bamboozling man since societies first began.

Are you angry about the greek gods not being real?

Are you angry denying the Muslim or Mormon stories?

I'm just more vocal than you and I include your religion in the list.

We're both atheists. You just believe in one more god than me.

22 is exactly the age religion prays on if you were not raised in a religious home and you are looking for religion. I have many cousins that were raised Greek Orthodox who heard the Born Again schtick and they were sold. I am not. For awhile I considered myself Greek Orthodox. Then I realized all religions were garbage including my own. That's the only diff between us. You, like everyone else, believes your church is the one true church.

No you would not be a christian in Saudi Arabia. You would have been a Muslim. So would your parents have been. Its not that convincing of a story unless you are gullible.

So what sect of Christian are you? presby, baptist, non denom, lutheran, apiscopalian, born again, etc?>

Question: If you don't believe in God or any god for that matter, why are you so hung up on it?

 

[the_human_being]

I am an atheist and during a full career in the military, I regularly donated to the Combined Federal Campaign by choice. That was 23 years of donating. I did my part. The initial poster of this topic is an idiot.

Most Americans donate to charitable organizations.

Do you want to know what I personally do to help others?

I volunteer as a CERT member and we provided aid to Hurricane Katrina.
I volunteer at my local library and we provided aid following Hurricane Sandy.
I volunteer in soup kitchens and food banks and building homes for Habitat for Humanity.
I am a fully trained and qualified Red Cross Shelter operator.
And yes, I donate online to people who are suffering from disasters overseas like Fukashima.

Atheists, like myself, are good caring people who do what is right for those less fortunate than ourselves. We don't do it because some holy book tells us to do it. We do it because that it is the right thing to do. We don't need to be thanked, we don't need to be acknowledged, we don't do it in order to "earn a place in heaven".

We do it because we see that others need our help and we do it willingly and gladly out of the goodness of our hearts.

No. Actually, I don't really want to know.

The OP is about what atheists personally do to help.[/QUOTE]

No, but as you should be able to determine on your own, the subject of the thread has dramatically changed.

So you were lying when you wrote that?

Hardly surprising that you don't want to know that atheists are just nice normal caring giving people who help those less fortunate than themselves without ever needing to be preached at each and every Sunday.

 

[sealybobo]

I am without any doubt whatever. If you would like to feel the same degree of surety, I encourage you to read the Gospel, and accept Christ as your savior.

Then you are dumb.

 

[Derideo_Te]

This is the crux of the matter.

The fearful atheists resent the fact that Christians aren't fearful at all..so they must assign thoughts and fears to them, in order to justify their own terror.

Or something.

I am without any doubt whatever. If you would like to feel the same degree of surety, I encourage you to read the Gospel, and accept Christ as your savior.

Trust KG to get that assbackwards.