[Debate] Are Atheists a Positive or a Negative Force?

[Stewie Griffin]

Spoiler

So is atheism good or bad?

 

[Zawar]

bad

 

[Olorin]

bad

why exactly?

there is absolutely nothing wrong with beeing an atheist

 

[Sonne]

why exactly?

there is absolutely nothing wrong with beeing an atheist

Don't bother, they hate us for being a Minority.

I love how Zawar just called Atheism bad without thinking about it, but If I do the same about Christianity, a ton of people will start bashing me.

 

[Exaar]

a was said in the video,

"Atheism is neither a positive nor negative force in america, atheists userally keep it to them selfs unlike most religious people"

100% true

Some/Most (not all) religious people are like believe in what i believe or go to hell

While Some/Most (not all) Atheists that i know are also like If you want to believe In a god fair enough but just hear us out,

Im not hating on peoples religions, but religion cause more problems/hate crimes than Atheists

I am not a religious person nor am i an Atheists, But i learn more towards the Atheist side because its more open minded about things

 

[ssDeadly]

religion has been been the cause of most wars through-out history.

if we all droped this idea of a god think how much we would grow as a species how much better developed technology and science would be.

 

[Olorin]

look at morgans last words

''You can not write a book basically telling a bunch of people around the world, billions of people, who believe in a god you are all wrong and by the way I dont have any explanation.''

thats what pisses me off, we never said you cant write books about god or religion, we never complain about anything but the fact that you ensist to make us believe, I dont give a sh?t about religion, sorry but I CAN say that, if you can say Ill burn in hell if im an atheist than I can say things too otherwise its not fair

and we DO HAVE explanations, SCIENCE backs us up with actual PROOFS unlike you

I have nothing against any belief but you have no right to have anything aginst us either or we will conterargue

 

[Morteus]

Interesting thread... lets giet it back up

so yeah Atheist's are often more peaceful and more succesful than religious people (no offense religious ppl)

 

[Olorin]

...

Several weeks ago, a ground-breaking study on religious belief and social well-being was published in the Journal of Religion & Society. Comparing 18 prosperous democracies from the U.S. to New Zealand, author Gregory S Paul quietly demolished the myth that faith strengthens society.

Drawing on a wide range of studies to cross-match faith – measured by belief in God and acceptance of evolution – with homicide and intimate behavior, Paul found that secular societies have lower rates of violence and teenage pregnancy than societies where many people profess belief in God.

Top of the class, in both atheism and good behavior, come the Japanese. Over eighty percent accept evolution and fewer than ten percent are certain that God exists. Despite its size – over a hundred million people – Japan is one of the least crime-prone countries in the world. It also has the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy of any developed nation.

(Teenage pregnancy has less tragic consequences than violence but it is usually unwanted, and it is frequently associated with deprivation among both mothers and children. In general, it is a Bad Thing.)

Next in line are the Norwegians, British, Germans and Dutch. At least sixty percent accept evolution as a fact and fewer than one in three are convinced that there is a deity. There is little teenage pregnancy , although the Brits, with over 40 pregnancies per 1,000 girls a year, do twice as badly as the others. Homicide rates are also low -- around 1-2 victims per 100,000 people a year.

At the other end of the scale comes America. Over 50 percent of Americans believe in God, and only 40 percent accept some form of evolution (many believe it had a helping hand from the Deity). The U.S. has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and homicide rates are at least five times greater than in Europe and ten times higher than in Japan.

All this information points to a strong correlation between faith and antisocial behavior -- a correlation so strong that there is good reason to suppose that religious belief does more harm than good.

At first glance that is a preposterous suggestion, given that religions preach non-violence and intimate restraint. However, close inspection reveals a different story. Faith tends to weaken rather than strengthen people’s ability to participate in society. That makes it less likely they will respect social customs and laws.

All believers learn that God holds them responsible for their actions. So far so good, but for many, belief absolves them of all other responsibilities. Consciously or subconsciously, those who are "born again" or "chosen" have diminished respect for others who do not share their sect or their faith. Convinced that only the Bible offers "truth", they lose their intellectual curiosity and their ability to reason. Their priority becomes not the world they live in but themselves.

The more people prioritize themselves rather than those around them, the weaker society becomes and the greater the likelihood of antisocial behavior. Hence gun laws which encourage Americans to see each other not as fellow human beings who deserve protection, but as potential aggressors who deserve to die. And hence a health care system which looks after the wealthy rather than the ill.

As for ***… Faith encourages ignorance rather than responsible behavior. In other countries, *** education includes contraception, reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancies. Such an approach recognizes that young people have the right to make their own choices and helps them make decisions that benefit society as a whole. In America faith-driven abstinence programs deny them that right -- "As a Christian I will only help you if you do what I say". The result is soaring rates of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Abstinence programs rest on the same weak intellectual foundation as creationism and intelligent design. Faith discourages unprejudiced analysis. Reasoning is subverted to rationalization that supports rather than questions assumptions. The result is a self-contained system that maintains an internal logic, no matter how absurd to outside observers.

The constitutional wall that theoretically separates church and state is irrelevant. Religion has overwhelmed the nation to permeate all public discussion. Look no further than Gary Bauer, a man who in any other western nation would be dismissed as a fanatic and who in America is interviewed deferentially on prime time television.

Despite all its fine words, religion has brought in its wake little more than violence, prejudice and intimate disease. True morality is found elsewhere. As UK Guardian columnist George Monbiot concluded in his review of Gregory Paul’s study, "if you want people to behave as Christians advocate, you should tell them that God does not exist."

I might express that another way. The flip side of Monbiot's argument is that God would be an atheist,

 

[Jonathon]

Most Atheists keep things to themselves or they let other people give their two cents against their Atheist arguments. Being an Atheist myself I don't go around saying "GOD IS NOT REAL," irl.

 

[Morteus]

...

Most of this is true!


so Atheism is a MUST to erradicate stupidity (no offense)

 

[Olorin]

Most of this is true!


so Atheism is a MUST to erradicate stupidity (no offense)

I wouldnt put it exactly like thah, it was more ment to make a point that atheism isnt bad

P.S. those who voted atheism as bad what would you say if I would vote religion bad? just a harmless q

 

[-Kratos-]

A negative force it's not a way how to describe them, I think that atheism is wrong, it's my opinion. I'm a christian and I do not agree with what they believe though I shouldn't hate them, even though their belief is different from mine, that doesn't mean that I should go around, talking about how much I hate them or that they don't belong here but as a Christian I should be friendly to these persons and to not forget that God loves them too.

 

[BishamonSama]

Neither.

'Atheists', or at least the leaders of the atheist movement, are just like the leaders of religious movements; they go after those who don't agree with their view of the world. They have the same effects on society as religious people, imo.

That's why, despite not believing in God, I don't call myself an atheist.

 

[Sonne]

A negative force it's not a way how to describe them, I think that atheism is wrong, it's my opinion. I'm a christian and I do not agree with what they believe though I shouldn't hate them, even though their belief is different from mine, that doesn't mean that I should go around, talking about how much I hate them or that they don't belong here but as a Christian I should be friendly to these persons and to not forget that God loves them too.

Well, for one, we don't believe in anything, a word to word translation from Greek of the word Atheist, means "Without-God".
The whole structure and point of Atheism is that there is no belief in anything.

But let me tell you this, what If I don't agree with Christianity?
What if I think it`s wrong?

And I think I am talking in behalf of every Atheist here, but keep your Hallucination`s love away from me.

 

[Olorin]

But let me tell you this, what If I don't agree with Christianity?
What if I think it`s wrong?

And I think I am talking in behalf of every Atheist here, but keep your Hallucination`s love away from me.

^^ we dont recruit we simply dont give a sh?t, unlike a religion atheism isnt a religion its each individual for themselves

when we say we dont agree with you we just accept it and move on, when a religious person doesnt agree with us they condamn us to hell, they think that atheism is wrong but god forbid we say anything against religion its to touchy of a subject

and all that say bad is just based on their own beliefs not that we actually do anything bad its just that we dont believe in what they believe

and all that is what really pisses me off

bad

bad

A negative force

and now I say religion is bad! any comments?

 

[Punk Hazard]

what do you mean good or bad? you talk as if these people are a disease. if they dont believe in god, okay. leave them alone so they can live their life

 

[Aenigma]

a was said in the video,

"Atheism is neither a positive nor negative force in america, atheists userally keep it to them selfs unlike most religious people"

Most Atheists keep things to themselves or they let other people give their two cents against their Atheist arguments. Being an Atheist myself I don't go around saying "GOD IS NOT REAL," irl.

EXACTLY, most of the time, we atheists don't go around trying to convert people to atheism...but TONS of religious people are always out there trying to convert everyone, they're the negative force.

religion has been been the cause of most wars through-out history.

if we all droped this idea of a god think how much we would grow as a species how much better developed technology and science would be.

This is true. Also think about what would have happened if we had spent less time building churches/cathedrals and stuff, and being doing science or something, if you know what I mean.

and now I say religion is bad! any comments?

*Agrees*


And now watch like 50 people come and yell at me.​

 

[Gin-San]

Atheism a bad force?
Is that what religious parents teach their children today?
This type of thought process is what creates hatred and discrimination

and now I say religion is bad! any comments?

*Agrees and prepares for negative comments*

=DD

 

[Kyuubikiller]

Religion has it's positives and negatives. Religion is a big reason why we as humans have moral standards, love thy neighbor, thou shalt not kill, without these sayings drilled into our heads for so many years, what kind of rules do you think we would have?

Religion has caused plenty of problems, including mas genocide and and war among each other, that is why I think that as a human race, most of us have pretty much outgrown religion. I believe it was something to keep early man in check, but now that we have moral standards, I feel we don't need it.

I am not religious, but I'm no atheist either. I am more spiritual if anything. I believe in being the best I can be, whether it be being the best friend I can be, or the best worker I can be. I think life is a test, and we have to complete it to our fullest ability the best we can.