atheists: most distrusted minority in US

[caitycaity]

I don't need to believe I will be 'rewarded' for being a good person. I am a good person because I believe it is the right way to be.

not to mention, i think it is pretty logical to treat others the way you want them to treat you.

i think there are a lot of good rules for living in both the old testament and new testament. of course there are also (imo) some bad rules.

i think someone can believe in the golden rule without believing in jesus as your savior or god in general.

 

[jimmiej]

i think someone can believe in the golden rule without believing in jesus as your savior or god in general.

I believe God (of the Bible) is the source of all goodness. When He created us (yes, all of us), He instilled in us an understanding of good. As a Christian, I follow the Biblical "code" of morality because I believe it comes from the source. I believe non-believers understand morality because that's the way God made us all.

 

[cardaway]

not to mention, i think it is pretty logical to treat others the way you want them to treat you.

i think there are a lot of good rules for living in both the old testament and new testament. of course there are also (imo) some bad rules.

i think someone can believe in the golden rule without believing in jesus as your savior or god in general.

I don't think it's a coincidence that all of the major religions have some kind of basic set of rules. People created them with the goal of creating a safe society.

 

[Crankyshank]

I don't think it's a coincidence that all of the major religions have some kind of basic set of rules. People created them with the goal of creating a safe society.

Exactly. The golden rule is found in many religions and some of them even pre-date Christianity. Who woulda thunk it?

 

[Holly]

CrankyShank,
I was just reading through Martin Buber's 'I and Thou' the other day. I love your sig quote. He was a smart man.

 

[Carl]

I think that most people think of Madolyn Murry O'Hair when they hear the term atheist. Enough said.

 

[lw49033]

Most people like me, who are simply indifferent to religion and supernaturalism, are de facto atheists who simply don't use the term. So there are probably more atheists around than anyone realizes.

 

[ford family]

I think that most people think of Madolyn Murry O'Hair when they hear the term atheist. Enough said.

Not really, what are you trying to say?

ford family

 

[Holly]

I think that most people think of Madolyn Murry O'Hair when they hear the term atheist. Enough said.

I respectfully disagree. Madolyn O'Hair is to Athiests what Jerry Falwell is to many Christians, they both represent a small, extreme group of a larger entity.

 

[lw49033]

I respectfully disagree. Madolyn O'Hair is to Athiests what Jerry Falwell is to many Christians, they both represent a small, extreme group of a larger entity.

You are right that O'Hair was not a fair representative of atheists, but I think the intended point was that she gave the group a bad name, a la Falwell.

Some of the harshest critics of O'Hair were other people who had the misfortune of working for her at American Atheists.

 

[ford family]

You are right that O'Hair was not a fair representative of atheists, but I think the intended point was that she gave the group a bad name, a la Falwell.

Some of the harshest critics of O'Hair were other people who had the misfortune of working for her at American Atheists.

And do you think it was one of those harsh critics that murdered her and her son and her grandaughter? Or was that just her misfortune?

ford family

 

[Holly]

And do you think it was one of those harsh critics that murdered her and her son and her grandaughter? Or was that just her misfortune?

ford family

I don't really remember the specifics of her death. Wasn't she supposedly framed for embezzlement and then murdered by the true culprit? Was her murder ever solved?

 

[ford family]

I don't really remember the specifics of her death. Wasn't she supposedly framed for embezzlement and then murdered by the true culprit? Was her murder ever solved?

Take a look at http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/fcc.asp
It references some of the urban legends that others may still believe to be true and then, at the end, talks about her death. Strange case.

ford family

 

[Buckalew11]

My DH's best friend from college is an atheist. I'd trust him with my life. However, there is a man I go to church with that I would NOT trust with anything.

I know that isn't exactly what the study was saying but I'm saying that it really doesn't matter if someone believes in God or not when it comes to trusting them. I think it is a silly thing to do...trust a believer more. Crazy.

 

[Marseeya]

I'm a Buddhist, so I don't believe in god. Personally, I think this makes me more aware of my morality. I have no "savior" to wash away my sins for me. I feel that I will have to pay for my own sins myself. I believe that if I do something as seemingly benign as stealing a pack of gum or cutting someone off in traffic, that it will come back to me in time.

Maybe some would think that way of thinking is far fetched, but it's no less plausible than the idea of god.

This is exactly how I feel, but I'm not a Buddhist.

I think that a lot of atheists have the opinion that they hold themselves to a higher standard of behavior (or morals) because they don't have that whole "forgiveness" thing to fall back on.

 

[Holly]

Take a look at http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/fcc.asp
It references some of the urban legends that others may still believe to be true and then, at the end, talks about her death. Strange case.

ford family

Very strange. Thanks FF.

 

[hucifer]

To the religious, it's the fear of the unknown. They cannot understand people who do not subscribe to a diety, and wonder that if we don't believe in divine consequences, what in the world would make us moral people?

Religion or not, having and practicing morals is a choice we all make.

 

[hucifer]

Well, here's my agenda for the day:

Noon: Steal Lunch
1pm: Run over annoying boss with car
2pm: Wash car
3pm: Beat up small children and take their candy/bicycles/toy trucks
4pm: Institute new credit card scam
5pm:Call it a day

Your day is far more interesting than mine!

 

[MrsToad]

Didn't say I agreed with it - just that I can see the line of thinking and it's follows logically with the belief system. I don't understand why anyone is surprised by this. It was a poll question, not about a specific person, but about a group. An entire group of people is easier to distrust for a blanket reason than one person you know individually. Why wouldn't a person who believes in a God distrust an entire group of people who don't? Again, not a specific person, but an entire group. Seems pretty simple to me.

Maybe I'm over-reacting to the idea you put forward about "An entire group of people is easier to distrust for a blanket reason than one person..." but it does make me wonder how this type of distrust is much different than what the US did to Japanese Americans living in the US during WWII. Maybe some would feel the poll results were as expected but the feeling itself doesn't seem logical to me.

P.S. mrsltg, my comments are in no way meant to be disrespectful of you, it is just the concept that upsets me.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

label me agnostic or atheist, I don't really care. I'm of the mindset that 'I don't know and you don't know either' when it comes to a god. the people I don't trust are the ones who insist there isn't a doubt in their heart that when they die they're going to heaven. it's very egocentric, self-righteous, and delusional thinking.