Be able to fully articulate and defend my atheist beliefs.

I’m referring to the people who try to shove their religion down others’ throats. They feel they have some sort of divine sanction to do this on the grounds of “the great commission.” In fact, they’re rude, intrusive, obnoxious. They may ask you if you’re “saved,” or they may just ring up your stuff at the store and say, “Have a blessed day.” I don’t want to converse or have a dialogue with them. I just want to be left alone. Any ideas on techniques of dealing with these people; for extricating oneself from them? Any good books or stories on the subject?

I am very good at writing, I just wish I could communicate my thoughts and beliefs verbally at the same level as my writing. I think my problem is that I think about what I want to say too long before speaking, which in this society makes you look stupid instead of pensive. The only time I can really debate and make my points clear seems to be when I’ve had a few drinks and find myself in a deep conversation about politics or religion. Self-censorship seems to be something I need to work on instead of trying to always be so PC.

Like calling NASCAR and WWF actual sports, the idea of religion is so blatantly laughable and ridiculous, yet I am still reluctant to disparage any of them for fear of stepping on any toes. I am just so sick of religion being such a prominent issue and always having the self-congratulating hypocritical followers shoving their beliefs down your throat when religion is so irrelevant.

I`m pretty good at this in my head, but I when in an actual discussion I find it difficult to articulate what I want to say.

I just joined 43 Things and added this to my list. I was raised (semi-)Catholic (we never went to church, except when I had to for school, I went to parochial schools for elementary). I’ve looked into many different religions and I just didn’t buy it. I prefer to be amazed and awed by science and the power of humans and the earth. But for some reason, I always had a hard time explaining why I feel this way when asked about it.

About two hours after I clicked “I want to do this,” a pair of Elders knocked on my door. My fiance’s family is LDS (he’s not practicing but most of them are, and they’re all very accepting of each individual’s choices) so I know from his brothers that missions consist of getting a lot of doors slammed in their faces. They were both very nice and I told them that I was an atheist and invited them in (part because I wanted to talk and part because I have three cats and didn’t want to stand with the door open and deal with them trying to make an escape lol).

We ended up talking for over an hour and I really enjoyed the conversation. We discussed how there are lots of misconceptions about both Mormons and atheists. They actually said that I was the third atheist they had talked to and that we (the atheists) were among the most polite and friendly people they had encountered (aside from the people they were actually teaching, I’m sure). I was just really happy to have an intelligent conversation with someone who is highly committed to their faith and be able to explain why I feel the way I do and have them understand and not look down on me for it. It was quite liberating to explain why I feel this way. They said they appreciated that the atheists they met (myself included) had actually thought about their beliefs (or lack thereof) and decided that they didn’t believe in a god, instead of just saying “Fuck you and fuck God!”...not in those words of course, but you get the point.

I went through a period of deep introspection and delving into other faiths and none of them fit. The closest things that I’ve found are Zen Buddhism and Taoism, but they’re philosophies more than religions as neither have a deity or require any worship. I realized long ago that I just can’t have “faith” in something, that I need proof to believe it. I still feel very strongly about this but I respect other peoples decisions and beliefs. If others can believe in something without proof or evidence, that’s fine…but it’s not for me. Thomas Paine once said “My mind is my church.” I second that sentiment.

The Elders were very sweet and we had a great talk and they asked if they could stop by again to meet my fiance and that if we needed help with anything at our house, they’d be happy to give us aid. I thanked them and said that they were welcome to come back. They were nice young men and I thank them for allowing me to speak my mind without fear of judgement.

I can have all my points clear on a random day, but they are always jumbled and sloppy when I’m trying to explain my view to a ‘take the bible literally’ person. I know my reasons and that has always been good enough for me, but it’s been a lot harder living in the bible belt. The people here have just brought out the athiest fighter in me or something. I don’t go around trying to convert people or anything, but it would make my millenium for someone to tell me that my view makes so much sense…one day…maybe. :)

My hand-picked atheist resources:
http://del.icio.us/dandvd/atheism

These articles helped me improve my argumentation, and win the appreciation of amazingly articulate writers.

Merci, Madame Reya.

“Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) is first Congress member in history to acknowledge his nontheism”

http://www.secular.org/news/pete_stark_070312.html

The article annoyingly uses the word “nontheism” instead of atheism, but in any case this is a step forward for political acceptance of atheists.

Give it a try!

I think the only person I can I have an intelligent conversation over atheism with is my boyfriend. It’s nice being able to speak my mind without being ridculed. My beliefs are pretty clear; I don’t believe in the modern Christian idea of god, and no one can be certain of god’s existance until their dead (if there’s even an afterlife).

Why prepare for death when you know you can live now?

I’d say I’ve got a good idea of what my beliefs are so that I can potentially speak to anyone who wants to hear. If they don’t understand, they don’t understand. I find peace in my beliefs. I sometimes think the people who want to ‘save’ me are very restless in their beliefs. I find it very irritating the way religion is advertised. Religion (or lack thereof) should be a choice based on your beliefs, not proof of membership in a club.

Some missionaries came to my door today. I wanted to simply say I was atheist but I was in a bad mood and didn’t feel like rattling on about my beliefs to strangers. So I was nice and said we don’t go to church but thanks anyway. I think religion or lack thereof is a personal choice and ‘campaigning’ your religion is annoying. They probably think they may save someone, and who knows…they might. By saving I mean the person needed religion as guidence to get over a drug addiction, divorce, or whatever. I don’t like the persistance of some missionaries that know you aren’t interested yet keep sticking their foot in the door (figuratively speaking). Anyway, if I was in a better mood I probably would have invited them in for a healthy debate but maybe next time.