Let me begin by stating that it is not my intent to limit or prohibit anyone's privilege to

[Atticus]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Spazito (a host of the General Discussion forum).

post about their religious beliefs or lack thereof. I would simply ask that we, the readers, acknowledge proselytization when it takes place.

I think it would "clang" if a poster repeatedly argued that religions A, B and C were silly, but D was reasonable and worthy of respect.

Does it not "clang" when ALL religions are ridiculed and the "alternative belief system" of atheism is advocated as what intelligent people believe?

If proselytizing by atheists is somehow different than proselytizing by Jews or Catholics or Baptists, how?

[essaynnc]

1. hey, just a reminder.....

DU has a set of rules that all posts should follow. you can see them by hitting the Alert next to the post. if alerted, a jury looks at the post and decides if it meets the standards.

This might be helpful !! 😀😀

[hlthe2b]

3. Tolerance has never been in violation of DU standards... Just a helpful reminder.

That said, the subscribed groups have their own rules/standards for inclusion/discussion in their subject-limited groups. Important to read the rules of the group if you go to post outside the main forums.

[Atticus]

8. I can't see any reason to alert on a post for advocating atheism. I simply want to encourage

folks to regard such a post as they would one which advocated a specific faith.

[old as dirt]

19. Aparently, I had a post alerted on for advocating atheism.

I believe that the post was in the Atheist/Agnostic forum, but the juror who mentioned it wouldn't say which one.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. Posts about religion, and atheism, can be alerted on for being in GD

because " Posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports are restricted in this forum".

Posts advocating a particular religious outlook, and an atheistic outlook, do appear in the Religion group, and are not, generally, regarded as "proselytising".

[Joinfortmill]

2. Agree

[old as dirt]

4. But whatabout math?

As a pro-math atheist, I reserve the right to toss anybody who displays irrationality overboard.

[hlthe2b]

10. Well, all I can say to that video is that female spokesperson sounds like she od'd on her ritalin.

Reminds me of a group of ceaseless-talking math geek teens that were portrayed on the show "ER" years ago.

but yeah, Pythagoras was accused of throwing a rival off a boat thereby drowning him.

[old as dirt]

17. But whatabout the Catholics?

but yeah, Pythagoras was accused of throwing a rival off a boat thereby drowning him

In defence of the Pythagoreans, I've never heard of a Phthagorean stringing up surrendered soldados patriotas from trees and ordering the women of Patia to use them for target practice.

That seems to be a Catholic thang. It was part of the Wars for Catholicism.

Women's History Month: Catholicism, Royalism, Impiety, and Target Practice.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/123059995

[old as dirt]

32. She is personally responsible...

...for much of the vitriol in the 21st Century Math Wars.

Her followers scare me. Here she is trying to talk them down.

Well, all I can say to that video is that female spokesperson sounds like she od'd on her ritalin.

[rampartc]

16. cute little story. thanks

as an engineer i usually consider math to be a language, but i can appreciate math's religious aspects.

blake's "ancient of days"

[exboyfil]

5. Evangelizing vs. proselytizing

Proselytizing - Standing at the border and screaming about accepting Jesus as your savior
Evangelizing - Giving those poor people physical assistance and emotional support. Building a lifelong relationship with them. Sharing what Jesus or whatever their faith means to them after building a friendship

It comes down to respect.

[Atticus]

11. And yet, those terms are synonyms. nt

[Clash City Rocker]

6. They go out of their way to do it, too

Any discussion of religion will cause at least one person to belittle anyone with religious beliefs and smugly declare himself superior to everyone who believes in a higher power. I don’t know if it violates board rules, but it is very annoying.

[NoMoreRepugs]

7. Is religion beginning to meld with conservatism for some

even more these days than before?? If it looks like a duck….

[yardwork]

9. I think folks should post what they want about religion, or no religion.

I usually see where you're coming from but I don't agree with this OP. Maybe there's something I've missed.

[Atticus]

13. As I started my OP, I also believe folks should be able to post as they see fit. nt

[dawg]

12. There is no religious test for assholery.

People of all faiths (and no faith) are all welcome to partake of its wonders. (And many do.)

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Ecumenical Atheism

The Druids, Celts, and Greeks had their ancient religions. And why are we even discussing this subject?

[old as dirt]

31. I'd support a new group for this.

Ecumenical Atheism

[Croney]

15. We have an Atheists forum, and in that place I feel free

to express my amazement that any sane person would believe in gods.

This is not that forum, so I will only say that I think believers are mistaken.

[old as dirt]

21. Science has been ruled off-topic in that forum.

We have an Atheists forum, and in that place I feel free
to express my amazement that any sane person would believe in gods.

This is not that forum, so I will only say that I think believers are mistaken.

Maybe DU needs a group for atheists who believe in marhematics and science.

[Croney]

24. I'm sorry, I have no idea what this means.

I haven't been reading posts in that forum on a daily basis.

Atheism and science are strongly aligned, IMO.

[panader0]

18. There is only one kind of atheism, and there thousands of religions.

I think that's a big difference. If you're an atheist, that's it period, but if you're religious
you are at odds not only with atheists, but with countless other religions. A pie diagram
would should atheism as an empty circle, and the one for religions would have countless
divisions. What does it mean? Hell if I know.

[old as dirt]

23. This is false.

There is only one kind of atheism, and there thousands of religions.

Just as fundamentalist Christians behave as if therebis only one kind of religion, fundamentalist atheists behave as if there is only one kind of atheism.

but if you're religious you are at odds not only with atheists, but with countless other religions.

This is false. Religious cultures are not inheriently at odds with atheism. What you are forgetting here, is that we live in a beautifully diverse and multicultural world.

[panader0]

26. Educate me. How many kinds of atheism are there?

You mentioned "fundamentalist Christians". That is just one of the many varieties of
Christianity. From google:
"It may surprise you to know that there are over 4,000 recognized religions in the world. These religions consist of churches, congregations, faith groups, tribes, cultures, and movements. Even though there are so many, three-quarters of the world's population practice one of the five major religions."

[TreasonousBastard]

27. Not exactly, but close enough to not argue too much about it. I got myself banned from the atheist..

forum here for mentioning that even American Atheists at the time agreed that there hard and soft atheists, and that differentiated them as to how they understood the question of the existence, or importance, of gods. Agnostics were happily accepted as atheists as long as they didn't believe.

Atheism, strictly speaking, means simply the absence of a belief in God. That part is easy, but then you ask if a god is possible, or even what definition of a god are you using. Can there be a god that we simply cannot see for some reason? Is there any point in worshipping, or even acknowledging, such a "god"? Can a god we cannot experience be properly called a god?

Can this disbelief be overcome by exposure to a real walking, talking god? I don't believe in snakes that can kill me with a look, and I will continue to not believe in them until such time as I run into one. Until then, my belief or disbelief is entirely irrelevant.

Religions are pretty open about what they consider to be their gods, and they can argue all day and night about the "true" aspects of the gods they cannot see-- more of a human problem that a theological one. Atheism, however, does seem to have its problem with definitions. Just what is that god you don't belleve in, anyway? Einstein admitted to a vaguely Quaker belief in gods-- he refused to say they don't exist, but he was adamant that they don't fit into any of the cubbyholes religions put them in.

[panader0]

30. Epicurus on the existence of God:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
— Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

I don't think that agnostics are atheists. Agnostics are not sure and atheists are.

[werdna]

20. As an ordained Spiritualist -

- and having perused many of the atheist oriented postings, I never once came away with the notion that I was being proselytized to the Atheists' "faith". I see very little, if any, overt attempt to convert any one from any other faith to adhere to Atheism. Nor would I agree that the posts I have read specifically advocate promoting Atheism as a belief or course of action. What I see these posts as are expressions of defining Atheism as compared with various religious beliefs, with a healthy dash of criticism of religious beliefs in various contexts, and a doses of quotes from those seeking to define their own points of view. I read these as attempts to inspire one to examine one's beliefs in light of the information and criticisms contained in the posts. The rest is up to you.

[Atticus]

22. And, as your post illustrates, some appeals are nuanced. nt

[Ohio Joe]

25. Hmmm...

Why do I feel like I’ve missed something once again. Sheesh… We’ll, off to see if I can find it.

[MineralMan]

28. All religions involve choices made by individuals.

Last edited Fri Mar 18, 2022, 10:20 AM - Edit history (1)

Nobody is born with religious beliefs.

So, atheism is the default. I have not seen atheists here, of which I am one, proselytizing for atheism. Atheism has nothing to sell. Atheism requires nothing. Atheism is not a religion in any way. It is the absence of religion. Atheism is not a "belief system." It is simply nonbelief.

So, I'm not sure who or what you are talking about here. Do you have a link to someone doing what you're talking about?

[Spazito]

33. *LOCKING*

Host consensus is this OP doesn't meet the criteria in the SOP for this forum:

Threads about the existence/non-existence of God, threads discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of religion in general, and threads discussing the truth/untruth of religious dogma are not permitted under normal circumstances and should be posted under Religion.