Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patty J on April 1, 2012 at 10:24pm

I think those people were atheists because they simply didn't believe in a god. It doesn't mean that they were true skeptics and they embraced reason. It probably was pretty easy for them to become "saved" and call themselves ex-atheists. I wouldn't worry about these people too much. We know that they don't hold any true creditability with us. Because if anyone was a true skeptic, and did respect reason and logical thinking, then they wouldn't have converted without the evidence that we are all waiting for. 

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on April 3, 2012 at 3:44am

I do hate how they undermine (if only slightly) atheism.

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Permalink Reply by athnam on April 1, 2012 at 10:32pm

I would look for a brain injury or a brain damaging illness, like high fever, age-related deterioration.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew on April 1, 2012 at 11:20pm

babies are born atheist, so technically every non-atheist is an ex-atheist. technicality, i know, but just contributing :)

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Permalink Reply by Ed on April 2, 2012 at 12:49am

What is notable about those that "return to the fold" always go back to the same flavor of religion. They normally don't pause and question whether the religion they were formally associated with is still the right one. Evidence that their use of reason is once again not engaged.  

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on April 3, 2012 at 3:42am

Yeah, that's a good point. It IS very telling, isn't it?

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Permalink Reply by Natalie on April 2, 2012 at 1:53pm

You have to be strong to be okay with the thought of not existing after death. I've had that conversation with my husband who is agnostic many times.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Howard on April 2, 2012 at 9:56pm

For some reason this has never bothered me. It has increased my passion for life, for placing importance on the here and now.

The one thing I do miss is the thought that the scales will be balanced. The idea that if I get the shaft for doing right, for being good in this life, it will be rewarded in the next.

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on April 3, 2012 at 3:41am

Yes, some lies are very appealing . . . until you check them out.

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on April 3, 2012 at 4:36am

Just because someone does not believe in gods does not automatically mean that they subscribe to reason. The Raelian cult that worships UFOs and aliens are atheist (no gods in their religion), but I'd hardly consider them to be embracing reason.

While Nelson put it much more eloquently, I think it's quite possible for someone to be an atheist for non-rational reasons and then start to believe in a god for similarly non-rational reason.

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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on April 3, 2012 at 5:06am

Yes, Dave, I agree. We've already established that we're not discussing non-rational, pre-rational or quasi-rational "atheists".

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Permalink Reply by Jason D. Johnson on April 5, 2012 at 3:05pm

One cannot truly be an atheist and go back to theism.  And if they truly were and found some empirical evidence that showed them they were wrong, I should suspect they would have no problem, as a former atheist, showing it to the rest of us.  Normally when people claim that they "left atheism" to become a Christian/Muslim/Buddhist/Other, they are lying because they think that real atheists will empathize better to someone that "understood" our point of view at some point.  It's a weapon that we have against them, but they do not have against us.  For example, many atheists used to be Christians and many Christians today are slowly but surely and steadily becoming atheists.  We understand their theism, but they do not understand atheism, because to fully and truly understand atheism, one must become an atheist him/herself.  It's not optional.  However, understanding Christianity does not make you a Christian, in fact, it usually makes you an atheist if you see what it really is like most of us "real" atheists do.  I can't think of a better way to explain it.

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