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Permalink Reply by Sheri Hall on April 25, 2012 at 3:54pm

Okay, so if we can firstly go down the root of using Think Atheist to develop your philosophy, to develop arguments, to become informed - How does engaging with others on Think Atheist develop your philosophy, arguments and understanding better than, say, academic literature?

- just as a reminder, please feel free to add to this point or previous points at any time (even if you have not yet contributed).

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Permalink Reply by Allallt on April 28, 2012 at 1:13am

I enjoy challenging people on their faith. Often I don't achieve much, but every once in a while a person changes their mind (I don't make any atheists, but I do occasionally make more liberal theists or encourage the idea of secularism). To me that is an end in itself. And I do that out in the real world.

Think Atheist then behaves as a resource. If an argument can be made more articulate it gets around the flexibility of faith that basically allows secular arguments to be ignored. 

Academic literature, in sciences at least, is non-partisan in the question of faith. Academic literature offers you a series of new discoveries that apologists like William Lane Craig has proven can be wrapped up in the façade of God's plan. It takes something a little more articulate and appealing to show the dishonesty of that kind of a rebuttal.

If you find a well written atheist blog you will see how tightly it has to be written in order to actually make a theist stop and think, else they will just ignore the facts or metabolise them into their own faith (just look what the faith community did with The Grand Design; "Oh wow, wasn't God clever!" uh, no. He wasn't involved.) 

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Permalink Reply by mary bottoms on April 25, 2012 at 4:49pm

I've thoroughly enjoyed being part of Think Atheist. Being able to read or listen to others is a wonderful concept.Although I don't agree with all the opinions I read, the opinions are usually very funny, cogent, and civil. No, belonging here has not changed my belief system, as I've always been an atheist. But, stating my perspectives is important. Living in the Bible belt, not many people I've met claim to be atheists. Fortunately for me, I don't care if anyone is bothered by atheism. At this point in my life, I'm in the Really Don't Care if My World View Annoys You mode.

 

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Permalink Reply by Sheri Hall on April 26, 2012 at 7:13pm

When you say it is important that you state your perspectives, do you mean on Think Atheist to other atheists? Or do you mean to religious people in the area that you live? Is it important that you 'vent' or would you call it something different?

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Permalink Reply by T A A on April 29, 2012 at 9:23pm

Personally, I do not engage with religionists on a one-to-one basis, I think it's useless. A local newspaper is the way to go. Messages/letters that get read by an entire community/village/city, without the constant filtering of forum-specific ideologically based discussions.

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Permalink Reply by Sheri Hall on April 26, 2012 at 7:41pm

So do members here think that Think Atheist provides a substitute for a face-to-face atheist community/group? Or do you think that a face-to-face group provides something different that Think Atheist can't, and vice versa?

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Permalink Reply by Allallt on April 28, 2012 at 12:59am

To me, still, it comes down to the purpose of a group: a political voice can not be replaced by an internet society. However atheists don't have a unified political voice. The majority of atheists (from my experience) are liberal, humanist and want secularism to be an enforced political idea. But to call that the atheist voice is to exclude liberal or politically secular theists, right wing atheists and atheists that reason like Nietzsche (i.e. the belief that without God there cannot be morality--I doubt these people exist outside of sociopathy, but nonetheless...).

But as a group that exists for support, and as atheists are considered amongst the least trusted in the USA, seems like a very important idea. And this can (and demonstrably does) work online here at Think Atheist.

Support, I think, is the most complex of the issues anyway. People who face discrimination due to their lack of faith need support in (a) their lack of faith being okay, (b) there being rational reasons to think like they do and (c) that the stigma that atheism makes them inherently bad people is wrong. This isn't just emotional support, it is rational advise that they can take out into the world and challenge people with every time they are confronted with unfair criticisms of their atheism.

This to me is the important function an online community can achieve.

Lastly, a group can be there for the sole reason of challenging beliefs. We can challenge the stigma attached to atheism, or we can challenge other people's theistic beliefs (and some people will change--we can't act like everyone is unchangeably irrational). But I think this is very difficult to achieve on a forum like this (i.e. designed  for and populated almost entirely by atheists; preaching to the choir doesn't achieve much).

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Permalink Reply by Sheri Hall on April 28, 2012 at 6:42am

Do you think that it would be beneficial for Think Atheist to become more accommodating to the religious? To provide an arena for challenging debate? Or do you think it serves best as a dedicated environment for support from like-minded people?

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Permalink Reply by mary bottoms on April 29, 2012 at 1:59pm

Thank you for giving me a platform to engage with other atheists. You asked me if I meant that this website allowed me to express my views. As I am still unemployed after a year, I do not travel much. Although I have friends who are atheist, it is sometimes difficult to get in touch with them. So, I would say that I would consider Think Atheist as a community where I can express my opinion and join in conversation and get feedback.

However, I do not believe we should be more accommodating to religionists. Some folks are more happy to listen to atheists. The more dogmatic people will only use their speech to proselytize.

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Permalink Reply by T A A on April 29, 2012 at 9:27pm

Absolutely not a substitute. But they are complimentary, in that they give a voice to people/ideas who have previously been voiceless. The caveat is preaching to the choir.

T|A can act as a moral booster, but a virtual community is absolutely not the real thing. And many atheists could probably achieve much more by taking their ideas to real media outlets, not specialised forums such as these.

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Permalink Reply by Sheri Hall on April 30, 2012 at 5:38pm

Are people attracted by the large number of member on here? Or would you not consider an atheist website with a smaller member group?

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Permalink Reply by T A A on April 30, 2012 at 10:42pm

Absolutely. I confess to preferring the other similar website which has more people. I think the multiplication of websites consisting of small atheist websites who tend to already agree with each other is pointless.

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