Atheists: I talked to a Christian today that was surprised I'm an...

[Blake]

...atheist. Anyone else had that experience? On one hand, it could be seen as a compliment from a religious person b/c she thinks I'm a good/nice person. On the other hand it means she thinks most atheists are evil/mean people and that I somehow am an anomaly that defies her stereotype of the term. What are your thoughts? Do you think it's annoying when people react that way? I think it's pretty typical of mainstream Christian thought. But clearly she hasn't seen or bought into the signs by The Coalition of Reason that you can be good without God. It's sad to see people have such an unfair view of something they know little to nothing about.
@ Jesus (the yahoo version): That's a cute idea but she is married and I'm not interested in becoming a Christian. Thanks.

 

[EdnatheLizard]

Whether conscious or not, I think a lot of people think they would know an atheist when they see one. But they don't. People are always surprised when they find out I'm an atheist.

 

[micheller]

Yes, I've had that happen. I've also had strangers literally back away, one even _jumped_ back, when I said I am an atheist. (I am 5' 3" and female. Very threatening. ;-) ) A close friend of mine who is a Christian said she always tells her Christian friend that she has an atheist friend (me) who is "more Christian than most Christians I know". I always took that as a compliment, but, if you examine it just a little, you begin to realize how insulting that is to all non-Christians, be they atheist, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Wiccan, what have you, for it assumes that Christians possess a brand of morality that no other human can approach except in very rare circumstances.

Yes, it is quite sad that religious teachings can so vilify so many humans in one fell swoop simply because we do not believe in the same gods or in any god at all.

~Ex-fundie-xian; agnostic atheist

 

[Jesus]

See how far she'll go to try to convert you if she's hawt...

 

[LadyMorgana]

Yes I have. I teach English as a Second Language to adult immigrants, many of whom are from Latin America and are usually fervent Catholics. In my class, we have tons of fun, as I fall in love with them and they fall in love with me as we start the year with lots of fun, learning with stories, etc.

Anyhow, about 3 weeks ago in class, the subject of religious beliefs came up, and I started to wonder if someone would ask me. Sure enough, my student from Nicaragua asked me point blank if I believed in god, and I did not hesitate. I said no, with a gentle smile, adding that I support everyone's right to believe whatever she wants to believe, and as long as your beliefs do no harm and help you to be your best, it is all fine.

They were a bit shocked at first, and then another one asked me what I thought happened after death, and I told them about my consciousness stopping, and living on in my DNA and the good things I did while I was alive. They all seemed to digest this pretty well, and then one of them volunteered that her father had been an atheist, and in El Salvador, that was very controversial.

It ended up being a good experience for all, for them to know my truth and to realize that you CAN be a good person and still not believe that there is a god. They don't think of me as evil, partly because they had already gotten to know me and love me and to understand that I was a good person.

great question!

Lady Morgana

 

[philipw]

I talked to an agnostic today and was surprised that I was the one who gave less of a cr8p.