AIBU to find this slightly odd behaviour from atheist friends?

[handsandknees]

I am an Evangelical Christian. People who know me well know that. I am happy to talk about it if people want to, but I don't go on about it.

Last Easter one of my friends posted a long status on facebook basically ranting against the Christian Easter message and saying that she didn't want or need Jesus to have died for her, thank you very much. Up to her what she writes of course, but the tone was very aggressive and I wondered why. I didn't comment but later she sent me a personal message asking me what I thought of her post.

Then this week another friend posted a photo on my wall which said "Proud to say I'm an atheist". I haven't responded but just wondering why would someone do this? I am not offended just find it a bit strange.

Why do you think they would do this?

SolidGold
Your post makes my point for me.

I never used the word "acceptable" - as if I had the right to decide who is or is not acceptable.

Your contempt for all "believers" - regardless of what they believe in, and your denigration of all of them as "superstitious", confirms my experience that some atheists are quite as arrogant, bigoted, and narrow-minded as the believers they despise so wholeheartedly.

I am not asking you, or anyone else, to "concede" anything - except perhaps that might be more things to existence than are accounted for in your philosophy, and that, mistakenly perhaps, quite intelligent people might think they have good reasons not to be Atheists.

For the first 28 years of my life I was basically an agnostic with strong atheistic leanings. Personal experiences - much to my surprise, and somewhat reluctantly - made me change my mind. As an evolutionary biologist and also an archaeologist, you might think this peculiar. But unlike fundamentalists - both Christian and Atheist - I actually find no conflict, because I don't think that Science conflicts with my beliefs. I actually lecture on the subject of Evolution to Biology students, and if you attended my lectures you would find absolutely no reason to complain about theistic brainwashing.

I never try to push my views on existence and meaning on anyone. If they are really interested, and not just wanting a slanging match, I am happy to discuss my beliefs and why I believe them - but I dislike bothering people, who don't want to be bothered. However whenever I mention I am a Christian, I constantly get Atheists of your ilk treating me as if I am an imbecile, ignorant, uneducated etc.etc.etc. You are clearly such SPESHUL people that it gives you the right to be exceptionally rude to others who don't agree with you. I'm afraid my very existence would "bother" such people, but forgive me if I don't change my mind as a result.

Fortunately I can think of two Atheists - very good friends - at the University, who assure me that merely being Atheists doesn't necessarily mean that they think they are automatically intellectually superior specimens of humankind.

I don't think it acceptable to ridicule anyone else's beliefs as if you are the oracle and you are right. You can only ever be 'right' for yourself. Different people are looking for entirely different things. You can never experience something as someone else. I am never sure how people think they have even found the answers for themselves. Who knows what I will think next year, 10yrs time etc , if I am still here: I don't. I would hate to be the sort of narrow minded person who isn't open to change, differing views and the changes that experiences might bring.

Frank H - how do you reconcile your scientific knowledge that life evolved through a purposeless process, with human beings having no particularly special status with your religious belief (presumably, I'm guessing...) that humans are a special kind of organism, made in gods image, with a purpose, and a soul and a special relationship with the creator?

I can't get my head around this.

I've never had a problem reconciling those two tbh. Possibly I am viewing everything on a simpler level, but is that necessarily a bad thing?

Lots of scientists have a faith. It is purely personal-faith is nothing to do with knowledge and proof.
Guardian article
National Geographic article-scientists just as likely to believe in God as other people.

Much better to see life as a journey and not know where you will end up than to think 'I am an adult-I know' and close your mind to other possibilities, and even worse ridicule those who dare think differently.

Thanks for links - will read now.

"Your contempt for all "believers" - regardless of what they believe in"

Why do you think it should matter what they believe in? If one is going to hold religious belief in contempt, surely the scientist in you understands at some level that there is no difference between them in the eyes of a non-biased outsider.

"unlike fundamentalists - both Christian and Atheist"

Please explain how one can be a fundamentalist atheist, given that "fundamentalism" means strict adherence to literal understanding of religious books and doctrines.

Belief in supernatural beings is ridiculous. Whether it's harmless-ridiculous or deserving-of-criticism ridiculous is not about the particular imaginary friend believed in, it's about what the believer considers him/herself to do about his/her beliefs.

It is ridiculous to you -entirely different and I dare say that you are equally ridiculous to some people. It must be wonderful to be 'the oracle who knows it all'!

I will tell you a secret, exotic.

All atheists you know think faith in an unseen/unheard deity is ridiculous. That is why they are atheists. They/we don't go around saying this, because it upsets their/our friends & relatives.

Truly, SGB is not the only one.

SGB is right. Tactless and rude. But still right.

What is a fundamentalist atheist?

I asked that question a while back, seeker, and nobody cared to answer.

exoticfruits - you are right about scientists.

The mistaken idea that there is a massive unbridgeable gulf between "Science" and all "religion" is due to three groups in particular.

1. Fundamentalist Christians, Moslems etc.

2. Fundamentalist Atheists.

I don't accept CoteDAzur's limited view of "fundamentalism" By "Fundamentalist" I mean all groups who believe that their viewpoint is the Truth, and the Whole Truth, and hence there is no possibility of anything existing outside their particular "philosophy".

If you don't accept this designation, replace it be something like "Extreme", "Purist", "Hidebound", or whatever.

3. The Media - especially the Tabloid media, who love to see all subjects in terms of black/white, left/right, good/evil, heroes/scum etc.

In my many years of experience of many different universities [Birmingham, Oxford, various London colleges and universities, etc.], as undergraduate, research student, Chaplain, lecturer, I have noted that the proportion of Christians is if anything higher in Science faculties, than in such faculties as Sociology, Economics etc.

I haven't time to post further at present, so my replies to CoteDAzur, and especially [because more interesting] to Himalaya, must wait till later.

I suspect that a fundamentalist atheist on mummsnet is the same as a mumsnet radical feminist.

In the real world, they would be atheists and feminists!

It's not my "limited view", it is the definition of "fundamentalism".

You can't just go around defining words according to what you think they should mean

Thanks Frank - I know there are religious scientists, I am just bemused by how they manage to reconcile the two views of the same reality ....

Just a quick reply before I go off to a prole cafe to have lunch and read such enlightened organs as the "Daily Mail" (please don't take that description seriously)

I'm sorry if I use language in the way you don't like. As I said, please replace it by another term when reading.

The trouble is to find a term which covers "closed minds" on all sides of the argument. However your particular dictionary defines the term, I think "fundamentalist" covers what I want to imply. And I have heard others using the term in the way I do, so it isn't just what I think.

Perhaps 'dogmatic' might come closer than 'fundamentalist'.

All atheists you know think faith in an unseen/unheard deity is ridiculous. That is why they are atheists

Not quite all.... I used to be a Christian (at the same time as being a chemistry undergrad). I don't think my faith then was 'ridiculous' - I know the whys and wherefores of how it arose. I didn't stop being a believer because I found it 'ridiculous' but because there no longer seemed to be a god to believe in. Sure, I now assess myself as having being deluded then, but that's a different thing.

But you wouldn't talk about a dogmatic believer in gravity, would you? And expect them to leave room for the possibility that it may not exist?

No...wouldn't say they were fundamentalist either . Bit what you're getting at

Well I am as sure that there is no god as I am sure that gravity exists or the sun will rise tomorrow. Why am I expected to add caveats to god not existing when I'm not to gravity or the sun rising

If that suits you there isn't a problem- you just can't expect it to suit everyone.

I don't expect it to suit everyone. [puzzled emoticon]