The Atheist Blogger

Nick from the forums wants to have a word…

I would like to invite all Christians to have a responsible and peaceful discussion. Although I don’t think a website devoted to Atheism is on the priority list for any Christian, I just want to have a discussion with you.

I will not be cross and will not use offensive (I never do anyway) or sarcastic remarks.

I was a Christian before but had a change of mind. I would maybe like to share my experiences with you.

If you still think I’m a jerk for being an Atheist, that’s fine with me, but if you would like to live a better life with peace of mind, I urge you to listen just as I will to anything you have to say.

Thank you.
~Nick

If you are a Christian and want to take Nick up on his offer, join the forums and reply to his thread.

Nick from the forums brought up a few interesting questions about the influence of majority opinion when it comes to religion.

Christianity is so mainstream, at least here in America. Ask someone what religion they are, and they will most likely say that they are of the Christian faith.

My question is if someone knew of the religion but knew that no one practiced it, would they still become a Christian?

Do people really believe so strongly in these things or do they just THINK that they do because the majority of the population believes the same?

Is it like a school or club where everyone just wishes to fit in, or are there really honest beliefs in a God and “The Messiah” despite proven sciences supporting something else?

I am willing to bet many Christians would respond to these questions saying “Yes I would still be a Christian.” What if it were shunned upon to be a Christian? Would you still believe in what you do?

Here in America, I think it is somewhat brave to be an Atheist, at least an open one. It is very frowned upon here, mainly because of huge misunderstanding. When you tell someone that you are an Atheist (at least a Christian, which makes up most all of the population) they immediate hold somewhat of a resentment against you, which is unfortunate for me if it ever is a topic for employment.

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No More Mr. Nice Guy has posted the 90th Carnival of the Godless over at his blog, and it’s well worth a look. This is the second time I’ve submitted something to the carnival, and I’m pleased to report that my article proposing an online atheist book club got through.

Speaking of which, we’re still working on the chatroom, and people can still post suggestions in the forums. Voting will be on May 1st.

On a further unrelated note, I won’t be posting as much for the next 3 weeks as I have revision followed by exams. I’ll still write the odd article, and if people want to sent stuff in (even short stuff) I’ll gladly post it for them. Wish me luck :D

Friendly Atheist found a blog listing the stuff Christians like, and suggested people start making lists of “stuff atheists like”. So far two blogs have been set up, and they have listed a few things. Instead of setting up a blog to do this, I thought it fair better as a forum thread. That way people can easily suggest things and they can be added to the list.

If the list gets too big I might make a page for it here, but for now it should be quite a fun activity for anyone who wants to join the forums!

As I’ve mentioned in some previous comments, this blog’s content is prone to a lot of debates, and indeed there have been quite a few since it’s been set up. While I have no objection to debates (in fact I welcome them), the commenting system of WordPress isn’t the best format to have them in.

As a result, I’ve installed a copy of MyBB which is a great free forum software that I help with. It should provide an easier place to debate and form a community. It’ll also open up the site a bit more, and people can have public discussions and raise questions.

So, without further ado, please visit the forums and register: http://atheistblogger.com/forums/

I have written a short welcome thread (similar to this one) here.