Atheism much?

[Mae]

Is anyone offended by all this atheism going around the forums lately?

[Spawn of Yanni]

Why would anyone be offended? The only thing this topic does is offend any atheists on the forums. Why are their views any different from yours? Would gays not be allowed to state their preferences in the relevant topics? Is the deviation from the norm not allowed in society?

Locked, and linked to somewhere you might want to take your arguments.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Well hold on now... I think this is a topic worth discussing in and of itself. *unlocked* for the time being.
I'm really going to try to be diplomatic here...

Mae, there are undoubtedly more besides yourself who are offended at the presence of atheism here, but it's important to notice that none of the atheistic content is intended to offend. We require that the Discussion and Debate forums stay free of trolling and personal attacks, and the more prominent atheists here are very good about following those rules. We don't want to offend, and we go out of our way to try not to; we're only trying to get you to think, and only with your consent (since you could just as easily ignore us, dismiss us as idiots, believe we are agents of Satan, what have you).
Unfortunately (and this is a point a number of famous atheists have voiced a concern about), religion has somehow acquired this sacred status where it is impossible to speak critically about it without offending someone. Unbiased, objective discourse is possibly the best tool that humans have to improve their understanding of the world and to approach any sort of truth, and it simply cannot happen if any side refuses to look at their own beliefs critically. If your position is solid, it will obviously hold up to critical evaluation, and if it isn't, you will come out with at the very least with a better understanding of what you believe and why; it's win-win. But refusing on principle to listen to a view which challenges your own is nothing short of open hostility to progress, and the person it hurts the most is you.

Now, I understand that someone's religion can be a very significant and, more importantly, very personal part of his life, and that he might say I've injured him in his deepest feelings (as Christopher Hitchens would phrase it) if I suggest that he might be mistaken. The case could easily be made, however, that atheists have just as much a right to take offense to the day-to-day mention of religion in their lives. Heck, I drive by church bulletins every morning that tell me I can't be a moral person (and I hear it from people, too). I'm obviously offended by it, but there's a very clear reason why it's acceptable: I can dismiss it as something I disagree with and then carry on with my life, but it still accomplishes the church's original diplomatic intention of helping non-Christians find salvation; the church does this out of concern, not malice (presumably, anyway). It's not a judgment or a condemnation, but an offer, and an offer which can be easily declined.
The impulse to be offended at something that challenges a belief you feel very strongly about is there for a good reason -- it helps you to keep your resolve in the face of overt attempts to offend you. But this is against the rules here, ones which we are especially particular about enforcing. This has no place whatsoever in intelligent, mutually beneficial discourse between mature, open-minded people. We discuss these things openly and objectively because we want to understand more about them.

The whole point here is that words are just words. None of us have any intention of taking any action against one another because of them, and no one is here to harass you. You can just as easily shake your head at us and go about your business. All sides of the religious debates we have here can and have used some strongly-worded arguments in the past, but they are only meant to persuade and not to offend. You should only be offended if you are too easy to offend.

Although I will say that if you are honestly offended by people simply identifying themselves as atheists, then I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not in the least bit sorry.

[Spawn of Yanni]

My mistake, then, Mae is in fact an atheist who is simply curious as to whether there is anyone who's offended by discussion of atheism around here. Horribly worded opening post, even dumber purpose than I had originally thought, but if you truly feel that you have something to discuss here that can't be said in the God thread, go ahead.

[Mae]

I feel so misunderstood.

[Tanner]

I feel so misunderstood.

A more appropriate course of action might be to try to explain yourself more clearly.

[NicNac14]

mae is a simple christian with a big ass brain. let him be confused once in a while. since being an atheist myself, I would not take offense since, having no religion I seriously don't see the point. I respect people who have a religion but don't give a shit about it myself.

[unoriginal name]

mae is a simple christian with a big ass brain.

There're only five posts, and you honestly can't take the time to read them before posting? Wow.

My mistake, then, Mae is in fact an atheist who is simply curious as to whether there is anyone who's offended by discussion of atheism around here.

[Mae]

I feel so misunderstood.

A more appropriate course of action might be to try to explain yourself more clearly.

So the wording in my first post was terrible, I get it. Even so, I feel my beliefs are quite irrelevant to this topic - I was wondering about other peoples' opinions. It wasn't a great question to start with though. It's like asking: "Is anyone offended by Christianity?". So I suppose you can lock this thread if you want.

[yungerkid]

well, actually, there aren't very many Christians on this forum in the first place. i think only rather volatile and ignorant Christians, or politically-correct jerks, would take offense at the mere publication of atheism, especially in so inconsequential a setting. i am a Christian. and i certainly do not take offense at it. i am willing to consider their arguments. and, if any of their arguments were correct (and spot-on in their targets), i would even consider changing my beliefs.

[SlappyMcGee]

i am willing to consider their arguments. and, if any of their arguments were correct (and spot-on in their targets), i would even consider changing my beliefs.

...

Have you checked the Debate forum recently? I left you a twenty page present.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Saw this today, thought it was relevant: