Why are atheists so happy?

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
SG, speaking of "books" I always enjoy atheist quotations. Here are a few you particularly may enjoy: "Theist and atheist: the fight between them is as to whether God shall be called God or shall have some other name." -Samuel Butler; "It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular f ...[text shortened]... k God I'm an atheist." -Luis Bunuel; "By night an atheist half believes in a God." -Edward Young

Well, I can tell you about ME: I NEVER half believe in a god, especially the Abrahamic one, at night, in the daytime, on Sunday's, at no time. I think you all know I consider all these so called gods 100% man made.

Made to control other people, who perhaps needed controlling, don't know, wasn't around 4000 years ago or whenever Judaism first started copying the older Egyptian religions.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
SG, speaking of "books" I always enjoy atheist quotations. Here are a few you particularly may enjoy: "Theist and atheist: the fight between them is as to whether God shall be called God or shall have some other name." -Samuel Butler; "It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular f ...[text shortened]... k God I'm an atheist." -Luis Bunuel; "By night an atheist half believes in a God." -Edward Young

Thanks, GB.

Butler must have been a theist, using the common ploy of suggesting that atheists are just theists in denial.
Hitchens was a Grinch when it came to Christmas; he even hated Christmas Carols. (I love Mannheim Steamroller's arrangement of O Come Emanuel - awesome!)
I wonder if DG Rossetti ever watched the Academy Awards. I'm guessing they were after his time. No way can anyone who has watched those suggest that people can't think of anyone besides God to thank. 🙂
With Young, we're back to the same tack Butler took. There are no real atheists; just theists who won't admit it. I'd reply with a paraphrase of RHP's own googlefudge:

Atheists always do theists the courtesy of taking them at their word when they state what they believe. Theists should do the same.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Well, I can tell you about ME: I NEVER half believe in a god, especially the Abrahamic one, at night, in the daytime, on Sunday's, at no time. I think you all know I consider all these so called gods 100% man made.

Made to control other people, who perhaps needed controlling, don't know, wasn't around 4000 years ago or whenever Judaism first started copying the older Egyptian religions.

Did these convictions develop embryonically early in your childhood?

Edit Note: Are you aware of any causative factors between atheism and unresolved father issues?

Originally posted by SwissGambit
Thanks, GB.

Butler must have been a theist, using the common ploy of suggesting that atheists are just theists in denial.
Hitchens was a Grinch when it came to Christmas; he even hated Christmas Carols. (I love Mannheim Steamroller's arrangement of O Come Emanuel - awesome!)
I wonder if DG Rossetti ever watched the Academy Awards. I'm guessin ...[text shortened]... taking them at their word when they state what they believe. Theists should do the same.[/quote]

The quotes are from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/atheist_3.html I was aware that the collection contained quotes by and about atheists and atheism and included those that seemed innovative takes and/or entertaining. Let's notch up googlefudge's reply: 'All human beings should have the courtesy of taking other human beings at their word when they state what they believe. And to respect their wishes by not presuming to coerce or badger them to believe otherwise'.

Originally posted by sonhouse
I think atheists are totally happy with their existence, not having to worry about gods and devils around every corner, nook and cranny like theists do, well some theists anyway.

Theists think you cannot live your life without referring to a god all the time.

Atheists don't have to carry so much emotional and intellectual luggage.

They just live th ...[text shortened]... theist.

Theists are the ones causing all the problems with Atheists, not the other way round.

I think happiness can come in all different shapes and sizes. Like I am happy when I get a good night of sleep, eat pizza, listen to worship music, listen to the Bible, watch movies, and watch sports, win at chess, ext.

I am mainly only sad when I'm not working.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
[b]Perhaps it wouldn't be too hard, but I'm not willing to take the time to go search for it and post it honestly so I don't care if you don't take my word for it.
Ah, I see.
So you're willing to make the charge, but you're not willing to actually back it up.
I'd say that's a claim that has been negated until further evidence shows otherwise.

[b ...[text shortened]... with the theistic standpoint, i.e., the sum total of the atheistic position is that life sucks.[/b]

So you're willing to make the charge, but you're not willing to actually back it up.
I'd say that's a claim that has been negated until further evidence shows otherwise.

I don't feel it's worth my time to go dig up the links, no. I don't care what you say. Like I said, I am ok with you not taking my word on this.

If you'd like some internet support for the concept, simply type the following into the search engine of your choice:

So you're willing to make the claim but not actually back it up? I'm not doing your research for you to back up your claim.

Well, it's proof of something, namely that the most intellectually advanced person an atheist can point to

It's not proof of anything. WHo said that bertrand Russel is the most intellectually advanced person an atheist can point to??

came to the conclusion that agrees with the theistic standpoint, i.e., the sum total of the atheistic position is that life sucks.

Very smart people can come to wrong conclusions.

Originally posted by RBHILL
I think happiness can come in all different shapes and sizes. Like I am happy when I get a good night of sleep, eat pizza, listen to worship music, listen to the Bible, watch movies, and watch sports, win at chess, ext.

I am mainly only sad when I'm not working.

"I am mainly only sad when I'm not working."... and whenever your NFL Team Picks are losing. Ha,

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
"I am mainly only sad when I'm not working."... and whenever your NFL Team Picks are losing. Ha,

Oh yes, and that also plus when my sport teams lose too.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
[b]So you're willing to make the charge, but you're not willing to actually back it up.
I'd say that's a claim that has been negated until further evidence shows otherwise.

I don't feel it's worth my time to go dig up the links, no. I don't care what you say. Like I said, I am ok with you not taking my word on this.

If you'd like some inter ...[text shortened]... e atheistic position is that life sucks.

Very smart people can come to wrong conclusions.[/b]

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Very smart people can come to wrong conclusions.

PsychoPawn, you've just penned the most memorable site applicable quotation of the year on this forum. (imo)

Originally posted by SwissGambit
I know I have been happier as an atheist. No more pressure to 'save souls', no more fear of myself or those I care about going to hell.

Being a Christian put me in an intellectual straight-jacket. I could read some books, but not if the author was too anti-Christian or liberal; I could listen to some music, but not if there was too much ...[text shortened]... od reasons that some of it is considered distasteful. But I want to be the one who decides that.

Christ said that the truth shall set you free and that his burden was light. I don't let other people's idea of Christianity put me in an intelliectual straight-jacket, as you say. I don't feel like there is any censorship on books , music, movies, and such for me. I enjoy doing what I do. I just don't enjoy doing many things that are considered sinful or evil, except sex and I can't do much of that anymore anyway. Poor me, right?

Originally posted by sonhouse
I think atheists are totally happy with their existence, not having to worry about gods and devils around every corner, nook and cranny like theists do, well some theists anyway.

Theists think you cannot live your life without referring to a god all the time.

Atheists don't have to carry so much emotional and intellectual luggage.

They just live th ...[text shortened]... theist.

Theists are the ones causing all the problems with Atheists, not the other way round.

9 thumbs up says a lot, you must have a stiffy to get that much cred for so little effort and honesty.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Did these convictions develop embryonically early in your childhood?

Edit Note: Are you aware of any causative factors between atheism and unresolved father issues?

That conversion came about around the age of 8.
When I was about 4, we lived in a latino neighborhood and I regularly got into fights and such, scrappy little ukker🙂. So my mom enrolled me in a Lutheran church school in El Monte Calif, the town where I was born.

So went through first to eighth grade there. Meanwhile, my granny was Pentacostal.

She kept telling me I would be utterly damned if I didn't get baptized in the Pentacostal way, total dunking.

She said that little sprinkle thing the Lutherans did was a fake and would get you to hell.

So it was at that point I realized there were major issues with religion and I swore off all of it right then and there.

You can't pull that kind of crap on an above average intelligence kid like I was.

I was only 8 but I saw through all that garbage and realized the whole edifice of religion was made up by men not a god.

I knew instinctively a real god could care less if you got baptized or not and whether or not you got totally dunked or sprinkled 'holy' water on your forehead.

I thought it was plain wacky a god would set up such a system.

Yet here it was. So I opted out.

Never regretted it one bit either.

Originally posted by sonhouse
I think atheists are totally happy with their existence, not having to worry about gods and devils around every corner, nook and cranny like theists do, well some theists anyway.

Theists think you cannot live your life without referring to a god all the time.

Atheists don't have to carry so much emotional and intellectual luggage.

They just live th ...[text shortened]... theist.

Theists are the ones causing all the problems with Atheists, not the other way round.

I don't know to many atheist that are truelly happy. They are always wondering, seeking, and here in this forum, arguing. If you are so happy, why would you trying SO hard to prove us strange thinkers that we are wrong? What would be the point?

Originally posted by Pudgenik
I don't know to many atheist that are truelly happy. They are always wondering, seeking, and here in this forum, arguing. If you are so happy, why would you trying SO hard to prove us strange thinkers that we are wrong? What would be the point?

The point is theists, if they ever recanted by the billions, would have to invent even stranger rational to kill each other, they could no longer rely on ancient man made texts to rationalize the killing of people of other religions or sects within the same religion or the shameful treatment of women based on these despised texts.

Originally posted by Pudgenik
I don't know to many atheist that are truelly happy. They are always wondering, seeking, and here in this forum, arguing. If you are so happy, why would you trying SO hard to prove us strange thinkers that we are wrong? What would be the point?

In the UK, over the years, I have watched/listened/read parliamentary debates on the following issues:

1 Abortion
2 Homosexuality (legalisation and age of consent)
3 Assisted suicide
4 Gay marriage / civil partnerships

On each occasion, some participants in the debate have largely or solely taken their position by reference to what they have been told is God's will as set out in various religious texts.

These are people who make laws that bind others who are not religious in ways that can have a profound impact on personal freedom and individual happiness. Many people have gone to prison for disobeying laws based on these beliefs.

If someone believes that God is a fiction, do you really need to ask the questions you posed?

(Oh, and quite why you think someone 'wondering' and 'seeking' is indicative of being unhappy is quite beyond me.)