Happy Atheist Forum

Hello,

Not sure quite how I ended up here - some link from somewhere or other.  Anyhow, I was intrigued by the name of the forum (do theists often claim that atheists aren't happy?) and read a few interesting threads - seems like a nice place!  So hopefully I can make some kind of contribution from my Christian perspective, and I look forward to being challenged about my beliefs.

Nathan

Hello Nathan, Welcome to the forums. In my experiences, atheists are presented as miserable, hateful and angry people. Not all the time, but a little of the time. As for the name of the forum, I thinks more of a way of opening up a friendly place to have discussions, than it is a clarification of a common misconception... however I didn't name it so I don't know for sure.

Hello and welcome!

I'm pretty new here too, but it's a pretty positive place and I'm sure you'll enjoy some of the interesting conversations. As a Christian, I'm sure you'll get tons of food for thought. Atheists ask a lot of "why" questions, like "Why do you believe this?" or "What is the evidence for that?" and so on. So, maybe this sort of talk will give you some new and interesting things to think about.

Hi Nathan

Why do you want your beliefs challenged? Why not leave them at the door and make yourself at home?

Welcome aboard.

New Member Information
Mission Statement (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/portal.php) Why this place is here.
Forum Rules (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=18210#p18210) More of a set of guidelines really, upset Whitney (She who must be obeyed) and you'll find the exit door very quickly!
How do I use the quote feature? (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=3442#p3442) If you are new to forums this is an important feature to understand. The maximum number of nested quotes is 3.
Help desk. (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewforum.php?f=39) Any problems this is where to ask them.
What's on your mind today? (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=8597#p8597) The general chit chat thread.
Somewhere to discuss the fear of dying. (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=70041#p70041) Many ex-theists have to come to terms with death, this is a place to discuss this issue.
How to tell your family you are an atheist. (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=69387#p69387) Some suggestions about how to deal with this thorny issue.
Parenting Beyond Belief. (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewforum.php?f=44) The forum for discussing how to raise your children 'Faith Free'.
.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome!  Make yourself at home.

Hiya Nathan.

Hey there.

Welcome! As long as you are constructive, I for one, look forward to having your perspective around. We have one or two other theists who hang out with us and it works quite well!

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you believe that there is a god and that the correct way of approaching that deity is through Christianity? Tradition? Personal experience? "momentum"..?

Quote from: "Tank"Why do you want your beliefs challenged?

For me it is axiomatic that we have an intellectual obligation to seek defeaters for our beliefs.

Quote from: "Asmodean"If you don't mind me asking, what makes you believe that there is a god and that the correct way of approaching that deity is through Christianity? Tradition? Personal experience? "momentum"..?

Like everyone, I think, I hold to my worldview because for me it makes the most sense of the world.  That includes a variety of personal experiences (not simply "spiritual encounters", but also those experiences that affect my intuitions about the relevant philosophical questions of ethics, epistemology, etc.) and my assessment of the many arguments for and against theism.  An important reason why I am a Christian (and not a Muslim, Hindu, etc.) is my assessment of the historical evidence regarding Jesus' life and the origins of Christian belief.

[What is "momentum" out of interest?]

Hello Nathan and welcome to the forum. It's always good to have another Christian poster (as long as you follow the same forum rules as everyone else). However you found the forum I'm glad you did while Atheism is the most common subject on the forum we all talk about a wide variety of topics so you should find much to discuss but don't be surprised if people ask for reasons, logic, evididence, links, examples, ect if your answers disagree with someone elses.

Atheists are often accused of being angry, militant, depresed, hopeless, people who just want too sin, baby eater, (usually a joke but sadly not always) ect. Commonly on this forum even. While that may be a reason for the forum name I would think another was name availability. There are 10 to 15 million atheist/agnostic/non-believers in America if 1/1000th of 1 percent of just the nonbelievers in America decided to make an Atheist forum that would still mean 100 to 150 forums. Considering there are hundreds of millions of non-believers in the world that just makes it harder to find a name. For the straight dope I would just wait until the owner operator of the forum Whitney come on. She I'm sure can give you an acurate answer.

Hello and welcome to our humble abode of happiness, good discussion, and general silliness too.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

Quote from: "Nathan"

Quote from: "Tank"Why do you want your beliefs challenged?

For me it is axiomatic that we have an intellectual obligation to seek defeaters for our beliefs.

Good answer. I hope you stick around. The reason for that hope is that I don't know many (2) Christians in real life. Where do you live?

Quote from: "Nathan"[What is "momentum" out of interest?]

Thanks for a really decent answer! Momentum here refers to holding a religion of your parents and/or of your childhood. Many people out there have the world view they do because they started out early and simply never derailed.

Hello Nathan...*wavin atcha*

Quote from: "Nathan"For me it is axiomatic that we have an intellectual obligation to seek defeaters for our beliefs.


Like everyone, I think, I hold to my worldview because for me it makes the most sense of the world.  That includes a variety of personal experiences (not simply "spiritual encounters", but also those experiences that affect my intuitions about the relevant philosophical questions of ethics, epistemology, etc.) and my assessment of the many arguments for and against theism.  An important reason why I am a Christian (and not a Muslim, Hindu, etc.) is my assessment of the historical evidence regarding Jesus' life and the origins of Christian belief.

Already we have problems with
'intellectual' verses 'intuition'...
'spiritual encounters' verses 'intellectual' ...
believing in one historical account over another...
believing a historical account that has little history in it, let alone zero history of it's main character...
and the shady origins of Christian mythology.

There is very little 'intellectual' when believing in the unnatural. Hopefully...and "happily"...we can help you.

Hi Nathan! Welcome to the board.

Nathan!