quote:

Originally posted by zzyzx:
It has really confused me why atheists would ever commit suicide. We don't have a god or afterlife, so there is nothing after death...wouldn't that make you want to live more instead of killing yourself? If I were Christian I'd kill myself to get to Heaven faster...or have someone else kill me so that it's not suicide. But yea, I would think Atheists would be least likely to take their own life....but I'm wrong. I don't like stupid Atheists, good thing I'm a smart one

you've got a good point there

love your avitar - go FSMers - how 'bout all all athiests declare themselves FSMers so we can be called sane? LOL

quote:

Originally posted by FreeMarketLover:
Atheists have higher suicide rates than any other religious group. This leads me to think that Atheism is linked to mental instability. What coralation if any do you think there are between Atheism and sanity.

you know, that ia really, really insulting and cruel. That's questioning people who have no religion's sanity. No one qould ever question all CHRISTIAN's sanity, no, they all have to pick on the people who have no religion. I mean, GOD (i'm allowed to use his name is vain; I'm athiest, remember?), I've never felt suicidal my whole life, and certainly quite odd at times but no one has ever questioned me or my family's sanity. Do you want me to find my papers that say "not insane"???

Ok, I'm not really proving my point here, but still, I think that those who believe there is no god or religion, and are mostly are perfectly fine with the fact that when you're dead, YOU'RE DEAD, and that there is no world outside the realm of science (and there is nothing scientific about deities) are quite sane, mind you, quite sane.

Or do you want us to right out declare ourselves pagans and satanists?

quote:

Originally posted by Jenos:
What if it is? If you are a Christian, your sins are already forgiven, so you go to heaven anyway. Unless you're Catholic. If you commit suicide then you go straight to hell.

Um, you wrote that kinda weird but I'm assuming you mean that unless your Catholic then committing suicide won't make you go to hell, is that what you meant to say?

That's one thing that I've always wondered about....say there's this really good person (kind, compassionate, the whole works) but he's an atheist. Then there's this other guy who's not good (mean, cheats, whatever) but he's a Christian. Who goes to heaven?

What if it is? If you are a Christian, your sins are already forgiven, so you go to heaven anyway. Unless you're Catholic. If you commit suicide then you go straight to hell.

Has anyone else noticed that FML doesn't like following up on these things when people come up with good arguments?

Yeah but isn't killing yourself a sin with Christianity zzyzx?

It has really confused me why atheists would ever commit suicide. We don't have a god or afterlife, so there is nothing after death...wouldn't that make you want to live more instead of killing yourself? If I were Christian I'd kill myself to get to Heaven faster...or have someone else kill me so that it's not suicide. But yea, I would think Atheists would be least likely to take their own life....but I'm wrong. I don't like stupid Atheists, good thing I'm a smart one

A quote has just sprung to mind.

There are lies, damn lies and statistics

quote:

Originally posted by Brehon:
FML, may I enquire where this study was taken? This will obviously have a large effect on the ratios of religions and on the suicide rate.

Another good point! Oh FLM where are you??? We've got questions, we'd like answers.

FML, may I enquire where this study was taken? This will obviously have a large effect on the ratios of religions and on the suicide rate.

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Most Christians wont tell you you are going to hell (even though you are) but we try to save those who dont believe.

ilovebush, honey, if you're going to try to convince us then maybe you shouldn't contradict yourself within the same sentence. Besides which most Christians WILL inform you that you are going to hell as soon as they find out your an atheist. Seeing as you've probably never told a Christian you're an atheist you would never have experienced this but it is true.

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Although i doubt there is any actual link, the way I would explain such a thing is that Atheists do not live in the blissfull ignorance that those in religion do.
Therefore when tragedy does strike, to the extent that suicide is a possibility, they have no god to seek comfort with, or to make them sustain life because they must serve some higher purpouse, and therefore take thier life...
I'm proud to be Atheist, and i've accepted the brutal truths' of existence.

My feelings exactly Helios.

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Why is it that so many people dislike atheists? Virtually no one in England believes in a God really, so there is some gap in my understanding of how atheists are treated in the US.

Very good question Brehon. I think that it's like that in many parts of Europe, I know people from the Netherlands and Denmark and they all say that it wasn't like this over there. I think that part of it is that the US has more extremes, we have fundamentalist Christians and atheists who firmly believe that there is no god. Oh and by the way I love your sig!

quote:

I don't understand that I mean how do they think we got here?(I'm not meaning to offend anybody I'm voicing my opinion)

In the "International Relations" board there is a thread titled "The theory of evolution". Read it. Does anyone take biology any more?!?!

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because many of the most vocal have the amazing ability to twist scientific information and discard it as it suits them, and to use a book from a backwater of the ancient middle east for an answer to every problem.

Amen to that northstar.

FML, we could really use some cold hard facts here....and what is it with your anti-atheist threads lately?

quote:

Why do people tend to think that all those who have a religion and believe in a higher power are therefore ignorant to the outside world and have never suffered any kind of tragedy?

because many of the most vocal have the amazing ability to twist scientific information and discard it as it suits them, and to use a book from a backwater of the ancient middle east for an answer to every problem.

quote:

Atheists have higher suicide rates than any other religious group. This leads me to think that Atheism is linked to mental instability. What coralation if any do you think there are between Atheism and sanity.

We'll more inteligent people have a higher tendancy to suffer from depression so yes, there could be a correlation there.

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I don't understand that I mean how do they think we got here?(I'm not meaning to offend anybody I'm voicing my opinion)

PLEASE PEOPLE study and TRY to understand evolution and the big bang theory.

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i think someone in this room hould define the word atheist, it seems everyone is a bit confused

Agreed... faith cannot be used as an arguement here because athiests have faith. An Atheist beleives there there is definately no God. Not to be confused with the faithless Agnostic who beleives that the existence of a God has not been proven or disproven and very well may never be.

quote:

Why do people tend to think that all those who have a religion and believe in a higher power are therefore ignorant to the outside world and have never suffered any kind of tragedy?

On the contrary, the latter is why many people decide to become religious.

They decide to become religious because they have never suffered any kind of tragedy? I'm guessing you mean because they have...

Just nit-picking on the last one. My apologies.

I don't understand that I mean how do they think we got here?(I'm not meaning to offend anybody I'm voicing my opinion)

your not living if you don't take chances

i think someone in this room hould define the word atheist, it seems everyone is a bit confused

quote:

Originally posted by disney_eyes:
my boyfriend is athiest, hes so clever its unbelivable. i agree with hubbabaloo. but then again you get suicide bombers that kill themselves FOR religion.
being athiest is not about being mentally unstable. its just another way of looking at the world.

Very true. We have those off their rocker Muslims (that are really going against Mohammed's most sincere wishes if you think about it) and the Palestinians and such, but hey, there crazy atheists, there are crazy Christians, there are crazy Muslims, crazy Jews, etc.

Really it's because they don't see a divine comforter, so it'd be harder for them to see point in living than it is for religious people.

my boyfriend is athiest, hes so clever its unbelivable. i agree with hubbabaloo. but then again you get suicide bombers that kill themselves FOR religion.
being athiest is not about being mentally unstable. its just another way of looking at the world.

FreeMarketLover. I think you have an enthymeme there. Okay, I think that atheists are more commonly suicidal because they don't see anything after death, and they don't see that there's someone watching over them. That's what I think.

quote:

Originally posted by WorthWaitingFor:
Why do people tend to think that all those who have a religion and believe in a higher power are therefore ignorant to the outside world and have never suffered any kind of tragedy?

On the contrary, the latter is why many people decide to become religious.

I repeat my question because I'm really curious.

Brehon: Unfortunately, many Christians in the United States dislike anyone that doesn't follow their faith or anyone they deem is going to hell (atheists fall into both categories).

I'm not one of them, however. I don't care what people believe/don't believe. I hate people who try to convert other people.

Why is it that so many people dislike atheists? Virtually no one in England believes in a God really, so there is some gap in my understanding of how atheists are treated in the US.

quote:

Although i doubt there is any actual link, the way I would explain such a thing is that Atheists do not live in the blissfull ignorance that those in religion do.
Therefore when tragedy does strike, to the extent that suicide is a possibility, they have no god to seek comfort with, or to make them sustain life because they must serve some higher purpouse, and therefore take thier life...
I'm proud to be Atheist, and i've accepted the brutal truths' of existence.

well put