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Atheism doesn’t affect whether God exists

Thursday, July 2, 2009

(Updated 3:00 am)

In response to Tom Arcaro’s column June 28 (“Nonbeliever: Is there a place for professed atheists in America?”):

I fail to understand why some folks are offended by my atheism. After all, neither God’s existence nor nonexistence is determined by my absence of belief.

Guy Sinclair
Graham

What do you think?

15 comment(s)

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rahrah

July 2, 2009 - 3:38 am EDT

Could God exist without us? If there were no one to believe in him, would his existence matter?

zeus80

July 2, 2009 - 5:28 am EDT

Mr. Sinclair, and there neither good or evil in the world, except thinking makes it so.

lilbean

July 2, 2009 - 6:20 am EDT

heres the thing mr. sinclair.you leave us alone, we'll leave you alone. its that simple. but since you can't, then we won't. gotten tired of turning the other cheek mr.sinclair, real tired.

Get A Clue

July 2, 2009 - 6:42 am EDT

Fight picked over imaginary line in the sand, straw man argument presented with faux conviction, veiled threat made. Paint it all in poor spelling and grammar.
I couldn't have written a post to demonstrate my point of view (please see below) better than this one.
Thank you, lilbean.

Lakeshia

July 2, 2009 - 7:02 am EDT

I'm with you lilbean - let's persecute Mr. Sinclair for his religious beliefs - I suggest we crucify him. What say you ?

LinzyM99

July 2, 2009 - 7:54 am EDT

I just wanted to make sure I am reading this right. So lilbean you are saying that atheist bother christians??? LOL!!! That is the most comical thing I have ever heard. I never try to tell Christians there is no God there is no use in that. But do you know how many times a day people tell me "God Bless You" when I sneeze, or "Have a blessed day" or The God emails I get at work. Give me a break.

lilbean

July 3, 2009 - 2:34 am EDT

perhaps linzy you'd rather have have someone tell you to quit spreading your filthy germs? you want god and religion removed from public life, you're getting that more everyday, enjoy! as long as you know that when you take god from society, you'll live in a godless society. read this paper to which you reply. then lock your doors and hide away. it only gets better from here linzzzzzzzy!

Get A Clue

July 2, 2009 - 6:35 am EDT

Fanaticism can only exist if it is not or cannot be challenged. When you believe you hold "the Answer" or "the Truth" it becomes irritating to have to put up with doubters, questioners and skeptics. Worse are those who believe they have "the Answer," and not you. How dare they question your authority. How can they possibly be happy? So you decide that--for their own good--you will witness to them...or convert them...or kill them. You'll invent vocabulary that narrows your thinking and justifies your cause. They will be heathens, blasphemers, infidels. It helps to dehumanize humans before you attempt to enslave or destroy them.
So in the end you believe you hold some Ultimate Truth but by your very practice you only draw your circle of the Chosen smaller and smaller through pretension, through exclusivity, through attrition. Not satisfied with living in a country where you have a right to exist and practice as you believe, you and others like you feel things would be best if you and your fellow believers were in complete control. But in the end, deep down inside, you know that if you really were correct, that if you did possess the Turth, it would be obvious. Reason, kindness and example would suffice to spread the Message. You wouldn't need secret ceremonies, special costumes or strict adherence to dogma measured in millenias to gain special admittance to a place that possibly exists somewhere past the here and now. Here and now would suffice. Here and now would be a good time to start practicing what you preach...assuming what you're preaching is kindness, love, respect.
Or you could keep the status quo. Assumming it works for you and your kind, that is.

neocon

July 2, 2009 - 7:12 am EDT

I'm not offended by you atheism, Mr. Sinclair. I'm offended by the atheists who constantly whine about how they're 'harassed and persecuted' by Christians to the point where they feel the need to write letters for public consumption proclaiming their non believing status.

Here's a news flash for ya: many people don't give a damn whether you believe in God or not.

Get A Clue

July 2, 2009 - 7:32 am EDT

...and I thought the entire point of having "Letters to the Editor" was so that people who felt the need to share their points of view in a public forum had a safe place to do so. Now I find the whole point was to simply agree with--or at least not offend you, neocon. Silly me.
But at least I didn't write a letter to the editor complaining about people who are so irritated by people who feel the need to write letters to the editor that it bothers them and how much it bothers me.
;-) Thanks for playing!

neocon

July 2, 2009 - 8:17 am EDT

'Points of view' or 'whine'... It's all in the eye of the beholder. Between the two, atheists and christians, the atheists seem to be the more sensitive when it comes to being offended. Just my opinion.

Feel free to correct any grammatical errors or awe me with your vocabulary skills.

truth

July 2, 2009 - 9:27 am EDT

There's good and bad in everything, I guess. I can completely accept when someone says "I don't believe in God".

Makes sense. Most people can't actually see "God" as a concrete form. A lot of people have a hard time relating to or believing in a God that lets bad things happen.

However, there are some who claim to be atheist who seem to have a strong hatred and animosity for a God that they don't believe in. They go around chastizing Christians and picking fights with those who do believe in God. They get all hot and bothered about people speaking publicly about God.

A lot of people believe in UFOs and ghosts. I don't. But it doesn't bother me hearing people talk about them. I find it interesting, actually.

It's hard to argue with someone else's beliefs. They believe what they believe. Not my place to tell them what to believe. That's a personal thing and I'm not in any position to judge.

tledford

July 2, 2009 - 8:48 pm EDT

"However, there are some who claim to be atheist who seem to have a strong hatred and animosity for a God that they don't believe in. They go around chastizing Christians and picking fights with those who do believe in God. They get all hot and bothered about people speaking publicly about God."

One example, please. Not manufactured by some slug on fauxsn00ze.