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Why trying to convert theists won't work.

I know that a lot of people on here spend a lot of time trying to convince theists that they are wrong, and you can waste a lot of breath explaining why ontological, cosmological and teleogical arguments for the existance of god fail to achieve closure and the best that can be said of them is that they are not proven, and the reason for this is that many theists have faith which means that 'evidence is irrelevant to faith' you can call them brianwashed or stupid or whatever you like but the fact of the matter is many theists will say 'I don't care if all the arguments about god point to his non-existance ..I still believe' and in the face of this attitude you cn never win.

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Permalink Reply by eric stone on January 17, 2010 at 3:51pm

You can tell them that faith led people to believe the world is flat, and that it also leads people to murder.

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Permalink Reply by Jez Smith on January 17, 2010 at 4:02pm

Well yes but then this leads on to arguments about necessary evil, evils are practically necessary for various possible reasons.You can argue that evil things happen because its necessary that people have beem given freewill in order to do good things by choice, and they therefore have the oportunity to do evil.

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Permalink Reply by Roxanne on January 17, 2010 at 7:54pm

I dont try to convert people, I only do my best to be a good person and prove that religion isn't the only thing that makes people good. It's funny to see the look on people's faces when they find out I'm an atheist. i think it blows their idea of a stereotypical atheist when they see how happy one can be. :-)

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Permalink Reply by John D on January 17, 2010 at 8:56pm

I don't necessarily try to convert them. I only try to protect my freedoms. I will not stand for someone making my kids pray in school, or let the government promote religion, or claim I am less of a citizen because of my atheism.

So... I will argue! For sure. I will tell them how wrong they are at least to try to get them to shut up. I am tired of their crap!

Wheeew. I feel better now :^)

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Moore on January 17, 2010 at 9:21pm

To say that trying to convert theists won't work isn't entirely true. After all, many of the people on A|N were once theist, and an honest appraisal of their position led them to reject theism.

Yes, it may be difficult to convince a theist of one's position, but with time they can come to change their position.

Anyhow, it's not really our place as atheists to try and convert theists. They present their arguments, we present ours. If they change there position, well and good. If not, fine; it's their choice to believe what they want, after all.

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Permalink Reply by John D on January 18, 2010 at 8:18am

Good point Stephen - I used to believe in some fuzzy form of God and so did my atheist wife. Yes - theists CAN be changed... we are proof of that.

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Permalink Reply by funk Q on January 18, 2010 at 4:28am

I think whether or not a theist makes the transition to accept atheism is what forms the foundation of their faith.

Some are religious because that is the custom of their culture, therefore it's never questioned and it's a central part of daily life. Others can make a livelihood from either religion or its peripheral activities; the reasons why they are attached to faith are many and varied.

Often there is a single doubt which, when examined may bring about a complete change of views. This is what atheist should strive for. It's not necessary to destroy faith through logical argument. Quite often confronting a believer may make them more staunch in their defence of faith. On the other hand, to be around when the doubts and questioning start and to be able to offer a reasonable and (relatively) dogma free alternative, I think, is an area where atheists can really be effective.

Support and comfort can possibly work where brute logic and reason have failed.

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Permalink Reply by Karam Gill on January 18, 2010 at 9:11am

It is not so much trying to convert as it is letting people know that you dont have to believe in god. There is another option. I used to be a muslim, and when I lost my faith instead of becoming an atheist I tried Christianity then Hiduism. I never knew atheism existed, never knew it was an option. People should know that they dont have to have 'faith'.

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Permalink Reply by Jez Smith on January 18, 2010 at 1:57pm

Yes I suppose this is very true, if you don't know of an alternative or live in a culture where no alternative is admitted then it make only take a gentle nudge.

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Permalink Reply by Explonential on September 26, 2010 at 12:22pm

How ridiculous. I was a Christian, and a simple, thoughtful, consciousness-expanding comment converted me. Many people reading this are converted theists - how did they change?

You're right in saying that offending people won't convince them to change - but that doesn't mean we can't - we've just to to speak their language: http://www.explonential.com/how-to-convert-a-theist-3-arguments-for...