why do fellow atheists chose to marry in church-the so called house of "god"?
542642
Pwerhaps it's the lure of the pretty little chapel and all, maybe we need atheist wedding chapels in all cities these days. \n\nI don't mind where I wed my gay partner when we decide to go through with it, as it's only been an option since last December here in Britain ...we are not rushing into it all of a sudden just because civil marriage is suddenly available to us, now it's an option we can think about it.
557440
i do...completly...before i was in the church i was atheist...when i looked at people in other churches i would see people obey some rule...not obey others...make up rule...ect...it made me think that there was no point to all of that...and i was right\n\nthe iglesia ni cristo is the only church that made any sense to me...they told me why people in other churches do what they do...and the church also wouldn't just except a practice just because everyone thinks it a good idea...the rules are written and that is what we use\n\nlet me give you a real life example of that...if all the cooks at a restruant decided that it wasn't a good idea to wash their hands after going to the bathroom...would it make it right...well, of course not...the words of god are even more important then that
210775
I think some people are confused. They don't really realize that many of the people they think of as "atheists" are actually god-fearing individuals.\n\nThey simply point at Hollywood or scientists and assume that these people are godless. They are largely wrong.\n\nI'm coming from a different frame of view. I think that faith divides people and causes them to do terrible things to one another. Worse than that, it justifies these actions. The idea that atheists are immoral is faulty. The idea that one cannot have morals without god is faulty. \n\nThe people who come down so hard on atheism are missing that it truly is a message of tolerance. It's an acknowlegement that there are no rewards or punishments in some made-up after-life, so it is incumbent upon the individual to do the right thing for no other reason than doing the right thing. It is selfless in that sense.\n\nThere is a man in Florida who is trying to start a town for Catholics where abortion (among other things) would be banned. Is it constitutional? I don't know. However, I think that if I were to try to start a town for atheists, secular-humanists, whatever you want to call yourself and the only rules would be "1. No worship of the supernatural and 2. Tolerate everyone" people would go crazy and decry it as a new Sodom or Gomorrah.\n\nAlso, atheists cannot recruit in the traditional sense. We cannot "show you the light." One must reach their own rational conclusions. The further truth is that most atheists do not fault people simply for believing in god. It's when they use their faith as justification for intolerance or violence that we really get up in arms.\n\nDespite our lack of organization, we have something going for us that no other "faith" does. We will never go away. Whether people worship Zeus, Jehovah, or (maybe in 1000 years) The Star Wars Trilogy, there will always be people who say, "This cannot be right."
1146595
Sure, plenty of non-believers go to church for social reasons.\n\nI once had a teacher who told me that a church isn't about the building, the sacrements, the preaching, or even the dogma, its about the people.  A church is a congregation of people, if you want to go to church simply to enjoy the company of the people there, and so that they can in turn enjoy your company, where's the harm?\n\nYou are bringing light into the lives of others, and that's what really matters, not belief in a set of laws or ideas.  It doesn't matter what you believe, what matters are the lives you touch.\n\nA person who spends his entire life in a dark building praying is as useless as a pile of dust, but a person who spends his life in the company of others, making their lives better, is more usefull than anything else on this earth.
1186108
My church is kind of like that. We are a methodist church but with an open policy. Anyone is welcome with no judgement from the church. After all, Christ did say all should come to the temple and worship him. He didn't truly specify.\n\nAnd to whoever says we should make our own decisions, we have. We CHOSE to believe in God. Just because YOU have problems with who you are and where you belong, don't take it out on those who have figured it out.
869022
a fairly recent USA study revealed that there are a large percentage of people who go to church faithfully who are faking their way through but are very atheist. The reasons are many but heading the list is fear of losing a spouse, a job, social position,etc...
494293
WOW!!!! People are crazy and very rude when they apply their beliefs to how they judge others. \n\nWe (atheist) are not sad, lonely imoral people. We did not chose to become atheists because we were angered or felt abandoned by a god. We became atheists through years of thought and understanding. We do not get worried when you say it's our stubborn choice to not believe in your god and that we are going to burn in hell.\n\nPlease quit thinking this.
637883
God doesn't hold the patent to those i'm afraid.\n\nMany atheists are moral & ethical people, so get off cloud 9.\n\nI can do whatever I want, but you know what, I choose not to.  Not out of fear, or god's retribution, but because I don't want to do harmful things.  Isn't that better, I'm not doing it for some distant reward, but simply because I want to.
880398
The very thought of the word "atheist" means opposite of morality. Atheists that come to a religious site are incapable of being moral and decent.
866913
We are ALL born atheist, that is "without belief in gods".  That's called "implicit atheism".  Even if we're programmed to "search" for something to worship (which I highly doubt, by the way), we BEGIN without any actual knowledge of deities.  We are, by default, without belief and therefore atheistic.
121827
I think Atheists have a right to believe as they do, and I do not think they are stupid for their beliefs.  The lifestyles of different Atheists vary, so it is hard to comment on an Atheist "Lifestyle."  In my opinion, Atheists could benefit from certain practices that are usually associated with religion, but do not necessarily have to be.  For example, daily affirmations of what is good in life, and daily reflections on how to live the best life, and meditation to strengthen one's qualities and so on.  \n\nYes, they have a place in heaven, if there is a heaven.
832860
More importantly, and I suspect this is what you're getting at, why would a god who wants worship set himself up to be totally illogical and irrational? I think that if there was a god controlling it all, we'd be somehow predispositioned to believing in him, rather than having to ignore all logic and reason just to get into heaven.
228629
So you are saying only those married in the church should have sex? In other words, anyone married in another religions ceremony will not go to your heaven and be accepted by your God?\n\nI am floored by this narrow thought process. I wouldn't believe in a God that would be so closed minded about the joys our bodies bring us. Why do you think we enjoy s e x? Your God made these bodies according to you right? Then why did he make them so responsive to the act? \n\nI give up....according to you...I am going to your hell. That said, thank the Goddess I don't believe in your hell.\n\nGood Luck.
798322
If marriage is so sacred, why not make it against the law for atheists to marry?
348271
First off, agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive, for the former deals with knowledge and the latter deals with belief.  I am an agnostic atheist, for I claim no knowledge of the existence of any gods, and therefore I hold no belief in any.  You also seem to be an agnostic atheist.  Most people take the term "atheist" to mean "a person who knows there is no god and doesn't believe in one."  This is the other kind of atheist, a gnostic atheist.  Most atheists are of the former, agnostic variety.\n\nThe reason why theists want to debate you are surely many, though I have come to believe through my experience (which is similar to yours) that religious people feel like they are being presented with an opportunity to save someone's soul when I tell them I am an atheist.  You see, many religious people get some wacky ideas about atheists (and gays, for that matter) from their respective churches: that we have no morals, that we eat babies, that gays being allowed to marry will open the door for people to marry their pets (swear on my honor, I heard a pastor at an Austin church say that on TV one Sunday morning).\n\nThey are too used to letting men of the cloth do their thinking for them, and the men of the cloth tell them that their job is to witness to others.  Save those souls, for they know not what they do.  \n\nThe problem with this line of thinking, of course, is that we DO know why we think the way we do, specifically because the fairy tale doesn't make sense.  We pulled back the curtain to find that there is no wizard.  Most American atheists were once believers, and it has been claimed by many an atheist at The Atheist Network (website listed below) that the single greatest argument AGAINST Christianity is The Holy Bible.  There are enough inconsistencies, false prophecies, and flat out lies to get anyone who is serious about searching for truth and meaning to deconvert.  Unfortunately, most people are so weak-minded that they won't allow themselves to admit they may be wrong about their beliefs and so continue their lives under misguded delusions.
1098637
As an atheist I believe it's not unethical, but it sure as hell is awkward.  I used to visit a very religious family and I was terrified that they'd find out I thought their belief system was wacko.  I used to have to lead prayers and stuff ... it sucked.  Now I'm more forward about my lack of belief and I've learned to deal with the outright hypocrisy and bigotry of the average religious person.  I find most people have never really thought about what it means to be an atheist and I enjoy showing them.\n\nI say go to church, make contacts and join social circles, but don't lie about who you are or what your beliefs are.  It'll come back to bite you faster than Moses put all animals on the Earth into that magic boat of his.
1046495
This is ridiculous. Does religion or religious people bother you that much. How do you know that you won't meet someone that believes in God that is also really nice and worth spending time with. Atheist are no better than the rest of the religious groups. "Are way is the true way." Keep separating yourself from people. I'm sure that will really help you grow as a person or maybe you have grown all you care to? Why can't people be free to live and believe as they choose. If you make this atheist nation and the children born there want to believe in God and worship are you going to kick them out? I believe in God does that separate us so much that I am not welcome to be with you? Why do people feel the need to group together. Can't you have your own beliefs and stand alone? I would hate to think that your child would not ever get a chance to play with my child because of what us parents believe. Of course all this is based on the hypothetical.\nLove & Light\nSharon\nOne Planet = One People