Obbe
2008-07-25, 21:33
In My God its not too unusual for someone to make a blanket statement about atheists or theists, but I think it would be a good idea to try and steer away from this when we can. After all, it should be fairly obvious that within each of the nearly equal populations of theists and atheists that visit My God, there are a variety of different personalities.
There are intelligent, contributive atheists as well as silly preteens who just think atheisms kewl. There are the agnostic who are a diverse group themselves. There are interesting, experienced theists with spiritual rituals, there are those who remain religious despite their &totse memberships, maniacs and others as well.
Just today, I went to a funeral for some relative I did not know with my sister, who is an atheist herself. One interesting thing to take note of is that she was uncomfortable being in a cemetery, thinking of all the dead people around. She said she could never live next to a cemetery, too scary for her. It didn't bother me at all, and neither would living next to one. The dead are dead. Mush.
Other things to note were that she cried throughout the funeral because others were, and I suppose their sadness made her sad. As I usually am, I was unaffected by the death of our relative and the tears of the others. She even commented on it, asking if I were made of stone. Also, apparently the majority of my extended family (Ukrainians) are Catholic. Everyone joined in some prayer, including my atheist sister who somehow knew the words, although I could not because I myself had never learned the words.
The point of my story is that theists and atheists can be very diverse ... and it is obvious we forum members are. To continue to use 'atheist' and 'theist' stereotypically appears to show ignorance of this negatively effects this community. I suggest all those who enjoy posting here and care about the community try to avoid making stereotypical comments.
There are intelligent, contributive atheists as well as silly preteens who just think atheisms kewl. There are the agnostic who are a diverse group themselves. There are interesting, experienced theists with spiritual rituals, there are those who remain religious despite their &totse memberships, maniacs and others as well.
Just today, I went to a funeral for some relative I did not know with my sister, who is an atheist herself. One interesting thing to take note of is that she was uncomfortable being in a cemetery, thinking of all the dead people around. She said she could never live next to a cemetery, too scary for her. It didn't bother me at all, and neither would living next to one. The dead are dead. Mush.
Other things to note were that she cried throughout the funeral because others were, and I suppose their sadness made her sad. As I usually am, I was unaffected by the death of our relative and the tears of the others. She even commented on it, asking if I were made of stone. Also, apparently the majority of my extended family (Ukrainians) are Catholic. Everyone joined in some prayer, including my atheist sister who somehow knew the words, although I could not because I myself had never learned the words.
The point of my story is that theists and atheists can be very diverse ... and it is obvious we forum members are. To continue to use 'atheist' and 'theist' stereotypically appears to show ignorance of this negatively effects this community. I suggest all those who enjoy posting here and care about the community try to avoid making stereotypical comments.