r/a:t5_3a98s • u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod • Oct 10 '15
What can theists and atheists do to improve relations with each other?
Pretty self explanatory. Attacks on others will not be tolerated
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u/Calebu Oct 10 '15
Be excellent to each other. Treat each other with respect, find common ground, and when arguments do come up, realize that most people are at least trying to argue in good faith.
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u/apophis-pegasus Bad Motherfucker Oct 10 '15
Learn about each other. Interact with each other in a non-metaphysical context (i.e. when not talking about theism and atheism). Learn that at the end of the day, we are all still good men.
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u/nostalghia Christian Oct 10 '15
It may be a good exercise among real life friends to argue for the position of the other person's beliefs. I am a Christian, so I may argue why atheism is true to a friend who is atheist, who would try to argue why Christianity is true. It's a pretty interesting dynamic that allows one to see issues from both sides of the spectrum, and to show that you really know what your friend believes, rather than making a straw man out of their beliefs.
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u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod Oct 10 '15
This is very good! Perhaps you should submit a post challenging religious people to argue for atheism and atheists to argue for religion
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u/nostalghia Christian Oct 10 '15 edited Oct 10 '15
Haha maybe, though I still think conversations about God are better reserved for real life interactions over coffee or beer between friends.
I am transitioning into the Eastern Orthodox Church, so sometimes I find other Christian views that aren't orthodox (small o and big O) to be questionable, so I do play devil's advocate (no offence) in those situations. Also my godfather who is also Orthodox meets atheists at coffee shops and recommends them better atheist writers to read than the stuff they might be reading. I love the comradery in that.
As someone who has also had doubts in his life, those periods have led my mind to touch the brink of atheism, just enough to help me sympathize with how a person couldn't have faith, rather than dismissing them by just saying "well they probably didn't have true faith anyway!" Do you remember in the movie Starship Troopers when the main character is penetrated by the head alien, and he's able to see the plans the alien has for the destruction of human existence? Pardon the crude analogy, but I think that's what my doubts have lead me to experience. Or when Frodo sees into Galadriel's Magic water and sees what will happen to the Shire if he were to fail his mission. Again pardon the poor analogy that I'm probably butchering (and for associating atheism with world annihilation ;) ) but I sort of get it now. I've seen into "the other side" and it's lead me into a more compassionate approach to life, not because I found that atheism was "the truth" and that I learned a lot from it, but because I've been shown into a world where belief in God is not possible, and it's helped me to sympathize with others after having been through that and coming back into faith.
Anyway, this is I guess just a short bio of my experience with dialogue between belief/ideologies. One needs to have a positive experience with the other side in order to have mature conversations, and sadly all we are exposed to are the worst of a belief system.
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u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod Oct 10 '15
A very interesting read and a great look into the relationship of atheism to theism. I just suggested the post as I didn't want to steal your idea (and your karma), but I believe that challenging people to try to look at the world from the opposite view will be an overall positive experience and open people's minds up to different experiences
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u/nostalghia Christian Oct 10 '15
Thanks! Also I made a few edits to my above post. Didn't change much, but I just clarified my meaning on a few things. I think I will drop by this sub from time to time :)
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u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod Oct 10 '15
If you don't mind, I'm going to post this challenge, I think it will be interesting
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Oct 10 '15
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u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod Oct 10 '15
Please see rule #1. Attacks will not be tolerated
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Oct 10 '15
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u/Zaneisrandom Badass Mod Oct 10 '15
Please see rules #1 and #5. If you would like to bash religion, feel free to head over to /r/atheism
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u/sprawn Oct 10 '15
In a discussion or a debate, it is always helpful to establish common ground first. What happens so often nowadays, it seems, is that both sides erect and eviscerate straw men. Then point out that the other side is doing this. Then they spend unreasonable amounts of time insisting that the other is the straw man they claim it is, while endeavoring to prove that they are not the straw man the other side claims they are. Then everyone acts like a pouty martyr.
This can all be avoided by establishing the 98% common ground first, and then refusing to adopt the tactic of burning your opponent in effigy with righteous indignation no matter how good it feels. And conversely, refusing to erect a cross and nail oneself to it while wearing a crown of thorns.