Are Atheists missing the point of religious faith?

Firefly scene in which Shepard Book finds River Tam altering his Bible:

Book: What are we up to, sweetheart?

River: Fixing your Bible.

Book: I, um…
[alarmed]
Book: What?

River: Bible’s broken. Contradictions, false logistics – doesn’t make sense.

[she's marked up the bible, crossed out passages and torn out pages]
Book: No, no. You-you-you can’t…

River: So we’ll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God’s creation of Eden. Eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there. Eleven. Important number. Prime number. One goes into the house of eleven eleven times, but always comes out one. Noah’s ark is a problem.

Book: Really?

River: We’ll have to call it early quantum state phenomenon. Only way to fit 5000 species of mammal on the same boat.
[rips out page]

Book: River, you don’t fix the Bible.

River: It’s broken. It doesn’t make sense.

Book: It’s not about making sense. It’s about believing in something, and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It’s about faith. You don’t fix faith, River. It fixes you.

I think Whedon really caught the dynamic between atheist and evangelical there.

Atheist: This doesn’t make sense.
Christian: You have to feel it!
Atheist: But is it real?
Christian: That’s not the point, it works!

As Zach Alexander pointed out in his review of Faitheist, to most atheists epistemology is important. But to progressive Christians, fussing over the number of animals on the ark misses the point completely.

~vorjack

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Asked by IhartU at 7:36 AM on Feb. 15, 2013 in Religious Debate

30458 Level 27

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Athiests are missing it all! For goodness sakes! There is no reason why they don't see it..
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I do see it. I see very well and because of that, I realize what a crock religion is.

Answer by sahmamax2 at 2:19 PM on Feb. 15, 2013
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i think some Atheists miss the point of faith just like i think some Christians miss the point of logic. faith is not science, faith is not about logic. you cant prove nor disprove God. you can disprove things in the Bible, but even that only proves that it is a work of man, not anything about a higher power. imo the Atheist and Christian are arguing 2 different things:

Atheist: God isnt real b/c i cant scientifically observe it.
Christian: God is real b/c i can feel a connection w/ Him.
Atheist: But i can't see it, so its not real.
Christian: But i can feel Him so He is real.

its like me arguing that im cold b/c the temperature is only 68 and DH saying "but i feel hot, its plenty warm in here".

Answer by okmanders at 2:52 PM on Feb. 15, 2013
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okmanders once again I bow to your wonderful way of putting things.

Answer by Dardenella at 3:45 PM on Feb. 15, 2013
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Are Atheists missing the point of religious faith? Not really. Like River Tam we have discovered that NONE of it makes sense. Not the book. Not the path its followers take. None of it.

Answer by witchqueen at 5:06 PM on Feb. 15, 2013
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Athiests are missing it all! For goodness sakes! There is no reason why they don't see it..I just find that the there is truth to it all, everybody has their own opinions and beliefs..and until something traumatic happens, there will be no changing how a person feels.

Then why haven't you accepted Frigga and Freya and Odin and Thor? There is no reason why you don't see it, I just find that there is truth to it all, everybody has their own opinions and beliefs, but once you are exposed to it, you know it's right, you don't need to be traumatized to figure it out, it's far more obvious than that.

Answer by NotPanicking at 2:07 PM on Feb. 16, 2013
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{{{{{Firefly}}}}}

((((((IhartU}}}}} for posting from Firefly

Know-it-alls (at least the ones that think they know it all) always think anyone who doesn't believe the same way they do, even others of the same religion just a different flavor, is "missing the point". Personally, I think THEY are missing the point that every person has to decide for themselves. Make up their own minds. Not follow along blindly just because that's what everyone else is doing or what mom and dad did.

Answer by SpiritedWitch at 8:18 PM on Feb. 16, 2013
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Yes Spirited Witch that is the point they are missing.

Answer by Dardenella at 12:35 AM on Feb. 17, 2013
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In all actuality most atheists I know get the point better then most christians. The thing is they knowingly disagree with the point. Which is completely with inn there right and I dont see how a god would punish some one for doing so. That is unless he's entirely self centered and egotistical in which case not a god any one should honor. He gave us free will to find our own ways and there are many roads that lead to the same place so in reality no human can predict who is making the right choice and who is not. Truth is if he wanted us all to believe blindly in him he would not have given us free will simple. As well if he wanted us to tell others their doing it wrong he would not have said judge not least ye be judged. So seeing as how atheist leave us believe what we like and dont push their believes on us and dont judge us on our beliefs alone and say their one step ahead

Answer by hot-mama86 at 8:12 PM on Feb. 23, 2013
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"No, not at all. I think we realize that the point of religious faith is to remove the burden of critical thinking and responsibility for the lives we are living and what we are leaving to the future generations"

No. The point of religion, like the point of science is to find truth. They just find different angles for that truth. Science can explain the when and how, religion explains the why and it's when you can marry both in one consistent, logical reality that you have a bigger picture that if you deny one as useless.

Answer by momto2boys973 at 2:53 PM on Feb. 25, 2013
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No. The point of religion, like the point of science is to find truth.

Though I agree with the rest sorry you can't find truth when it can't be proven one way or the other. There for religious beliefs can only true for the one who believes them and no one else. There is no definite truth in it until the day you die. For which we might all be surprised and all be wrong

Answer by hot-mama86 at 4:11 PM on Feb. 25, 2013
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