Question:
Atheists, how would you refer to this individual?
MortalGuardian
2012-10-09 12:43:03 UTC
Let's say that you meet someone who is a born again Christian. You find out later on that this person was raised in a Christian home, and was baptized in their late teens. In their early 20's, this individual went through a phase where they disassociated and distanced themselves from religion. At one point, this person truly believed that there is no God. After doing years of soul searching, they came back around to the same port of call, and then began to believe in God once again.

Now heed this caveat: you can't say that this person was not a "true Atheist." That is a "No True Scotsman" logical fallacy. So what would you call them?
Nineteen answers:
Sara
2012-10-09 16:50:40 UTC
A person who changed his mind.
jotacar
2012-10-09 13:02:03 UTC
As a child he was an example of the sins of the fathers being visited upon the

children. We permit parents to inculcate their minor children into almost any

faith that is out there. Sometimes the children will be hived off in some awful

fundamentalist school, where they'll be isolated from the real world.



Is there any wonder that, once many such young people reach their late teens,

they turn their backs on the ignorance and extremism of their parent's faith?

They have been subjected to a form of child abuse, and they need to free

themselves from their family's religious foolishness.



Nor should it be surprising that a percentage of these people turn back to

religion at some point down the road.



The great majority of folks lack the moral courage to accept their mortality.

This is not a condemnation of them. With numerous faiths, sects, and

cults telling them that they have an immortal soul, and can spend eternity

in a heavenly paradise, why wouldn't people buy into such promises?



Having faith helps billions of people get to sleep every night.



It's only a minority of us, who can say, "But all religious faith is imaginary!"



Do what works for *you*, even though you sometimes suspect that it's not

credible. You need peace of mind - and for most, that involves trusting in

some sort of immortality, even though *in fact* we all enter into a sleep

from which we never awaken after our deaths.
Michael Darnell
2012-10-09 14:37:59 UTC
I would call them a Christian. That *is* what they claim to be now is it not?



This seems like a sort of stupid question. So they were atheist and now they are not -- so what?



The word atheist means nothing more than someone who does not believe in any God. That is the only thing that all atheists have in common, there is no official standard for atheist beyond that.



It is not a religion, or a doctrine or a dogma, just a way to describe someone - like saying they have brown eyes. You cannot be excommunicated from being atheist, anymore than you can be excommunicated from being short.
2012-10-09 12:50:47 UTC
Why would I call them anything but what they are now, pumpkin? They say they're a Christian, so I'll say they're a Christian.



Unless I knew for certain that the person in question was really an "angry theist" or one of the semi-mythical "fashion-atheists," (or I knew they were claiming to be an "ex-atheist" to provide some kind of bogus cover for their anti-atheist bigotry, a la Lee Strobel), I'd never question the sincerity of any belief they espoused, no matter how much I disagreed with it or with their reasoning.



I utterly loathe the smug, sanctimonious people who claim that they "know for a fact" that atheists really believe in (the smug person's) god. Why would I do the same thing in reverse to someone else?
Scorpio
2012-10-09 12:46:10 UTC
I suppose I'd call them by their name...



Claiming that there is no such thing as a former atheist would be a logical fallacy, but assuming they were never a real atheist based on previous experience with liars that simply want to make their ramblings more believable is not.
Ricardo
2012-10-09 14:18:57 UTC
Look at your words - believe, believe, believe - you can "believe" anything, it happens only in your mind. That does not mean it is real. An atheist does not "believe" there is no god, they KNOW that there is no evidence for a god. Believe what you want but do not expect people who actually think to consider ti anything more than your personal fantasy.
?
2012-10-09 12:51:27 UTC
Granted they were still considered an atheist, but they were the wrong type of atheist.. for a lack of better words, and atheist for the wrong reason. They probably became an atheist because they were rebellious or lazy or w.e. Rarely ever do "true" atheist ever convert. By true atheists, I am referring to those who have thoroughly contemplated the subject of a greater being, and in the lack of any evidence have decided it is simply illogical.
2012-10-09 12:47:37 UTC
Actually nothing about the tale denotes the person was ever atheist, only non-Christian and did not believe in God. It says nothing about them reaching a point of lacking belief in gods.



So it's not a matter of "true atheist", it's a matter of the definition of atheist.
lainiebsky
2012-10-09 12:47:06 UTC
I would call that person a Christian. However, if you think that applies to people like Lee Strobel who are making lots of money pretending to be ex-atheists, it doesn't. Strobel's own writings prove that he has no personal experience with atheism.
Random Panther
2012-10-09 13:07:25 UTC
Fickle,capricious,mercurial.
?
2012-10-09 12:46:20 UTC
Confused.
Tyler Hohenstein
2012-10-09 12:53:00 UTC
I would call them whatever they want to be called at the present. I try not to classify myself as atheism is not a denomination but rather, a lack of one. That is why there is no governing body of Atheism.
Galactus
2012-10-09 12:45:38 UTC
Brainwashed.
Lizard Queen
2012-10-09 14:36:37 UTC
well they were truly an atheist, but now they are a born again christian
?
2012-10-09 12:51:54 UTC
>>So what would you call them?<<



Well they believe in god so they are a theist. Why do people have such trouble with such simple terminology?
No DOOOOM without Morbo
2012-10-09 12:49:07 UTC
As long as he doesn't go around saying stupid things like "I'm mad at god for not existing". See also: Lee Strobel.
KumquatMay
2012-10-09 12:46:03 UTC
a deist, which is what they are now. People can change their minds and believe whatever they want. It's his brain, even if he no longer chooses to use it well
brainstorm
2012-10-09 12:46:02 UTC
confused
2Lucious
2012-10-09 12:48:16 UTC
I guess lost and found!


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