What Atheists and Christians have in Common

The purpose of this video is to highlight, in the midst of our disagreements, some cohesiveness. Its also my hope that the ideas that occupy the latter categories will someday be moved to the we all share category.

1. You should try to live a life where you treat others not just the way you would like to be treated, but include how you believe they would like to be treated. This forms the foundation of morality. From which the following activities we agree are unacceptable: inflicting purposeless suffering on others (torture), murder, theft, rape, slavery, genocide, and most examples of dishonesty. In addition, those who break these moral laws should ask and receive forgiveness-- that being said, depending on the severity of the infraction, a fair and equitable punishment might be prescribed by society which favors restorative punishment over retributive punishment when possible.

2. Men and women of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, socioeconomic class are all born equal in liberty. Differences exist between people, but these should be used to embrace and lift up one another rather than ostracize people. Bigotry and cruelty is unacceptable.

3. Society should be arranged to enable all persons freedom to express socially defined human rights which include at their essence examples such as; freedom of thought (including religion), expression (including speech), freedom of information (including media and science), power to choose leaders and government, freedom from bondage in the form of any kind of slavery, and freedom to own and exchange property.

4. The world is made better when fundamental needs are met, including clean water, food, and medical care.

5. A love of art over a variety of mediums;including music, painting, drama, film.

6. You don't have to agree with cultures to appreciate their unique lifestyles. You may even enjoy travelling to foreign places to experience these cultures firsthand.

7. We believe education is a foundational necessity to making a good society. All children should be provided as equal an opportunity to recieve a liberal arts education that is secular in nature in order to prevent one religion being favored over another.

"Foundations" I think some, or most atheists share:

8. This education includes science education. Consequently, only scientific concepts including modern cosmology and Evolution by Natural selection are to be taught. Religious ideas such as intelligent design creationism or first-cause cosmology can be taught in comparitive religion courses.

9. Life's fulfillment (some or all) is derived by a participation in advancing humane ideals, including advancing a society that encourages all of the included propositions.

10. Knowledge is necessary in order to direct progress. Therefore, scientific pursuits should be valued and encouraged. This includes medicine, biology, sociology, psychology, chemistry, astronomy, and all methods of inquiry that utilize empirical methods to discover and confirm hypotheses.

11. Philosophy is also critical in establishing ethical norms, foundational logic for all above sciences, and mutable worldview that can alter to best comport with reality.

Foundations I feel that some or few Christians and I share:

12. A healthy skepticism and default agnosticism. While I think many Christians embrace skepticism toward other faith-based or mystical claims; it is unlikely that they would apply it to their own worldview.

13. All people should be afforded due process under the law and society. This means social institutions should be afforded to all people regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religious belief, or class. Why is this so low on the list? Because of the continued presence of "blue laws", the permeation of religious symbology in the United States, an opposition of Homosexual equal rights, and opposition to a secular government.

14. Conclusions made by a critical inquiry into history should be embraced. The consequence of this is often unacceptable for most Christians when it's applied to their holy texts. However, I have met Christians who prefer to accept a Mythic Christ or compartementalize the historical problems of Christianity.

15. Human relationships are more important than religious differences. That is, when dogma and ethics conflict-- choose ethics. For instance, if God tells you to kill children, begin to doubt that whatever you are reading or hearing is really God. If God tells you to hate your family, perhaps you aren't listening to a moral preceptor. I wonder if this should be higher. I hope that someday it is.

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[TheRealHITMAN666]

At that last one, I do believe you should do what god tells you, however, God wouldn't tell you to kill children. Why did God tell Abraham to kill his child, because he wanted to test his true faith, also, God told him to stop before he did. That was a test that Abraham passed, and God didn't let him kill his son.

[DrixDZanth]

Abraham isn't the only example in the Bible of God calling upon his people to kill children. But why should I ruin the fun. Let's see if you can find them yourself!

Also, schmeelke really hits it on the head.

[Klostradorez]

1 thing i find anying its that all christian ppl are try convert.. why is that? anyone knows?

[DrixDZanth]

I think ppl do out of genuine concern. Others, for personal glory. Others, out of fear.

[RPFS2008]

1. False. Christians are told to kill unbelievers.

2. False. Gay marriage? Should I go on?

3. False. See above.

4. The fact humans need to survive is obviously common between all humans, not just Christians and Atheists, just as we all see colours.

Christianity(or any other faith based superstition) opposes logic. The sooner it dies out the better. It will not do so if you attempt to legitimise it.

[DrixDZanth]

Thanks for the reply. And depending on the Christian we're talking about, you're probably right.

However, humans have this marvelous (and sometimes horrible) ability to compartmentalize their irrational beliefs with the rational ideas that I list in my video. My video is simply appealing to the compartment that's labeled "reason" and contains the 10 items listed in the video.

Cheers

[buffdaddy3144]

I think truth should be found through reason and evidence.

Humility is irrelevant to truth.

[FreePlay]

"Something emerged from nothing and then became everything... You think that this is logical? What's wrong with Theism and spirituality?"

You're talking about Biblical creation, right? I think you answered your own question...

[JellayToasT]

Atheists don't believe in equal rights, they think everyone is equal except Christians who are below them

[mellamosean]

@AthosAmo

umm, ok. think what you want. no harm no foul.

[AthosAmo]

@mellamosean You lie that it is falsifiable, and lo and behold offer no falsification scenario. You atheists are all the same. Refuse to admit being wrong. Pride problem.

If the Bible were my only reason, I would be an idiot, because it would be a faith against science. But my religion has science on its side against what you wrongly call science. What you believe is imaginary, unprovable, unfalsifiable, unobservable. It shares much with the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

[mellamosean]

@AthosAmo

It is falsifiable, you're incorrect. And yes, you do reject it because of your religion, you just don't realize it. Why do you think the only people who reject evolution are those who have conflicting religious beliefs? Why do you think the people objecting to evolution are primarily non-scientists, or scientists of a unrelated (to biology) field? But i'm not going to try to convince you of any of this. You don't want people teaching laws and neither do we. What a conundrum...

[AthosAmo]

@mellamosean I don't want to join public school and religion. I just don't want anyone to teach lies to students. The so-called "theory" of "evolution" is primarily the idea of common descent. That is something unfalsifiable. This makes it unscientific, so it is not even a theory. Yet it is taught as if it is fact. They may not say it is a fact, but they treat it as if it is fact. I don't reject it because of religion, but because of science.

[mellamosean]

@RSstupidrules

Euthyphro dilemma: Is something moral because God says so? Or does God say what is moral because it is so? The first statement suggests that God is what morality is based on, where as the second suggests that morality is based on something else, but God tells us what is moral to make things easier for us.

[mellamosean]

@Thrashaero

Yes it's true. Although we still need morality, the idea that things can be "right" or "wrong" is just another one of mother nature's clever survival tricks....

[mellamosean]

@AthosAmo

Unfortunately I can't think of a compromise between secularists and those who wish to join public school and religion. You folks think that the scientific community is bias (although I can't understand what y'all think is at the root of the bias), and we think that you don't understand science and reject it because of your religious bias. So I guess we'll just continue battling in courts...what can ya do?

[mellamosean]

@AthosAmo

I'm sorry you think that way, but (macro)evolution is what we secularists call science. Creationism goes against science...just ask the vast majority of scientists. Now there is no law preventing parents or churches from telling their children whatever they want. But suggesting that the science department should not teach what scientists consider good science because the religious beliefs of people conflict with it is not acceptable. 

[radix756]

This is perfect. :) thank you so much.