Can any people of faith answer my question about their views of atheists?

Actually, I find the many of the atheists on this site to be exceptionally intelligent, and for the most part, respectful. There are some who are not really thinking logically about their position, and there are many more that are.

There are some people in every group that are given to stereotyping rather than making the effort to get to know people as individuals. I try my best not to do that. My father was an atheist for the first several years of my life. He eventually became a Christian, but having known him as an atheist actually HELPED me as a Christian later in life.

How? Because I learned to be logical and to think about things. I learned that it's OK to learn. I learned that it's imperative to question everything and look for answers.

Because of his influence, I learned not to just blindly listen to the pastor every Sunday morning. Instead, I listen, then I think about what was said and find out whether or not I agree.

Being raised by an atheist, who then became an agnostic, who then became a Christian was truly a unique and well-rounded experience. I think it brings my faith into focus for me, because I am able to examine why I believe as I do, and I'm able to consider ideas that are not "mainstream."

I don't think that atheists are any one way in particular. I don't think that way about any group of people. It's individuals that have qualities, not groups of people.

I also have to agree with Sinthyia that it's often doctrine that makes people think this way. By that, I mean that so many simply don't have the faith they think they have. If you cannot tolerate a respectful opposing viewpoint, then fear is behind that, not faith. If you cannot consider the perspective of others, then fear is behind that, not faith.

I think that many Christians (I can't speak for other religions) fear that if they like an atheist, if they enjoy the company of an atheist, if they respect the opinion of an atheist that it means they are turning their back on God. I think that is ridiculous, and I think it's an attitude that can range from annoying to downright dangerous.

I've known plenty of messed up Christians, and I know plenty of messed up atheists, agnostics, or (fill in the blank). I have also know many genuinely happy Christians, and many genuinely happy atheists, or (once again, fill in the blank).

Sorry to have typed so much, but the walls of fear we build between us worry me quite a lot.

I think the main reason that people assume that Atheists are unhappy is because they themselves would be unhappy if there were no God. I myself have gone through this. But with me, it is a result of depression in the first place that I started to question the existence of God, so the feeling of there not being God just felt like such a terrible void.

It is true that you can be happy and be an Atheist, because I have met people who are happy Atheists. But people who believe in God can't understand how it can be so I guess. Just like some people with internet access can't imagine how life could be any good without it!

I personally have no problem with Atheists, as long as they are respectful of my religious beliefs.

Absolutely it's possible. Most atheists were originally people of faith. When the crushing grasp of logic and reason made them see the truth, they dropped faith in favour of what was provable, demonstrable, and factual. Unfortunately, to understand atheists, it's probably necessary to become one. If you can only see the world through the irrationality of faith, little that an atheist does will make sense. The position of a generic atheist is, however, straightforward: In the absence of conculsive, or even significant evidence of their existence, it is highly likely that no gods exist. That's really all there is to it. A common atheist thought exercise for people of faith is likewise simple: When you understand why you don't believe in Zeus, you will understand why I don't believe in your god. Most atheists have read, fully, at least the holy book(s) of one of the major religions - the Bible, the Qur'an, or the Torah. In fact, many atheists are well-read experts on that topic. There isn't an atheist "perspective of life" as there is no governing body or organization that defines atheism. However, most atheists, I think, feel that it is in everyone's best interest to do as little harm as possible while promoting the common good. In that way, we all are better off. Atheists don't need a nasty sky man watching them and threatening them with eternal damnation if they don't behave... they behave because it's simply the best choice, and one need only look at the jails, which contain a population of about 98% Christian, to see that having a nasty sky man telling you what's right and wrong doesn't really work anyway. Atheists don't "hate god" because they don't believe in any gods, thus they can't hate them. Similarly, atheists are not Satanists because they don't believe in any Satans or demons. These are misconceptions of atheists put forward solely by religious zealots with no understanding of atheism.

Atheists are some of the happiest people I've ever met. The most unhappy people I know are Christians of either Catholic or Baptist faiths. Catholics seem to have it the worst, constantly dwelling on sin, guilt, confession, etc. As a pagan, I can say that I am mostly happy, and when I feel unhappy, it has nothing to do with whether or not I have faith in anything.

As a side note, I have also noticed that most Christians tend to lump pagans in with atheists. I'm not sure why.

As a Christian, I have heard other Christians say the same thing. Personally, I have always been a very happy/joyous person, even BEFORE I accepted Christ as my Lord & Savior. I think the basic idea deals with the perceived difference between happiness (which is fleeting/temporary) & joyous, which is not just a temporary feeling. Faith is not synonymous with joy, however, the saving knowledge of Christ does create a joyous attitude. As far a meaning, ALL lives have meaning, even if you are not a Christian. The analogy about rich/poor people is good, but, the difference is the inner peace that Jesus gives. Aetheism is not synonymous with anything, other than a disbelief/lack of faith. as far as the greed/hedonism goes, All of us, including Christians, sin. No sin is better/worse than any other sin.

I hope i answered some of you questions.

They are mistaken in thinking without faith of some kind you can't be happy or have morals and values. They are very wrong. They also don't feel they are trustworthy, again a falsehood. I think it comes from religious doctrine, nothing more. I've met many atheists and agnostics and they aren't the miserable people those who have faith think they are. It's just the concept that they can't understand how you can't have faith and still be happy, a fallacy. Faith isn't a road to pure happiness nor does it do away with all problems.

Of course it is possible to be happy without religion. I personally wasn't happy before I had God. I was actually depressed, even suicidal and I suffered from bulimia and insomnia but that's just me.

If I did not believe in God, I would most probably end up killing myself because to me, life has never seemed worth the trouble.

Too much heartache and too much hatred in this world. So much suffering and so much evil. For what? Why get up every day and fight the misery when it's all for nothing anyway. You might say that life has plenty of enjoyment to offer. Maybe, but living for enjoyment hardly seems right, while our planet is heading for destruction.

Besides, moments of untarnished happiness have always been few in my life. Certainly not enough to countervail the many many bad days.

Without God there'd be no point in me living.

I don't expect you to feel the same way, I just wanted to explain to you how I feel.

I think Christianity is not primarily about finding happiness. I am much happier now than I was before I became a Christian but I'm still me.

It's not like I suddenly moved to Disneyland.

Christianity is about peace with God. It's about having the power to be the person God created you to be. It's about knowing where you came from and where you are going to.

I know that God has a plan for my life. I'm here for a reason. I don't enjoy every single day of my life and yes, sometimes I still have a bad day but I never question my existence the way I did before. I don't wake up in the morning thinking 'I wish I was dead'.

Basically I think you are right in what you are saying about happiness.

I do believe however, that apart from God life has no meaning, no purpose. You are free to disagree but the way I see it, nothing makes sense without God.

That is my personal opinion.

Before I was a Christian I was not happy. That is the answer for the atheist. An atheist may think he is happy but down deep he is very sad without God. He is just in denial and suppressing the knowledge of God . Romans 1:20

I dont think it has anything to do with happiness. I know many happy atheist. They have less things to worry about. They are not aiming for a nice after life to say the least.

I have no problem with atheist beliefs. I am a Hindu and it does not send anyone to hell for it. I am OK with them and expect them to be OK with mine.

we believe in Karma theory. It says, if you are living a moral life , you will be ok. it does not require that you should believe in God or rituals.

Mutual respect is the key.

Both theist and atheist can act like morons and go way out to insult others.

In my experience, people are people. My father taught me that all people are entitled to the same respect until they prove that they don't deserve it.

Happiness is fleeting. It can come and go. I have seen people of every sort happy and sad, content and discontent.

In my life, a relationship with God has given me a stable base in which to be content. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad, always content. My faith in this relationship allows me to know that the source of my contentment can never change. I have met very few, even professing to be Christians as I do, who genuinely possess this type of contentment.