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I find this as useless and subjective a topic as one on any particular religion (Christianity, football, etc.). – richardtallent Jun 3 '10 at 6:12

Wouldn't a "skeptic of a higher power" be an agnostic? I thought an atheist is someone who has decided there isn't one. – Benjol Jun 3 '10 at 7:20

I'd like to see a general rationality/skepticism stack which could include some of these questions. – monorailkitty Jun 3 '10 at 10:58

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60 Example Questions (10 closed)

active newest votes

up vote 0 down vote

added by igelkott Oct 6 '10 at 21:55

up vote 0 down vote

added by ja72 Nov 3 '10 at 15:39

up vote -1 down vote

added by Lorenzo Jun 28 '10 at 0:21

closed as off topic by random, Nerdling, nicerobot, warren, murgatroid99 Aug 5 '10 at 20:56

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Not a good example? Please comment why. I think that a rational (like a scientist) but believer person could have such a doubt. – Lorenzo Jun 28 '10 at 11:43

@Lorenzo: Why would someone who believes in a deity ask something about that belief on a site that deals exclusively with atheism? I'm not really clear why they would ask this, or what kind of answer they would hope to get. – Beska Jun 28 '10 at 12:48

@Beska: maybe they are atheist-wannabe. Maybe they believe just because they grow in a religious family, but they are unsure about their feelings. Maybe they have difficulties balancing they faith with their rational thoughts. – Lorenzo Jun 28 '10 at 13:30

@Lorenzo: Perhaps...but I don't know if we want to imply, by suggesting that this is a good question, that the atheism site equates "belief in a deity" with being a "bad person". – Beska Jun 28 '10 at 21:12

It's the old religious argument in reverse, to say its closable because its argumentative misses the whole point of a SE on religion! – Chris Huang-Leaver Aug 6 '10 at 20:38

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up vote -1 down vote

added by DaveDev Sep 3 '10 at 18:59

Many religious holidays have been "hijacked" by religions from ancient pagan festivities anyway. So I see no problem. – CesarGon Sep 29 '10 at 9:29

I actually wanted to mention something similar in the question, but I didn't have room. But to counter your point, weren't the pagan festivities mostly religiously based anyway? – DaveDev Oct 6 '10 at 20:42

Not necessarily. Ancient spring festivities are based on the vernal equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere), which marks the beginning of the spring and the "good season" for crops or hunting. Christian Easter is probably a derivative of this. Many traditional harvest festivals across Europe are celebrated on (or around) the autumn equinox. These are hardly religious; they are only related to astronomical (and therefore seasonal) events. – CesarGon Oct 21 '10 at 8:16

Grav-mass anyone? – Joe D Nov 8 '10 at 18:44

up vote -1 down vote

added by Gaurav Sep 16 '10 at 6:52

closed as off topic by Wikis, neilfein, CesarGon, Brad Mace, Brian Knoblauch Oct 28 '10 at 13:36

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I marked as off topic because by definition it's not part of Atheism. – Wikis Sep 16 '10 at 7:08

Yup, I'd hoped it'd be an off-topic question :). – Gaurav Sep 16 '10 at 7:22

up vote -1 down vote

added by igelkott Oct 6 '10 at 21:36

up vote -1 down vote

added by ja72, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Oct 21 '10 at 16:53

I don't understand this question... Can you reword it, please? – CesarGon Oct 12 '10 at 11:52

I agree with @Ces and would like to give you a +1 but I would delete this entry, and separate these two questions, and clarify them both. – mfg Oct 12 '10 at 20:54

Many religious people can only see things in terms of religion. The absence of a/any religion is something they cannot conceive (much as the idea of negative numbers or zero in past centuries). I come across this belief when discussing things with religious people, to them science is a religion, just like atheism or "secular humanism" as they frequently call it. – Tangurena Nov 6 '10 at 2:57

up vote -2 down vote

added by DaveDev Aug 21 '10 at 16:42

NARQ/noise: this is subjective and governed by societal norms, not open to objective and authoritative answering. Not an appropriate subject for CW – mfg Oct 20 '10 at 13:37

up vote -2 down vote

added by Gaurav Aug 25 '10 at 15:51

closed as off topic by Juliet, DaveDev, albert green, neilfein, Dheer Sep 27 '10 at 14:42

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Intended off-topic. – Gaurav Aug 25 '10 at 15:51

Atheists will go to heaven, of course. :p – CesarGon Sep 29 '10 at 9:30

up vote -2 down vote

added by Rising Star Sep 14 '10 at 21:41

@Rising Star: this example question was submitted two times. Can you delete this one? – WikiSpeedia hang-around Oct 4 '10 at 17:49

up vote -2 down vote

added by Bacco Oct 27 '10 at 3:06

Don't answer me :) It's time to define if this question is on-topic, off-topic or not a good example. – Bacco Oct 27 '10 at 3:07

up vote -3 down vote

added by Juliet Jul 22 '10 at 20:04

closed as off topic by warren, Chris Huang-Leaver, Mehper C. Palavuzlar, nevernotmove, Bristol Skeptics Sep 5 '10 at 14:08

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Church and State is a huge issue here in the US, but not really sure if its the sort of thing expected on this forum. – Juliet Jul 22 '10 at 20:05

That depends, is this website for Q&A about Atheism, or is it Q&A for Atheists dealing with life. If the former, then it would be just about Atheism and its relation with other religions, not how to deal with life as an Atheist. I think this would make for a much smaller audience. – earlNameless Jul 23 '10 at 2:49

I think this is 'off-topic' because it is more about the US constitution than Atheism, even though it is an interesting question. – Chris Huang-Leaver Aug 7 '10 at 22:44

The question, as formulated, is asking us to interpret what the authors of the phrase (whoever they might have been) wanted to convey by it. This is a futile excercise, in my opinion. Rephrasing the question along the lines of "What is the impact of the phrase 'In God We Trust' printed on American currency upon the American people and society?" would be much more useful, I think. – CesarGon Oct 7 '10 at 23:05

This needs one more off-topic vote, then the proposal can move to commitment stage. – Joe D Nov 11 '10 at 16:46

up vote -3 down vote

added by Ether Aug 7 '10 at 19:35

	I'm thinking currently of various Robert Heinlein works as good examples. – Ether Aug 7 '10 at 19:36
	this is a list of X question – mfg Aug 13 '10 at 19:10
	Anyone who answers "Ayn Rand" to this question deserves a hard kick to the throat. – Juliet Aug 25 '10 at 23:59

up vote -3 down vote

added by Gaurav Aug 30 '10 at 5:00

For a start, you can stop practising religion. – Joe D Nov 8 '10 at 18:56

up vote -4 down vote

added by Binoj Antony, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 13 '10 at 20:04

I think the morality of an Atheist or anyone who doesn't believe in Absolute Morality requires a better formulated question; I believe neo-Atheists can be generalized as having a consequentialist morality that resolves descriptive relativism with democratic debate. That is to say, (a) we're all different, (b) we can all come to an acceptable code of right and wrong through conversation, and (b) if you can't argue that the action is wrong, you can't legislate against the cause. – Evan Carroll Jun 24 '10 at 16:18

@Evan: We're not answering questions here. We're deciding what's within the range of the site. – Beska Jun 25 '10 at 12:52

why is this not a valid question? – Binoj Antony Jun 28 '10 at 5:13

I'm guessing because it assumes there is a single code of ethics associated with atheism. Perhaps "What is a good code of ethics for an atheist?" would work better? – Jivlain Jun 28 '10 at 8:57

@Binoj: Because it like asking "Whats the code of ethics for people with moustaches?". There isn't any relation between atheism and ethics. – Peter Coulton Jun 28 '10 at 11:20

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up vote -4 down vote

added by Rising Star Sep 14 '10 at 21:36

	Yes. (but NaGE) – mfg Oct 12 '10 at 20:57
	"Mark of the beast" is a particular concept from Revelations and not a concept shared by other religions. – Tangurena Nov 6 '10 at 2:55

up vote -4 down vote

added by Rising Star Sep 14 '10 at 21:41

You could ask the same question under any other Q&A site. Something like "could eating ice cream make me go crazy?". Maybe a mental health forum would be a better place. – ja72 Sep 26 '10 at 0:06

up vote -14 down vote

added by Good Person Jun 3 '10 at 16:37

closed as off topic by Klas Mellbourn, HoLyVieR, Lorenzo, Paul B, metaliving Jul 5 '10 at 6:32

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Virtual or real? – Binoj Antony Jun 15 '10 at 11:08

Seems a little vague to be a 'great' on-topic question, although this kind of question will definitely come up. – Peter Coulton Jun 19 '10 at 4:40

@Binoj: You mean an AI? Skynet? or the Matrix? – talonx Jun 24 '10 at 4:21

Going to an atheist site to ask if god exists might be a bit strange. A better question would be "What arguments are there for/against the existence of god?", although the correct answer would probably be huge. – luiscubal Jul 12 '10 at 21:29

This is the one question that could never be closed and the person asking couldn't honestly assign an accepted answer. – Robin Vessey Jul 29 '10 at 5:41

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up vote -17 down vote

added by Binoj Antony Jun 24 '10 at 9:42

closed as off topic by Matthew Whited, Robert Harvey, jtyost2, Paul B, Kevin Harder Jul 8 '10 at 2:34

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.