Would you date a theist?

[meh]

I don't think I could date a theist or anyone claiming to be spiritual. Atheism is just one of those things that we both have to have in common to be able to be in a relationship. I can't see how atheists and theists make it work in a relationship.

I found this funny button pin the other day that said "I only date atheists". haha I need to get that.

[Nathan.]

No, I could be friends with a theist but honestly I couldn't date a theist.

[meh]

No, I could be friends with a theist but honestly I couldn't date a theist.

Yea I could be friends with one as long as we never talked about religion. lol I'd probably just piss em off.

All of my friends though (in my adult life) have been atheist so far.

[kyril]

I've dated theists, but they all lost their religion at some point in the relationship Except one...Mormon faith is surprisingly resilient!

[Lachlann]

Yea I could be friends with one as long as we never talked about religion. lol I'd probably just piss em off.

All of my friends though (in my adult life) have been atheist so far.

What about non-religious theists?

[meh]

What about non-religious theists?

Depends on why they believe there is a god. But I also find the whole "I'm not religious, but spiritual" thing on the same level as religious theists.

Post Merge: July 18, 2010, 05:10:52 PM

would I?  No.  No way.
I'm a militant Atheist and I am deeply offended by religious chatter.

My son is a preacher and devout christian but he checks his god at my door when he comes to visit.
We get along wonderfully and are very close because we respect each others belief or disbelief system.

My mother is pretty religious, devout Roman Catholic (ew). When I told her I didn't believe, she goes "well god believes in you". Pretty disrespectful. She wants me to listen to her point of view, but refuses to listen to mine and she thinks that's okay.

[VeryGnawty]

I'm a theistic materialist.  (I believe that everything in the universe can be explained through physics, but that the laws of physics themselves imply a designer)

Would you date me?

[meh]

I'm a theistic materialist.  (I believe that everything in the universe can be explained through physics, but that the laws of physics themselves imply a designer)

Would you date me?

No...I wouldn't. A theist is a theist is a theist.

A lot of Christians would say that they believe god created the laws of the universe, but that doesn't make them a "theistic materialist".

I don't see how one can be a Materialist and theist....It's like saying you're a Christian atheist.

Materialism and theism contradict each other. "As the word itself signifies, Materialism is a philosophical system which regards matter as the only reality in the world, which undertakes to explain every event in the universe as resulting from the conditions and activity of matter, and which thus denies the existence of God and the soul. It is diametrically opposed to Spiritualism and Idealism, which, in so far as they are one-sided and exclusive, declare that everything in the world is spiritual, and that the world and even matter itself are mere conceptions or ideas in the thinking subject". - http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Materialism

"In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the class of monist ontology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism and to spiritualism."
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism

[Lachlann]

Depends on why they believe there is a god. But I also find the whole "I'm not religious, but spiritual" thing on the same level as religious theists.

Well, referring to the "I'm not religious, but spiritual" thing doesn't mean they're a theist either. One can be spiritual without believing in a god.

It's like saying you're a Christian atheist.

Which is possible. Christianity is only a religion, you can follow it's rules or agree with the rules itself, but deny that God exists.

[meh]

Well, referring to the "I'm not religious, but spiritual" thing doesn't mean they're a theist either. One can be spiritual without believing in a god.

Which is possible. Christianity is only a religion, you can follow it's rules or agree with the rules itself, but deny that God exists.

Well lets first define what "spiritual" even means. Everyone has their own definition of the word. For me it conjures up the idea of something supernatural, untestable by science.

Okay theoretically you could I suppose you could call yourself a Christian atheist, but that's beside the point I was trying to make regarding materialism and theism peacefully coexisting together. I should've just said it's an oxymoron. /sigh lol


Post Merge: July 19, 2010, 01:37:25 AM

I've dated theists, but they all lost their religion at some point in the relationship Except one...Mormon faith is surprisingly resilient!

Mormons have better brainwashing techniques. 

[kyril]

I'm a theistic materialist.  (I believe that everything in the universe can be explained through physics, but that the laws of physics themselves imply a designer)

Would you date me?

Nope. I actually prefer old-fashioned "I'm religious because I was raised that way" to people who came to theistic beliefs via some sort of thought process. And I find it insulting when people insert their God into my science.

[windowlicker]

Nope. Having to deal with religious parents is bother enough.

[Silver]

I don't see why not. I'm not a proselytizing atheist- I don't care what other people believe. As long as I wasn't with anyone who was pushing their religion on me, I guess that would be hard to find eh? I can speak theoretically with Christians (don't know much about other religions) and don't mind conversations about it so long as I find the ideas interesting. Don't want to be forced into a church either.

I suppose people in relationships don't like to do the whole "your religion is your business, and mine is my business." It would be a problem if he/she was repulsed by atheism or offended somehow. Anyone who does animal sacrifices and other rituals like that is out too

[Miniar]

Meh!
I don't see why one should choose one's partners based on their fundamental beliefs regarding existence.
I disagree with my husband (sometimes in semi-loud debate form, sometimes for hours) but at the end of the day, we have enough mutual respect for one another not to let something as stupid as personal beliefs get in the way of what we like about each other.

By simply stating you won't date outside your beliefs, you're kinda giving up on the potential to find that.

[Dryad]

I've dated two christians and a muslim.

For me, it's okay as long as they can bring philosophy to the conversation. When talking about religion, I prefer to leave my 'Gods don't exist period!' at the door, and hope the other party does the same with their 'God omgz!'. Failing that, I don't see how a conversation on this subject can be held, but what I feel mostly is that religious people will somehow think less of me for being an atheist, rather than me thinking less of them for being deist. After all; in my eyes, there is no such thing as sin, while in their eyes, I am a sinner.

[spacial]

Because I would not tolerate a person I lived with spewing bible stuff all the time.  I can't tolerate to hear ONE such thing much less a non-stop fountain of it from the person I live with.  No way.

I am a total, complete, militant Atheist and I don't tolerate ANY religious nonsense in my life.
In public I bite my lip when people spew it but if they push it on me I push back and I push back hard and in very harsh ways.

I won't live with someone that makes me want to duct tape their face shut.

I cn't imagine being anywhere near such a person.

But such a person seems to be a bit different from someone who is a theist.

Such a person seems to be a bit of a weirdo, frankly.

[Nathan.]

I have less respect for people who believe in gods, goblins, ghosts etc and that is why I couldn't date a theist. I could possibly date a pantheist though as long as they don't worship or pray to it, I could understand someone believeing nature = god.

[meh]

I have less respect for people who believe in gods, goblins, ghosts etc and that is why I couldn't date a theist. I could possibly date a pantheist though as long as they don't worship or pray to it, I could understand someone believeing nature = god.

We already have a name for nature though....nature. Why people need to label it "god" is beyond me.

[Shang]

Meh!
I don't see why one should choose one's partners based on their fundamental beliefs regarding existence.
I disagree with my husband (sometimes in semi-loud debate form, sometimes for hours) but at the end of the day, we have enough mutual respect for one another not to let something as stupid as personal beliefs get in the way of what we like about each other.

By simply stating you won't date outside your beliefs, you're kinda giving up on the potential to find that.

(Not atheist, just answering)

I'm like this.  I could date an atheist and be fine, as long as they don't go on and on about how "God isn't real", etc.  I personally don't care what you believe and I don't run around talking to people about my beliefs unless I'm asked (and my beliefs are so wide that I might come off as odd).  I much prefer taking someone off of my list because they're psycho or something, instead of knocking them off of my list based off religion, spirituality, or lack of.

So, I have question:

Would you date a theist or spiritual person who never talked about it or told you?

[meh]

Meh!
I don't see why one should choose one's partners based on their fundamental beliefs regarding existence.
I disagree with my husband (sometimes in semi-loud debate form, sometimes for hours) but at the end of the day, we have enough mutual respect for one another not to let something as stupid as personal beliefs get in the way of what we like about each other.

By simply stating you won't date outside your beliefs, you're kinda giving up on the potential to find that.

If they believe in magic man in the sky, who knows what other crazy things they believe in. Ghosts, Psychics, ESP, Astrology...etc.

When I have a debate with them, I don't want their answer to be "god did it". I want them to think for themselves. I don't want them spewing this nonsense that was ingrained into them as a child.

When I want to talk about the latest breakthrough in science like oh...when they created synthetic life, I don't want god to even come into the conversation.

I wouldn't want them indoctrinating my children if we were to have children.

I wouldn't want to see them wasting their time praying. Or praying for me. Or having them think my soul is going to burn in hell for eternity.

I don't know, I could go on, but I have this delicious tuna salad sitting here in front of me that is begging to be devoured.