Reasonable Theist or Annoying Atheist?

A simple question really- would you rather hang out with a reasonable theist or an atheist who imposes his beliefs on everyone (if you are a theist, which I doubt as there are no theists on the Internet, simply reverse the roles.

Personally, I would prefer a reasonable atheist.

Okay, clearly this is bothering a lot of people, so lemme rephrase the question:

EDIT: Would you rather hang out with a person who shares your set of beliefs, yet imposes it on others, or hang out with a person who opposes your beliefs, but respects them enough not to badger you about them. Assume that atheists and theists would take the imposing to the same level.

edited 26th May '11 12:11:44 PM by Kexruct

They call themselves seamstresses -Feet Of Clay

We have plenty of theists. I would rather hang out with the person who isn't going to annoy the fuck out of me - their theological differences are irrelevant.

edited 3rd May '11 2:53:36 PM by Penguin4Senate

This is like asking, which would you rather eat: a rotten apple or a fresh orange?

Reasonable theist all the way, for obvious reasons.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

Kind > reasonable > specifics of beliefs

Some of the nicest and most pleasant people I've ever met are far from paragons of reason.

edited 3rd May '11 2:58:28 PM by Pykrete

It depends really. I think the reasonable theist. I'm not sure what exactly this atheist is actually like (or the theist for that matter), so I can't be sure. I wouldn't want to prejudge either.

"Had Mother Nature been a real parent, she would have been in jail for child abuse and murder." -Nick Bostrom

I don't know/care about my friends political or religious leanings, just that they're fun to hang out with. The better questions is why hang out with anyone who's annoying?

Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?

Reasonable theist. I don't mind what way people lean on the theological spectrum if they're not shoving it down my throat.

edited 3rd May '11 2:57:04 PM by DanEile

"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."

I am available by appointment on a first come, first serve basis.

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."

If I had a choice the non-annoying theist. This is silly. Like Anne said it's like asking if I would rather have a rotten piece of fruit of one sort as opposed to a fresh piece of another.

FRESH FRUITS. ALL THE WAY.

Were the roles reversed I would pick the non-annoying atheist.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

The one who isn't annoying.

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Reasonable theist.

Or, y'know, I could just be friends with both.

I'd rather hang out with a reasonable atheist (or person who had religious beliefs that differed from my own) than an aggressively pushy person who believed the same as me.

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And now to answer the question of "Why hang out with someone who is annoy?". Buddhism has an answer to this and the answer is as follows. To practice patience and loving kindness. After all a truly patient person with great loving kindness could put up with an annoying person without letting their feelings get the best of them. The truly wise and Enlightened have self-control like nobody else.

...of course it doesn't often play out like that. No. There's usually an argument and then somebody's been punched and then you go out and get a drink and bitch.

IT IS THE BUDDHIST WAY OF LIFE.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Reasonable about everything, or just theism?

All his beliefs, or just the ones pertaining to atheism?

That's actually pretty interesting.

Thank you for teaching me something new.

edited 3rd May '11 3:26:20 PM by annebeeche

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

You are welcome!

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Well, I'm already an atheist, so he wouldn't have much to oppose onto me, plus we already have something in common...

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!

I should go to a Buddhist temple and act really annoying, I'm doing us both a favor! the path to enlightenment is annoying monks till they punch you in the face!

Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?

I am vaguely curious as to how long it would take certain Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni until they got fed up with you. Like if you tried to piss off the Dalai Lama.

...not that I want you to go to a Wat and do that. Wats are special places even if the Bhikkhu in question aren't good Bhikkhu they are still people.

...but then who am I to talk? I frequently annoy people for my amusement.

edited 3rd May '11 3:45:24 PM by Aondeug

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

I'm a theist, and my answer to that question depends entirely on what kind of theist the other person was. If they were Muslim or Mormon or Catholic or something else whose values clash with mine, it'd get annoying really fast, and I'd prefer the reasonable atheist. If their views were fairly similar to mine, then their being pushy wouldn't come up much.

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Quick question, how many of you have actually had to hang out with someone, in real life, who attempted to push their atheistic arguments on anyone in the immediate area? I have, and it was mind-breakingly annoying, totally insufferable, all I could do was smile and nod. I much preferred being around the Christians. And I'm an antitheist.

My little brother does it all the fucking time. He's obnoxious as all hell. I was afraid to have him near the Wat because I feared he would say something dickish to the Bhikkhu and other temple goers.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Never had to do that. I don't hang out with people in real life at all. So if this question pertains exclusively to real life, then I'd choose the theist for the sole reason that a reasonable person would be more likely to respect my desire for solitude.

edited 3rd May '11 3:52:45 PM by Tongpu

I haven't, but it can't possibly be any more annoying than being a closeted atheist in an entirely Christian neighborhood.

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!

Yes, two people in high school. And after I graduated high school, I went to a college where this was in spades and the Happy Atheists club tried to run the ridiculously nice "Jesus ♥ U" sandwich-board guy off campus.

edited 3rd May '11 4:01:17 PM by Pykrete