I guess there are lots of athiest people who want to be missionaries for their cause! :P But seriously, I think this is a safe and easy place to vent their frustrations of the religions around them. I can't honest know what other people are thinking, but they might be trying to show people who seem like they are blind, a new way to see the world. I know many people who don't have any faith and they are respectful, but they don't believe. I am perfectly ok with that. Some people who are extremely religious come off as pious and that can put people on the defense when they have to constantly hear that they are wrong. I would get pretty sick of it too if my beliefs or non-beliefs were constantly belittled and people tried forcing their views on me. Also some people just get their kicks knowing they ruined some Christian person's day. The world is funny like that.

yes they are interested and curious on the SLY

How can you disrespect something that doesn't exist? Well, to answer that, I'd like to ask you why do you have such disrespect for the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Big Foot or the Tooth Fairy? It ain't fair or nice to the people that believe in those, you know? As for 'haning out' in the Christian section, what, you have to own stock on that section now to go there? In case you haven't noticed, Atheists make the most contributions to that section and the most intelligent ones too. If it weren't for the people who disrespect your god, y'all be over there praising each other's false piety and hypocrisy As for the non-believers trying to learn something, yeah, ok, if that makes you happy, but for as much as you all keep telling yourselves that we're all looking for your god, are closet believers or really want to believe in your fantasy, the sad reality is that we all love to laugh at your proven ignorance and, particularly, your poor spelling. Some of us actually wait patiently for you to hit that 'submit' button and produce those gems that have made it possible to build an entire website around them so that we can submit them in turn to Fundies Say The Darnest Things. Great site, you should go check it out sometime cause guess where your question is going? Now, if you feel better and that proves to you that your god exists, go ahead, knock yourself out, what's one more lie or one more delusion, eh?

I am sure there are many reasons. Most likely as many reasons as people who behave in this manner. After being here a while you will see that it is never going to change and there will always be conflict between both sides of the coin. It doesn't really get ugly unless you show attention to those being disrespectful. It is an open forum so anyone and everyone can respond to everything. Much like the newspaper we must decide what post are worth us reading and responding to and which ones are better left alone. When someone misbehaves it is evident they are seeking attention. It then is up to you if they will continue or stop. Giving them attention will no doubt feed them. Ignore them and it takes away the attention.

I wouldn't think so, the only thing they're trying to understand is how a christians mindset works. Disrespecting the lord doesn't make someone a closet christian, it makes them openminded.

lol i doubt it and i doubt they 'hangout' in the christian section they probably just see the questions in the new arrivals

Disrespect? Nah. Disbelief. It's really hard to realize you guys BELIEVE that silly stuff. And the reason we resist it is that YOU get to make all the rules. Those of us who disagree with you don't get to. I know christians love to cry about how repressed they are because some places, like China, restrict your covert activities, but you are the majority religion in the strongest and most influential country in the history of the whole wide world, so how repressed can you be?

Maybe some hang out there, and maybe some don't - I rarely stray away from the home page, myself. As to why they participate in such discussions, I doubt they're trying to learn something, other than maybe why believers believe. It's more likely that they are: 1. Looking for a good laugh. 2. Hoping to shake somebody's often ill-founded belief and get them to think more logically and questioningly about the world. As I see it, the vast majority of people who claim to be believers, regardless of the religion, believe because that's how they were brought up - at home and at school, typically - and they simply never stop to question any of this stuff. I'm an atheist, and have been since my mid-teens, and although I am a fervent non-believer, I still accept that people have the right to believe what they want (provided it doesn't harm others, of course). However, I don't like to see people blindly following the herd without applying rational thought to exactly what it is they're in theory believing in. So, if I can get a "believer" to question their beliefs and come to their own decision, and not somebody else's such as a parent or teacher, that's good. And if they still choose to believe in their particular god(s), then at least it's a conscious choice. Why have a brain with reasoning capabilities if you're not going to use it?

Jesus is now their stumbling stone. 1 Peter 2:7-8. 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”[d] 8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.”[e] They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. My 2 cents.

In SGI Buddhist always, we call that "one's devilish functions at work."

So they can mock us...not to worry God has a place for them!

Although I don't worship your god, i like to hang around the christian section, because i study lots of different religions, and christian beliefs are just as important as any other. But to actually answer the question, most people hang around to be assholes and say stuff like "your god is fake and its all bullshit" excuse my language, but that's the sad truth.

Um... this one was just on the Religions page... Personally I don't hang in the X-tianity deartment unless I'm really bored and there's nothing good going on in atheism (and somehow, with you around, I don't think that'll happen much anymore); when I do it's because I know a little about Christianity and feel like I can answer some questions. I doubt anyone's secretly trying to learn anything. If they were, your basic Christian sure isn't the person to ask.

I don't hang out on the Christian section. But all questions and answers appear on the Home Page, and I answer questions if I think I have a valid answer. Please turn down your paranoia - we are not all following you around.

I would say perhaps they want to learn and perhaps they are looking for faults so they can justify their own shortcomings!

I didn't even know there was a christian section of AB. Interesting. Is there also an atheist section? Why not? How about a Hindu section? Muslim section? Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs? Do they have a section? Why do you think that is? I don't believe it is so much a disrespect for God as much as a distaste for some Christians refusal to accept the fact that there are many religions that work just as well for their practitioners as Christianity does for Christians. Just because you have subscribed to a particular religion (or no religion at all) doesn't make it the final authority when it comes to theism. We all must choose what works best for us. You may in fact be on to something there with your question about whether people are trying to learn something "in the christian section of AB" but if they are you could be turning them off with questions like this one. Just a thought.

i kinda of look at them as I do bullies...deep down they really want to be a "part", jealous ,mean because they are ignorant of Christ and God, but many a bully has turned around when the right FRIEND didn't give up on him....the bully just doesn't know how to fit in....

I have never been in the christian category, the religious questions come up on the main page.

Nooo...they (including I, at times) usually just, sort of get dragged from the AB parking lot into the God lobby when they see a question on the main board that doesn't appeal to them... it's not like they're "hanging out" here all the time LOL

I don't think they are trying to learn. They are trying to discredit Christianity. They are almost compulsive/obsessive about it.

I hang around in the religions section, which displays questions from every sub-section. I answer any questions which I feel I could contribute to without checking which sub-section they were posted in.

Morbid curiosity? Same reason christians and others drop into the atheist category? Because, to be an atheist, one would have thought a fair bit about the whole god question in order to reach a conclusion? It's therefore an interest? Plenty of reasons I can think of (as an atheist myself).

You could say the same for the Christians who "hang out" in the Atheists/Wicca/other sections. In truth I don't think people are really "hanging out" there. I typically stay on the homepage or in the "Religions" category (those that do the latter probably end of in the "Christian" category because there are more questions in that category than in others). I apologize for using " quite often.

I see what you mean. Why would he or she care about Godly questions? Here are the answers: either atheists are always thirsting for God's Word (Revelation 22:17), or they find religious questions annoying were they feel the need to answer.