The believers do the exact same thing though. And many of us would like to understand and debate, not merely argue.

They seek attention. I have never seen so many who call themselves atheist talk so much about something they think is made up.

maybe they want their views to be heard just as much as the believers? [i'm not speaking on behalf of those who condemn the bible as i do not; i find that rude and unnecessary] but it's probably for the sake of getting answers from various points of view

I can't speak for everyone; but I do it because I have a vested interest in there being as few ignorant, irrational people on the planet as possible.

Why can't people who believe in the Bible just ignore those who don't? I do not see atheists knocking on people's doors to share their beliefs (who knows maybe they should).

to make believers not to believe

Because everyone wants to share what they know, and what they feel is right. To both parties, the other is ignorant. To both parties, the other just doesn't get it. Both tend to lose their tact here on AB. They go from respecting one another to belittling each other as soon as God or the Bible comes up. Many athiests on here like to throw around words that truly belittle believers like "imaginary", "fairy tales", "myth" while they tout everything of theirs as "facts", "logic" and "rational". The same goes the other way. Many believers paint athiests as people with no reason to live, don't believe in anything, hethens, etc. I don't think it should be a matter of ignoring each other, but respecting that each other has a different stand. Conversation is good, debate is good, but arguments and name calling and belittling are futile and only create tension, hate, and further discord.

I didn't know we did. If somebudy tries to 'score points' over me, by citing the Bible (note the uppercase B), I will certainly state my point of view and cite sources known to me, but I don't go out of my way tryin' to 'score points' over believers. In fact in my life it seems just the opposite, I have never answerwed a knock on the door to discover a couple of secularists, humanists or even evolutionists trying to evangelize me. In al my years in public school I never had to listen to a morning announcement over the PA system concerning the 'Big Bang,' but every morning for 12 years I had to listen to a morning devotional followed by a prayer. I've never found a copy of 'On the Origin of Species' in a motel room. I've never been to a high school football game where everbody had to remain silent and listen to a speil on transcendental meditation. I've never been just relaxing on a park bench and had sumbudy wave a copy of'The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex' in my face and start telling me how all I gotta do is accept Darwin into my life and all will be better. Awful hard to ignore sumthin when everbudy seems so intent on invading my privacy to tell me the good news and just out of the blue with out any kind of relevance give me the revelation.

I only do do in the case that someone is attacking me, other than that I believe in live and let live.

Because SOME people use the bible to manipulate and control. People say because of the bible Gays should not marry. Of course people who feel like their rights are being taken away will not just be silent. Many believe it's against the bible to give black people rights . Personally although ignorant it still causes an uproar in my heart. The bible is interpreted in many ways. Your interpretation may be different from mine.If your interpretation is offensive I won't just ignore it i'm going to speak my mind as that is my right. I hope you get what i'm saying :)

There's nothing more annoying than having them (religious people) go door to door and you're under you're car fixing it. If I had time for them I'd be going to church. I don't go around the neigborhood handing out literature and trying to get invited inside for a chat.

It varies, most bases have been covered, but one key one was left out. It is already coded in man (or, if you are a believer, God has put the idea in man's head) that to win is good. Therefore, I would argue that, in only a few cases, competitiveness is the answer to why. They want the other party to accept their viewpoint. Also, I don't really see how someone can complain that non-believers try to shoot down believers about the Bible, when, while it's rare, some believers will condemn non-believers, and tell them they lead heathen lives etc...

I think there are some aggressively argumentative people on both sides of the issue. I don't know what the beliefs are of most of my AB friends but I do know that we seem to have mutual respect for each other's opinions regarding that and from what I've seen so far I wouldn't describe any of us as being AA.

Scoring points IS rather sad...there's more to life then winning a debate on Answerbag although I am thoroughly addicted now to this site :) I'd just like to answer your question with a question of my own...I know not really an answer...but why would you want them to "ignore it"? Isn't the whole point of being a "believer" to witness to others in your words and deeds? If they ignored it you would never get that chance...just a thought...do with it what you will.

Probably for the same reason why Christians go out witnessing, and feel like they're "scoring points" off of non-believers.

Maybe us "Non-Believers" aren't aiming for points, just stating our opinion.

Why do some religious people feel it necessary to attack those who have different belief systems than their own? Why can't they just stick to preaching what they believe and ignore that with whom they disagree? It is an unfortunate part of human nature that some people just can't let others live in peace with their various systems of religion and/or philosophy. Some just have to get into the faces of those with whom they disagree and try to tear down their beliefs as they try to convince such people of the righteousness of their own. I have no problem with people inviting others to listen as they expound upon what they believe. However, I have no respect for people who have to take a potentially positive sharing of different viewpoints into an argument by attacking the beliefs of another.

If the believers didn't try to force the Bible to guide not only their lives, but everyone's lives, then the non-believers would leave them alone. Maybe you should give that shit a whirl.

Hello Peterpam...First, let me say I love the Bible, I have read it many times and continue to open it once in awhile,it is perhaps the greatest work of literature ever written. The poetry and history are fantastic. Psalms, Proverbs, beautiful!!! Second , I do not believe in God or Jesus being the son of God. Guess that makes me an Atheist...I love debating interpretation and actual text. I do not diminish anyone for believing in a God, I may look down upon some actions that people take in the name of their God. I think having having an attitude that there is something more than yourself is a good thing. One thing I will say is I find that many Christians are not very well versed in the text in which they base and give their lives to. In fact I would even say that most probably could not recite accurately, the Ten Commandments, let alone,understand them in context. Having a conversation with the above described I admit, is a little more fun, but there are no "points" involved....

Because I want the world to be a better place. Religious beliefs are used to justify too many wars and it is never what wars are about. We will never have peace until we drop the religious pretense and accept that we need to be fair to a world economy and make sure that everybody receives the wealth of our global markets.

oops AB glitched and doubled my answer, please flag this as nonsense

Because the thumping of it, the Bible, by its devotees. It gets so loud sometimes.

it makes for interesting discussions on this website.

Edit. I removed this answer because it was uncalled for and wrong on my part. I'm a patient person but I guess my patience ran out on this question. I apologize to any and all that may have been offended.

i'll answer with a question. why can't theists who think non believers are wrong just ignore those people instead of scoring points with their god/gods and their congregation by trying to convince the non believer they're wrong.

Because this is a public forum, and most people take questions as an open invitation to reply. Further, the best way to reveal the truth about anything is to allow all viewpoints to be heard (even the crazy ones) and openly discussed and debated.

We don't disagree with the bible. We disagree with your interpretation of it.