Agressive?

[NoahsFarce]

He goes as far as calling the act of placing children in churches "child abuse." I can easily think up dozens of examples where that label is more befitting.

Though I mostly agree with your post Noah, these sentences caught my eye. Indeed, there are even worse things to do to children, but it's like comparing spanking a child with a brush and forcing a child to burn his hand on a hot stove, both are detrimental to the child's health and abuse, though one is worse than the other. Do not overlook 'mild' abuse, just because there are worse things out there.

I do not give it as much gravity as you. I would like to clarify that I am not talking about putting kids into extreme sects like Westboro. Lines do have to be drawn. Westboro teaches hate and intolerance, that is abuse. If you're taking your children to church and they are taught to be tolerant of all people no matter their race, sex, or creed with the caveat of being told there is a sky daddy, then that's not abuse in my book.

There are also parents out there that take their kids to church, but do not shove anything down their throats. Some of these parents might be pushing science on their children. How is this still abuse? It seems unfair to lump them into the abuse category. Let's remember, Dr. Kent Miller has done more for science than the majority of Atheists put together. He was a key player in the Dover trials. Were his parents committing child abuse in raising him?

I liken this type of sweeping generalization to making a claim that 100% of ghetto residents are uneducated thugs and hooligans. Just does not sit well with me.

Many people also fail to realize that many cultures are intertwined with religion. Filipinos for example have a deep Catholic culture. It's considered rude if one does not "bless" their elders by taking their hand and placing it on one's forehead.

Again, none of this really matters to me much. I focus on education. I can care less if the whole world believed in a deity as long as that world is educated. Education is the key to advancement, both technologically and socially. It would mean absolutely nothing to me if 100% of the world became Atheists if the masses were still gullible enough to believe a post on Facebook without a single shred of evidence.

I do honestly respect your opinions though. I just can't be that type of non-believer. Take your kids to church as long as you emphasize education. Better yet, make sure you teach them to have a scientific mind. And if they become non-believers, at least they would have experienced both sides. In the end, that would make them a more educated non-believer.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Sooner or later we all get the excuse from theists about how we're "too aggressive". Too aggressive? Really? If I could compare all the times theists and atheists approached me: telling me to join them, leaving flyers on my car, yelling at me for not agreeing with them, etc. Atheists have not done that in my experience. Theists on the other hand do that a lot in my experience! The one thing that contributes to this, it the sense of entitlement theists have. The sense of entitlement to power and the sense of entitlement to censor dissidents. The fact that those play a role in this, makes me laugh when a theist calls an atheist aggressive, even in cases where it MIGHT be true. Because this atheist movement threatens theist power so they have to resort to making up things, just to seem like the victim. The other day, my teacher said, atheists are closed minded and impossible to debate with. In any debate I've seen, the atheist is always more respectful. I mean really we should try not to be douchebags to each other. But please just spare me the complaints about atheists being "too aggressive".

I've always thought it funny when someone accuses an atheist of being "too aggressive". Generally, an atheist being 'too aggressive' is us calling someone out on their BS and possibly using profanities.

A theist being "too aggressive" however is blowing up a building or killing innocent people in a bazaar.

I actually got called "too aggressive" on my facebook feed the other day for calling out a nurse (A fucking nurse) who was quoting a piece of shit article that said evolution was false and that faith is all that one needs to heal people.

...a fucking nurse.

[Mister Agenda]

they

Whoever 'they' are

---

Our minds are trapped inside a tiny box which is locked by the assumptions of science.

A materialist atheist bubble might be the restriction he places upon himself using science where science is inappropriate. There's a world of theology out there he will not entertain for fear of compromising his insistence that materialism explains everything.

It's not that materialism can explain everything, it's that dualism can't explain anything.

[Violet]

It's not that materialism can explain everything, it's that dualism can't explain anything.

Can't explain anything... scientifically. Please, let's not be ridiculous: a justification can be made for anything with anything REGARDLESS of how 'correct' or self-defeatingly hypocritical it might be.

Stop being ridiculous, nobody cares that you can't elucidate your point when you make it

Or rather... nobody should care Bunch of whiners we've got here.

[Aegrus]

It's not that materialism can explain everything, it's that dualism can't explain anything.

Can't explain anything... scientifically. Please, let's not be ridiculous: a justification can be made for anything with anything REGARDLESS of how 'correct' or self-defeatingly hypocritical it might be.

Stop being ridiculous, nobody cares that you can't elucidate your point when you make it

Or rather... nobody should care Bunch of whiners we've got here.

Even if materialism explained everything (which it presently does not, though it may eventually explain everything, IMO) spirituality could actually be beneficial. I don't have a source for this, but the more spiritual people I know are in general more pleasant to be around than either atheists or Catholics/Muslims.

Excepting myself, of course. I'm a beacon of logical and tolerant rational discourse.

---

I've always thought it funny when someone accuses an atheist of being "too aggressive". Generally, an atheist being 'too aggressive' is us calling someone out on their BS and possibly using profanities.

A theist being "too aggressive" however is blowing up a building or killing innocent people in a bazaar.

I actually got called "too aggressive" on my facebook feed the other day for calling out a nurse (A fucking nurse) who was quoting a piece of shit article that said evolution was false and that faith is all that one needs to heal people.

...a fucking nurse.

I agree with this; in many cases, hatred and profanity are justified. (Such as in the nurse example.) However, I do think that many atheists need to choose their battles more carefully. I've seen many threads writing off entire populations of religious people as X, Y, or Z. Obviously, anything which declares an absolute is incorrect. (Ignore the contradiction in my last sentence, it was a necessary evil.)

The "Creepy Mormons" thread on this forum is so far a perfect example.

[catfish]

You can be accused of being too aggressive just simply stating you are an atheist. In general, I think you should ignore that noise. People are afraid to confront atheism. It's our responsibility to force them to confront it anyway, and shatter the little glass bubbles they live in.

Force "them" to confront atheism? Is this the atheist activism you spoke about?
.

[Aegrus]

You can be accused of being too aggressive just simply stating you are an atheist. In general, I think you should ignore that noise. People are afraid to confront atheism. It's our responsibility to force them to confront it anyway, and shatter the little glass bubbles they live in.

Force "them" to confront atheism? Is this the atheist activism you spoke about?
.

Atheism is, at least in America, a small and misunderstood minority. Sometimes, people need to confront a minority--be it atheism, or homosexuality--before tolerance can increase and anything can change for the better.

If I hadn't "confronted" my family, they'd still think that atheists were satanists.

[fr0d0]

Atheism is, at least in America, a small and misunderstood minority.

Yeah I see it all over the media, in the movies and even the superbowl. No atheism there ever.

[WitchSabrina]

Sooner or later we all get the excuse from theists about how we're "too aggressive". Too aggressive? Really? If I could compare all the times theists and atheists approached me: telling me to join them, leaving flyers on my car, yelling at me for not agreeing with them, etc. Atheists have not done that in my experience. Theists on the other hand do that a lot in my experience! The one thing that contributes to this, it the sense of entitlement theists have. The sense of entitlement to power and the sense of entitlement to censor dissidents. The fact that those play a role in this, makes me laugh when a theist calls an atheist aggressive, even in cases where it MIGHT be true. Because this atheist movement threatens theist power so they have to resort to making up things, just to seem like the victim. The other day, my teacher said, atheists are closed minded and impossible to debate with. In any debate I've seen, the atheist is always more respectful. I mean really we should try not to be douchebags to each other. But please just spare me the complaints about atheists being "too aggressive".

I've always thought it funny when someone accuses an atheist of being "too aggressive". Generally, an atheist being 'too aggressive' is us calling someone out on their BS and possibly using profanities.

A theist being "too aggressive" however is blowing up a building or killing innocent people in a bazaar.

I actually got called "too aggressive" on my facebook feed the other day for calling out a nurse (A fucking nurse) who was quoting a piece of shit article that said evolution was false and that faith is all that one needs to heal people.

...a fucking nurse.

Ugh on the nurse, Fidel. Just.......ugh.
And yes, I agree there's a BIG difference between swearing at someone on the internet and flying planes into buildings killing thousands. Big difference. Sometimes a little perspective is in order.
Still I don't think Christians should act/feel so surprised when their stories are called into question. And why they find being ridiculed or questioned so tough. Hey...... they're the ones making extraordinary claims. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence?
If someone says *WTF* in their direction instead of getting butthurt why not whip out that burning bush or show us that staff that changes into a snake? YouTube could change the face of everything.
*shrug*

In the face of someone calling me a meanie meanie poo poo head when my humor meter goes wild -- I could easily respond with "Yo...aren't YOU the one with a God?"

[fr0d0]

when my humor meter goes wild -- I could easily respond with "Yo...aren't YOU the one with a God?"

Very true. They should def go easy on you