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9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Below I've put the link to an article on alternet.org that I felt would be of interest:
http://www.alternet.org/belief/9-questio...paging=off
I know that in my case, and I am sure it's common, that being honest about my unbelief has indeed cost me. I have two sisters who don't speak to me anymore. One is a Catholic nun and the other runs her parish's religious education program. Fortunately my in-laws don't give a hoot what I believe, they just take people as they find them.
Anyway, it's an interesting article and I hope you'll enjoy it. 
“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Religion: bringing people apart for thousands of years!
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 3:43 pm
I didn't read the guy's answers, but that is a pretty good list of questions.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 4:03 pm
(May 15, 2013 at 3:43 pm)Faith No More Wrote: I didn't read the guy's answers, but that is a pretty good list of questions.
That is no 'guy', it was written by Gretta Christina. She's quite brilliant, actually.
Her answers are on the money, but nothing we haven't seen before, but this article is a good intro for theists not familiar with them.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 4:45 pm
I have a c. for your number 8 ( the Pascal's Wager thingy ). Do they really think their god is so fucking stupid that he could not see right through someone who embraces religion just in case it turns out to be the right one?
Is it a god they worship....or a politician?
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 5:05 pm
(May 15, 2013 at 4:45 pm)Minimalist Wrote: I have a c. for your number 8 ( the Pascal's Wager thingy ). Do they really think their god is so fucking stupid that he could not see right through someone who embraces religion just in case it turns out to be the right one?
Is it a god they worship....or a politician?
Good question. In the article that gets brought up " (And anyway, do you really think that God would be taken in by this con game? Do you really think that what God wants from his followers is an insincere, self-serving, "wink wink, I'm covering my bases" version of "belief"?)" Which, of course, he would not. He'd know you were full of it, and hey, maybe he even reserves a special place in Hell for your Pascal's Wager types.
But I guess that some believers don't credit their creator with such smarts. I've been asked that question. I can't help it - my response is to laugh and ask "You're kidding, right?" and every single time they were not. Go figure 
“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 8:49 pm
As a former atheist, her answers ring hollow to me. A few of the questions seem pretty inane and I cannot imagine even asking them. When someone tells me they are an atheist, I figure that's what they've decided and let it go at that.
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 8:52 pm
(May 15, 2013 at 8:49 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: A few of the questions seem pretty inane and I cannot imagine even asking them. When someone tells me they are an atheist, I figure that's what they've decided and let it go at that.
But then again you seem to be kinder and smarter than most 
When I was young, there was a god with infinite power protecting me. Is there anyone else who felt that way? And was sure about it? but the first time I fell in love, I was thrown down - or maybe I broke free - and I bade farewell to God and became human. Now I don't have God's protection, and I walk on the ground without wings, but I don't regret this hardship. I want to live as a person. -Arina Tanemura
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 9:06 pm
(May 15, 2013 at 8:49 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: A few of the questions seem pretty inane and I cannot imagine even asking them. When someone tells me they are an atheist, I figure that's what they've decided and let it go at that.
You're one of the smart ones, though. I'm a casual fan of the Atheist Experience, and believe me, each and every one of those questions has been asked more than once on that show. To the point of becoming repetitive.
Quote:Good question. In the article that gets brought up " (And anyway, do you really think that God would be taken in by this con game? Do you really think that what God wants from his followers is an insincere, self-serving, "wink wink, I'm covering my bases" version of "belief"?)" Which, of course, he would not. He'd know you were full of it, and hey, maybe he even reserves a special place in Hell for your Pascal's Wager types.
But I guess that some believers don't credit their creator with such smarts. I've been asked that question. I can't help it - my response is to laugh and ask "You're kidding, right?" and every single time they were not. Go figure
I guess the other implication is that the believer asking doesn't care about the sincerity of the belief, just that you knuckle under and go through the motions the same as everyone else around them. It's not so much a genuine hope that you'll hear the good word, as a disguised demand that you stop upsetting the damn apple cart.
"YOU take the hard look in the mirror. You are everything that is wrong with this world. The only thing important to you, is you." - ronedee
Want to see more of my writing? Check out my (safe for work!) site, Unprotected Sects!
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RE: 9 Questions That Atheists Might Find Insulting
May 15, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Quote:Esquilax wrote:I guess the other implication is that the believer asking doesn't care about the sincerity of the belief, just that you knuckle under and go through the motions the same as everyone else around them. It's not so much a genuine hope that you'll hear the good word, as a disguised demand that you stop upsetting the damn apple cart.
I think you have a good point there. Heaven forbid anyone should upset the equilibrium and frighten the horses. God, guns and guts made America great, dammit! If you don't like it, at least keep quiet!
Got a lot of those types around these parts. 
“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
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