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How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am
If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 12:58 am
Oh, boy. Another turd in the punch bowl.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 1:00 am
FreethinkingSceptic Wrote:If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Dude, people have used religion and are still using it to make ordinary people into serial killers.
But the philosophy of "it's ok to harm people if it makes you happy" is false because it's making other people unhappy. Secular humanism, which is the foundation of modern society, says that it is okay to do things that make you happy as long as they don't hurt other people.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 1:19 am
(This post was last modified: March 5, 2026 at 1:20 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am)FreethinkingSceptic Wrote: If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
That's not an implication of atheism, nor is a belief in a god any sort of cure against spending a life murdering people or hoping to avoid consequences whether earthly or divine. In fact, some god beliefs are explicitly premised on the notion of evading the just rewards of our profligate sins.
Off the cuff, I wouldn't trust my ability to convince anyone who was only motivated by the fear of consequences not to do whatever shitty thing they had in mind. If I wanted to try I'd appeal to all of the same things I would if that person believed in a god...on the off chance that their motivations are at least a bit more complicated than that.
Why don't you murder? Can you think of any reason not to murder?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 3:14 am
You are a lying Christian
Is lying a sin?
What happens to liars according to the Bible??
Cetero censeo religionem delendam esse
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 3:18 am
Does lying really matter if you can get into heaven anyway? How would you convince a judeo-christian person not to lie if they believed they had a golden ticket?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 5:27 am
(March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am)FreethinkingSceptic Wrote: If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
I would make him watch Dexter.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 1:50 pm
(March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am)FreethinkingSceptic Wrote: If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
What's the Christian track record on curing serial killers? Serial killers often exhibit structural deficits in their frontal cortexes and temporal lobes. Not sure how to convince someone out of a 5% reduction of gray matter in the limbic system, reduced metabolism in the prefrontal cortex, and damage to the orbital cortex.
I wouldn't try to convince a serial killer to stop, I'd call the cops to stop them.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 6:20 pm
(March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am)FreethinkingSceptic Wrote: If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
Why does your monster god knowingly create serial killers?
Why does your monster god knowingly create a child rapist and just watch children being raped?
How old are you?
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RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 6:44 pm
(This post was last modified: March 5, 2026 at 6:45 pm by awty.)
How often do people knowingly run into a serial killer and decide to therapize them? Many of them get away with their penchant for killing for years before they are caught.
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