There's so many things theists say that drive me mad, such as:
"Why are you angry at god?"
I'm not. Are you angry at Zeus for all the illegitimate kids?
"You should fear the wrath of hell! God will punish you, doesn't that scare you?"
I fear a deity as much as I fear Voldemort... A fictional character, while definitely a prick in text, is still fictional. The wrath of god would be, at worst, a paper cut I get while thumbing through a Bible.
"The Bible proves that god exists!"
Here's some comic books... Proof that Batman and Spider-Man exist!
"You argue against religion because deep down you believe."
No. I argue against religion because I'm sick of the harm it brings to the world, and always has brought to the world. I argue against religion because of how it's held humanity back culturally, socially, politically, and scientifically.
"You can't prove god doesn't exist, so he therefore must exist!"
This is the most deflective one, and I loathe it. In every other arena, the one making the claim is the one who must carry the burden of proof. This is something theists go to when they know they don't have an answer (I know first-hand, because that's EXACTLY what I would do when I used to be a theist). I even asked a theist just the other day to prove that there isn't a planet made of gum that's inhabited by talking Lima beans, and they flat out told me I was the one who had to prove it existed since I made the claim; I told them the same is true of a claim of the existence of a deity, and they replied with "No, because it's completely different! You have to prove there is no god!"
"The fact that people say 'Oh my god' is proof that he exists. You're calling out to him."
No... It's just an expression. We could just as easily say Conflaberysnickerdoodle; it's just a string of sounds we put together to express something. We invented words and assigned the meaning behind them.
"Science is just a theory. None of it is real." Or "Satan created science to distract us from god/Jesus."
This is a demonstration of no basic understanding of science; and, if a deity did exist, why would he want us to be stupid?
"You're going to hell unless you turn to god. God loves you!"
If he loves me, why is it that he needs my praise or he'll punish me forever? That's not loving, that's pettiness. It's throwing a temper tantrum for not getting your way. If god existed and loved unconditionally, there wouldn't be a hell. If he did exist, he definitely does not deserve praise.
"Oh, you're an atheist? So you struggle with the concept of god?"
Not at all. I struggle with the concept of god as much as Neil deGrasse Tyson struggles with the concept of Santa Claus. We get it, we understand it, we know it's fiction.
"You should read the Bible. Then you'll believe."
Actually, I have read the Bible. More than once. Even went to Bible studies at several different churches over many years. That's why I'm an atheist, because I read the Bible. (I think the worst one, though, was when I was having a conversation with a theist and they referenced John 3:16, an easy go-to piece of scripture. A few minutes later, I referenced Corinthians, and they got angry because they thought I was mocking them—they had no idea that Corinthians is in the Bible; there's even two Corinthians books in the Bible!)
"Why are you angry at god?"
I'm not. Are you angry at Zeus for all the illegitimate kids?
"You should fear the wrath of hell! God will punish you, doesn't that scare you?"
I fear a deity as much as I fear Voldemort... A fictional character, while definitely a prick in text, is still fictional. The wrath of god would be, at worst, a paper cut I get while thumbing through a Bible.
"The Bible proves that god exists!"
Here's some comic books... Proof that Batman and Spider-Man exist!
"You argue against religion because deep down you believe."
No. I argue against religion because I'm sick of the harm it brings to the world, and always has brought to the world. I argue against religion because of how it's held humanity back culturally, socially, politically, and scientifically.
"You can't prove god doesn't exist, so he therefore must exist!"
This is the most deflective one, and I loathe it. In every other arena, the one making the claim is the one who must carry the burden of proof. This is something theists go to when they know they don't have an answer (I know first-hand, because that's EXACTLY what I would do when I used to be a theist). I even asked a theist just the other day to prove that there isn't a planet made of gum that's inhabited by talking Lima beans, and they flat out told me I was the one who had to prove it existed since I made the claim; I told them the same is true of a claim of the existence of a deity, and they replied with "No, because it's completely different! You have to prove there is no god!"
"The fact that people say 'Oh my god' is proof that he exists. You're calling out to him."
No... It's just an expression. We could just as easily say Conflaberysnickerdoodle; it's just a string of sounds we put together to express something. We invented words and assigned the meaning behind them.
"Science is just a theory. None of it is real." Or "Satan created science to distract us from god/Jesus."
This is a demonstration of no basic understanding of science; and, if a deity did exist, why would he want us to be stupid?
"You're going to hell unless you turn to god. God loves you!"
If he loves me, why is it that he needs my praise or he'll punish me forever? That's not loving, that's pettiness. It's throwing a temper tantrum for not getting your way. If god existed and loved unconditionally, there wouldn't be a hell. If he did exist, he definitely does not deserve praise.
"Oh, you're an atheist? So you struggle with the concept of god?"
Not at all. I struggle with the concept of god as much as Neil deGrasse Tyson struggles with the concept of Santa Claus. We get it, we understand it, we know it's fiction.
"You should read the Bible. Then you'll believe."
Actually, I have read the Bible. More than once. Even went to Bible studies at several different churches over many years. That's why I'm an atheist, because I read the Bible. (I think the worst one, though, was when I was having a conversation with a theist and they referenced John 3:16, an easy go-to piece of scripture. A few minutes later, I referenced Corinthians, and they got angry because they thought I was mocking them—they had no idea that Corinthians is in the Bible; there's even two Corinthians books in the Bible!)
