RE: The future of Atheism
February 17, 2015 at 11:55 am
(This post was last modified: February 17, 2015 at 11:57 am by Thumpalumpacus.)
(February 16, 2015 at 12:01 pm)Metis Wrote: Yeah, for the most part that works, but what do you do when a mentally ill person starts cutting themselves? Do you just stand back and let them?
I stand back and call 911.
(February 16, 2015 at 12:01 pm)Metis Wrote: What about a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses or Christian Scientists who refuse medical care to their child (both of those, especially the later have serious issues with modern medicine, the latter rejects it almost entirely as "rejection of Jesus")? Do you sit and watch the kid die or do you drag it off to the hospital? I sure as hell couldn't do the former, that little bastards getting treated if the parents like it or not!
Perhaps you didn't understand me when I said "our rights". I didn't mean "our rights as atheists", but rather, our rights as citizens. So no, obviously I don't think parents should be permitted faith-healing as a medical option for their children, any more than they should be permitted torture as a disciplinary option.
(February 16, 2015 at 12:01 pm)Metis Wrote: I've actually got an example closer to home, my partner is/was a Roman Catholic and while I don't expect him to run off he still gets these weird guilt trips every now and then. I know another Lesbian who's married to a guy she doesn't even like, but because of the Mormon wacko's had to get hitched otherwise she's damned.
Both those things are not in the purview of rights. If people want to burden themselves with guilt, or adopt a lifestyle not of their own preference for fear of offending others, that's their business, not mine.
(February 16, 2015 at 12:01 pm)Metis Wrote: Nah, I don't think I'm damaged but I know a lot of people who are, I have nothing against the liberal ones who mostly agree with secularism and just want to do their rituals on Sundays but the rest sometimes need to be put on a leash.
Insofar as they encroach upon our rights, leashing is appropriate. So long as they keep their faith to their own lives, I don't give a shit.
