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Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
#1
Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
I used to be a Christian.

Every time people attacked me / insulted me about my beliefs, or said things in a harsh way, I ignored them and laughed at them, knowing that they were wrong. I went around calling Richard Dawkins a 'loudmouth' without actually having ever watched his shows.

That's why I was surprised when I did watch one of his shows and found it to be very gentle and permissive and persuasive.

I was a massive fan of Derren Brown and that's when I found out he was atheist. He too was very gentle and open-minded in his views, so it really struck me as odd that these so-called atheists weren't so bad.

I began to realize that the demonic aspects of atheists just...weren't there. Some of them were way too outspoken, but the nice ones did have a point.

The main reason I deconverted was because I realized it was very foolish of me to laugh at ghost-believers, psychic-believers, astrology-believers, Muslims and so on, but still believe in Christianity with the same amount of evidence.

This deconversion would not have taken place without the friendly, gentle tone that accompanied the people who made atheism clearer to me.

This is just a heads up to anyone who thinks shouting at believers works.
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#2
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
You should watch Phil Plait's "don't be a dick" speech. It's rather depressing that the majority of atheists seem to be aggressive and hateful. It doesn't do us any favours.
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#3
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
Who gives a shit about whether or not a bunch of death cultists think we're nice? Not this guy.
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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#4
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
(March 31, 2012 at 11:15 am)Rhythm Wrote: Who gives a shit about whether or not a bunch of death cultists think we're nice? Not this guy.

Its a reputation thing for me. If somebody asks if I believe in god and I reply "No. Im and atheist." and everyone who they have met or heard of that is atheist is an asshole they may assume I am to.

Personally I do care if everyone thinks I'm an asshole based on what others do. Especially when they will not listen to what I have to say because of that.
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#5
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
Personally I really don't care what anyone thinks about me. How they act towards me is the issue. Yell and scream at me and I will yell and scream right back at you. Atheists are not hateful and intolerant until they have been backed into a wall over decades of Death cultists proselytising until they have had enough and just can't be bothered any more.

Richard Dawkins may be softly spoken but then the majority of Atheists are.... back Mr Dawkins into a corner and see how "softly spoken he is". He and my current favourites Neil De Grasse Tyson and Brian Cox are also "softly" spoken, erudite, articulate and most vehement about their fields of study.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#6
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
I'm all for pushing back against impositions into national policy and culture in a reasonable, non-fanatical way. Seperation of church and state needs to be enforced strictly and whatever it takes to make that happen needs to be done. On a personal level I have many friends who are Christian and we are able to discuss religion in a civil way. They can believe what they want in the privacy of their own heads as long as they don't try to force it on me or enact it into policy. Once either one of those things happens, criticism is fair game. I try to treat them with respect as people but I never pretend to respect the tenets, beliefs, and ideas of their religion. I only respect their right to believe as free human beings.
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." -Friedrich Nietzsche

"All thinking men are atheists." -Ernest Hemmingway

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
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#7
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
(March 31, 2012 at 11:27 am)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Richard Dawkins may be softly spoken but then the majority of Atheists are.... back Mr Dawkins into a corner and see how "softly spoken he is". He and my current favourites Neil De Grasse Tyson and Brian Cox are also "softly" spoken, erudite, articulate and most vehement about their fields of study.

And that's why the stereotype is changing so fast. But with everything like this people notice the bad more than the good. Doesn't matter how many well mannered amazing people you have in any group if all anyone ever see's is the crazy guy screaming at anyone. Like the way we see the theists. We notice the west borough baptist church and all the bad things but we forget the people that do good things. (Granted that they can be done without religion but you get my point)
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#8
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
People will find plenty of reasons not to hear what you have to say amigo (especially if they disagree, for whatever reason), you don't actually need to supply any...lol. People do both good and bad thigs, this isn't limited to religious people. My gripe goes a fair bit deeper.
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!
Reply
#9
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
No, Insanity X, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the "softly" spoken paedophilic priest... I am old and know the difference.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#10
RE: Insulting & attacking belief doesn't work.
(March 31, 2012 at 11:01 am)cdabamsworth Wrote: I used to be a Christian.
Same here.


Quote:Every time people attacked me / insulted me about my beliefs, or said things in a harsh way, I ignored them and laughed at them, knowing that they were wrong.
Is that so? I cared whether or not my beliefs were true and sought to understand why my critics didn't also share my beliefs and cared whether or not their souls would be spared condemnation.

Then I had cognitive dissonance when I realised I was more moral than my god. If I were god, I'd want to be omni-benevolent. I'd never want to condemn anyone, no matter how evil they were, to eternal torture.


Quote:I went around calling Richard Dawkins a 'loudmouth' without actually having ever watched his shows.
Why?


Quote:That's why I was surprised when I did watch one of his shows and found it to be very gentle and permissive and persuasive.
Exactly. So why were you attacking a person whom you knew nothing about? Retrospectively speaking that's very 'un-Christian' of you, if you don't mind me saying.


Quote:I began to realize that the demonic aspects of atheists just...weren't there. Some of them were way too outspoken, but the nice ones did have a point.
You do realise the outspoken ones are simply frustrated for the, ahem, aforementioned "demonic aspects of atheism" that theists daily accuse us of and having to deal with the same erroneous presumptions of claims, word-games, and invalid arguments for the existence of god day-in and day-out, over and over again?


Quote:This deconversion would not have taken place without the friendly, gentle tone that accompanied the people who made atheism clearer to me.
I de-converted on my own because I cared whether or not my beliefs were justified. It was a painful process. I didn't realise I was an atheist until some years later. Why did you need persuasion or gentle reassurance, when I did not, just to come to terms?


Quote:This is just a heads up to anyone who thinks shouting at believers works.
Appeals to ridicule, while fallacious can sometimes be effective, especially if someone is acting like an asshat.

Most of time, we're not attacking someone for what they believe, but rather, we're simply trying to expose the flaws in their arguments for what they believe.
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