Narcissism

[Polaris]

Maybe they also think of the stereotypical atheist...the high school drop-out who makes anti-religious comments to appear smarter. Can that as well influence their mistaken views of atheists being narcissistic?

The sterotypical atheist is a high school drop out?  A sarcastic, irreverant teen I might buy.  But a drop-out?  Do Christians really think the average atheist is a high school drop out.  I thought we were supposed to be elitists.  The outspoken atheists I knew in school were invariably smart as well as obnoxious.

But thank you for the word "mistaken."


 

Our views of stereotypical atheists are people who lack intelligence...mind you, this is the stereotypical atheist who proclaims they are an atheist and doesn't apply to the atheists who keep their mouth shut in public about their atheism. The assumption among Christians is that people only make anti-religious claims so that they appear smarter since there are a lot of studies that show the average nonbeliever is more educated (they also don't seem to care about their lack of belief...they're just atheist because they're atheist) than the average theist....kind of like jumping on the bandwagon to overcompensate for feeling inadequate especially when they compare themselves next to people from that WBC.

One can be elitist and uneducated. Even though Brian Griffin is just a cartoon character, he would be a good example of that stereotype. Portrays himself as intelligent, but doesn't really have a solid foundation to stand upon when it comes to academic conversation.

Mind you, these are just stereotypes and I have never once met a nonbeliever (I have family members who I can tell are atheists) who exemplified those traits. Then again, only met one theist who talked about the Earth not being older than 6,000 years.

[Whateverist]

My question is how is atheism related to self love or facination with oneself?   Because it seems to me that one could either love or hate oneself and still not believe in god.  I really see no connection. In fact, self hate is another accusation commonly made of atheists.  Being a self loathing narcissist would be quite a trick. It seems to me that Christianity can cut both ways on this too.  In the gospels Jesus asks people to be humble.  On the other hand believing that you are made in the image of god, hardly seems modest.  Nor does thinking that god takes the time to communicate with you personally.

I agree with you Jenny.  Neither atheism nor theism seems to select for high self love or high self loathing.

I also agree that Christian belief on the face of it is far from humble.  I encounter much more gloating than meekness among xtians.


As an aside, I personally think narcissism is greatly undervalued.  On a continuum between reflexively undervaluing ones own opinion and creations at one polar end -and- and habitually overvaluing them at the other, I think the self abnegating individual is much worse off.  Naturally there are characteristic traits at the puffed up end which are annoying, but I still say they (we) are better off.

[Alex K]

@Whatevs

You surely mean that as a garden enthusiast, you're better off with narcissus, not narcissism

[bennyboy]

It seems they think an atheist is so because he's too proud to accept the truth about God. In other words, the non-Christian is ignorant, and this ignorance stems from his love of self, as in "The world revolves around me, so why should I need God to be at the center?"

[Anomalocaris]

The sterotypical atheist is a high school drop out?  A sarcastic, irreverant teen I might buy.  But a drop-out?  Do Christians really think the average atheist is a high school drop out.  I thought we were supposed to be elitists.  The outspoken atheists I knew in school were invariably smart as well as obnoxious.

But thank you for the word "mistaken."


 

Our views of stereotypical atheists are people who lack intelligence...mind you, this is the stereotypical atheist who proclaims they are an atheist and doesn't apply to the atheists who keep their mouth shut in public about their atheism. The assumption among Christians is that people only make anti-religious claims so that they appear smarter since there are a lot of studies that show the average nonbeliever is more educated (they also don't seem to care about their lack of belief...they're just atheist because they're atheist) than the average theist....kind of like jumping on the bandwagon to overcompensate for feeling inadequate especially when they compare themselves next to people from that WBC.

One can be elitist and uneducated. Even though Brian Griffin is just a cartoon character, he would be a good example of that stereotype. Portrays himself as intelligent, but doesn't really have a solid foundation to stand upon when it comes to academic conversation.

Mind you, these are just stereotypes and I have never once met a nonbeliever (I have family members who I can tell are atheists) who exemplified those traits. Then again, only met one theist who talked about the Earth not being older than 6,000 years.

So real atheists are so far above theists in education and intelligence that with all the dim witted high school dropout bandwagon jumpers diluting the pool the overall intelligence and education of the adulterated group still rates above theists?

I knew theists are dumb as shit but not quite that low grade of shit.

[robvalue]

Seems like it's the latest fad. Calling us satan worshippers isn't cutting it anymore so now we're narcissists.

[Minimalist]

Maybe they also think of the stereotypical atheist...the high school drop-out who makes anti-religious comments to appear smarter.

Wow... I'm pretty sure you just offended a whole bunch of people with this comment.

I graduated from high school in 1989. June 4th, to be exact. It was a Sunday.

Based on my history, I do NOT fit your assumption.

It's about what you expect from polecat.  He's an asshole.

[Nope]

The Christians I've encountered who have thrown such accusations around think that atheists reject God in order to elevate themselves to ersatz Gods taking His place. This would then be perceived as highly narcissistic. They are so used to thinking in these categories that they cannot fathom how abolishing God can mean anything but wanting to play God oneself. In a sense, I can understand the sentiment on some superficial level, since as an atheist, you more or less have to assume the position of moral arbiter yourself. Of course, we are not isolated islands but are part of a society which shapes us, and we assume this position not out of boundless self-love, but out of necessity.

Wait, I thought atheists were supposed to be overeducated elitists. Wasn't that the whole point of the movie, God's Not Dead?

[Alex K]

Yes, that's right. The Christians are sending mixed messages here...

[downbeatplumb]

Our views of stereotypical atheists are people who lack intelligence...mind you, this is the stereotypical atheist who proclaims they are an atheist and doesn't apply to the atheists who keep their mouth shut in public about their atheism. The assumption among Christians is that people only make anti-religious claims so that they appear smarter since there are a lot of studies that show the average nonbeliever is more educated (they also don't seem to care about their lack of belief...they're just atheist because they're atheist) than the average theist....kind of like jumping on the bandwagon to overcompensate for feeling inadequate especially when they compare themselves next to people from that WBC.

One can be elitist and uneducated. Even though Brian Griffin is just a cartoon character, he would be a good example of that stereotype. Portrays himself as intelligent, but doesn't really have a solid foundation to stand upon when it comes to academic conversation.

Mind you, these are just stereotypes and I have never once met a nonbeliever (I have family members who I can tell are atheists) who exemplified those traits. Then again, only met one theist who talked about the Earth not being older than 6,000 years.

So the stereotypical christian view of atheists in the US are that people calling themselves atheists are stupid because atheists are smart and stupid people want to seem smarter.

 They have found a way to feel superior and inferior at the same time.

Fascinating.