Ex-theists are often like ex-smokers, sanctimonious and insufferable.

[robvalue]

Things like equality and education to name a couple.

I take your point that what is important is ultimately a matter of opinion.

[The Valkyrie]

Like Aroura I'm an ex-smoker and an ex-theist (though, to be honest, I smoked so infrequently that a pack would last about a year). I'm very vocal about my atheism and refuse to hide it.

In a professional capacity I keep it to myself.

[Lemonvariable72]

Don't get me wrong, I still don't like inhaling tobacco smoke.  Not one bit.  But on the whole I may just prefer the company of smokers to the zealot nazis some become once they escape the habit.  Especially to people who still smoke of course.  Having finally conquered that one life challenge really brings out the condescending cunt in lots of people.  Same goes for some ex-alcoholics and some ex-druggies of course.

Now we spend a lot of time around here discussing the nuances of being a non-theist vs being an anti-theist.  But then where do ex-theists fall?  Do they merely have no belief in god like a non-smoker has no desire to smoke?  Clearly not.  The ex-theist is at war with himself and gawd help you if he decides you represent the shadow he wishes to project outside himself.  The ex-theist resents those who are weaker than themselves a lot, hates them really .. nearly as much as they hated being too weak to stop sooner themselves.  

The non-theist merely has no theist in them.  That can't be said of the theist hating, ex-theist.  You can get them to recognize all the easier absurdities of theist beliefs but it is much harder to get them to recognize the more obnoxious attitudes of the theist.  Just as so many smug, self-satisfied Christians just have to 'witness' every where he goes, you know, throwing his net wide in the hopes of bringing even just one more lost soul to God, so the ex-theist just has to do his best at all times to pull the head of even one more theist up out of sands of ignorance.

No one said atheism would be easy, especially for theists.  But please, if you're going to attempt it for god's sake stay the course and finish the job.  Get out all the theism or maybe it would be better to just remain one?

As some who has quit both let me tell you, quitting smoking is nothing like quiting christianity. Quiting smoking is hard and takes conscious effort, were as quiiting theism (for me atleast) Happened even though I didn't want it to at the time. It was just a undeniable conclusion from what I had read in the bible. So now, I still like vaping and cigars, but I could care less about jesus.

[Whateverist]

And you know I have empathy for that. I recognize that the efforts made by my parents to shackle my mind to the bible were relatively benign and altogether ineffective. But I just don't see why people insist on proselytizing non belief onto others. Answer questions? Sure. Laugh at Bill Maher and George Carlin styled religious jokes? I'm in. But hold every individual theist responsible for all the damage religion has ever done? Nope. Mock, belittle and harangue them for their own good? Count me out.

Adults get treated as peers by me so long as they stand ready to do the same. People don't have to agree with me to get respect. They just have to be respectful, and that doesn't mean pious.

[robvalue]

The reason I won't stand by and ignore religion is because of the harm it does to people, including people outside of religions, and to children yet to be born.

I understand not everyone wants to get involved, and that's fine too.

My goal is to get people to think. So I'm not preaching non belief. People can better themselves while keeping their religion. The harm it does can be reduced without having to stop religion altogether.

[Pyrrho]

The analogy of the opening post is way off.  Religious people murder people every day.  They discriminate against people every day.  It is right and proper to fight against such things.

If religious people did not affect others with their poison, then tolerating them would be fine.  But those fuckers are all about fucking over other people, and they should be stopped.

That is some pretty loose talk for you.  Every religious person murders people and discriminates every day?

Obviously not.  When someone says that the Catholic Church is an international pedophile ring, they are not thereby committed to the idea that every Catholic is a pedophile.  Of course, by contributing money to the church, they are voluntarily helping to pay for hiding the pedophile priests, so they do not entirely escape blame merely by not directly molesting children themselves.

 Therefore everyone of the mofo's should be opposed at every step?  They're all poisonous.  

Religions are all poisonous.  They all corrupt thinking.  They all depend on people not thinking clearly, and so they oppose clear thinking.

And that should be opposed.  Getting people to be unreasonable and believe nonsense, they are opening the door for the person to believe any other nonsense that they might stumble upon.  After all, they have been trained to avoid critical thinking, and so they are ready to believe other bullshit as well.  That preparation for believing bullshit is very dangerous and should be opposed.

Meanwhile those who are not religious never murder or discriminate.  They're never poisonous.

What really have you justified?

People do not murder or discriminate because of not being religious.  That does not mean that they cannot do bad things for other reasons.

[Whateverist]

Like Aroura I'm an ex-smoker and an ex-theist (though, to be honest, I smoked so infrequently that a pack would last about a year).  I'm very vocal about my atheism and refuse to hide it.

In a professional capacity I keep it to myself.

So glad you're ex- both those things.  Neither is anything I'd wish on anyone.  But I'm not going to go nazi on those who choose them for themselves.  People get to disagree so long as I'm not bodily or materially damaged.  (So my mother who drove a station wagon with its windows up full of kids around San Diego smoking like a fiend probably doesn't qualify for my tolerance.)

[Pyrrho]

Of course the good deeds done due to religion count.  Now, tell me, how many good deeds does it take to balance against a beheading?  

Edited to add:

When smokers and drinkers start beheading others due to their smoking and drinking, then we can start to talk about how such things compare with religion.  But otherwise, it is a bullshit analogy.

Were you a smoker?

I do not see the relevance of the question.  But the answer is "no."

But the problem with balancing the good with the bad the way you're doing it is you are holding each and every religious person responsible for the actions of every other religious person, living and dead.  ...

I am not doing that.  Please reread my posts, and see if you can find me stating such a thing.

Each person should be held responsible for their own actions.  In some cases, they only have a small part to play in a story, but their small part should be acknowledged.  For good or ill.

[Whateverist]

That does not mean that they cannot do bad things for other reasons.

Bingo.  So rounding up the theists and doing interventions to set their minds straight may be more radical that the situation calls for.

[Whateverist]

Each person should be held responsible for their own actions.  In some cases, they only have a small part to play in a story, but their small part should be acknowledged.  For good or ill.

But acknowledged to whom?  Who do they stand judged by and by what authority?  No one -including theists- owes me a god damned thing any more than I must answer to them for my non belief.  I don't wish to be in the inquisition business.