I get miffed ....

[leo-rcc]

That is what many, if not all, atheists i know claim: "theists are ignorant god-fearing fools, but WE use rationality and doubt everything !"

It is just so sad to see the meanness, bigotry and hypocrisy i became an atheist to distance myself from be so present in atheists as well.

Sorry, welcome to reality. Atheism is sometimes referred to as a subpart of skepticism, which is true up to a point, but that doesn't mean that an atheist cannot be a climate change denialist, antivac supporter, 911 truther, you name it. It always strikes me as odd when people find out I'm an atheist that they start harping about evolution as if that has anything to do with my non acceptance of a god claim. That I happen to accept the theory of evolution has nothing to do with that.

So in short, yes many atheists will use skepticism/rationality, but for being an atheist it is not a prerequisite and one shouldn't assume an atheist is a skeptic/rationalist by default.

[FadingW]

To be honest, reality is pretty sickening sometimes.

Don't people stop feeling pain sometimes because of severe trauma? Don't psychologists say that the mind has defenses that shut things away that are unpleasant, that many people believe what they want to believe?

It's a hard thing to face up to a world where the only justice that exists is whatever you can protect with your own two hands.

Because that would imply that the lack of utopia is either beyond reach, or due to our own failures.

[Rwandrall]

To be honest, reality is pretty sickening sometimes.

Don't people stop feeling pain sometimes because of severe trauma? Don't psychologists say that the mind has defenses that shut things away that are unpleasant, that many people believe what they want to believe?

It's a hard thing to face up to a world where the only justice that exists is whatever you can protect with your own two hands.

Because that would imply that the lack of utopia is either beyond reach, or due to our own failures.

It's not cowardice to want to avoid this pain. Atheists are not heroes for accepting the world as it is, because everyone is in delusion. Many have dreams, like becoming a star or gaining a Nobel Prize, while in fact they will never come close to these goals. It is a fact that 1% of someone's income can save tens of lives all over Africa, or that only a very small percentage of people actually manage to go from rags to riches, and smokers really believe one day they'll stop, but we close these realities to our minds.

This factor of: "most believe in God, if i don't believe in it i am a stronger person" is very stupid in my eyes. Atheists trying to pass themselves as being better human beings than theists (these forums are a perfect example of this) is silly. Doubt everything, especially yourself.

A person's values and intelligence can in no way be evaluated in one simple question like "do you believe in God".