In general, a man with religion is better than an atheist.

[Minimalist]

No. What's a myth is the whole Lady Hope bullshit story.


http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hope.html


Xtians are notorious liars.

[Angrboda]

Isurus, I have heard of plenty of atheists who admitted trolling on christian websites. They loved getting a rise out of them.

I'm relatively confident that there are as many atheist assholes, percentage-wise, as theist assholes. Neither theism nor atheism immunize one against the foibles of human nature. Actually, I rather suspect that there may even be more on the atheist side seeing that the majority are men, younger, and a large segment consider irreverence and shitting on theists to be a religious duty. There are factors which counter-balance that, since on average, theists are poorer and less well educated, I'm sure their choice in behavior reflects these facts. That being said, because of the vast imbalance in numbers, the asshole theists are going to outnumber the atheists by a large margin.

As for the 'same old, same old' problem; Maybe it's an idea to find a database where the most common questions are answered, and the next time someone comes rolling in, we just post a link in reply. Nothing else. Just a link. And if they go like 'yeah but...' we just say 'So you read the link? First try to refute that.' Saves us a heap of trouble, and we don't have to burn so many torches. Seriously, those things can be expansive

Even if you could find a cadre of atheists willing to compile the necessary resource or index, it misses a basic fact about forums. People visit forums for an interactive, social experience. Visitors are looking to interact with people, not get a homework assignment. And I think it would be somewhat disrespectful too; I can't emphasize too strongly how condescending it is when an atheist arguing with a theist is told, you need to read such and such apologetic work, or thus and so books of the bible, before you can talk to me/us about such and so. Reading a faq, a book, or watching a video is one way to learn; so is interacting with your peers. The forum visitor is implicitly requesting the latter.

Regards the ... dump and shitters, or whatever you called them, I'm sure that the sincere will stick around to see the matter through. I moderate a "chat room" on irc, and we get trolls there too. Sometimes it's obvious that a person is trolling. Sometimes it's not. (Depending on the skill of the troll.) It's up to the individual as to how to deal with the practical aspects of troll detection and handling, but I for my part have decided to play it straight in the absence of clear evidence, rather than make a pre-emptive strike based on a hunch or suspicion. In my mode, sure, I get burned more times than I would if I had an itchier trigger finger; that probably delights the trolls who've trolled me, but that's my option, and I'm satisfied with the cost/benefit ratio. Others make different choices. (I will confess to counter-trolling, so I don't always deal with impeccable integrity; I too am human.)

[mamamia88]

He is better because he is potentially less dangerous. A man with religion has his rules, and he does follow them form time to time, but an atheist has no rules. An atheist is only kept in check by what he can get away with and his imagination. For example, if an atheist were to have absolute power, then he could kill anyone that displeases him, but a man with religion, with absolute power, can kill only the heathens. If you are not a heathen, then a man with religion can't simply kill you because you displease him, but an atheist could. Also, if you are a heathen, then you could easily pretend to be a man with religion, and the man with religion, with absolute power, can't touch you. In addition, faking being a man with religion is pretty easy, but faking being an atheist is not so easy.

yes, but if a person is doing the right thing just out of fear of punishment how moral is the person really? also, what about if the religion dictates that the person kill all people not of the faith or spread diseased cow feces all over their bodies? i know what is right and wrong and i don't need a security camera looking over my shoulder to keep me from stealing

[Doubting Thomas]

God is just Santa Claus for adults. "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake."

[Girlysprite]

apophenia, I know what you mean. However, I noticed that the residents are extremely tired to having to explain everything again, every time. Such a database of which they could post a link of seems a better solution then getting the pitchforks and torches out right away - which seems to happens quite often (as far as I have seen).

[fr0d0]

Hell is supposed to be a miserable place of endless toil tho Girlysprite!?

[Gawdzilla]

Hell is supposed to be a miserable place of endless toil tho Girlysprite!?

For caryatids, it is.

[Girlysprite]

Hell is supposed to be a miserable place of endless toil tho Girlysprite!?

I don't believe in hell, so why should I care?