Is this sick or what?

[Eos of the Eons]

Atheists are most despised group in U.S.

When questioned about what belief group doesn't share their vision of American society, 54 percent of survey participants indicated that atheists provided the greatest threat. Muslims were viewed as the second-highest threat.

http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=134&lid=783#n2

I happen to have the exact opposite opnion on the matter.

[Walter Wayne]

Now Eos, you know what we communists in the Dominion of Canada believe does not matter in the least to god fearing Bushies.

Walt

[Walter Wayne]

Actually, I have to say that this sentence seems a little akward to me.When questioned about what belief group doesn't share their vision of American society, 54 percent of survey participants indicated that atheists provided the greatest threat.Does the "question" really fit with the "answer".

Q. What belief group doesn't share your vision of American society.
A. Atheists are the greatest threat.

Me thinks the article writer failed to explain either the survey questions, or the results correctly.

Walt

[Eos of the Eons]

Basically I got that atheists are viewed as the most likely to doom us all, and muslims were in second place.

I like your question though. More interpretations on the article would be helpful.

A nationwide telephone survey of more than 2,000 Americans has revealed that the non-religious are viewed as the greatest threat to the American way of life.

edited for spelling :p

[triadboy]

Be careful with polls like that. Everything depends on the sample size, demographics, etc.

[evildave]

Yep. They could polling homes primarily in the Bible belt, but that such opinions exist is hardly surprising.

Turn on the TV any sunday morning, and the preacher will be standing there waving his arms around ranting and condemning 'atheists' as the cause of all problems, such as lack of guded prayer in schools.

Why pay heed to the fact that these court cases are usually brought up by one kind of Christian that was getting stomped on by another kind of Christian? It's all the fault of 'atheists'.

Usually, they then go on to call atheists 'devil worshipers'. After all, to a mind utterly broken by religion, there could never possibly any state of being without worshiping something.

[Phil]

Perhaps there be something ignorant in the state of America.

[CFLarsen]

It's clearly a typo.

It's not "threat", it's "treat". :D

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by CFLarsen
It's clearly a typo.

It's not "threat", it's "treat". :D


Oh phooey, I can't fix it now :p :D


So how to fix it in real life. The other thread that was on this subject before my posting has some good suggestions.

Being tolerant and showing others how wonderful and thoughtful and moral we atheists are.

That's easy.

[The GM]

Hi all,
Thought I would share a POV I used to have. When someone would say that they were atheist, it would immediately illicit an 'eeewww' reaction. After all, how could someone deny God or their own spirituality? It seemed unnatural and somehow dirty. I remember my first experience of even hearing about atheism was Carl Sagan's Contact. I was perhaps 14 or 15 when I read the book, and the very mention of it made me squeamish. The idea continued to bother me in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on until relatively recently when I assessed my own knee jerk reaction. Now I don't really give a crap because it doesn't hurt me for someone to have those views, nor does it threaten society at large from where I stand. Perhaps my old way of thinking is pretty common stuff. After a bit of thought, I can clearly see atheism is no threat to me or those I care for. Perhaps most people haven't really given it much thought and thus voted based on their own knee jerk reaction.

[MLynn]

Building on what The GM said, I think a lot of religious Americans are afraid of the word, "atheist" as if it's some evil word, which of course it isn't. And then when someone is actually brave enough to state they are an atheist, then they are attacked for it in some way. Man, I wish people could just relax and be friendly (what a concept)...

[wollery]

Originally posted by The GM
Hi all,
Thought I would share a POV I used to have. When someone would say that they were atheist, it would immediately illicit an 'eeewww' reaction. After all, how could someone deny God or their own spirituality? It seemed unnatural and somehow dirty. I remember my first experience of even hearing about atheism was Carl Sagan's Contact. I was perhaps 14 or 15 when I read the book, and the very mention of it made me squeamish. The idea continued to bother me in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on until relatively recently when I assessed my own knee jerk reaction. Now I don't really give a crap because it doesn't hurt me for someone to have those views, nor does it threaten society at large from where I stand. Perhaps my old way of thinking is pretty common stuff. After a bit of thought, I can clearly see atheism is no threat to me or those I care for. Perhaps most people haven't really given it much thought and thus voted based on their own knee jerk reaction. From what I've seen and experienced a common misconception is that atheists are anti-God, ie they believe in God but are against him, thus making them evil. The problem a lot of religious people have is in understanding how someone can just not believe in a god of some sort or believe that there is no god.

[Phil]

Originally posted by The GM
Hi all,
Thought I would share a POV I used to have. When someone would say that they were atheist, it would immediately illicit an 'eeewww' reaction. After all, how could someone deny God or their own spirituality? It seemed unnatural and somehow dirty. I remember my first experience of even hearing about atheism was Carl Sagan's Contact. I was perhaps 14 or 15 when I read the book, and the very mention of it made me squeamish. The idea continued to bother me in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on until relatively recently when I assessed my own knee jerk reaction. Now I don't really give a crap because it doesn't hurt me for someone to have those views, nor does it threaten society at large from where I stand. Perhaps my old way of thinking is pretty common stuff. After a bit of thought, I can clearly see atheism is no threat to me or those I care for. Perhaps most people haven't really given it much thought and thus voted based on their own knee jerk reaction.
By Jove, you've almost got it!

It's great that you don't see atheists as a threat, but it seems you're not quite all the way round to seeing what an atheists is exactly. (At least most atheists I know on this forum.)
. . . After all, how could someone deny God or their own spirituality? . . .

This sentence implies that atheism is "Counter-religious belief", whether it be Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or otherwise. It still hints at an agenda, and I think that's what the ignorant fear. They perceive an enemy that actually cares about their silly beliefs.

It's correct to say atheism is "Non-religious belief". We have no positive or negative relationship to any faith or myth-based organizations. Those things are simply not a part of our lives.

Edited to add: looks like wollery beat me to the punch.

[MLynn]

Originally posted by wollery
From what I've seen and experienced a common misconception is that atheists are anti-God, ie they believe in God but are against him, thus making them evil. The problem a lot of religious people have is in understanding how someone can just not believe in a god of some sort or believe that there is no god.
Right on, wollery! I've recently had some conversations with christians about this very subject. It was a "revelation" to them when I defined what an atheist is.

[Hexxenhammer]

Originally posted by MLynn

Right on, wollery! I've recently had some conversations with christians about this very subject. It was a "revelation" to them when I defined what an atheist is. MLynn, you better be careful. You're like an atheist double agent in Christian land.

And by the way: The doves cry at dawn by the big red barbershop. You have your orders.

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Hexxenhammer
MLynn, you better be careful. You're like an atheist double agent in Christian land.
And by the way: The doves cry at dawn by the big red barbershop. You have your orders.
It looks like I'll have to buy the whippet a trenchcoat, and dodge red, P*ssed-off, flaming smilies!
P.S. I still don't care about the chick's butt ;)

[Yahweh]

A most despised religious group at all is an absolutely terrible thing to consider in the first place.

Why this minority 0.4% population of Americas is so unpopular, I would not have a reason. Then again, arent all atheists money-grubbing materialistic anti-moral intolerant god-hating baby killers?

[Wrath of the Swarm]

No, those are the Jews. The athiests are the devil-worshipping sadists who put razor blades in Halloween candy, play D&D, and wear a lot of eye makeup.

[the_ignored]

Well, it looks like the chrisitians are succeeding in makine "atheism" a dirty word...they've convinced the first President Bush that atheists can't be considered "patriots" or "citizens", and now these SOB's are repeating (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?p=1698778#post1698778) that bull! See also the post right above (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?p=1698647#post1698647) it.


And they whine about how they're going to be persecuted? What crap. No one is going around saying that christians are "unpatriotic"!

Once you've convinced most of the countries' people and its leaders that a group of people are "unpatriotic", how do you think they're going to be treated eventually?

[Eos of the Eons]

I would suggest that it's probably the case that many people who do not love God also do not love this country.

Oh for goshdarn sakes! The two ideas are like comparing a bowling ball to a banana!

And how the heck do you "hate your country"????

I can see despising fellow countrymen who are unreasonably ignorant-those countrymen who would make an atheist a scapegoat.

I don't believe gods. I don't hate them. How can you hate something that does not exist?

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
I don't believe gods. I don't hate them. How can you hate something that does not exist?
Yes, people don't understand the definition of "atheist." If they understood it wouldn't be a big deal.

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by MLynn

Yes, people don't understand the definition of "atheist." If they understood it wouldn't be a big deal.


Hmmm, so what can we do about that? Anybody able to visit churches for a living in order to deliver a little speach on what atheists actually are without being accused of having an agenda? All we want is understanding, not to convert everyone like they try to do. Quite they hypocrites they are. They fear the atheists are doing what they actually do.

It's not like atheism is a disease. You can't catch it. It's like trying to explain to them that gayness isn't a disease you can catch either.


Tolerance. Understanding. All I ask. We're not gonna convert your little children into worshipping a non-existant devil.

[the_ignored]

Unfortunately, fundies are not interested in dialog, just in demonizing thier opponents, so as to make their philosophy look more attractive.

Take Answers in Genesis for example:
1) (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showpost.php?p=1484727&postcount=1) I was listening to the Christian radio station in my hometown today, and they had a quick blurb about how the Hubble Space Telescope was reported to be so fine-tuned, that it could see residual effects of the Big Bang.

To "balance" the story, they brought Ken Ham on for his opinion. He summed up the Hubble discoveries in about a 30 second diatribe, concluding that it was all a plot of the Atheists.

2) (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showpost.php?p=1247264&postcount=13) Ah, just see the cartoon...

3) (http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/overheads/pages/oh20030808_187.asp) And this cartoon, among many others that jackwad Lietha draws.


4) Ham and Humanism (http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/aig_ham_manifesto.htm-)

5) Ham again (http://members.cox.net/ardipithecus/evol/lies/lie030.html)
The same story is told in AiG’s August 17, 2001 Answers With Ken Ham radio segment with the hysterical title “Evolutionists - after our children!” Since this essay was first put online, AiG put up another article with this story by Ken Ham and Carl Wieland called “A Whale of a Tale.” (AiG has two articles by that name.)



Notice that they aim things towards children with the cartoons...what children and people in general, I guess, learn to fear, they will inevitably learn to hate.

[cloud_strife]

I'm open with my atheism, and although my mom didn't like it at first, I've never had any problems with it.

(except on Christianity.com)

I have a lot of friends who are of many denominations, and when they first asked me, they seemed surprised that I was atheist, and then asked me why. When I told them, they said "sounds reasonable" and then it was left at that. A couple of my friends joke around with it sometimes, but it's all in good fun.

I think it's mostly the "older" christians, who are the intolerant ones towards atheists.

[rachaella]

Originally posted by cloud_strife

I think it's mostly the "older" christians, who are the intolerant ones towards atheists.

I would disagree with that, wednesday in french class I was sitting midning my own business while a girl who I am friendly with loudly explained how her friends were trying to set her up with a new boyfriend after a bad breakup. The first guy she said was just not attractive enough, and the second guy, well she found out that he was an atheist! And she told him, right to his face "I don't date people who are going straight to hell!". I don't think I'm going to be friendly with her anymore. It wasn't a pleasant way to start french class.

[DaveW]

Christian parents and teachers need to begin early to educate their young children about the true history of the world, and teach them what the Bible has to say about dinosaurs.

From the text near one of the cartoons. Forgive my ignorance, but what does the bible say about dinosaurs?

And it sure is great to see the tolerance displayed by those who are taught by their god to "love thy neighbor."

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons



Hmmm, so what can we do about that? Anybody able to visit churches for a living in order to deliver a little speach on what atheists actually are without being accused of having an agenda? All we want is understanding, not to convert everyone like they try to do. Quite they hypocrites they are. They fear the atheists are doing what they actually do.

It's not like atheism is a disease. You can't catch it. It's like trying to explain to them that gayness isn't a disease you can catch either.


Tolerance. Understanding. All I ask. We're not gonna convert your little children into worshipping a non-existant devil.
I wish I knew the answer. What I'm doing is talking to christians I come across. I've started at my own church. If I didn't think I'd be banned from RR, I'd probably register and express my opinions.

[Ipecac]

Originally posted by DaveW


From the text near one of the cartoons. Forgive my ignorance, but what does the bible say about dinosaurs?

And it sure is great to see the tolerance displayed by those who are taught by their god to "love thy neighbor."

Job Chapter 40:

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
40:16
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
40:17
He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
40:18
His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
40:19
He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
40:20
Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
40:21
He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
40:22
The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
40:23
Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
40:24
He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

The Fundies can't seem to figure out what creature this is, so they pretend that it's a dinosaur. The "tail moves like a cedar" line is their biggest "evidence".

Of course, there's nothing else in the bible, including the tale of Noah's ark, that comes close to mentioning a dinosaur.

My brother making this argument was the biggest catalyst in my burgeoning skepticism before I gave up believing. I kept saying to him, 'The bible mentions donkeys four hundred times but doesn't mention the largest, potentially most deadly animals to ever exist more than once?"

"And, lo, Moses and the tribes of Israel were lost in the desert for 40 years, driven by want, desperate from hunger and terrorized by constant velociraptor attacks."

[chrisberez]

Atheists considered a threat. Bizzar. I wonder what the rationale is behind such thinking. Are we considered the #1 cause of lightning bolts or something?

[MLynn]

Originally posted by chrisberez
Atheists considered a threat. Bizzar. I wonder what the rationale is behind such thinking. Are we considered the #1 cause of lightning bolts or something?
I think it's people living in fear and ignorance.

BTW chrisberez, welcome to the Forum!

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by MLynn

I wish I knew the answer. What I'm doing is talking to christians I come across. I've started at my own church. If I didn't think I'd be banned from RR, I'd probably register and express my opinions.

What do you tell them? You aren't kicked out of your church group, so it must make sense. That in itself is impressive.

Curiously and admirably,

Eos

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons


What do you tell them? You aren't kicked out of your church group, so it must make sense. That in itself is impressive.

Curiously and admirably,

Eos
Thanks, Eos - well, I've started to talk with people I have a good, solid relationship with. People I know who have a good heart and would listen to what I have to say. I tell them that in the past few years I've been meeting and befriending people who don't believe in any "god" and that these people have been thoughtlessly and severely treated by Christians and it's not right. I just say that I like 'em, I love 'em and it's time that Christians practice I Corintians 13 and love people the way they should; and that the word "atheist" is not a word to be afraid of. And that all sorts of non-believers are tired of being badgered and that they've already heard "the Gospel" 30 ways from Sunday, and that they are very intelligent and knowledgeable and know the Bible better than they do. And that like all people they just want to be liked and loved for themselves without any agendas attached.

That's basically it. I've only spoken with a few so far, but as any opportunity presents itself I will speak up.

Being the misfit that I am I don't care if I am "shunned" which hasn't happened so far. Sorry I was so long-winded...

[c4ts]

Originally posted by Ipecac


Job Chapter 40:



The Fundies can't seem to figure out what creature this is, so they pretend that it's a dinosaur. The "tail moves like a cedar" line is their biggest "evidence".

Of course, there's nothing else in the bible, including the tale of Noah's ark, that comes close to mentioning a dinosaur.

My brother making this argument was the biggest catalyst in my burgeoning skepticism before I gave up believing. I kept saying to him, 'The bible mentions donkeys four hundred times but doesn't mention the largest, potentially most deadly animals to ever exist more than once?"

"And, lo, Moses and the tribes of Israel were lost in the desert for 40 years, driven by want, desperate from hunger and terrorized by constant velociraptor attacks."

Wait a minute, I've seen translations that say "he had a penis like a great cedar."

[VicDaring]

Originally posted by cloud_strife
I have a lot of friends who are of many denominations, and when they first asked me, they seemed surprised that I was atheist, and then asked me why. When I told them, they said "sounds reasonable" and then it was left at that. A couple of my friends joke around with it sometimes, but it's all in good fun.


I have a friend who always says to me, "Man, I never know what to say when you sneeze."

[rachaella]

Originally posted by VicDaring


I have a friend who always says to me, "Man, I never know what to say when you sneeze."

You're so sexy. Thats what he should say.

[VicDaring]

Originally posted by rachaella


You're so sexy. Thats what he should say.

Now you're talkin'. Maybe we could start a trend to make that the socially acceptable thing to say to atheists when we sneeze.

Watch our ranks grow then.

[Craig]

*shifty eyes*

Atishoo!

'scuse me.

:p

[Dancing David]

Hi Chrisberez and DaveW! Welcome!

I think that fear is at the basis of why atheists are despised by some, Chrsiberez stated.

a. Some epople really follow thier faith because they are afraid, they do not want to feel that fear so, they don't like anything that reminds them of that fear.

b. atheists are a 'pink monkey', we are obviously very different from most people of faith.A lot of creatures react in a very stressful fashion when presented with a member of thier species that is marked differently. I confuse both athteists and beleivers, I keep a foot in each world.

c. There is a weird form of negative faith, especialy amongst people who feel they are oppressed. They get some wierd comfort from the fact (to them) that atheists and other evil doers will Burn in hell, while they will sit on a chair with a harp. They get through all the bad times of thier life taking comfort that those that oppress them will suffer. An atheist who says that is like the Easter Bunny just upsets thier greatest coping skill.

d. Most faithers can not face the fact that if most people are religous then most evil things are done by religous people! they don't want to believe that god or the church could be at all ever evil. Instead of looking at thier own inner evil they have to pretend that they don't have any. Soultion :Blame those that don't have faith or have a diiferent faith.

The large amount of preaching against atheism is the main reason.

PS Soon there will the new pick up line :Hey baby , did anyone ever tell you how sexy you look when you are sick?

[Some Friggin Guy]

Originally posted by VicDaring


I have a friend who always says to me, "Man, I never know what to say when you sneeze."

Since I'm pretty good about covering my mouth, most of my friends have taken to saying "Nice catch!"

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Craig
*shifty eyes*

Atishoo!

'scuse me.

:p
Bless you, er...I mean, you're so sexy for a scamp... ;)

[Chaos]

Originally posted by Craig
*shifty eyes*

Atishoo!

'scuse me.

:p

Gesundheit! :)

[Eos of the Eons]

Believe me MLynn, you are not long winded :) Thank you for expanding on that. You're a sweetheart to think of your friends and try to get others to understand them.

The only reason people say "bless you" when you sneeze is becaue people in the dark ages believed that you could sneeze out your soul a bit and an evil one could enter. So they said bless you to make sure it stayed in, and the evil out, or whatever.

I always say "'scuse you", and nobody seems to know the difference.

The sexy thing is good here, I'll try to remember as an inside joke :D Outside the forum though, it could get me in trouble!

[Donks]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons

The sexy thing is good here, I'll try to remember as an inside joke :D Outside the forum though, it could get me in trouble!

Not really. It's from Seinfeld.
Edit: Well, almost. It was "You're so good looking."

[rachaella]

Originally posted by Donks


Not really. It's from Seinfeld.
Edit: Well, almost. It was "You're so good looking."

I was hoping someone would pick up on it!

[Bubbles]

I would suggest what I understand to be a Girandian idea:

A and B try to get along, and find that it is hard. In order to protect their little community, they find C to demonize, and that mutual hatred allows A and B to get along.

In politics, you see it with factions within a political party. The Republicans never get along with each other until they fall back to their hatred of the Democrats. The Reps and Dems never get along until something like 9 / 11 comes along and they have someone to hate more than each other. If aliens invaded the planet tomorrow, I bet Bush and Bin Laden could make nice pretty quickly.

Much of humanity seems to need a 'them' to hate for there to be an 'us' to love.

I think that quite a bit of the attitude towards atheism in the US is based on that scapegoating and redirecting hatred.

Oh well. Do with it what you will.

[DaveW]

"I-I-I-uh-I just wanted to use the... uh, uh, uh AND SO HE SAYS, EVIL'S OK IN MY BOOK, WHAT ABOUT YOURS? AND I GO YEAH! BABY, YEAH! YEAH! I-I-I just wanted to... uh, wash my hands?" TV's Greatest Villain

I like "You can't prove anything, I'm just a part-time electrician, I..I..BAD IS GOOD BABY!! DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT!" ;)

[Zombified]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
The only reason people say "bless you" when you sneeze is becaue people in the dark ages believed that you could sneeze out your soul a bit and an evil one could enter. So they said bless you to make sure it stayed in, and the evil out, or whatever.

I always say "'scuse you", and nobody seems to know the difference.When people say "bless you" to me, I often reply with "Too late!" Some laugh, some just look at me funny.

[the_ignored]

Originally posted by DaveW


I like "You can't prove anything, I'm just a part-time electrician, I..I..BAD IS GOOD BABY!! DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT!" ;) "The mad bomber" from "The Tick", right?

It's truly sad that I know that...

[DaveW]

"The Mad Bomber What Bombs at Midnight" :p

[Bubbles]

AN OBJECT AT REST CANNOT BE STOPPED!!!

You've got to love the Evil midnight Bomber what bombs at midnight.