Why are Atheists so Scary?

@failures art,

Thanks, fart.

@plainoldme,

This is a rather old idea. There was a woman, i'd have to do a search to get her name, but she was truly courageous. In the years before the American civil war, she spoke out publicly against slavery, and even traveled in the South speaking against it. And, she publicly avowed herself an atheist and spoke out against organized religion. I'm sure you can imagine how radical this was seen to be in the 1850s. One of her arguments was that if a belief in god were natural, it would need to be taught to children. Another was that if a belief in god were natural, we wouldn't need preachers to teach us about god. I'll see if i can go hunt up her name, although i might not do it right away.

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@Setanta,

That ought to have read: " . . . it would not need to be taught to children."

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@Setanta,

I'm interested, but I'll skip elaborating.

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Ernestine Louise Rose (1810-92):

"It is an interesting and demonstrable fact, that all children are atheists and were religion not inculcated into their minds, they would remain so."

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

Ernestine Louise Rose (1810-92):

"It is an interesting and demonstrable fact, that all children are atheists and were religion not inculcated into their minds, they would remain so."

Interesting quote
You have a great day now, eh.

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@dadpad,

She's an interesting woman--demonstrably courageous from her teenage years onward (she went to court to be freed from an arranged marriage which she didn't intend to participate in).

May pretty butterflies and lovely little birds fly about you all day in the warm, friendly sunshine . . .

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@sometime sun,

sometime sun wrote:

Why are Atheists so scary?

They scare me.

I have rationalised this into at least two positions. (more to come when I think on)

One; I am terrified of their truth taking away mine Truth.

Two; They always seem so angry and anger terrifies me as well.

Hi sometime! On one: that's fear of doubt. St. Augustine explained that doubt dwells in every heart. That was his interpretation of references in scripture to the Antichrist. The Antichrist, among other things is an image of the gate upon oblivion.

Atheists are real people. There is as much reason to fear as there is to trust there. The image of the Atheist is different. To some it can appear to be this same gate on oblivion. An interpretation of the Atheist perspective is that the universe is dead. Consciousness is a chemical side-show. What seems real and eternal to you is only an illusion. The rule is meaninglessness. Not many real people conform to this image because without profound delusionment, it would require a complete abandonment of hope. This might sound horrifying, but it's not really. Every story is made of directly conflicting truths. Hope never dies.

On two: every mortal Atheist has some anger no doubt. Don't we all? The image of the Atheist is angry for a specific reason. One name for it is the Inquisition. There is no betrayal that compares to that perpetrated by one who wears the mask of a holyman.

So this is anger is on behalf of the freedom of the human spirit. This is the anger that would defend you if you were labeled heretic. This atheist is your ally. He stands for your right to think whatever you want.

It's fairly easy to demonstrate that every atheist has faith of some kind. The old philforum clearly demonstrated that you can point all day long... doesn't mean your companion will look in the direction your pointing. And in the end... what difference does that make?

And: you offered a thousand simple, but fascinating questions. I always appreciated it. Thanks!

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@sometime sun,

I'm an Atheist and here's one of moi's YouTube videos, is it scary?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7iQRFP_e90

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@Arjuna,

Arjuna wrote:

It's fairly easy to demonstrate that every atheist has faith of some kind.

Bullshit. Religionists trot out a silly claim like that all the time. I don't know, of course, if you are a religionist or not, but this kind of thing is a silly attempt to equate the refusal to believe in someone's imaginary friend superstition with the adherence to the superstition itself--and it is false.

It is also simple-minded. I have faith, for example, that crossing traffic will stop at an intersection when they have the red light, and that when i have the green i can proceed without trepidation. This is reasonable, and is based on my experience--both that people generally tend to adhere to societal regulation, and that they specifically tend to obey traffic lights.

That's not the same, however, as the blind faith required to believe in a god. If you can't see the distinction, there would be little point in discussing it with you.

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@failures art,

failures art wrote:

sometime sun wrote:

failures art wrote:

Some people think there is glory in being a martyr.

A
R
T

I don't think I would use the word glory, but then I don't like the word even when I meet it in Scripture, I am suspicious of it, I will try and think of a word I would use for what I think describes the martyr.

Interestingly enough, I was pointing out another poster who was attempting to leverage a victim mentality (read: Martyr mentality). However, due to the topic of this thread, it does have a double meaning...

A
R
T

if you mean me, you misread the post. it was a challenge or a dare-go on, crucify me too while you're at it, which remark was directed at a number of people on the thread not any one individual.

you guys really came out ready to start burning crosses with people hanging from them. like i said, i dramatize everything. salima the drama queen.

i dont behave anything like this believe me-the vibes here are pretty bad. but why should i tell you that? people here are applauding insults and vitriolic humor. we are not victims. it isnt about us.

so if that's the game you like to play, have fun kids.

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@hue-man,

hue-man wrote:

Thanks, Salima. I miss the old forum, though!

what can i say...

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@sometime sun,

sometime sun wrote:

Butrflynet wrote:

Quote:
I guess that none of them will have felt offended by what sometime sun wrote, because they know him.

Which is why some of us are asking to learn more about him, starting with some background info. We'd like to get to know him so we may better understand his anxieties.

This does also make a very good point that I may have been far to overly open and familiar on this forum before any of you had come to know me.
I can now see how I could be suspect,
I am just used to not being a source of suspicion,
And I hope you will come to know I rarely and often naively never am suspecting enough about my self.
I still don't doubt my self or intention for this thread.
If I am ever out and out wrong about the giving of myself and the receiving of you I will be good enough to prove I see my error.
And change.
It seems I have a lot to learn and a lot to change.

You will get to know me through my thoughts, ponderousness, ideas, words, posts and descriptive expressionisms.
Fast because I share my thoughts openly and post often.
You will soon see me around and come to know me better through my participation than some blurb I do not feel equipped to write in 500 words or less.
I will be writing a book this summer,
maybe I will share this with you all?
I have blonde hair and usually some on my chin.

All the best.

most of us on the old forum didnt have any profile information with specific data about our personal lives. because it is the conversation that matters. eventually we might come to know we were speaking to a 12-year-old or a 70-year-old and we may not know if we were corresponding with a male or female. most people want to know particulars about someone else so they can judge them. we judged each other on what we posted more than anything else.

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@Arjuna,

Arjuna,

When you spoke of atheists as being seen as "the gate to oblivion" , that seems to be correct with respect to the image theists have of themselves, since they see their "existence" as dependent on a "God". The extrapolation to the concept of a reductionist material universe is superfluous to the fear of loss of "self" (aka "soul")

Significantly, it is the "transcendence of self" (its premature "death", or its "illusory nature") which is the starting point for other religious and spiritual movements.

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@Setanta,

Thanks for the info on Ernestine. During my kidhood, I read many bios of "great" or "strong" women but I never encountered her. I will look her up!

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@salima,

salima wrote:

you guys really came out ready to start burning crosses with people hanging from them.

<snip>

i dont behave anything like this believe me-the vibes here are pretty bad. but why should i tell you that? people here are applauding insults and vitriolic humor.

interesting. elsewhere it was suggested that we'd been love-bombing the former members of PF on their arrival, and I'd been reflecting that perhaps we had been too effusive in our welcome.

Since the perception seems to range from love-bombing to bad vibes, I guess it's just best to proceed the way we all would normally.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

salima wrote:
you guys really came out ready to start burning crosses with people hanging from them.

<snip>

i dont behave anything like this believe me-the vibes here are pretty bad. but why should i tell you that? people here are applauding insults and vitriolic humor.

interesting. elsewhere it was suggested that we'd been love-bombing the former members of PF on their arrival, and I'd been reflecting that perhaps we had been too effusive in our welcome.

Since the perception seems to range from love-bombing to bad vibes, I guess it's just best to proceed the way we all would normally.

i agree it is always best to behave normally, that is whatever is normal for us, unless it puts us in jail or some other lockup. so if you can behave as you normally do here you are in a good place.

i am finding it impossible to behave as i normally do here. that of course is my problem, not yours...

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@salima,

This post from another thread is an example of why it is helpful to get to know a little bit about someone's background other than the content of their posts. It isn't always because we seek to make a judgment.

Theaetetus wrote:

I didn't know you were Danish. Now that explains a lot. Sorry dude...I am generally much more forgiving towards ESL members. I do know ancient Greek, so in knowing one of the most difficult languages in history, I now have a bit of empathy. Learning new languages and all of their odd nuances is a very tricky process.

Now let me go find someone with a native English tongue who butchers my language more than I do!

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Now here's my Atheist film that stars Jehovah, Allah, Krishna, Satan & a few others..... Laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m6qC6FCiY0

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@salima,

I said you've got a victim mentality. You say I misread it. Then you explain how you're a victim.

But what do I know? I'm just a vitriolic cross burner trying to ruin some drama-queen's day. Obviously.

A
R
T

2 Replies

Why are Atheists so Scary?

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