What’s with the Atheist TV Hate?

[rug]

August 3, 2014
by Hemant Mehta

I seriously don’t understand it. Vice‘s Dave Schilling attended the Atheist TV launch party and slammed it for being a channel for those who “love hearing the sound of their own voice.”

As if Christian televangelists and political pundits everywhere do it purely for the benefit of the audience…

His whole piece was like that — a vessel for snark with very little substance.

Schilling blasted American Atheists for including its polarizing founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair in their programming, despite the fact that the 1990 speech she gave (which Atheist TV aired in its first few minutes) was an excellent primer for why atheism matters.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/08/03/whats-with-the-atheist-tv-hate/#ixzz39WJrVoVN

http://www.vice.com/read/i-went-to-the-debut-of-the-worlds-first-atheist-tv-channel

http://www.atheists.org/atheistTV/live

[clydefrand]

1. I'm an atheist, and

I don't understand why atheists have to organize. We should just ignore all the 'religious' stuff
going on in the world. If some people can't feel good enough WITHOUT a God, so be it. That is their problem. I will say, as long as ANY religion remains on earth and there are at least two people left, there will be fighting/killing. According to religion, killing start when there were only 4 people on earth.

[MellowDem]

7. For the same reason homosexuals, races, etc. organize...

in societies where they are a minority disadvantaged by those characteristics. It's a way to gain power and visibility to challenge the privilege of the majority.

[cbayer]

9. While I think there are a lot of people who feel the way you do,

there are a significant number who feel differently.

There are some important common causes like church/state separation issues and reducing prejudice towards non-believers.

The demographics also show that atheists tend to be liberal/progressive and some have made the case that this is a great opportunity to organize and advance some shared causes.

I will say this - as long as there are people left on earth, there will be fighting/killing. Religion may be involved sometimes, but if you think the world would be entirely peaceful just by getting rid of it, you are sorely mistaken.

[djean111]

2. What a pompous ass Schilling is. I can appreciate snark, but his is boring and petulant,

after a few paragraphs. He seems almost vindictive. He says he is pretty non-religious himself, which makes no sense to me, either you are or you are not, IMO. As an atheist, I personally have no interest in organized atheism, although I would join an atheist organisation that was attempting to combat creeping religion in government.

The comments I read were interesting - is an atheist TV channel somehow threatening to some theists? Should I be concerned in the reverse, and be alarmed by Creflo Dollar and Benny Hinn?

[pinto]

3. I'd love to see a coalition formed around separation of church / state issues.

And I mean a broad based coalition among all interested parties.

[rurallib]

4. Atheists have very little substance

while the religious are just full of substance. Yep, full of it. Substance that is

[Htom Sirveaux]

5. Give them time.

I think an atheist channel could definitely make a serious contribution, and given all the religious channels already out there, they deserve a real chance to try.

[goldent]

6. I read most of his review

and didn't see it as hate - but a lot of snark for sure - Daily Show material.

[cbayer]

8. The Schilling piece is pretty harsh and it does seem unnecessary.

They need time to get their bearings and figure out who their audience is. If done well, they have a real opportunity here to be a positive force and have a rather broad appeal.

But if they take a primarily offensive position and are relevant only to the sub-group of anti-theists, I truly think they will fail. They will become like the other groups and sites who cater only to that group, and it ain't pretty.