Thought my fellow nonbelievers might like to see this (hat tip to Pharyngula)

[Rob H.]

I'm a big fan of PZ Myers (that's the man himself on the left, for those who aren't familiar with him), and I'm loving this:




Edited to add a link to PZ's blog. I check it at least a couple of times a day.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I don't want to start anything here, but

this brings something up that fascinates and baffles me. Why is it that atheists talk so much about religion?

Until I joined this group, I didn't think much at all about religion, or my atheism. It just was what it was. I joined basically to get more information to counter all the fundamentalist shit that is thrown at me all the time, but I was not interested in religion. Many atheists seem to want to discuss it all the time, and I just wonder why.

[mr blur]

2. Perhaps in order to, as you say:

"counter all the fundamentalist shit that is thrown at me all the time"

I don't like religion but you can't pretend it's not there or that it isn't powerful and dangerous. Confronted by someone who believe this nonsense to the point of thinking we should all be made to live our lives by the "rules" of their particular delusion, it helps to know as much (and often more) about their myths and fantasies than they do.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I also think knowing about religious thinking helps

you being able to "confront" the nonsense....but I find that there really is no winning when you do. If you show these people that what they believe makes no sense, it doesn't make them think about it....they just dig their heels in deeper. It is a lose/lose situation. I get tired of trying.

[ForeverLiberal]

8. Not Always

[link:

|

Not all of the time. All of the atheists I know used to be Christian, and I used to be a Christian myself. Sometimes you just have to do research and be presented with facts to realize it truly doesn't make any sense.

[Fix The Stupid]

3. Think of it like this...

Atheists feel like fish - religion is the water.

It's everywhere.

Look at it through our eyes - and I hate to use the Santa Claus analogy, but it really is the only comparison that fits...

How would you feel if the vast majority of people lived their lives as though Santa was real?
They live their lives by Santa and his teachings, constantly infer that anyone who doesn't believe in Santa is less of a human, and try to get Santa and his teachings to touch/affect every part of our lives - how would you feel?

Wouldn't you want to stand up and say "WTF!! Santa isn't real - why is this belief so entrenched in our society?"

Or something like that...

[Curmudgeoness]

7. I understand that it is ridiculous to have believers all around us

telling us that we are they ones in the wrong. I get that. And I have tried to counter that as much as I can. But I think that it is better to just let them believe in their Santa Claus, and ignore as much as can be ignored. I am not sure how much I want to be bothered by their relgion----I don't really care. And I don't want to spend much time thinking about it. Seems a waste of the time I have.

[Rob H.]

4. I kinda can't avoid it, being in the Bible Belt and all

To hear the fundagelical Bible thumpers down here, you'd think they were the most persecuted group of people on the face of the Earth and a lot of local pastors can't stop sticking their noses in where they don't belong. For example, there was a proposed city ordinance to add the words "sexual orientation or gender identity" to the non-discrimination clause for hiring city workers and a sizable group of local pastors/preachers went down to the steps of City Hall to raise a big stink about how awful it was because it would be giving people "special rights."

Fortunately, I have some atheist and agnostic friends who remind me that not everyone is blind to how insane some of the fundies are.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Gads. I agree that the fundies can make it hard to ignore.

I am glad you have some people around you who are not insane.

[darkstar3]

9. kick

[laconicsax]

10. Kick