10 myths - and 10 truths - about atheism

[and-justice-for-all]

SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term "atheism" has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president.

Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural....

more:
http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/10-myths-and-10-truths-about-atheism1

[Skittles]

1. thank you

I really get tired of being told I find life meaningless by people who need religion to find life meaningful

[Erika]

2. I find those who seek religion as a crutch

don't have their own moral code in place. Bottom line: Atheists hold themselves accountable for their own actions. Believers just say "Oh, well. I screwed up but I wll live forever anyway".

Atheists know their life deeds will end when they die.

[Skittles]

4. yes

I care more about the here and now than worrying about life after death

[Erika]

6. Me too

We have one chance in this life time. Those that believe in an afterlife, think they have multiple chances. They can cheat, lie, and screw innocents but believe they will be saved because Christ died for their sins. What a crock.

[Danger Mouse]

8. Some assholes use that convenient

excuse to get out of being halfway decent to other people.
'Okay, but Jesus still loves me!' Yeah, but you're still a prick. Religion isn't an excuse for being an ass to people.

[Dorian Gray]

26. Please don't

brush everyone with the same stroke. Many of us do care to do good. Many of us do want to make the most of this lifetime. And many of us think that doing good for the here and now is indicative of the type of person we are. Not every Christian uses the afterlife as a crutch, and some of us even do good in this lifetime because it's the right thing to do, not to receive an eternal reward.

[struggle4progress]

24. Do you also denigrate people who need ordinary physical crutches ..

.. or just those who use psychological "crutches"? If a person, who needs a crutch, finds one and uses it -- what's wrong with that?

Lots of people, who have obvious physical problems, still have something to offer. Psychological problems are quite widespread too, though they may not be as immediately obvious as physical problems, and lots of people with psychological problems also have something to offer.

[Dorian Gray]

25. I don't know about that

I hold myself responsible for all my own actions, choices, and decisions. The good and the bad. Personal responsibility is actually an important aspect of Christianity. At least in my view, it is.

[Danger Mouse]

3. TRUTH:

Satan roasts atheists on his big barbecue in hell. He marinates them in a sauce created from their own woe and suffering, so in a way they make their own gravy.
Mmmm...

[Erika]

5. No, There is no Satan

But you've got a nice line.

[Danger Mouse]

7. Did you ever notice how...

'Santa' and 'Satan' are awfully similar?
COINCIDENCE???
I think the 'atheists make their own gravy' theory will win many converts to the glory of Christianity. PRAISE JESUS!!!

[Erika]

9. Huh?

That'a truly weird. Look into the tanis root.

[Danger Mouse]

10. Tanis root?

What's that?

[Erika]

12. Look it up

Tanis = satin.

[Danger Mouse]

18. But that takes effffort...

I don't waaaaanna.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. Satan Claus!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[TheMadMonk]

15. Did you hear about the dyslexic devil worshiper?

He sold his soul to Santa.

[Danger Mouse]

11. I don't understand why atheists are so reviled...never have...

...wonder what it must be like to be so small-minded...oh well...

[no_hypocrisy]

17. I believe that part of the revulsion is the fact that atheists are independent,

autonomous, and won't be controlled by a higher power, whether it's religious or political. That makes us a challenge to control, a probable threat to the ruling order, and hence worthy of suspicion in others' eyes. A lesser theory IMO is an inherent wish on the part of christianity (some denominations more than others) for everyone to be the same, meaning their religion and resentment when refused and rebuffed.

[Danger Mouse]

19. Well...I think many of the fundies...

...despise people of other religions enough as it is...but they REALLY hate people with no faith whatsoever.

[Dorian Gray]

27. I think that they hate equally...

If they're different, they're fodder for hatred.

[NMMNG]

20. We aren't susceptible to the mind control

That scares people.

[Az]

22. We are dream killers

We tell the mother that her child is truly dead. We tell the grieving wife that her departed husband is gone forever. We take away everything that people are taught is good and leave them with everything they are taught is evil. We are the destroyers of faith. Or at least that is what a lot of people think we are.

[monmouth]

14. My parents spent a lot of money on my Catholic education and when I

mentioned at a family dinner one time "when you're dead, you're dead" such gasps followed. I mean really....I agree with your posts, religion was designed to keep people "in line."

[TheMadMonk]

16. Not quite.

Religion was created to keep pockets lined.

Kind of like personal trainers today. People pay other people to tell them what useless arseholes they are, and enjoy it.

[and-justice-for-all]

21. Kick

[montanto]

23. I just think about the fundies that I know . . .

and then I think about that Talking Heads song lyric that goes "Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens," then I imagine myself sitting down to dinner with them for all eternity. Yikes!

Sometimes people ask me if as an atheist I believe in / worship Satan, and I'm like, Hello!

Anyway, if I do go to hell at least all my friends will be there too, making our own gravy.