16 Common Myths About Atheists

[AtheistMommy]

Not that most of you don't already know most of this but I thought this was so good I had to share it. Feel free to add to the list.

 

16 Common Myths About Atheists

 

1. Atheists hate Christians and Christianity. No, we dont. Personally, I do hate the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion, the dishonesty of most religions, and the way that they encourage people not to think or question, and not to trust or

use their minds. But I dont dislike someone just because of their religion.

 

2. Most atheists started out as Christians, and stopped believing because of some bad experience with other Christians. Or maybe we simply started to question, to wonder what happened when we applied the standards of logic, reason and burden of proof to religion, as we already did to everything in our lives. Or, perhaps, we were never believers at all. It happens, you know.

 

3. Atheists have no sense of morality, since morality comes from God. Ah, the old without fear of hell, there would be nothing to stop people from being bloodthirsty monsters argument. It may come as a surprise to most Christians, but there are reasons for being good other than fear of punishment - which isnt really a reason, anyway, and only shows Christians in a very bad light. Reasons like human empathy, genuine feelings for others, and, most importantly, rational principles. Behaving yourself just because daddy will spank you otherwise does not make you a nice child.

 

4. Atheists are a unified group, like a church. Are we? I must have missed the memo, then. If anything, Id say atheists are more diverse than Christians, because were less sheep-like, and dont accept things on faith, or from authority.

 

5. Atheists actually know, deep inside, that theres a God, as thats perfectly obvious; they are simply too proud and arrogant to admit the existence of something greater than themselves. Not exactly. You see, the existence of a god is only obvious if youve been brainwashed (either by others, or by your own irrationality) into believing it. We are truly convinced that theres no god, and are not in denial. Really. Im serious.

 

6. Atheists dont really know anything about Christianity. Again, it depends. Some certainly know more than others. However, religion is so ubiquitous that, like it or not, weve all had varying degrees of contact with it, with its teachings, and with believers. Besides, a lot of atheists are naturally curious. I, myself, have read the Christian Bible - more than once, in fact. Now, dear believer, ask yourself how many atheist books, magazines or essays you have read. Oh, I forgot, theyre all the work of Satan.

 

7. Atheists lives are cold and empty, as they cant feel the joy and love that comes only from God. Really? Id never call my life cold or empty - I have the joys of friendship, love, family, and doing the things I love to do. And, whats more, Im self-sufficient, unlike anyone who says I dont know how anyone could live without God in their lives - as many Christians do.

 

8. Atheists are depressive and nihilistic, since they believe theres nothing after death, and therefore theres no point to anything. On the contrary, we, unlike you, know how precious life is, because were aware that its our only one. And, this may come as a shock to you, but we can love our lives, we can feel the joy of being alive, because we dont believe that this is the devils world, or that this is just a test before the real thing. Life is precious, and its our own - not any gods.

 

9. Atheists are cold and uncaring. No, we are not. Having delusions doesnt make anyone more caring. And, again, we treat life as precious, and do what we can to improve it, both ours and that of our loved ones. On the other hand, many Christians believe life is suffering, and that theres nothing we can do about it.

 

10. Atheists are arrogant. What, because we dare to use our minds instead of asking who are we to know? No, were not.

 

11. Atheists want to forbid religious worship. Wrong. We just dont want to be harmed by it. Want to believe in God, Jesus, Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy? Be my guest. Want to teach your kids to do the same? I feel sorry for them, but it will still take many years until people realize how crippling ones reason in childhood is like a bird crippling its offsprings wings. (*) Want to give all your money to a guy with a Lexus and a bad haircut? Fine. But dont try to save me, dont harass me in the street or at my home, dont get politicians to enact laws to give power to you, dont try to teach your religion in science classes by dishonestly giving it a new name and disguising it as science, and dont use my tax money to write your idiocies in public places. In short, do as you want, as long as you keep it to yourself - just like I dont go to your place trying to un-convert you.

 

12. Atheists are incapable of feeling awe at simple things, like a beautiful sunset, as they see everything in terms of cold science, instead of miracles. Ah, unweaving the rainbow - the idea that beauty and poetry only exist if we know little to nothing about how things work. But I ask you: does the fact that you know about astronomy, physics and light make the sunset any less beautiful? Was it beautiful only because it seemed magical - or an act of god - to you?

 

13. Atheists live their lives in constant fear of death. Few people actually want to die - those that do are either depressed and suicidal, or are Christians who believe that the world is evil, please, Lord Jesus, take me, and all that. A reasonable fear of death is perfectly natural. Also, we may believe that this life is it, which makes us treat it as precious, but, at least, we dont think that theres a chance of going to a place where you burn and are tortured for eternity

 

14. Most criminals are atheists (or, alternatively, the percentage of atheists among criminals is higher than among the general populace). Oddly enough, the opposite is true.

 

15. Atheists are stubborn and closed-minded. Not unless you define closed-minded like this. But, as Ebon said, Ask any believer what would convince him he was mistaken and persuade him to leave his religion and become an atheist, and if you get a response, it will almost invariably be, Nothing - I have faith in my god. Although such people may well exist, I personally have yet to meet a theist who would acknowledge even the possibility that his belief was in error. Many theists, by their own admission, structure their beliefs so that no evidence could possibly disprove them. Atheists, on the other hand, are easy to convince - all it requires is for God to show himself in some unfakeable way - say, for instance, by doing any of the many things he supposedly did in the Old Testament

 

16. Atheists make bad parents. Again, there are good and bad atheist parents, and good and bad Christian parents. Atheist parents, however, would never do what Abraham was about to do to his son Isaac (and Christians see Abrahams behavior as laudable!), because, to most atheists, our lives are our own. In fact, even if there was a God, it would not follow that our lives are his.

[Renfield]

How about, there are no Atheists in foxholes.

 

I always thought the people that claim no need of god but fell to their knees and started to pray when under fire were closet christians.

 

American Atheists highlights an Athiest in Foxhole every month.

[Vigile]

But I do hate Christianity. Just not Christians themselves.

 

The rest I agree with.

[Crunk Bishop]

great thread!

[Lycorth]

I thought Athiests also ate shit and chopped up babies for science?

[DanInPA]

I thought Athiests also ate shit and chopped up babies for science?

 

Actually, we eat babies and chop up shit for science!

[NobleSavage]

But I do hate Christianity. Just not Christians themselves.

Hate the faith. Love the faithful.

 

And I do love the Christian. These are the minds we're trying to save.

 

I'll never stop praying hoping they'll be saved one day.

[Lizard]

Hey Noble..good to see you again.

 

I tried to bring up a few of these points on a christian board, but they were lost on them.

 

Especially the morality point. How can there be morality without a standard, afterall? But, if we are to model our morality after that portrayed in the bible, we're all in trouble..just look to the middle east for THAT disaster.

[AtheistMommy]

Hey Noble..good to see you again.

 

I tried to bring up a few of these points on a christian board, but they were lost on them.

 

Especially the morality point. How can there be morality without a standard, afterall? But, if we are to model our morality after that portrayed in the bible, we're all in trouble..just look to the middle east for THAT disaster.

 

Easy, morality existed before the bible and it can exist without and after the bible. Because since history repeats itself, one day Christanity will be outdone by another religion. Morality is taught, you learn though experience and family. Even with the bible you learn though these things. What morals do they really think exist in the bible anyway?

 

I thought Athiests also ate shit and chopped up babies for science?

 

Actually, we eat babies and chop up shit for science!

 

Hey, at least we don't kill babies in the name of any god.

 

 

great thread!

 

Why, thank you

 

But I do hate Christianity. Just not Christians themselves.

 

The rest I agree with.

 

Yeah, so does my husband. I think the level of hate greatly depends on the type of Atheist. I don't hate Christianity, but I can't stand those damn religious fucks (AKA fundies).

 

How about, there are no Atheists in foxholes.

 

I always thought the people that claim no need of god but fell to their knees and started to pray when under fire were closet christians.

 

American Atheists highlights an Athiest in Foxhole every month.

 

I agree. Write it up and I'll add it.

I attended the Atheists in Foxholes March on Washington. I took my kids and I was nervous that someone might do something to make me regret taking the kids. But there weren't any religious fucks around and it went well. But at the same time the group was only about 100 people. I was hoping for a better bigger turn out. But I have to say, I learned a whole lot on Atheists in the military and on the war. I had no clue. I'm so glad I took the kids now.

[Piprus]

Great post, AtheistMommy,

 

All so true.

 

How about the myth that the atrocities committed by Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung against their own people were in the cause of national atheism? (They had nothing to do with atheism, these two communist dictators were obsessed with purging their respective countries of anyone or anything politically or socially opposed to them)

 

"Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable" (H.L. Mencken)

[NobleSavage]

That reminds me, Piprus, of another myth, that Hitler was an atheist or that the teaching of evolution and spread of atheism lead to his atrocities.

 

Here's the site to debunk that myth:

http://www.nobeliefs.com/Hitler1.htm

 

Of course, they'll say Hitler wasn't a "true Christian".

 

I might also argue that Stalin and Mao had their own religion. Communism had its sacred scripture (the Manifesto), their prophecy (of St. Marx that the prolitariate would rise up, etc.), their righteous cause of good vs. evil that justified their actions and their collection of patron saints. Really, one could argue they had all the trappings of a religion. Belief in a god isn't required to be a person of faith.

 

Side note: I've heard that atheism, agnosticism and deism shouldn't be capitalized because they aren't proper nouns. Only religions like Christianity or Islam should be capitalized. The whole capping rule in English is confusing to me. Is anyone here more of an expert in the English language who can clarify?

[Lizard]

Reply to sidenote:

 

Apparently, it is not a proper noun. Proper nouns are capitalized, as in Girl Scouts, Baptists, etc..

 

Lots of ideas HERE

[Dhampir]

stretching into this from another thread, I hate christians who can't be forced to at least examine other viewpoints.

[NobleSavage]

I hate christians who can't be forced to at least examine other viewpoints.

Worse, Christians who rail against the logical absurdities of other religions but fail to use the same critical thinking to their own.

 

Examples:

 

"Muslims offer no proof that God wrote the Koran."

"Muslims use the Koran to prove the Koran, which is circular reasoning."

"The Muslim god is influenced by pagan traditions. Allah is an ancient moon god."

[gangstaknitta]

"The Muslim god is influenced by pagan traditions. Allah is an ancient moon god."

 

This one is my favorite. What the fuck do they think Yahweh was???

 

As a teacher of religious studies (in a secular university), I capitalize any belief system. Atheism, Agnoticism, Deism...

 

I think all the comments on the "theocratic tyranny" of spell checkers on word processors is interesting. Microsoft word, in my opinion has revealed its programmers' biases on several occasions during my writing. Hilarious...yet, disturbing.

[Kurari]

Atheists have no sense of morality, since morality comes from God.

 

I have never, ever understood this. Why can't morality be a human trait? Why is it impossible for it to exist without a god?

 

And they always try to make you explain how a person can be moral without a god. I want to know why it has to have god. Morality just IS, like emotions and intelligence, and hair color. Humans are moral. I can see why we think our gods are moral. But I don't understand why it's impossible for morality to exist without a god involved.

[Warrior_of_god]

Why can't morality be a human trait? Why is it impossible for it to exist without a god?

Because all humans are puny sinners who really need gods guidence. Without god and his morality then humans would kill eachother over their religious beliefs, babies would be dashed against rocks and women would be raped in war. Oh...wait...all that stuff was done in the NAME of god! So its ok i guess...

[Piprus]

Atheists have no sense of morality, since morality comes from God.

 

I have never, ever understood this. Why can't morality be a human trait? Why is it impossible for it to exist without a god?

 

And they always try to make you explain how a person can be moral without a god. I want to know why it has to have god. Morality just IS, like emotions and intelligence, and hair color. Humans are moral. I can see why we think our gods are moral. But I don't understand why it's impossible for morality to exist without a god involved.

 

Fact is, morality IS a human trait, and moral standards fluctuate. The very word morality derives from Latin "mores", which is basically, "customs of the culture". It was moral in medieval, christian ruled Europe to burn people alive for "heresy" or "witchcraft", and the practice was defended using scripture. So much for the biblegod's position as the "moral standard". Hence the pure nonsense of portraying us unbelievers as lacking in moral judgement. Atheists and agnostics are no different from anyone else. We are fundamentally good, but sometimes we do bad things.

 

"The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous." (H.L. Mencken)

[Amethyst]

Logic and reason just happen to be why I deconverted, although it wasn't because I "just wondered what would happen." It was because I realized, after doing a lot of reading and research, that the claims just couldn't be true.

[AtheistMommy]

Logic and reason just happen to be why I deconverted, although it wasn't because I "just wondered what would happen." It was because I realized, after doing a lot of reading and research, that the claims just couldn't be true.

 

I think that is true for most of us.

[Kurari]

Fact is, morality IS a human trait, and moral standards fluctuate.

 

I know this, but I have yet to hear any kind of decent explanation of why it has to come from a god and it's impossible for people to be moral without a god. I think I'll post a thread in the Lion's Den about it, I really wanna know an answer to this!

[08 hawk]

3. Atheists have no sense of morality...

 

I hate that one, too. Apparently, to fundies, it takes a bible to tell you that murder, rape, etc. is wrong.

[Lanakila]

I have been having this debate at CF. http://www.christianforums.com/t3230946-at...c-morality.html

 

Fundies just can't understand morality without God. It's frustrating as hell having this discussion with them.

[NobleSavage]

I hate that one, too. Apparently, to fundies, it takes a bible to tell you that murder, rape, etc. is wrong.

In what verse does the Bible say rape is wrong? It says the rapist must marry the victim if she is unbetrothed but that seems a rather odd condemnation.

 

It also says you can't rape your sex slave captured in war until you've given her six weeks to mourn her family, who were doubtlessly put to the sword in accordance to the Biblical rules of war. It also says you can't sell her if you don't enjoy raping her, that you have to just let her go. If this was supposed to be progressive, I'm not impressed.

 

There are verses that condemn murder but then there are many others that glorify specific acts of killing and torture, so it's a pretty mixed message.

[Toxic]

I hate christians who can't be forced to at least examine other viewpoints.

Worse, Christians who rail against the logical absurdities of other religions but fail to use the same critical thinking to their own.

 

Examples:

 

"Muslims offer no proof that God wrote the Koran."

"Muslims use the Koran to prove the Koran, which is circular reasoning."

"The Muslim god is influenced by pagan traditions. Allah is an ancient moon god."

 

Yeah, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. And what about "Catholics/Mormons/Rastafarians etc use only selected passages of the Bible to justify their practices" So what the fuck do Born Agains do then?