The Antichristian Phenomenon

I recently happened upon this article from the forum of the ACP. Curious I decided to sit down and read it just to see what it is we must agree with the Theists.

The author brings up several points that I’m going to tackle one by one.

0. Celebrating the death of somebody you disagreed with pretty much makes you a dick.

Depends, while this is usually true for a guy who has passingly annoyed you in the past or sometimes has even directly harmed you, this certainly does not apply for someone who has made it his life goal to make your life miserable.

A simple example: Shouldn’t Jews and Homosexuals be glad that Hitler died?

There’s a big difference between being glad that someone who made your life difficult passed away and actually killing people for it. I don’t think any resonable person (which are the ones his article is aimed at I guess) actually wanted to kill Jerry Falwell or prayed that he met a horrible end, but certainly being glad that he won’t bother them anymore is only in human nature.

Of course, each side might have people they demonize but I’m pretty positive that the ones Theists might be praying to meet a horrible end (Like, I dunno, Richard Dawkins?) are becaue of all the wrong reasons.

1. You Can Do Terrible Things in the Name of Either One

This whole part of the article is horribly misguided. I’ve already analyzed this in length but let me just make a short effort here.

Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini and the like were dictators. Some of them were Theists, some Atheists. The difference is that ,say, Stalin did not do what he did in the name of Atheism. He did it in the name of the country, no matter the cost.

However the difference is that there are people out there that will kill you because you believe in a different imaginary friend (or don’t believe at all). Atheists will not. There can be no “corruption in our system” because we have none. We follow the laws and use our critical thinking to make decisions, not a book written a few millenia ago.

Nobody says that if religion goes away there will be no more war, but certainly there will be no more war for another yet another senseless reason.
Granted the wars that did happen in the name of religion had other reasons behind them, but religion was the way to make most of the soldiers fight. Just another control measure.

Also, atheism is not a belief system.

2. Both Sides Really Do Believe What They’re Saying

let me just quote a bit further…

But atheists do something very similar, particularly when a Christian says:

“Only the saved go to Heaven!”

…and what the atheist hears is:

“I want everyone else to go to Hell!”

Wait, what? Is he in my head? If not how exactly does he know what I, or any other atheist, hears? If there is any one thing you might say for atheists is that most of them have their own beliefs and ideas. It’s patently impossible take the ideas of one and generalize them for everyone else. We do not even disbelieve in God(s) in the same way.

Now what this makes me think is that the author is basing his article on fables. He’s just making things up that are easy to disprove and counter just so that he can make a point.

No I really do believe that most Christians truly believe that their law was handed down from their imaginary friend. I also believe that they have been brainwashed, as is the case with most of monotheistic systems, or, if they went back on their own accord, that they are just…insane. No better than the loon that thinks god is talking to him.

In any case, I do not have a problem with the loon, the same way I don’t have a problem with the christian. But don’t expect me to play along with any imaginary friend.

I especially like the fact that the author believes that all atheists are making an “Honest mistake” and Theists must show some tolerance…poor us.

3. In Everyday Life, You’re Not That Different

More quoting goodness

Atheists, even if you reject the idea of God completely and claim to live according only to the cold logic of the physical sciences, you all still live as if the absolute morality of some magical lawgiver were true.

No, wait. Don’t go away.

I did actually go away in disgust the first time I was reading the article. I’m only coming back to this to write this reply.

The author seems to confuse being angry at someone for not having the same opinion as you (belief in the same imaginary friend) and being angry because someone has actually caused you grief in some tangible way.
No I will not get angry if my girlfriend cheats blatantly on me because of some mysterious reason I cannot explain. I will be angry of the very specific reason that my trust was betrayed by someone very close to me and my feelings were horribly hurt.
I will not get angry when someone scams me because the voices in my head tell me to be. I will get angry first at myself for not taking precautions and then against that person because he has taken something from me for which I have worked for.

Yes, there is an invisible rule that is supposed to be followed. It is the rule we, as a human society have put in place so that we do not degenerate into chaos. It is certainly not something you were born with as the author would like to imply.

You think of it that way, and the amount of overlap between the two of us is actually pretty striking. Right?

Nope, not really…Onwards!

4. There Are Good People on Both Sides

Not much to say here. I agree. As someone said it before

It takes a good man to do a good deed and it takes a bad man to do a bad deed. But for a good man to do a bad deed, it takes religion

Moving on

5. Your Point of View is Legitimately Offensive to Them

Nobody hates the idea of a creator, or of there being some kind of ultimate justice in the universe. That’s not what has these people in such a bad mood.

Uh…Actually I do. If there was a creator in the christian sense I would spit in his eye for being such a bastard.
Of course, since I am thoroughly convinced that the Christian God does not exist the point is moot.

I am not offended by people telling me I am going to burn in hell, that’s pretty funny. I am offended however when my rights are taken because of other people’s beliefs. More on that later.

In the same way, I do not go around teasing christians (although some times this can be fun when they bring it on themselves) but I really couln’t care less if they get offended when I say that there is no eternal reward. That mass murderer is supposed to be punished in this life and that kindly grandma (what a scary picture) is supposed be rewarded right now by her loving family.

Also, if I ever hear a christian saying that he or she is factually right, I’m going to burst a vein laughing. The whole point of religion is that there are no facts for their beliefs.

6. We Tend to Exaggerate About the Other Guy

This chapter is just so funny. The author basically goes against his frigging headline within the body itself. He completely misses why atheists are angered when christians refuse evolution but does not understand that science is not something you can accept the parts that suit your beliefs. If you accept medical sciences why exactly do you not accept evolution? They are based on the same damn methodologies

Oh, as for the fact that if Theists had their way we would go back a few hundred years, uh…have he seen the middle east lately? I wonder if he remembers how long it took for Europe to get out of the Dark ages which were mainly to blame on religion.

He also goes on to compare morality to science. Subjective against objective. Uh-huh.

UPDATE: You can find a clarification of the last sentence at the fora.

Fuck! This thing just doesn’t end….

7. We Tend to Exaggerate About Ourselves, Too

Reading this chapter, I am almost convinced that the author seriously has no idea what he’s talking about. This reply might have been a mistake after all but since I’m already here…

1. Rational people do not react that way.
2. Atheists are human too. Not robots. I remind you that morality is not handed down by your version of a deity.
3. Free will is still free will. You could still choose to be late and get the point cut. But you know, this is the way human society works. Cause and effect, crime and punishment. Not laws handed down from above.
4. There are still religious people that treat their women like dirt and all that fundamental shit. Furthermore, they want us to respect their decisions because it’s their belief. Well I’m sorry but that’s not an excuse.
5. Christianity did not evolve because it wanted to. It evolved because it was forced to. If it was in the hands on the clergy, we’d still be living in with the Inquisition.
   Remember that things were a bit better before christianity came about.

8. Focusing on Negative Examples Makes You Stupid

It’s hard to do otherwise when there is nothing positive about it.

9. Both Sides Have Brought Good to the Table

Religion – whether it was handed down by God or just invented by a bunch of guys- serves mainly to fight that. It makes humanity sacred, and the moral law moreso. You can hate the methods it uses, you can say that there are other ways, you can say that it only replaces one cancer with another. But most of what it’s trying to get you to do – treat other humans as sacred and put morality above your own impulses – you already do. And you criticize religion mainly for not doing it.

Sorry, that is not the reason religion exists. Nevermind what they are trying to pass it as, now that they see they’re losing their flock.

Religion exists to exert control on the feaful. It is just a way to make people do what you want without any logical reasoning behind it. The “good things” that religion does are already being done without it.

And now I’m getting really sick of this article…

10. You’ll Never Harass the Other Side Out of Existence

Might be he’s wrong. If nothing else, always debunking theism allows more people to see that there are other opinions out there than the ones the been brainwashed since childhood.

I am all for leading by example, but there is a problem here. The christians do not sit idly while I “tolerate” them. They pass laws that don’t allow me to get into public office. They pass laws that restrict what I may see on TV. They try pass laws to stop evolution from being taught in schools.

Here’s why we care about religion and cannot just lead by example.

Enough for now. My ADD has got the better of me.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.