Atheists and White Supremacists

[Nephew Twiddleton]

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[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

 

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

I'm bored and restless and decided to comb through old threads for something to talk about.

I got about 15 pages in, stopped, and then just thought about the OP.

I think some of the "believer-bashing" you see coming from atheists can be chalked up to insecurity. You can say that about any kind of mocking and derision, though. Nothing special about it in this case.

HOWEVER, I think much more of it is actually coming from a place of....YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!

When I get up my own ass about people who take Genesis literally, for instance, so much so that I may actually roll my eyes and scream ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? It's not coming from any insecurity. It's coming from frustration--specifically the frustration that arises when WE'RE TRYING TO DO VERY IMPORTANT WORK HERE AND YOU'RE FUCKING IT ALL UP!

Frustration, piled on frustration, wants release. There are productive ways to get that release. But if you don't happen to have a fifth of tequila and any railroad tracks within walking distance, then you may get your release by making snide cartoons, or getting really into Bill Maher. You may even find yourself seeking out people who will encourage you to do that shit, "It's okay. Let it all out. THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG. We understand."

Not exactly...cool, really...but not exactly insecurity, either.

[Da6s]

I'm bored and restless and decided to comb through old threads for something to talk about.

I got about 15 pages in, stopped, and then just thought about the OP.

I think some of the "believer-bashing" you see coming from atheists can be chalked up to insecurity. You can say that about any kind of mocking and derision, though. Nothing special about it in this case.

HOWEVER, I think much more of it is actually coming from a place of....YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!

When I get up my own ass about people who take Genesis literally, for instance, so much so that I may actually roll my eyes and scream ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? It's not coming from any insecurity. It's coming from frustration--specifically the frustration that arises when WE'RE TRYING TO DO VERY IMPORTANT WORK HERE AND YOU'RE FUCKING IT ALL UP!

Frustration, piled on frustration, wants release. There are productive ways to get that release. But if you don't happen to have a fifth of tequila and any railroad tracks within walking distance, then you may get your release by making snide cartoons, or getting really into Bill Maher. You may even find yourself seeking out people who will encourage you to do that shit, "It's okay. Let it all out. THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG. We understand."

Not exactly...cool, really...but not exactly insecurity, either.

Or they're just from shitneck backwoods places in NE TN where it's perfectly fucking normal to dance around with snakes and OBAMA IS THE ANTICHRIST!!!

Also, Leviticus is far fucking worse in literal translations than Genesis.

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

Or they're just from shitneck backwoods places in NE TN where it's perfectly fucking normal to dance around with snakes and OBAMA IS THE ANTICHRIST!!!

Also, Leviticus is far fucking worse in literal translations than Genesis.

Actually, from this fan's perspective, I kind of think the Pentecostals are doing it right...in so many ways.

[Pergamos]

Belief specifically in neptune might be dumb.

Why?

If he is understood to be some guy swimming around in the mediterranean causing earthquakes them that is a rather strange belief. Just as strange as the idea of jehovah having a literal cease and cloud throne.

I'll concede that a literal reading of, let's say, Homer probably isn't very representative of reality.  However, isn't it possible that Neptune does exist even if he doesn't have a beard and sea throne just like Jehovah not having a beard and cloud throne doesn't automatically discount the existence of God?  And ultimately isn't the idea of multiple gods just as possible as a single God?

I don't mean to single you out, Twid, but I've noticed that most people who believe in some form of deity (or a variation thereof) but don't subscribe to an established religion tend to believe in a monotheistic deity (or consciousness, spirit, being, etc).  I'm curious why that is. Is the idea that a single God created the universe, set it in motion, and then stepped back any more or less possible than a group of deities doing the same?  Is the idea that the universe as a whole is one massive organism any more or less possible than the idea that each individual galaxy is an organism, and the universe as a whole is simply a school of organisms swimming through the cosmic sea?

A lot of people throughout history, at least European and Near Eastern history, tend to gravitate towards monotheism.  I wonder why that is.  I wonder what about our human nature leads us towards the idea that a single deity is more logical or more possible than multiple deities.   But isn't there the same amount of evidence for polytheism as there is for monotheism?  I accept that God might exist because there's no proof to the contrary.  But couldn't the same be said for multiple gods?  Or maybe some kind of infinite number of animistic spirits?  For all we know the Big Bang could be what happens when a celestial Mike fires up the misaligned cosmic ball mill.

Or maybe it just seems like our nature drives us towards monotheism because I live in a culture/hemisphere that has had a lot of contact with monotheism throughout history?

I know this is 20 pages down but I wanted to say that (1)  I'm a person who believes in some form of deity but not an established religion and I am polytheistic and (2)  I think it appears that most people tend toward monotheism because we are living in a society where monotheism is the dominant cultural idea.  I suspect that Indians who are theistic without being part of an organized religion are more likely to be polytheistic because Hinduism is polytheistic.

[President Television]

It also seems probable that animism, for example, isn't as popular because we know enough about science that on the scale of an individual object, we can analyze it and find a concrete physical explanation for its behavior that doesn't require any kind of personification. It's when we get to something as large-scale as the universe itself that our capacity for analysis breaks down due to the sheer volume of information that has to be taken into account. Our brains don't like leaving loose ends, though, so we shrug and personify it just to be done with it.

[Pergamos]

I'm bored and restless and decided to comb through old threads for something to talk about.

I got about 15 pages in, stopped, and then just thought about the OP.

I think some of the "believer-bashing" you see coming from atheists can be chalked up to insecurity. You can say that about any kind of mocking and derision, though. Nothing special about it in this case.

HOWEVER, I think much more of it is actually coming from a place of....YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!

When I get up my own ass about people who take Genesis literally, for instance, so much so that I may actually roll my eyes and scream ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? It's not coming from any insecurity. It's coming from frustration--specifically the frustration that arises when WE'RE TRYING TO DO VERY IMPORTANT WORK HERE AND YOU'RE FUCKING IT ALL UP!

Frustration, piled on frustration, wants release. There are productive ways to get that release. But if you don't happen to have a fifth of tequila and any railroad tracks within walking distance, then you may get your release by making snide cartoons, or getting really into Bill Maher. You may even find yourself seeking out people who will encourage you to do that shit, "It's okay. Let it all out. THEY'RE DOING IT WRONG. We understand."

Not exactly...cool, really...but not exactly insecurity, either.

Or they're just from shitneck backwoods places in NE TN where it's perfectly fucking normal to dance around with snakes and OBAMA IS THE ANTICHRIST!!!

Also, Leviticus is far fucking worse in literal translations than Genesis.

The difference is that Leviticus is a book of rules, Genesis is a fairytale.  People who follow Leviticus are evil, people who believe in Genesis are stupid.  I don't think anyone actually does follow Levitius anyway do they?  They'd end up arrested pretty quickly.

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

It also seems probable that animism, for example, isn't as popular because we know enough about science that on the scale of an individual object, we can analyze it and find a concrete physical explanation for its behavior that doesn't require any kind of personification. It's when we get to something as large-scale as the universe itself that our capacity for analysis breaks down due to the sheer volume of information that has to be taken into account. Our brains don't like leaving loose ends, though, so we shrug and personify it just to be done with it.

Some brains have a much bigger problem with loose ends than others, though. And I would bet that that variable would be strongly predictive of whether someone then took their theism/atheism, and felt some compulsion to be a prick about it.

I FUCKING HATE LOOSE ENDS

and

MORMONS BELIEVE WHAT????

Seem to have a lot in common to me.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Die.  All of you.