Devout Atheists

The following is a satirical remake of:
http://www.debate.org...

Sorry if this offends anyone but from my limited exposure to devout atheists I have found the following tendencies.

1: Arrogance, usually to a high degree
2: Ignorance, usually to a nauseating degree
3: A blunt, often purposeful misinterpretation of scripture
4: A tendency to be close-minded in discussion
5: A reliance on non-applicable similes
6: A history of drug use
7: A habit of self-promotion
8: The blind determination and hard-headedness of an elderly man
9: A tendency to make broad generalizations about theists

I am beginning to wonder if many of them suffer from some sort of classifiable personality disorder?

At 1/8/2010 10:08:41 PM, wjmelements wrote:
The following is a satirical remake of:
http://www.debate.org...

At least his were generally true.

At 1/8/2010 10:08:41 PM, wjmelements wrote:
The following is a satirical remake of:
http://www.debate.org...

Sorry if this offends anyone but from my limited exposure to devout atheists I have found the following tendencies.

1: Arrogance, usually to a high degree

Warranted.

2: Ignorance, usually to a nauseating degree

Sometimes.

3: A blunt, often purposeful misinterpretation of scripture

Far from it. Christians are the ones who pick and choose what to follow from the Bible, while simultaneously claiming that it's the infallible word of God. If that were so, there would be no need to dismiss or ignore certain verses.

4: A tendency to be close-minded in discussion

Sometimes.

5: A reliance on non-applicable similes

??

6: A history of drug use

??

7: A habit of self-promotion

Not really a bad thing.

8: The blind determination and hard-headedness of an elderly man

I prefer militant atheists rather than passive atheists.

9: A tendency to make broad generalizations about theists

This is a misconception. Atheists attack the extreme beliefs of the Bible, and assume that all believers follow the entire Bible. It's those, cherry-picking luke-warm Christians who cry out that they're being grouped with extreme Christians. Sorry to say, but the Bible is extreme, and if you're not extreme, you're probably not following the Bible.

lol, how can one be a "devout atheist" when Atheism isn't a religious belief, but rather the lack of religious belief?

At 1/8/2010 10:40:27 PM, InsertNameHere wrote:
lol, how can one be a "devout atheist" when Atheism isn't a religious belief, but rather the lack of religious belief?

I think he might mean so-called strong atheists ("I believe there is no god") as opposed to so-called weak atheists (I don't believe in a god"). I think that's the distinction?

9: A tendency to make broad generalizations about theists

This is a misconception. Atheists attack the extreme beliefs of the Bible, and assume that all believers follow the entire Bible. It's those, cherry-picking luke-warm Christians who cry out that they're being grouped with extreme Christians. Sorry to say, but the Bible is extreme, and if you're not extreme, you're probably not following the Bible.

Nine was a direct reference to http://www.debate.org...
Nothing more.

At 1/8/2010 10:08:41 PM, wjmelements wrote:
Sorry if this offends anyone

Of course you are.

1: Arrogance, usually to a high degree

Arrogance is not necessarily a bad thing. When I know I am justified in a belief and someone else is unjustified in theirs, I have no problem being arrogant about my position.

2: Ignorance, usually to a nauseating degree

Ignorance of what, your scriptures? Should we be required to read all scripture from people claiming they have divinely inspired words? I think not.

3: A blunt, often purposeful misinterpretation of scripture

Sometimes, perhaps. The fact that this is possible shows just how faulty scripture really is. Often my own point when I do this is that scripture can be interpreted to mean whatever.

Of course, there's plenty that need not be interpreted. Plenty of injustice, plenty of scientific falsehoods, plenty of contradictions.

4: A tendency to be close-minded in discussion

Not being swayed by your appeals to "just believe" does not constitute closed-mindedness. Most atheists would be convinced if you were able to produce a rationally well-grounded and persuasive argument for God. It just happens that such arguments are usually based on fallacies and dubious assumptions.

5: A reliance on non-applicable similes

I don't think you realize what similes are. For instance, if I say "Jesus is like santa claus for adults," I don't mean that the two are equivalent in every way. Usually, a simile is only making a statement about one or two common attributes of the two objects - in this case, it might be the fact that both are imaginary characters used by those in authority to control the behavior of the masses.

6: A history of drug use

I have not noticed this. I personally have no such history. Of the five or so "devout" atheists I know, I would say one of them has a history of drug use. Perhaps your data are a bit more convincing.

7: A habit of self-promotion

So?

8: The blind determination and hard-headedness of an elderly man

"Anyone who doesn't agree with my faith-based reasoning is blind and hard-headed."
That sounds pretty modest of you.

Guilty of #1

...because attacking your opponents is--of course--the best way to convince people.

At 1/8/2010 11:38:28 PM, PoeJoe wrote:
...because attacking your opponents is--of course--the best way to convince people.

Nice job assuming convincing people was the point.
Don't you know that the point of debating in general is to gain a smug sense of superiority?