Outspoken atheists and immorality

[Kenny'sID]

Atheists don’t think as believers as their “enemy.” You’re projecting.

Do you really think usung the term projecting will change my mind?

I'm rejecting your projecting....comment.

 

[Nine of Spades]

View attachment 290168

Do you really think the Westboro Baptist Church and other churches like it speak for all Christians?

 

[Larniavc]

It is truly depraved to tell a widow who recently lost her husband that there isn’t an afterlife and he is dead forever.

Yeah, but then there is the fire and brimstone Christian who will be on TV saying he would burn in Hell for ever because he did not live the way the fire and brimstone Christian thought he should.

That would be more painful to hear, I think.

 

[Nine of Spades]

Just wow. As opposed to telling people they are going to hell where they will spend eternity in agony? Like how my parents told me when I was 12 that my best friend, who was Jewish, was going to burn in hell? Like knowing that your non-believing grandfather was now burning in hell? Did you think this through at all before posting?

I’ve never turned on the T.V. to see an atheist telling people they’re not going to heaven, but I can find people on T.v. all the time telling people they are going to hell.

Really? I sure haven't seen any TV preachers preaching about hellfire and damnation. If all a televangelist did was alienate people by telling them about their sins taking them to hell, he wouldn't be in business for very long. Most TV preachers are the prosperity gospel sort who preach a positive message. Did you think this through before writing to me?

 

[Hans Blaster]

If it is wrong to intentionally deride one's faith to their face, then isn't is also wrong to deride their faith via telecommunication? Or is only a problem when feelings are also derided?

I'm talking about the difference between targeting individuals and arguing against the ideas of groups.

 

[Larniavc]

As God says in the Bible: eternity is written on human's heart. Deep inside even the atheists know that it doesn't end with death - but the hatred towards any higher authority and the refusal of any responsibility they got leads to them fighting vehemently against the truth.

In the end the atheists are fighting against themselves and there is a reason why less than 10% of the world's population are atheists. 90% of humans believe in some kind of deity because it's logical.

Demographics of atheism - Wikipedia

Yeah, none of that is correct apart from the percentage at the end (but don’t forget that the percentage of people who believe the same thing as you is rather much smaller).

 

[Hans Blaster]

I sure haven't seen any TV preachers preaching about hellfire and damnation. If all a televangelist did was alienate people by telling them about their sins taking them to hell, he wouldn't be in business for very long. Most TV preachers are the prosperity gospel sort who preach a positive message.

It is true that most of the more visible TV preachers are of the "prosperity gospel"-send-me-money type these days. It's more profitable.

 

[Nine of Spades]

Do you really think usung the term projecting will change my mind?

I'm rejecting your projecting....comment.

Your detractor was wrong. You aren't projecting. It's true that a lot of outspoken atheists truly see religion as the enemey, especially Christianity. Christopher Hitchens, one of the leading intellectuals from the New Atheist movement, wrote a book called How Religion Poisons Everything. The title of his book sounds like genuine hatred of faith.

 

[Nine of Spades]

It is true that most of the more visible TV preachers are of the "prosperity gospel"-send-me-money type these days. It's more profitable.

I know. That's why you never see televangelists preaching about hellfire and damnation. These days TV preachers preach prosperity and positivity because that is what keeps them in business. I felt the need to point this out to the previous person who wrote to me who characterized TV preachers as Fred Phelps-types. That is just flat out wrong.

 

[Desk trauma]

Would you have us nerf every idea that could possibly upset someone or just ones related to atheism?

 

[Hans Blaster]

I know. That's why you never see televangelists preaching about hellfire and damnation. These days TV preachers preach prosperity and positivity because that is what keeps them in business. I felt the need to point this out to the previous person who wrote to me who characterized TV preachers as Fred Phelps-types. That is just flat out wrong.

Yet the widow of your OP is far more likely to run into one of these prosperity peddlers than either a hell-fire preacher or an "angry atheist" in her media input. She is likely to pass quickly on either of the latter, but may be sucked into the false promises of the former.

 

[ABCthings]

Religion is not meant to
Comfort people tho.​

 

[Nine of Spades]

Couldn't this same line of reasoning be used to say that Christian evangelists are being immoral when they tell a Muslim or Hindu that their religion is wrong?

That's technically true. But here's the kicker: you don't see a whole lot of Christians spending their lives preaching against Islam, Hinduism, or other religions. In fact, I don't know of any Christians who dedicate an inordinate amount of time trying to disprove other faiths. On the other hand, there are quite a few atheists who spend a lot of their time disparaging religion and trying to debunk belief in God. That's the difference.

 

[Sparagmos]

Really? I sure haven't seen any TV preachers preaching about hellfire and damnation. If all a televangelist did was alienate people by telling them about their sins taking them to hell, he wouldn't be in business for very long. Most TV preachers are the prosperity gospel sort who preach a positive message. Did you think this through before writing to me?

Well, it’s been a couple of years since I watched a T.V. Preacher, but yes the last time I did they talked about hell.

T.V. aside, what is the response to the rest of my post and the other examples I gave?

 

[Hans Blaster]

Christopher Hitchens, one of the leading intellectuals from the New Atheist movement, wrote a book called How Religion Poisons Everything. The title of his book sounds like genuine hatred of faith.

I think Hitch would have called it "an honest hatred of faith".

(That's actually the sub-title. The title is "God is not great".)

 

[Kenny'sID]

Your detractor was wrong. You aren't projecting. It's true that a lot of outspoken atheists truly see religion as the enemey, especially Christianity. Christopher Hitchens, one of the leading intellectuals from the New Atheist movement, wrote a book called How Religion Poisons Everything. The title of his book sounds like genuine hatred of faith.

Agree.

I expected just what I got though, a denial without even thinking about what they were claiming. The fact is splattered all over CF, one only need open their eyes to see it

 

[hedrick]

Militant atheism started becoming more visible when conservative Christians got stem cell research banned in some places. The problem for atheists is that religious belief doesn't just affect religious people. It moves them to interfere with what non-religious people do. The list of public policies associated with religious conservatives seems to be growing: teaching evolution, stem cell work, abortion, equal treatment of gays and trans by public institutions. I suspect atheists may well blame Trump on religious conservatives as well. While Trump's coalition includes more than evangelicals, they are a key part.

I suspect atheists would be a lot less concerned about religion if they were truly not affected by it.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Do you really think the Westboro Baptist Church and other churches like it speak for all Christians?

No, but it's easy to point to actual examples of 'burn in hell' type Christians, whereas the 'outspoken atheist' of the OP has so far been described in terms of a hypothetical example, and even then the unkind interaction is totally accidental.

Sure if you go to rabidatheistforums.com you'll probably find some unkind words, but it's no different from me coming here and seeing unkind strawman arguments about atheists like this thread.

 

[Strathos]

That's technically true. But here's the kicker: you don't see a whole lot of Christians spending their lives preaching against Islam, Hinduism, or other religions. In fact, I don't know of any Christians who dedicate an inordinate amount of time trying to disprove other faiths. On the other hand, there are quite a few atheists who spend a lot of their time disparaging religion and trying to debunk belief in God. That's the difference.

I suppose it depends on where you live and what kind of people you usually interact with. There aren't many outspoken critics of Islam, Christian or otherwise, in certain countries, because you're liable to get killed for it.

 

[Zoii]

She turns on the TV and finds a channel where a prominent atheist like Richard Dawkins is being interviewed and lecturing the viewers on the so-called falsity of religion. It is truly depraved to tell a widow who recently lost her husband that there isn’t an afterlife

Well the example you gave - Dawkins is being interviewed presumably because of his scientific background and his philosophical views. That was the TV stations choice of programming; and it was the widows choice of what she views.

Are people like her the target audience of outspoken atheists?

Well a TV station pitches to a wide demographic - Dawkins is responding to the interviewer's questions - the widow has a choice of listening or not

But why do the outspoken atheists feel the need to disparage people’s beliefs?

Discussing what you believe based on evidence and science - OR refuting claims that are NOT based on any evidence, is neither "depraved" as you stated, nor is it disparaging. Dawkins and other atheists are stating what evidence they have, and where they believe evidence is absent. I understand why that may affect you, as christian beliefs are not based on evidence. Yours is based on faith - ie something was written a very long time ago in a book, and you are trusting that what was written was true - unfortunately you can't prove it, but you believe it anyway.... its just that many dont.