Two Cabins

[Chesterton]

Everyone would choose the Christian and they know it. No one will admit this, though.

That's what I suspect. Myself, I'd choose almost any religious cabin over an atheist cabin, except I might choose an atheist over a Muslim.

 

[Chesterton]

The atheist doesn't have any death threats against him but the Christian only needs to repent for any sin he does so..... 50/50.

Haven't you heard that Christians can murder people, and Jesus will wash it all away?

I assume ya'll are being snarky and don't actually misunderstand Christianity that badly.

 

[Davian]

That's what I suspect. Myself, I'd choose almost any religious cabin over an atheist cabin, except I might choose an atheist over a Muslim.

At least in the atheist cabin you know there would be lots to eat.

 

[Chesterton]

I would definitely choose the atheist's cabin, even if it was a little further away. Then maybe I'd get a hot bowl of soup without having to listen to a sermon and be talked down to.

Someone asked why we atheists care about religion if we don't believe. It's because of stereotypical, judgmental garbage like this hypothetical. That is what we are fighting.

Why do you assume he would talk down to you? Isn't that a judgmental stereotype too?

 

[jacknife]

Everyone would choose the Christian and they know it. No one will admit this, though.

of course that's not true., even if the coin flip made me choose the christian cabin i wouldn't let them know i am atheist. i have been around/attacked by enough intolerant Christians to know that.

 

[durangodawood]

If the person is an avowed athiest, I would choose him. He's probably thoughtful and morally philosphical.

But if he's just an atheist by default, then I'd prefer the Christian, for the same reason but with lesser emphasis.

 

[Chesterton]

I think I've got a better hypothetical scenario...one that doesn't involve having a leprechaun launder your life savings...

Suppose you're home one night while your wife is out of state for work. You get a call really late saying she's been in an accident and you need to get there quickly! You call the airport and there's one flight leaving soon...but only one available seat! That means you'll have to leave your attractive, quiet, and slightly effeminate 5yo boy with one of the only two neighbors who are home! Your choices are...

The 45yo atheist who's been married for the past twenty years and has two children of his own...or the 45yo (priest, father, deacon, etc etc...you get the point, he leads a christian church of some sort) who lives alone! Don't ask why you don't know more about them...you're just a bad neighbor! It's just for the next 48 hours until you can make other arrangements...who do you trust your boy's cornhole to!?!? Choose wisely....

Edit. I can't believe I can type cornhole on this site...gotta remember that one ...

You miss the point. The only available information is the labels.

 

[durangodawood]

This is inspired by Tree Of Life's "Persuasiveness of the Christian Community" thread. I didn't want to hijack that one.

It's a hypothetical scenario I think I read in a book a long time ago - you're traveling to a town, but you're having to walk a long way through the woods to get there. It's snowing, temperature's below freezing, and you have to stop for the night. A man you came across earlier told you there are two cabins up ahead with warm fire and food. You asked him about who lived in them, and he replied that he didn't know either of the occupants, except it was known that one man was an atheist (cabin A), and the other man was a Christian (cabin B). That's all you know. Another thing, you're carrying a bag with your life savings in gold coins, so if you're going to sleep you'd like to be able to trust the person who's offering you hospitality not to murder you and/or steal your money. Which cabin would you go to?

I'd kick myself for not asking for clarification.

 

[True Scotsman]

Why do you assume he would talk down to you? Isn't that a judgmental stereotype too?

Yes it is a judgmental stereotype. One born out of personal experience. Have you experienced being robbed and/or murdered by 90% of the atheists you meet?

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Just going on the information that you have, "atheist" tells you almost nothing and "Christian" tells you a great deal. All you know about the atheist is that he doesn't believe in God. You have no idea about his character, moral values, etc...

I have no idea about the character and moral values of the Christian either. He could be a liberal Anglican or he could be a wingnut from the Westboro Baptist Church.

But if you know that someone is a Christian you know that they aspire to emulate Jesus and to obey the 10 commandments. They may not do this perfectly, but it's much less probable to suffer at the hands of a Christian than it is an atheist.

On what do you base this estimation of probability?

 

[JGG]

Why do you assume he would talk down to you? Isn't that a judgmental stereotype too?

Yes. Isn't that the purpose of the thread? Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

 

[Archaeopteryx]

You miss the point. The only available information is the labels.

Which isn't enough information to go by. Anyone who is set on one option over another is basing their decision on their prejudices. The labels themselves do not impart enough information about the likely character of the person in the cabin.

There is an exception, however, in the case of highly descriptive labels. For example, if I told you that the Christian was a member of the Westboro Baptist Church and that the atheist belonged to the Freedom from Religion Foundation, you would likely have enough information to make an informed decision.

 

[Ana the Ist]

You miss the point. The only available information is the labels.

Oh...I thought this whole thread was just about throwing offensive generalizations and stereotypes out there and seeing what sticks.

So it was a serious question then?

 

[Davian]

Haven't you heard that Christians are scared of a big man in the sky who might punish them for doing bad things?

Is that why there are so few Christians in the U.S. prison system?

 

[Aureus]

You miss the point. The only available information is the labels.

Then you flip the coin and go. Its that simple. Experience has taught me that 'Christian' means literally nothing. You can ascribe whatever reasoning to it you want to Chesterton but in the end it means very little in my experience. More frequently it tends to actually be a bad thing when someone constantly refers to themselves as Christian.

Now if I knew one was a Mason or not... then it'd be an easy pick.

 

[KnowtheSilence]

Just going on the information that you have, "atheist" tells you almost nothing and "Christian" tells you a great deal. All you know about the atheist is that he doesn't believe in God. You have no idea about his character, moral values, etc...

But if you know that someone is a Christian you know that they aspire to emulate Jesus and to obey the 10 commandments. They may not do this perfectly, but it's much less probable to suffer at the hands of a Christian than it is an atheist.

The number of times I've been wronged by an atheist: effectively zero.

The number of times I've been wronged by a Christian: would take more time to come up with a number than I'm willing to spend on this response.

 

[KCfromNC]

Is that why there are so few Christians in the U.S. prison system?

They're not perfect, just forgiven (for e.g. killing strangers in cold blood).

 

[bhsmte]

Haven't you heard that Christians are scared of a big man in the sky who might punish them for doing bad things?

In my experience, some don't appear scared enough, to alter their behavior.

 

[Colter]

Haven't you noticed they do bad things anyways? he could be a pretty chill dude or a complete nutcase in your scenario. no way to tell.

Good one!

 

[essentialsaltes]

even if the coin flip made me choose the christian cabin i wouldn't let them know i am atheist.

That's for sure. As in many cases, it might be best to keep off the topics of politics and religion in the two cabins scenario.

I'm reminded of a case in Michigan about 10 years back, where a Christian murdered his atheist roommate.

Although he was found guilty but mentally ill, the murderer's family members seemed to hold similar ideas, taunting atheists in the audience at trial:

"When leaving the courtroom the 'Christian' Shelton family lay in wait for us in the hallway. Their tears dried, they surrounded us shouting these comments: 'The one good thing of all of this is that another Atheist is dead and the world is better off for it' and 'The only good Atheist is a dead Atheist.' "

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between mental illness and religious fervor.