Religious Criticism Of Atheists. They're Too Selfish.

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

Pew Research Center says,

"Last week, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new survey concerning who Americans would want – or rather, wouldn’t want – for an in-law. While about 10 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married someone of a different political persuasion, and about 30 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married a gun owner, nearly 50 percent of Americans said that they’d be unhappy if a family member married an atheist."

Why Americans Hate Atheists

Heh. Hating is not good for the soul, so it's probably hate the sin and not the sinner.

But sometimes as in the case of marriage, one can't easily separate the two.

Anyway, it got me thinking what criticisms are valid of atheists (besides leading to being Communists). I didn't want to use the #1 popular answer, the i-word -- IMMORAL. I would say they are selfish. There's the immorality, but I think that's a bit harder to quantify.

For example, abortion. Those in favor are focusing on their own lives instead of the baby's life. Drugs. It's not to treat one's pain and suffering or a medical condition, but to get one to a pleasant, happy state or state of euphoria. Materialsim. People want to buy, buy, buy and the pleasure in buying is only temporary. And more.

So how can I quantify selfishness? How about selfies? I'm not saying it's just the atheists who take selfies, as we all do it to some degree. Are the atheists more self-absorbed and into taking more selfies?

What about those who want to take just the right selfie or take a lot of selfies so they can post on social media? I can only guess what possesses these people to take the "perfect" selfie and in the process get killed over it. Are these people atheist? Do atheists have more selfish traits than the religious?

Here's a recent one. Drunk, too. Probably not the last either.

Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car
Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car

Not a single example here has anything to do with how religious you are. In fact in my experience, most drug users/street people/petty crooks are quite religious.

 

[SkepticThinker]

I"m confused because your examples have nothing to do with atheists.

 

[leibowde84]

No way. The stupidity is not believing atheism doesn't lead to Communism. You're already a Commie. Why are some people and illegals sneaking into Canada?

I am not a communist. Why would you even think that? And, what does your question here have to do with my personal political views?

More atheists and liberals are for abortion, illicit drug use and other Hollywood values. You and atheists are wrong again. It's religious of me to point out the errors of atheism and hope few will find out before it's too late. This life isn't all that there is.

Prove it. Where is your evidence?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Pew Research Center says,

"Last week, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new survey concerning who Americans would want – or rather, wouldn’t want – for an in-law. While about 10 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married someone of a different political persuasion, and about 30 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married a gun owner, nearly 50 percent of Americans said that they’d be unhappy if a family member married an atheist."

Why Americans Hate Atheists

Heh. Hating is not good for the soul, so it's probably hate the sin and not the sinner.

But sometimes as in the case of marriage, one can't easily separate the two.

Anyway, it got me thinking what criticisms are valid of atheists (besides leading to being Communists). I didn't want to use the #1 popular answer, the i-word -- IMMORAL. I would say they are selfish. There's the immorality, but I think that's a bit harder to quantify.

For example, abortion. Those in favor are focusing on their own lives instead of the baby's life. Drugs. It's not to treat one's pain and suffering or a medical condition, but to get one to a pleasant, happy state or state of euphoria. Materialsim. People want to buy, buy, buy and the pleasure in buying is only temporary. And more.

So how can I quantify selfishness? How about selfies? I'm not saying it's just the atheists who take selfies, as we all do it to some degree. Are the atheists more self-absorbed and into taking more selfies?

What about those who want to take just the right selfie or take a lot of selfies so they can post on social media? I can only guess what possesses these people to take the "perfect" selfie and in the process get killed over it. Are these people atheist? Do atheists have more selfish traits than the religious?

Here's a recent one. Drunk, too. Probably not the last either.

Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car
Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car

If you posted this in the jokes forum, I'd rate it winner. Here, I'd rate it 'wow'. But not in the good way.

Still, kudos for the way you stitch prejudice about atheists to prejudice about selfies, never establish a link between the two anyway, and still feel it adds to your argument. If American current affairs shows are as tabloid as Aussie ones, you might have a future there.

 

[Underhill]

First you have to prove that more atheists take selfies than religious people.

As an atheist who has never once taken a selfie (and I am a photographer) I want numbers. I don't buy it.

 

[Polymath257]

Pew Research Center says,

"Last week, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new survey concerning who Americans would want – or rather, wouldn’t want – for an in-law. While about 10 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married someone of a different political persuasion, and about 30 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married a gun owner, nearly 50 percent of Americans said that they’d be unhappy if a family member married an atheist."

OK, so it is the religious people who are being selfish?

For example, abortion. Those in favor are focusing on their own lives instead of the baby's life. Drugs. It's not to treat one's pain and suffering or a medical condition, but to get one to a pleasant, happy state or state of euphoria. Materialsim. People want to buy, buy, buy and the pleasure in buying is only temporary. And more.

And you seem to think that these all follow from atheism. Why would you think that? Don't forget that many theists also do these things.

So how can I quantify selfishness? How about selfies? I'm not saying it's just the atheists who take selfies, as we all do it to some degree. Are the atheists more self-absorbed and into taking more selfies?

I don't know. Do you have any evidence of this? My *guess* is that there is little difference in selfie production based on religious views (except, of course, for those religions that don't use modern technology).

What about those who want to take just the right selfie or take a lot of selfies so they can post on social media? I can only guess what possesses these people to take the "perfect" selfie and in the process get killed over it. Are these people atheist? Do atheists have more selfish traits than the religious?

Here's a recent one. Drunk, too. Probably not the last either.

Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car

Do you have any evidence of this man's religious views? Or are you simply assuming he was an atheist because he was stupid? And why would you assume that?

 

[Nakosis]

Why is it you who can be the cynic and not I ha ha. I'm just cynical of atheists.

You got me there.

 

[Darkstorn]

Why is it you who can be the cynic and not I ha ha. I'm just cynical of atheists.

Being cynical would imply that you don't take anything at face value, and use critical thinking.

But your behavior looks more like you came to a conclusion without ANY support, and accepted it just like that, poof.

You aren't a cynic. Cynics use reasoning. You use ANYTHING to support your pre-made conclusion. Confirmation bias is contrary to cynicism.

 

[james bond]

OK, so it is the religious people who are being selfish?



And you seem to think that these all follow from atheism. Why would you think that? Don't forget that many theists also do these things.



I don't know. Do you have any evidence of this? My *guess* is that there is little difference in selfie production based on religious views (except, of course, for those religions that don't use modern technology).


Do you have any evidence of this man's religious views? Or are you simply assuming he was an atheist because he was stupid? And why would you assume that?

>>And you seem to think that these all follow from atheism. Why would you think that? <<

You avatar looks like the secular humanism logo. There you go.

Transcript of Secular Humanism & Postmodernism
Leaders -
Karl Marx
(German - atheistic communism)
Charles Darwin
(German - evolution)
Sigmund Freud
(Austrian - atheistic psychologist)
American Humanist -
Humanist Manifesto I

Socialist Humanism with a human face

 

[Darkstorn]

You avatar looks like the secular humanism logo. There you go.

You believe in your own rhetoric WAY too hard for me to ever consider you a cynic of any kind.

I.E i'm cynical about your ability to even act as if you were objective because of your ridiculously open bias.

 

[leibowde84]

The Communists think the life, labor, and property of any individual are the possession of "society" and should be run by the government.

What does this have to do with a lack of belief in God?

 

[Darkstorn]

What does this have to do with a lack of belief in God?

With enough confirmation bias, everything has everything to do with everything.

I think it's him trying to make himself feel better by imagining that atheism necessarily leads to communism.

Fuel for the fire: I am kind of an atheist. And an anarchocommunist.

 

[leibowde84]

Pew Research Center says,

"Last week, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new survey concerning who Americans would want – or rather, wouldn’t want – for an in-law. While about 10 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married someone of a different political persuasion, and about 30 percent of Americans said they’d be unhappy if a family member married a gun owner, nearly 50 percent of Americans said that they’d be unhappy if a family member married an atheist."

Why Americans Hate Atheists

Heh. Hating is not good for the soul, so it's probably hate the sin and not the sinner.

But sometimes as in the case of marriage, one can't easily separate the two.

Anyway, it got me thinking what criticisms are valid of atheists (besides leading to being Communists). I didn't want to use the #1 popular answer, the i-word -- IMMORAL. I would say they are selfish. There's the immorality, but I think that's a bit harder to quantify.

For example, abortion. Those in favor are focusing on their own lives instead of the baby's life. Drugs. It's not to treat one's pain and suffering or a medical condition, but to get one to a pleasant, happy state or state of euphoria. Materialsim. People want to buy, buy, buy and the pleasure in buying is only temporary. And more.

So how can I quantify selfishness? How about selfies? I'm not saying it's just the atheists who take selfies, as we all do it to some degree. Are the atheists more self-absorbed and into taking more selfies?

What about those who want to take just the right selfie or take a lot of selfies so they can post on social media? I can only guess what possesses these people to take the "perfect" selfie and in the process get killed over it. Are these people atheist? Do atheists have more selfish traits than the religious?

Here's a recent one. Drunk, too. Probably not the last either.

Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car
Man taking selfie on Germany autobahn killed after getting hit by car

Most drug users/dealers are religious, though. So, doesn't that contradict your point here? Also, Communism doesn't have anything to do with religious beliefs, so doesn't that also contradict your point here?

 

[james bond]

You believe in your own rhetoric WAY too hard for me to ever consider you a cynic of any kind.

I.E i'm cynical about your ability to even act as if you were objective because of your ridiculously open bias.

Most drug users/dealers are religious, though. So, doesn't that contradict your point here? Also, Communism doesn't have anything to do with religious beliefs, so doesn't that also contradict your point here?

My cynicism tells me one of the signs of atheism is laziness/sloth/apathy and use of drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Today, we recognize that one has to pass a drug/alcohol test to get a job. The contrast to this laziness is the Protestant work ethic.

"Karl Marx said that religion was the opium of the people. New figures now suggest that religion plays a role in preventing substance misuse. A research team led by Gerhard Gmel from Lausanne University Hospital has shown in the journal Substance Use & Misuse that, in Switzerland, fewer religious young men consume addictive substances than men of their age group who are agnostics or atheists.

At the army recruitment centre For their study on substance use in Switzerland, Gmel and his colleagues interviewed almost twenty-year-old men at army recruitment centres in Lausanne, Windisch and Mels between August 2010 and November 2011. The researchers have now evaluated the 5387 questionnaires completed by the young men. Based on the responses, the scientists split the young men into five groups: the "religious" believe in God and attend church services, the "spiritual" believe in a higher power, but do not practice any religion, the "unsure" do not know what to believe about God, the "agnostics" assume that no-one can know whether there is a God or not, and the "atheists" do not believe in God.

The researchers found that these groups deal differently with addictive substances. Among the 543 religious young men, 30% smoked cigarettes daily, 20% smoked pot more than once a week and less than 1% had consumed ecstasy or cocaine in the past year. Among the 1650 atheists, 51% smoked cigarettes, 36% smoked pot more than once a week, 6% had consumed ecstasy and 5% cocaine in the past year. The three groups that lay between these extremes were in the mid-range both regarding their religious beliefs and the consumption of addictive substances."

Believers consume fewer drugs than atheists

Protestant work ethic
Protestant ethic | sociology

 

[Darkstorn]

My cynicism tells me one of the signs of atheism is laziness/sloth/apathy and use of drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Today, we recognize that one has to pass a drug/alcohol test to get a job. The contrast to this laziness is the Protestant work ethic.

That is not cynicism. That is confirmation bias. You already have your conclusion, and are trying to use anything to support that conclusion. That is opposite of cynicism. I am not saying this as an argument against your "points"(whatever they are, i don't care, but i do care about HOW you do it.) I'm saying that your own words show your confirmation bias, and your very apparent lack of cynicism.

You are confirming your beliefs. And your intellectual laziness.

"Karl Marx said that religion was the opium of the people. New figures now suggest that religion plays a role in preventing substance misuse. A research team led by Gerhard Gmel from Lausanne University Hospital has shown in the journal Substance Use & Misuse that, in Switzerland, fewer religious young men consume addictive substances than men of their age group who are agnostics or atheists.

At the army recruitment centre For their study on substance use in Switzerland, Gmel and his colleagues interviewed almost twenty-year-old men at army recruitment centres in Lausanne, Windisch and Mels between August 2010 and November 2011. The researchers have now evaluated the 5387 questionnaires completed by the young men. Based on the responses, the scientists split the young men into five groups: the "religious" believe in God and attend church services, the "spiritual" believe in a higher power, but do not practice any religion, the "unsure" do not know what to believe about God, the "agnostics" assume that no-one can know whether there is a God or not, and the "atheists" do not believe in God.

The researchers found that these groups deal differently with addictive substances. Among the 543 religious young men, 30% smoked cigarettes daily, 20% smoked pot more than once a week and less than 1% had consumed ecstasy or cocaine in the past year. Among the 1650 atheists, 51% smoked cigarettes, 36% smoked pot more than once a week, 6% had consumed ecstasy and 5% cocaine in the past year. The three groups that lay between these extremes were in the mid-range both regarding their religious beliefs and the consumption of addictive substances."

Believers consume fewer drugs than atheists

Good for Switzerland. But why the substantially larger sample of atheists versus religious people? And why is the report not saying anything about caffeine and sugar?

FYI: I am an atheist (well, Buddhist, but you get the point) and i do not use caffeine, tobacco, alcohol or any other "drugs." I don't use added salt or sugar even. Only what's found in the ingredients by themselves.

How would that study place me? I am both atheistic and "religious." And i don't use addictive substances. More than my body needs.

Protestant work ethic
Protestant ethic | sociology

Just because there isn't a separate theory for "atheist work ethic" means atheists are lazy and lack work ethic? I just don't see how unless you're once again mistaking confirmation bias for cynicism.

The problem here is: Atheism is the lack of belief in god(s.) That is the only attribute. The rest is up to the individual: And i do STRONGLY believe that people are individuals instead of mindless group-drones. So your generalizing is also kind of contrary to your self-proclaimed cynicism.

 

[james bond]

What does this have to do with a lack of belief in God?

I think you and the atheists here are primed to believe in secular humanism (which I learned from Shadow Wolf a day or two ago). They're also primed to believe in having government control all aspects of our lives. One of the trends is have politics in all aspects of our lives from healthcare, schools, social services such as food programs, welfare, free medicine/vaccines or low cost medicine, free condoms and birth control, abortion and more. Many of these social services are provided by government and supplemented by the religious in the USA. This gets those "primed" ready for the next step. You have to wonder how these atheists will promote secular humanism, Darwin, Freud and eventually the main man, Karl Marx. Here is an example.

Why you’re wrong about communism: 7 huge misconceptions about it (and capitalism)

 

[Darkstorn]

I think you and the atheists here are primed to believe in secular humanism (which I learned from Shadow Wolf a day or two ago). They're also primed to believe in having government control all aspects of our lives.

That is not cynicism. That is confirmation bias.

You are interpreting available evidence to support your beliefs. Confirmation bias.

 

[Rival]

I think you and the atheists here are primed to believe in secular humanism (which I learned from Shadow Wolf a day or two ago). They're also primed to believe in having government control all aspects of our lives. One of the trends is have politics in all aspects of our lives from healthcare, schools, social services such as food programs, welfare, free medicine/vaccines or low cost medicine, free condoms and birth control, abortion and more. Many of these social services are provided by government and supplemented by the religious in the USA. This gets those "primed" ready for the next step. You have to wonder how these atheists will promote secular humanism, Darwin, Freud and eventually the main man, Karl Marx. Here is an example.

Why not try hating atheists less and loving G-d more.

 

[Darkstorn]

I once saw a creationist on these forums, maybe just a few days ago, say something like this:

Hate is only hate when it's directed at CERTAIN things or phenomena. For example, hating sin and sinners is not hating at all. Apparently. Hating atheists is not hating at all.

People like that don't realize that hatred is a reaction of your own faculties: The object doesn't matter. If you feel hate, it's hate, no matter where it's directed at. Your own problem to fix.

I just get the vibe that some people who hate on others are actually imagining themselves as loving while doing it.

 

[james bond]

Why not try hating atheists less and loving G-d more.

>>Why not try hating atheists less and loving G-d more.<<

I do try to love God more, but that only helps me.