Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the devil

[kenny]

Recently I saw this common assumption posted here, unchallenged.
I wanted to respond using a video I once saw, but couldn't locate it.
I finally found that illuminating video (which addresses this widespread misconception), but now I can't find the thread.

Atheists do not believe in things for which there is insufficient evidence, god(s), satan, pink unicorns, Santa Clause etc. etc. etc.
IOW, 'faith' is anathema to us, akin to turning off the brain's critical thinking.
The burden of proof is on those making extraordinary claims, not on those who do not accept such claims.

Anyway, check out this timely video of a call-in show that's been running in Austin Tx for, I think, 18 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93MfGZAcw5o

 

[OreoRosies86]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

I love when people think Atheists worship the devil. If I worship anything, it's HBO and beer.

 

[arkieb1]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Yep, they totally F-ed that up, the Atheists I know worship things like Octavias, freedom of speech, equality, the free frequent travellers lounge at various airports, etc....

 

[lovedogs]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Yep, they totally F-ed that up, the Atheists I know worship things like Octavias, freedom of speech, equality, the free frequent travellers lounge at various airports, etc....

mmmmm, delicious octavias. EDITED to remove my glib octavia "prayer". Didn't mean to offend!

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Let's be careful not to mock theists.
They have their rights.
They're free to practice their religion.

... but I will speak up when they cross certain boundaries, like spreading misinformation about what others believe.

I just wanted to clear up this common misconception using this helpful link.
I want to tolerate diversity; I just don't want to tolerate intolerance.

Even if the caller was a prank (IMO entirely possible - it's TOO perfect!), what she says DOES represent what many theists have been taught.

 

[lovedogs]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Let's be careful not to mock theists.
They have their rights.
They're free to practice their religion.

... but I will speak up when they cross certain boundaries, like spreading misinformation about what others believe.

I just wanted to clear up this common misconception using this helpful link.
I want to tolerate diversity; I just don't want to tolerate intolerance.

Even if the caller was a prank (IMO likely), what she says DOES represent what many theists have been taught.

Sorry, genuinely didn't mean to mock. I'm a theist (DH tells me the term for what I believe is Diest), but I just liked the idea of atheists worshipping octavias. Being glib, but apologies if it came off as mocking.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

No problem, thanks.

The whole topic is sensitive and important ... but this thread surfs the wave of what is and is not permitted on PS.

 

[arkieb1]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

It was my terrible laconic Aussie sense of sarcasm & wickedness that made me say it, at play once again....

 

[House Cat]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Ahem... REAL...

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Ahem... REAL...

Yes a rainbow at the wrong angle with respect to the sun as evidenced by the angle of the shadow cause under the pink unicorn under a perfectly blue sky.
Those impossible rainbows happen all the time.

Yeah sure, Lady!

 

[Trekkie]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Ahem... REAL...

You Americans and your Westernised beauty ideals. Please allow the African girl to school you.

 

[arkieb1]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Trekkie your are correct again scientists label a real thing as a "Siberian Unicorn" which was a prehistoric long-haired rhinoceros, link to article and photo below, if this thing was indeed shaved butt naked whilst it was living in Siberia and cold, it's skin would presumably turn pink from the cold, it may therefore have been possible for a "pink unicorn to have existed" and indeed if we are being serious, there are no doubt some Atheists who do worship the Church of Satan and Lucifer in history was a symbol of enlightenment therefore hopefully proving one can call themselves both an Atheist and a Satanist and an Atheist can also be a Luciferian, so I guess even those generalisations aren't safe;

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-30/siberian-unicorn-lived-on-earth-with-humans/7283268

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Satan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciferianism

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Since "the devil" is a religious figure I would have assumed atheists didn't believe in it either.

Correct me if I'm wrong. Astheist don't believe in any dieties or entities. Agnostics just don't care if there is one or not.

Christian's are not all wacko white suprematist either. I don't vote far right or even near right. I would say I do belong to the conservative Christian Right. That being, I'm all for gay rights, black lives matter, trans rights... I don't think the bathroom question for gender is even a question. Use whatever bathroom you want. God did not put me here to judge. He put me here to be the best representative of his love that I can be.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Since "the devil" is a religious figure I would have assumed atheists didn't believe in it either.

Good job.
Did you watch the video I linked?
Clearly theists vary.

Correct me if I'm wrong.
Atheist don't believe in any dieties or entities.
Agnostics just don't care if there is one or not.

I don't speak for all atheists, just as you don't speak for all theists.
FWIW I have no idea what you are referring to with the term, "entity".
The IRS is an entity that, unfortunately, this atheist believes in.

I have no clue about 'agnostics' so like you I have to settle for a dictionary's definition.

Atheists are not all the same either.
I call myself atheist because I do not believe any of the zillions of extraordinary god claims ... due to lack of evidence.
If evidence were adequate faith would not have been invented or needed.

I can't speak for other atheists.
There is no atheist 'good book', doctrine, or 'pope'.

Christian's are not all wacko white suprematist either.

Of course, agreed; Never said they were, though adults believing in things for which there is insufficient evidence surely strikes me as resolutely wacko.
That billions of people do this carries no weight with me.

Further, I don't care what anyone believes.
I just really do not like wacko people creating laws or governing me according to their beliefs.
I also think children should not be exposed to sex, alcohol, tobacco or religion.
Those are things only an adult is equipped to decide on.
Getting children hooked on any of those before they are mature enough to understand their decision is deeply wrong IMO.

 

[jordyonbass]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

SCorrect me if I'm wrong. Astheist don't believe in any dieties or entities. Agnostics just don't care if there is one or not.

First part is correct, second part not so much. Atheists do not believe in a god which does not mean they necessarily believe there are no gods. This is also where Gnostic/Agnostic comes into play as knowledge is a subset of belief. So someone can be an agnostic atheist or a gnostic atheist. Many philosophers label themselves as agnostic as they cannot solve the issue of hard solipsism (the matrix/brain in a vat) but to say they do not care is incorrect.

FWIW that explanation is used by one of the hosts from the show that Kenny posted, his name is Matt Dillahunty. He is no-nonsense and concise in discussions.

 

[missy]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

AprilBaby, the explanation Jordy provided you is right.
More specifically if you're interested here are some other details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism
"An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine.
Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the existence of God or the supernatural are unknown and perhaps unknowable.
It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe. Consequently, agnosticism puts aside not only the greater part of popular theology, but also the greater part of anti-theology."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
"An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings.
Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist.[5][6] In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism,[9][10] which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists."


Interesting article in National Geographic from last April.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160422-atheism-agnostic-secular-nones-rising-religion/

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

As secularism grows, atheists and agnostics are trying to expand and diversify their ranks.

More people than ever before are identifying as atheist, agnostic, or otherwise nonreligious, with potentially world-changing effects.

By Gabe Bullard
PUBLISHED APRIL 22, 2016


You don’t usually think of churches as going out of business, but it happens. In March, driven by parishioner deaths and lack of interest, the U.K. Mennonites held their last collective service.


It might seem easy to predict that plain-dressing Anabaptists—who follow a faith related to the Amish—would become irrelevant in the age of smartphones, but this is part of a larger trend. Around the world, when asked about their feelings on religion, more and more people are responding with a meh.

The religiously unaffiliated, called "nones," are growing significantly. They’re the second largest religious group in North America and most of Europe. In the United States, nones make up almost a quarter of the population. In the past decade, U.S. nones have overtaken Catholics, mainline protestants, and all followers of non-Christian faiths.


A lack of religious affiliation has profound effects on how people think about death, how they teach their kids, and even how they vote. (Watch The Story of God With Morgan Freeman for more about how different religions understand God and creation.)

There have long been predictions that religion would fade from relevancy as the world modernizes, but all the recent surveys are finding that it’s happening startlingly fast. France will have a majority secular population soon. So will the Netherlands and New Zealand. The United Kingdom and Australia will soon lose Christian majorities. Religion is rapidly becoming less important than it’s ever been, even to people who live in countries where faith has affected everything from rulers to borders to architecture.

But nones aren’t inheriting the Earth just yet. In many parts of the world—sub-Saharan Africa in particular—religion is growing so fast that nones’ share of the global population will actually shrink in 25 years as the world turns into what one researcher has described as “the secularizing West and the rapidly growing rest.” (The other highly secular part of the world is China, where the Cultural Revolution tamped down religion for decades, while in some former Communist countries, religion is on the increase.)


And even in the secularizing West, the rash of “religious freedom bills”—which essentially decriminalize discrimination—are the latest front in a faith-tinged culture war in the United States that shows no signs of abetting anytime soon.

Within the ranks of the unaffiliated, divisions run deep. Some are avowed atheists. Others are agnostic. And many more simply don’t care to state a preference. Organized around skepticism toward organizations and united by a common belief that they do not believe, nones as a group are just as internally complex as many religions. And as with religions, these internal contradictions could keep new followers away.


MILLENNIALS TO GOD: NO THANKS

If the world is at a religious precipice, then we’ve been moving slowly toward it for decades. Fifty years ago, Time asked in a famous headline, “Is God Dead?” The magazine wondered whether religion was relevant to modern life in the post-atomic age when communism was spreading and science was explaining more about our natural world than ever before.

We’re still asking the same question. But the response isn’t limited to yes or no. A chunk of the population born after the article was printed may respond to the provocative question with, “God who?” In Europe and North America, the unaffiliated tend to be several years younger than the population average. And 11 percent of Americans born after 1970 were raised in secular homes.


Scientific advancement isn’t just making people question God, it’s also connecting those who question. It’s easy to find atheist and agnostic discussion groups online, even if you come from a religious family or community. And anyone who wants the companionship that might otherwise come from church can attend a secular Sunday Assembly or one of a plethora of Meetups for humanists, atheists, agnostics, or skeptics.

The groups behind the web forums and meetings do more than give skeptics witty rejoinders for religious relatives who pressure them to go to church—they let budding agnostics know they aren’t alone.

But it’s not easy to unite people around not believing in something. “Organizing atheists is like herding cats,” says Stephanie Guttormson, the operations director of the Richard Dawkins Foundation, which is merging with the Center for Inquiry. “But lots of cats have found their way into the 'meowry.'”

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, continues Sunday, April 24, at 9/8c, and will take viewers on a trip around the world to explore different cultures and religions on the ultimate quest to uncover the meaning of life, God, and all the questions in between.
Guttormson says the goal of her group is to organize itself out of existence. They want to normalize atheism to a point where it’s so common that atheists no longer need a group to tell them it’s okay not to believe, or to defend their morals in the face of religious lawmakers.

But it’s not there yet.

ATHEISM’S DIVERSITY PROBLEM

The Center for Inquiry in Washington, D.C., hosts a regular happy hour called Drinking Skeptically. On a Wednesday in late March, about a dozen people showed up to faithlessly imbibe, and all but one were white.

“Most of the groups I’ve seen have been predominantly white, but I’m not sure what to attribute that to,” says Kevin Douglas, the lone African-American drinker, shrugging at the demographics. He came from a religious family in New York and struggled internally with his skepticism until shortly after college. The only time he mentions having difficulty with others accepting his atheism was when he worked in Dallas, Texas, and race, he says, had little to do with it.

But more typically, “there is pressure from our [African-American] community,” says Mandisa Thomas, the founder and president of the Atlanta-based Black Nonbelievers, Inc. This pressure stems from the place religion—Christianity in particular—holds in African-American history.

In the abolition movement churches “became a support system for blacks. It became almost the end-all be-all for the black community for a number of years,” Thomas says, adding that the Civil Rights movement was dominated—she says “hijacked”—by religious leaders.

“If you either reject or identify as a nonbeliever, you’re seen as betraying your race,” she says.

Thomas is an outlier among nonbelievers for another reason. She’s a woman.

The secularizing West is full of white men. The general U.S. population is 46 percent male and 66 percent white, but about 68 percent of atheists are men, and 78 percent are white. Atheist Alliance International has called the gender imbalance in its ranks “a significant and urgent issue.”


THE PRIVILEGE OF NOT BELIEVING

There are a few theories about why people become atheists in large numbers. Some demographers attribute it to financial security, which would explain why European countries with a stronger social safety net are more secular than the United States, where poverty is more common and a medical emergency can bankrupt even the insured.

Atheism is also tied to education, measured by academic achievement (atheists in many places tend to have college degrees) or general knowledge of the panoply of beliefs around the world (hence theories that Internet access spurs atheism).

There’s some evidence that official state religions drive people away from faith entirely, which could help explain why the U.S. is more religious than most Western nations that technically have a state religion, even if it is rarely observed. The U.S. is also home to a number of homegrown churches—Scientology, Mormonism—that might scoop up those who are disenchanted with older faiths.

The social factors that promote atheism—financial security and education—have long been harder to attain for women and people of color in the United States.

Around the world, the Pew Research Center finds that women tend to be more likely to affiliate with a religion and more likely to pray and find religion important in their lives. That changes when women have more opportunities. “Women who are in the labor force are more like men in religiosity. Women out of the labor force tend to be more religious,” says Conrad Hackett with Pew. “Part of that might be because they’re part of a religious group that enforces the power of women being at home."

In a Washington Post op-ed about the racial divides among atheists, Black Skeptics Group founder Sikivu Hutchinson points out that “the number of black and Latino youth with access to quality science and math education is still abysmally low.” That means they have fewer economic opportunities and less exposure to a worldview that does not require the presence of God.

Religion has a place for women, people of color, and the poor. By its nature, secularism is open to all, but it’s not always as welcoming.

Some of the humanist movement’s most visible figures aren’t known for their respect toward women. Prominent atheists Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have awful reputations for misogyny, as does the late Christopher Hitchens. Bill Maher, the comedian and outspoken atheist, is no (nonexistent) angel, either.

The leaders of Atheist Alliance International, Dawkins Foundation, and Center for Inquiry who I talked to were all well aware of the demographic shortcomings, and they’re working on it: All of the leaders I spoke to were women.

Even people who are white, male, and educated may fear the stigma of being labeled a nonbeliever. A white dentist at the CFI’s Drinking Skeptically event didn’t want to go on the record out of a fear that patients wouldn’t want an atheist working on their teeth.

“We have this stigma that we’re combative, that we’re arrogant, that we just want to provoke religious people,” Thomas with Black Nonbelievers, Inc. says. She’s working on changing that, and increasing the visibility of nonbelievers of color, too.

Thompson believes the demographics of nones don’t accurately reflect the number and diversity of nonbelievers; it just shows who is comfortable enough to say they don’t believe out loud. “There are many more people of color, there are many more women who identify as atheists,” she says. “There are many people who attend church who are still atheists.”


What’s sometimes called the New Atheism picked up in the mid-2000s. These were years of war, when Islam was painted as a threat and Christianity infused U.S. policy, abroad and domestically, most visibly in faith-based ballot initiatives against same-sex marriage.

In the U.S., many state legislators are still using a narrow interpretation of Christian morals to deny services to gay people and appropriate restrooms to people who are transgender.

But the national backlash to religious legislation has become faster and fiercer than ever before. Europeans seem set on addressing Islamophobia and the forces that could create tension with the “rapidly growing rest.”

And compared to past campaign seasons, religion is taking a backseat in this year’s U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump is not outwardly religious (and his attraction of evangelical voters has raised questions about the longevity and the motives of the religious right). Hillary Clinton has said “advertising about faith doesn’t come naturally to me.” And Bernie Sanders is “not actively involved” in a religion. Their reticence about religion reflects the second largest religious group in the country they hope to run. Aside from Ted Cruz, the leading candidates just aren’t up for talking about religion. The number of Americans who seek divine intervention in the voting booth seems to be shrinking.


For all the work secular groups do to promote acceptance of nonbelievers, perhaps nothing will be as effective as apathy plus time. As the secular millennials grow up and have children of their own, the only Sunday morning tradition they may pass down is one everyone in the world can agree on: brunch.

 

[Tekate]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Recently I saw this common assumption posted here, unchallenged.
I wanted to respond using a video I once saw, but couldn't locate it.
I finally found that illuminating video (which addresses this widespread misconception), but now I can't find the thread.

Atheists do not believe in things for which there is insufficient evidence, god(s), satan, pink unicorns, Santa Clause etc. etc. etc.
IOW, 'faith' is anathema to us, akin to turning off the brain's critical thinking.
The burden of proof is on those making extraordinary claims, not on those who do not accept such claims.

Anyway, check out this timely video of a call-in show that's been running in Austin Tx for, I think, 18 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93MfGZAcw5o

Yup! Yes.. thank you.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Correct me if I'm wrong. Astheist don't believe in any dieties or entities.

... Atheists do not believe in a god which does not mean they necessarily believe there are no gods. ...

There is a very important but often misunderstood distinction here.
It is subtle ... that is, till you get it.

Here are a couple analogies I've heard Dillahunty use:

Say there is a big jar of gumballs on the table.
You insist there is an odd number of gumballs.
I tell you I do not accept that because I have no proof.
You reply, "Oh, so you're saying there are an even number!" (logical fallacy alert)
I say, "No, I didn't say that. I only said I do not accept your odd-number at this point.
To be sure I need proof, like counting them."

Next, think of a trial in the US justice system where the defendant is found not guilty.
That doesn't mean she was found innocent ... a totally separate thing.
It just means there was not enough evidence to prove guilt to the required standard.

Likewise, not accepting god claims does not mean an atheist is saying there are no gods.
Of course, since we have no centralized doctrine to follow we vary some atheists may state there are no gods.
Personally, I don't do that but others are free to say/think whatever they want.

If someone wants to put me into an agnostic jar I don't care. I don't agree, but I just don't care.

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Entity in my case meant any divine being, therefore the devil would be a divine being.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Some thoughts.
I gotta add that I'm okay with leaving unanswerable questions unanswered, such as ...
Is there life after death?
What is the meaning of life, the origin of life?
Is there a god or gods?
Does reincarnation happen?
Is there anyone to thank because the tornado skipped over my house, or my daughter survived that terrible car accident.

What we know for sure (we die and rot) is not very warm and fuzzy ... so we make up stuff that feels better - especially to tell our kids. "Honey, you'll see grandma in heaven."

IMO, we are just not as significant as we'd like to believe.
You can't have a mind without a brain.
When blood stops flowing to the brain it dies, as does the mind and all those other made up ideas like the soul/spirit/person/etc.
Where does it go? Unanswerable ... but how bout: it goes back to wherever 'it was' (if anywhere) before birth.


But still, 76 years on this roller coaster we call life is really really cool.
What we know for sure is enough, for me.
Further, knowing this is it, period, makes me want to make it the best I can.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Entity in my case meant any divine being, therefore the devil would be a divine being.

Thanks.

BTW, that caller said, ' ... You guys believe in the devil. ...'
They responded, they didn't.

It's ironic that throughout her call it was clear that SHE was the one who believed in the devil.

 

[jordyonbass]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Correct me if I'm wrong. Astheist don't believe in any dieties or entities.

... Atheists do not believe in a god which does not mean they necessarily believe there are no gods. ...

There is a very important but often misunderstood distinction here.
It is subtle ... that is, till you get it.

Here are a couple analogies I've heard Dillahunty use:

Say there is a big jar of gumballs on the table.
You insist there is an odd number of gumballs.
I tell you I do not accept that because I have no proof.
You reply, "Oh, so you're saying there are an even number!" (logical fallacy alert)
I say, "No, I didn't say that. I only said I do not accept your odd-number at this point.
To be sure I need proof, like counting them."

Next, think of a trial in the US justice system where the defendant is found not guilty.
That doesn't mean she was found innocent ... a totally separate thing.
It just means there was not enough evidence to prove guilt to the required standard.

Likewise, not accepting god claims does not mean an atheist is saying there are no gods.
Of course, since we have no centralized doctrine to follow we vary some atheists may state there are no gods.
Personally, I don't do that but others are free to say/think whatever they want.

If someone wants to put me into an agnostic jar I don't care. I don't agree, but I just don't care.

Kenny, how often do you listen to Matt speak? I probably go through the Youtube archives for at least an hour every day listening to him speak and you articulated his top 2 analogies on addressing single prongs on a binary proposition better than I could

While I do get into some of the philosophy talk, I think that it kinda muddies up what should be a very basic question:
Do you believe in god?
Yes - you are a theist
No or anything other than yes - you are an atheist.
Simples.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Oh, I spend maybe an hour a week.
I used to watch more, but it gets kind of repetitive.
I like two other hosts, Jen Peeples and Tracy Harris.
... but clearly it's the Matt Dillahunty Show, Staring Matt Dillahunty.

Still, the guy thinks very well and cuts to the chase, which I admire.

Matt can be a real A-hole.
He constantly cuts callers off but gets livid when they do the same.

It's possible he's just doing it because a drama queen gets more eyeballs, which gets the message out better.

 

[jordyonbass]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

I love listening to Tracie as well, I have actually exchanged emails with her before about how to handle a family member after they have had an experience and become Christian. They have a new guy on named Phil that's been great as well, he does so much charity work and his tye dye shirts are amazing

 

[the_mother_thing]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

But still, 76 years on this roller coaster we call life is really really cool.

I thought (solely by reading your posts) you were 40-something!

Also thank you for sharing. Always helpful to understand how others view things & why.

 

[kenny]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

But still, 76 years on this roller coaster we call life is really really cool.

I thought (solely by reading your posts) you were 40-something!

Also thank you for sharing. Always helpful to understand how others view things & why.

No problem.
76 refers to a lifespan, not my age.

 

[Scandinavian]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Ahem... REAL...

You Americans and your Westernised beauty ideals. Please allow the African girl to school you.

You really made my day !

 

[momhappy]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Let's be careful not to mock theists.
They have their rights.
They're free to practice their religion.

... but I will speak up when they cross certain boundaries, like spreading misinformation about what others believe.

I just wanted to clear up this common misconception using this helpful link.
I want to tolerate diversity; I just don't want to tolerate intolerance.

Even if the caller was a prank (IMO entirely possible - it's TOO perfect!), what she says DOES represent what many theists have been taught.

Yes, it sucks when people spread misinformation about what others believe....sort of like when people say that anyone who voted for Trump is racist.....
But, yes, I hear you kenny, it wouldn't make any sense to me at all to think that an atheist would worship the devil, so thank you for sharing the video.

 

[ksinger]

Re: Correction: Atheists don't believe in, or worship, the d

Recently I saw this common assumption posted here, unchallenged.
I wanted to respond using a video I once saw, but couldn't locate it.
I finally found that illuminating video (which addresses this widespread misconception), but now I can't find the thread.

Atheists do not believe in things for which there is insufficient evidence, god(s), satan, pink unicorns, Santa Clause etc. etc. etc.
IOW, 'faith' is anathema to us, akin to turning off the brain's critical thinking.
The burden of proof is on those making extraordinary claims, not on those who do not accept such claims.

Anyway, check out this timely video of a call-in show that's been running in Austin Tx for, I think, 18 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93MfGZAcw5o

Kenny, that "misconception" most often comes straight from a pulpit. No amount of trying to correct it is going to work. At best you will get the assumed reason that you aren't Christian, of "Well, it's because you think you're better than everyone else."

WT...? Uh...yeah....that's it.....

(the above came from a Catholic friend of 20 years, when discussion veered into things philosophical - a rarity with this guy, and now you know why)