Exposing Atheistic Myths

[steve_bank]

As a naturalist, not to be confused with running through the woods naked, anything that interacts with our reality is part of universe.

A god can not be supernatural a god is no more or less natural than anything else. There must be a causal link between a god and our reality for it to be acted upon, even if we can not deduce what the links are.

The Old Testament description of god, angels, and the story of Stan makes them sound quite human and substantive.

 

[steve_bank]

One common atheistic myth is that, "Things can exist without a cause! Radioactive decay has no cause!" Of course, this is a lie.

Half-Wit, this is commentary is worthy of FOX News and the likes of tucker Carlson. According to Carlson the international use of the metric system is a secular conspiracy to dominate the world.

There is nothing in science that circumvents causality. I could launch into a disertaion on stochastic systems and models, but that would be above your pay grade.

Suffice it to say in terms of radioactive decay we do not need to understand a specific causality. We can and do develop statistical models that match experiments and measurements.. We do not need to understand every detail of causality to develop a working descriptive model.

And most importantly, science is neither theist or atheist. Religion and science address two different areas. Science seeks to describe reality as we find it. Religion deals with the human spirit and spiritual needs. There is no conflict unless you invent one which is what some Christians do.

I suggest the 'for dummies' books on science. They are well written for people like you.

 

[Torin]

And most importantly, science is neither theist or atheist. Religion and science address two different areas. Science seeks to describe reality as we find it. Religion deals with the human spirit and spiritual needs. There is no conflict unless you invent one which is what some Christians do.

It's worth noting that there is a conflict between science and stupid versions of religion (e.g., young-earth creationism).

 

[Keith&Co.]

And most importantly, science is neither theist or atheist. Religion and science address two different areas. Science seeks to describe reality as we find it. Religion deals with the human spirit and spiritual needs. There is no conflict unless you invent one which is what some Christians do.

It's worth noting that there is a conflict between science and stupid versions of religion (e.g., young-earth creationism).

But what THEY do isn't science. It's fraud in a pretty lab coat.

 

[bilby]

And most importantly, science is neither theist or atheist. Religion and science address two different areas. Science seeks to describe reality as we find it. Religion deals with the human spirit and spiritual needs. There is no conflict unless you invent one which is what some Christians do.

It's worth noting that there is a conflict between science and stupid versions of religion (e.g., young-earth creationism).

But what THEY do isn't science. It's fraud in a pretty lab coat.

Now, come on. That's not entirely true, is it?







The lab coat isn't particularly pretty.

 

[Keith&Co.]

But what THEY do isn't science. It's fraud in a pretty lab coat.

Now, come on. That's not entirely true, is it?







The lab coat isn't particularly pretty.

But it's so CLEAN!
Brand new, not worn, not stained by science spilling on it...
Has to be, so it'll impress people by how sciencey it looks.

 

[skepticalbip]

But to really impress people, along with the spotless white lab coat there needs to be an instrument in the background with a cathode ray tube displaying a wiggling line and another instrument that beeps.

 

[bilby]

And don't forget a rack of test-tubes full of brightly coloured liquid.

 

[Tars Tarkus]

And a beaker with some dry ice dropped in it to produce cool smoke.

 

[Half-Life]

In a way though, Gun Nut has a point. I think that Christians who really believe in the god who saves people from the horror of the Hell described by Jesus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus are few and far between. The writer of that story would have us believe that there is a place where the vast majority of humanity is going to spend an eternity in torment. The story of salvation is the good news of an escape from that horrible fate through Jesus.

Such a fate would be far worse than drowning. If someone had fallen overboard a ship on the ocean and I had a nearby lifebuoy I'd toss it to him without a second thought. But few Christians act with the air of urgency true belief in the traditional afterlife options merit. Every effort of one's being should be dedicated to finding lost souls and saving them from this horrid outcome. Instead most Christians are content to show up at church on Sunday morning, do their rituals, toss their dollar in the collection plate and be content that they've paid their fire insurance premium. They don't really believe there's ever going to be a real fire.

Or as the Japanese saying goes, "The fire is on the other side of the river."

But when Christians do go around trying to convert people and always discussing the zbible, you guys call them "crazy nuts" and avoid them. So they are acting how you want them to act but you dismiss them. And if they didn't act this way, you dismiss them anyway as not true believers.

Lame....very lame.

 

[Half-Life]

You guys are going down a dangerous road. I have heard some apologists say that "there are no atheists. Everyone believes in God." I am sure you guys HATE it when people tell you this.

So, why try to turn it around and say that nobody really believes? That is just as insulting to us Christians.

We also all heard of the "atheist to Christian" and the response is "he wasn't a real atheist!"
and we also hear of the "christian to atheist" and the response is "he wasn't a real christian!"

 

[abaddon]

You guys are going down a dangerous road. I have heard some apologists say that "there are no atheists. Everyone believes in God." I am sure you guys HATE it when people tell you this.

So, why try to turn it around and say that nobody really believes? That is just as insulting to us Christians.

We also all heard of the "atheist to Christian" and the response is "he wasn't a real atheist!"
and we also hear of the "christian to atheist" and the response is "he wasn't a real christian!"

Yes. That's why nobody needs to tell anyone else what they really believe or don't believe. It's pretty irritating when someone wants to tell me about my atheism and what they've decided that it "logically" means about me. They need to just ask and never mind trying to discern my mind on my behalf.

The persons who think believers don't really believe have projected themselves into [another sort of] believer's place and started moralizing, saying "If it were ME then I would be very keen on saving souls!" And maybe they would and maybe not, but it's just ideals about how anything "should" be pretending at being logic.

Human psychology isn't this linear. Stuff along the lines of "If you saw someone in dire straits, you'd definitely act on it!" is not a good description of humans. For one example, there's the bystander effect. If someone's screaming "help, I'm dying!", there is less likelihood of help if there are several persons about. They go "surely someone will help that poor person". So, a rationalist can 'logically' expect whatever he wants about what people will do, but empiricism gets the last word in human behavior.

Also, the abstraction of people burning in hell is less pressing than some emergency right in front of a person's eyes. So the analogies that were offered to try to support the point are kinda lame. However horrible one believes it to be, hell is still an abstraction.

And, as you noted in your previous post, some Christians do act on the belief.

 

[Keith&Co.]

But when Christians do go around trying to convert people and always discussing the zbible, you guys call them "crazy nuts" and avoid them. So they are acting how you want them to act but you dismiss them. And if they didn't act this way, you dismiss them anyway as not true believers.

Lame....very lame.

Lame?

Lame is bragging that you can refute 'atheistic myths' then spend your time stereotyping atheists, then bitching about them.

As far as 'always talking about the bible,' you DO remember stepping on your own dick with respect to the New Testament and Jesus saying gay sex is a sin, don't you? That's the sort of behavior that makes us roll our eyes. Us and Christains who have actually read the thing...

 

[Keith&Co.]

You guys are going down a dangerous road. I have heard some apologists say that "there are no atheists. Everyone believes in God." I am sure you guys HATE it when people tell you this.

So, why try to turn it around and say that nobody really believes? That is just as insulting to us Christians.

Just as insulting? Hardly.

There is no list of behaviors Atheists MUST adopt in order to be true atheists. So there is nothing the apologist can point to and say 'They do that! That means they must not be real atheists!'

There are, however, lists of behaviors for Christains. There are arguments about the exact list, but there are some generally agreed-upon strictures for what you must do and what you must not do.

If someone professing god is in their heart constantly lies, or trolls, or steals? Belittles opponents? Spreads gossip?
Then there is at least an argument to be made that they are not much of a Christain. Unless they can dredge up a Christain tradition that champions lying, trolling, bullying...

 

[Treedbear]

You guys are going down a dangerous road. I have heard some apologists say that "there are no atheists. Everyone believes in God." I am sure you guys HATE it when people tell you this.

So, why try to turn it around and say that nobody really believes? That is just as insulting to us Christians.

We also all heard of the "atheist to Christian" and the response is "he wasn't a real atheist!"
and we also hear of the "christian to atheist" and the response is "he wasn't a real christian!"

If you frequent forums like this you have to be prepared for frank opinions. Really personal opinions. Things that most of us probably wouldn't choose to broadcast to the general public. Partly for just the reason you suggested. This is the first time I've ever mentioned this notion to anyone, and it's because it is no more than a notion. But it was in response to Gun Nut's post where in fact he added "I will stand corrected if provided sufficient evidence of someone's belief, though." Probably doesn't even amount to a myth. But I then went on to offer reasons for why this may be so here, here, and here. The last one making the point most directly. It seems to have the makings for an atheist myth, and I haven't seen your response (if you don't find it too offensive).

 

[southernhybrid]

You guys are going down a dangerous road. I have heard some apologists say that "there are no atheists. Everyone believes in God." I am sure you guys HATE it when people tell you this.

So, why try to turn it around and say that nobody really believes? That is just as insulting to us Christians.

We also all heard of the "atheist to Christian" and the response is "he wasn't a real atheist!"
and we also hear of the "christian to atheist" and the response is "he wasn't a real christian!"

I've never said that Christians don't really believe what they claim. In fact, there are plenty of people that believe plenty of things that I would consider superstitions. As long as they don't judge me or use those beliefs in a harmful way, I really don't care what anyone else believes. My next door neighbor believes she has a spiritual connection with wolves. Do I think she does? No. Do I care that she believes she feels connected spiritually to wolves? No. She has developed her own woo, but her woo is pretty harmless and she doesn't preach her woo to anyone else.

And, I'm sure there are a very small percentage of atheists who become religious. I don't give a fuck. Some people need mythology. That doesn't bother me in the least. it's not what you believe that matters, imo. It's how those beliefs impact your life.

What I don't understand is how any Christian can believe the more positive parts of the NT, but support a disgusting, immoral man like Trump. Maybe some Christians cherry pick the more disgusting parts of the Bible. Black Christians seem more savvy than that. Not a single one of my black Christian friends has voted for that man. So, it's stupid to make generalizations about any large group of people.

 

[skepticalbip]

What I don't understand is how any Christian can believe the more positive parts of the NT, but support a disgusting, immoral man like Trump. Maybe some Christians cherry pick the more disgusting parts of the Bible. Black Christians seem more savvy than that. Not a single one of my black Christian friends has voted for that man. So, it's stupid to make generalizations about any large group of people.

It is interesting that you see religious or superstitious beliefs as simply personal beliefs but not so for political beliefs. Your political beliefs, you hold as facts just as those who hold strong religious beliefs see their belief as fact. Those who hold opposing political beliefs, you hold in contempt for being so stupid and evil. That mindset is what has given us religious wars.

 

[Keith&Co.]

I've never said that Christians don't really believe what they claim. In fact, there are plenty of people that believe plenty of things that I would consider superstitions. As long as they don't judge me or use those beliefs in a harmful way, I really don't care what anyone else believes. My next door neighbor believes she has a spiritual connection with wolves. Do I think she does? No. Do I care that she believes she feels connected spiritually to wolves? No. She has developed her own woo, but her woo is pretty harmless and she doesn't preach her woo to anyone else.

Or in her case, her own arrwoooo.

 

[Fentoine Lum]

One common atheistic myth is that, "Things can exist without a cause! Radioactive decay has no cause!" Of course, this is a lie.

https://www.iop.org/resources/topic/archive/radioactivity/#gref

"Radioactive decay occurs in unstable atomic nuclei – that is, ones that don’t have enough binding energy to hold the nucleus together due to an excess of either protons or neutrons."

"It comes in three main types – named alpha, beta and gamma for the first three letters of the Greek alphabet."

"It initially escapes from the nucleus of its parent atom, invariably one of the heaviest elements, by quantum mechanical processes and is repelled further from it by electromagnetism, as both the alpha particle and the nucleus are positively charged."

In this thread, I will be exposing common atheistic myths. Anyone want to try to stump me?

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn, oh great, the missionaries showed up to save us all.

 

[Fentoine Lum]

What I don't understand is how any Christian can believe the more positive parts of the NT, but support a disgusting, immoral man like Trump. Maybe some Christians cherry pick the more disgusting parts of the Bible. Black Christians seem more savvy than that. Not a single one of my black Christian friends has voted for that man. So, it's stupid to make generalizations about any large group of people.

It is interesting that you see religious or superstitious beliefs as simply personal beliefs but not so for political beliefs. Your political beliefs, you hold as facts just as those who hold strong religious beliefs see their belief as fact. Those who hold opposing political beliefs, you hold in contempt for being so stupid and evil. That mindset is what has given us religious wars.

Superstitious religious beliefs are political beliefs, have you counted up america's wars, interventions and occupations? Jeebus.