Thread: There is no God...

Originally Posted by powrwrap

I'm sorry, but I have no faith that atheists can avoid ridiculing other people's beliefs. Can't wait to see what they do (besides naming them the Aints for one game...pathetically unoriginal.) I fear it will be about mocking and ridiculing everyone's beliefs.

Oh the irony....

Originally Posted by Scheherezade

While I find the idea of organized atheism a little silly...

You're looking at this all wrong. Atheists are part of a minority group in this country and as such they have "support groups" just the same as homosexuals, African Americans, factory workers, truck drivers, etc... It might interest you to know that atheists are the least trusted large minority group. American citizens are more comfortable with a gay person, Muslim, African American, or woman becoming president than an atheist. As such there is discrimination that occurs. To be clear I'm not saying Atheists have faced anything on the level of slavery, the intolerable working conditions of the poor in the 19th and 20th centuries, the racial profiling of Arab Americans, ect... but there is discrimination just the same. If you look back at history in this country the most effective way to combat discrimination is through massing large numbers of people to create a national dialogue. So between support groups and tools to drive political / ideological change organized atheism make sense.

Here are a couple of polls showing how little atheists are thought of:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/At...andidates.aspx
http://www.gallup.com/poll/24385/Dem...publicans.aspx

Originally Posted by Oxtung

You're looking at this all wrong. Atheists are part of a minority group in this country and as such they have "support groups" just the same as homosexuals, African Americans, factory workers, truck drivers, etc..

.

Whoa. You are saying a minority group can be based on beliefs, activities, and vocations. I reject that. If you hold to that idea, then people that want to return to the gold standard are 'minorities.' So are moms that oppose breast feeding. Same thing with lifeguards. People that participate in knitting bees, etc. Ridiculous.

Originally Posted by powrwrap

.

Whoa. You are saying a minority group can be based on beliefs, activities, and vocations. I reject that. If you hold to that idea, then people that want to return to the gold standard are 'minorities.' So are moms that oppose breast feeding. Same thing with lifeguards. People that participate in knitting bees, etc. Ridiculous.

Seems like this is a bad place to have this discussion, but of course minority groups can be based on beliefs. Religious groups (or in this case, non-religious groups) are minorities if they're not the biggest group.

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

Seems like this is a bad place to have this discussion, but of course minority groups can be based on beliefs. Religious groups (or in this case, non-religious groups) are minorities if they're not the biggest group.

Don't think so. In your scenario a person could go from a minority to a majority person merely by changing their mind.

Originally Posted by powrwrap

Don't think so. In your scenario a person could go from a minority to a majority person merely by changing their mind.

That is very correct. An American atheist could, by converting to Christianity, join a majority group.

Originally Posted by powrwrap

Don't think so. In your scenario a person could go from a minority to a majority person merely by changing their mind.

Oh, boy. Okay. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/minority

mi·nor·i·ty
n. pl.
mi·nor·i·ties
1.
a. The smaller in number of two groups forming a whole.
b. A group or party having fewer than a controlling number of votes.
2.
a. A racial, religious, political, national, or other group thought to be different from the larger group of which it is part.
b. A group having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society.
c. A member of one of these groups.
3. Law The state or period of being under legal age: still in her minority.

[French minorité, from Medieval Latin minrits, from Latin minor, smaller; see minor.]

But really, why are we having this discussion here? The Saints can do what they damn well please. If it pisses off religious believers, than those believers can simply not go to the game. Or they can kick it up a notch and actively boycott, or even organize a protest. But whining on twinsdaily.com is almost certainly the least effective way to go about airing your complaints, and can lead one into a display of ignorance, e.g., demonstrating that one doesn't know how to use a dictionary to determine the meaning of a given word.

Originally Posted by deanlambrecht

But really, why are we having this discussion here?

I saw a brick wall and couldn't help myself from slamming my head into it repeatedly.

Originally Posted by deanlambrecht

Oh, boy. Okay. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/minority
But really, why are we having this discussion here? The Saints can do what they damn well please. If it pisses off religious believers, than those believers can simply not go to the game. Or they can kick it up a notch and actively boycott, or even organize a protest.

Or go there en masse and proselytize.

But whining on twinsdaily.com is almost certainly the least effective way to go about airing your complaints, and can lead one into a display of ignorance, e.g., demonstrating that one doesn't know how to use a dictionary to determine the meaning of a given word.

Going by the broad, dictionary based definition of 'minority', you realize that everyone is in some kind of a minority and could claim minority status.

Originally Posted by sbknudson

then I'd like to see a Christian Night (where my Christian beliefs are actively promoted; not just church groups attending)

I believe that's called "All Day, Every Day" in America.

Let the Atheists have their fun. It's not hurting anyone. Good for the Saints for catering to a relatively small but ever-growing segment of modern society that is unnecessarily ridiculed because they, of all the dastardly things, don't believe in God.

Yeah! Go Aints!!....oh

I am with ya that the Saints can do whatever they please, but when they start asking for public money to fund refurbishing their stadium...they really shouldn't tick off the majority of the tax payers. Did I use majority correctly?

Those damn Atheists will be the death of us. Their beliefs have never started wars, they never go door to door trying to force their idealism on other citizens, they believe in science to a fault (yuck), they have never conquered foreign land in the name of their beliefs - killing the men of these conquered lands and raping their women and burning their civilizations to the ground. Those damn Atheist... we need to round them up and rid ourselves of these poisonous parasites for good! Amen.

Originally Posted by Bark's Lounge

Those damn Atheists will be the death of us. Their beliefs have never started wars, they never go door to door trying to force their idealism on other citizens, they believe in science to a fault (yuck), they have never conquered foreign land in the name of their beliefs - killing the men of these conquered lands and raping their women and burning their civilizations to the ground. Those damn Atheist... we need to round them up and rid ourselves of these poisonous parasites for good! Amen.

While I won't debate the believer/athiest deal here, I will say that in every faith/race/demographic majority, work has been done to suppress the minority, and that is work of the human spirit, not something that is unique to white people, Christians, Jews, men, or any majority group. Mainly, these conflicts and forced states up on others all boil down to a human desire for power and control, and that's not unique to any faith group, any race, or any other demographic section.

Originally Posted by Oxtung

You're looking at this all wrong. Atheists are part of a minority group in this country and as such they have "support groups" just the same as homosexuals, African Americans, factory workers, truck drivers, etc... It might interest you to know that atheists are the least trusted large minority group. American citizens are more comfortable with a gay person, Muslim, African American, or woman becoming president than an atheist. As such there is discrimination that occurs. To be clear I'm not saying Atheists have faced anything on the level of slavery, the intolerable working conditions of the poor in the 19th and 20th centuries, the racial profiling of Arab Americans, ect... but there is discrimination just the same. If you look back at history in this country the most effective way to combat discrimination is through massing large numbers of people to create a national dialogue. So between support groups and tools to drive political / ideological change organized atheism make sense.

Here are a couple of polls showing how little atheists are thought of:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/At...andidates.aspx
http://www.gallup.com/poll/24385/Dem...publicans.aspx

Does it matter that I'm an atheist myself? I don't feel persecuted for my lack of faith, nor do I feel the need to proselytize. I'd much rather be atheist than gay in a room full of Christians.

I can't speak for those involved in organized atheism, only my own personal experience.

Originally Posted by Bark's Lounge

Those damn Atheists will be the death of us. Their beliefs have never started wars, they never go door to door trying to force their idealism on other citizens, they believe in science to a fault (yuck), they have never conquered foreign land in the name of their beliefs - killing the men of these conquered lands and raping their women and burning their civilizations to the ground. Those damn Atheist... we need to round them up and rid ourselves of these poisonous parasites for good! Amen.

Yes, of course, Joseph Stalin never killed anyone.

Originally Posted by Bark's Lounge

Those damn Atheists will be the death of us. Their beliefs have never started wars, they never go door to door trying to force their idealism on other citizens, they believe in science to a fault (yuck), they have never conquered foreign land in the name of their beliefs - killing the men of these conquered lands and raping their women and burning their civilizations to the ground. Those damn Atheist... we need to round them up and rid ourselves of these poisonous parasites for good! Amen.

You're kidding right? Maybe not in the name of atheism, but as a necessary condition, all kinds of suffering has come at the hands of those who replace a deity as a first or limit principle and insert a person, group, government, ideology or some other authoritarian institution in it's place.

Originally Posted by powrwrap

Yes, of course, Joseph Stalin never killed anyone.

Stalin falls under the Cult of Personality clause, I could not tell you what he believed in. He was an atrocious human being (murdering 10's of Millions). I expected a reply using him or Hitler as an example. Is he an Atheist - I don't know. Am I an Atheist - No. I don't assume anything. I guess I am an agnostic. Stalin and Hitler are an easy way to force feed me Christian Righteousness. I'm not a buyer.

Whatever, if the Saints think this is great marketing ploy, great. They are a private enterprise and can (should be able to) appeal to and promote.... and contrariwise alienate and reject whomever and whatever they want.

Originally Posted by Bark's Lounge

Stalin falls under the Cult of Personality clause, I could not tell you what he believed in. He was an atrocious human being (murdering 10's of Millions). I expected a reply using him or Hitler as an example. Is he an Atheist - I don't know. Am I an Atheist - No. I don't assume anything. I guess I am an agnostic. Stalin and Hitler are an easy way to force feed me Christian Righteousness. I'm not a buyer.

Be careful not to conflate two arguments. POWER's point was to your argument that atheists are largely (or relatively) benign, not that you should convert to theism.

I believe the North Koreans are Atheist.