Vorkosigan

Dave wrote this in th Philosophy Forum:
"Every time I hear atheists express anger directed at God, religion and religious people I suspect that all this sort of behavior is a revelation of the atheist's lack of self-esteem."

Yes, when my Taiwanese atheist, Buddhist wife expresses anger directed at Christians, she's playing out a self-esteem problem.

Is there some special certificate of ethnocentricity that apologists have to qualify for before they can start spouting nonsense? I mean, do you guys take tests or something?

Vorkosigan

brighid

Well, some theists NEED to believe that our “rebellion” and anger directed at theists (because we can’t ACTUALLY be angry at a God that doesn’t exist) to be because of some terrible self-loathing and crippled sense of self, for if we are actually healthy individuals with strong and stable senses of self then our arguments MIGHT just have some validity. This would require a moment of pause and perhaps cause a chip in the armor of their faith. This is unacceptable.

It is A typical behavior of dehumanizing or devaluing an opponent, not because of the weakness of your opponents position but because of the weakness of the position being help by the demonizer (in most cases.) There MUST be something wrong with our brains if we DON’T believe in their version of this ONE God! Flawed logic abounds … as it is the enemy of faith. It also makes the arguments raised by atheism and the secular philosophies much easier to dismiss – an ad hominem but what is logic’s use in their argument? It’s a cop out, an easy excuse NOT to examine the substance of the arguments or the possible validity of a claim.

B

Queen of Swords

Originally posted by Vorkosigan:
<strong>Dave wrote this in the Philosophy Forum:
"Every time I hear atheists express anger directed at God, religion and religious people I suspect that all this sort of behavior is a revelation of the atheist's lack of self-esteem."</strong>[/QUOTE]

Does this fascinating theory only refer to atheists? When Christians, for example, express anger at Muslims, is that symptomatic of their deep and abiding love?

Considering that David also wrote that atheists should not insult anyone on the IIDB because all theists who come here are our "guests", I get the impression that atheists should be doormats, and David has a pressing desire to wipe his feet.

Eudaimonist

[sigh]

Considering that self-assertiveness is one element of self-esteem (see: Nathaniel Branden's The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem), this behavior may be an expression of healthy self-esteem.

Vorkosigan

Does this fascinating theory only refer to atheists? When Christians, for example, express anger at Muslims, is that symptomatic of their deep and abiding love?

Definitely self-esteem, and frustration that they've picked the wrong religion and will end up in the part of heaven without the 72 virgins.

Considering that David also wrote that atheists should not insult anyone on the IIDB because all theists who come here are our "guests", I get the impression that atheists should be doormats, and David has a pressing desire to wipe his feet.

I don't think we should insult the theists, but ripping ethnocentric shit like this to pieces is good for the soul....so to speak.

Terracotta

Actually, since I lost my belief in a god who tells me how horrible of a sinner I am and that I only have worth through him, my self-esteem has skyrocketed.

Queen of Swords

Theists come in all brands, from David Matthews to Douglas Bender to Fastfalcon to the anonymous post-and-runners. Behavior towards one may not be appropriate for another, and not all theists are capable of appreciating courtesy and responding in kind.

My two cents.

[ July 10, 2002: Message edited by: QueenofSwords ]</p>

ex-preacher

Every time I hear Christians express their emotional superiority to atheists, I suspect that all this is a revelation of the Christian's lack of self-esteem.

(I stayed consistent with David's inconsistent shift from plural to singular - "atheists," then "atheist's.")