beyelzu

whatever, what exactly is the lazy atheist stereotype picture among theists??? that one is new to me I think.

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Wrong. Faith is a rather integral part of human nature: it's essential to love and pair-bonding , for example. Additionally, most Christians today appear fideistic --- that is, their faith appears quite on a live-and-let-live basis with science. Most Christians today in the Western world accept various forms of evolution --- they simply aren't Creationists in the generally accepted definition.

My exposure in georgia is somewhat different, most of the xians I know reject macro evolution.

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My point to you and others is that by using false stereotypes of Christians, and even demanding that Christians should adhere to those sterotypes (for example, the rather constant demand around here that Christians should be Biblical literalists, and therefore cherry-pickers are bad), the lazy atheist stereotype gets reinforced among Christians --- and that renders atheism irrelevant to them, since it's simply not talking to them, but to a strawman. Wildernesse and Seebs have made that point a lot of times. The outside world makes that point a lot more.

I disagree withthis somewhat, if you want to believe in a relgion that comes complete with holy book, to reject the parts that dont work with a modern worldveiw seems kind of disengenius to me.

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A false stereotype of your own; the history of religions shows much experimenting with thoughts and forms of faith.

the above were thoughts that occured upon reading your post, gurdur, not reasoned arguments. I thought about possible reasons, I wasnt trying to argue a point. I fail to see why you need to respond to my thoughts in this manner in that I wasnt debating a point.

edited to add, I made 2 or 3 other posts to you, are you going to respond to them?

Gurdur

Strange, since it starts with the OP back so many pages ago.
Perhaps you could start off with the OP and the other stereotypes of atheists that have been described on this and other threads ?

Georgia is not reflective of the world.

You merely confirm my point. You're condemning Christians --- even if only lightly --- without actually dealing with them.
It's my point that such behaviour reinforces negative stereotypes of atheists among Christians --- and renders atheism irrelevant to them.
Eh ? You seem to be complaining that I responded to you. This is what this discussion board is all about. Response. Discussion.

beyelzu

sorry, must have missed the lazy stereotype, will go back and check.

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Georgia is not reflective of the world.

this is true.

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You merely confirm my point. You're condemning Christians --- even if only lightly --- without actually dealing with them. It's my point that such behaviour reinforces negative stereotypes of atheists among Christians --- and renders atheism irrelevant to them.

I will need to consider the irrelevance issue, but the thing is, I am big on internal consistency, it has always seemed to me that a set of beliefs must be internally consistent to be true, please note that I realize all internally consistent systems of belief are not necessarily true. I see rejecting the uncomfortable parts of the bible as being untrue or metaphorical, particularly in places where metaphor is unlikely, as being internally inconsitent.

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Eh ? You seem to be complaining that I responded to you. This is what this discussion board is all about. Response. Discussion.

I felt like you had attacked what I said as people do when on different sides of a debate, and I wasnt debating anything at the time, I was offerring pretty much the first thing that popped into my head in response.

beyelzu

Gurdur,

a search in grd, for lazy stereotype, shows only my post, and lazy atheist turns up quite a bit more threads but still only my post in this one.

I read back through the first three pages of the thread and still didnt see anything.


So, you want to point me in the right direction here.

contracycle

And that only confirms MY point: becuase faith allows christians an other theists to decleare themselves the Good People merely by having faith, they have a supercilious disrespect for contrary opinion. And if rude behavior, an essentially unimportant thing, is sufficent to prevent them from engaging an analysis of life, the universe, and everything, then this moral superiority complex is self-reinforcing through self-imposed ignorance.

I DEAL with Christians by pointing out that no matter how comforting the bounds of the specific delusion, the objective world simply doesn;t care. And if they have any interest at all in truth or comprehension of the world, they must abandon their comforting but misleading superstition.

seebs

This seems to play into another of the atheist stereotypes; the person who is every bit as totally certain he's nailed the universe's cosmology as any other fundamentalist.

contracycle

How about the person who's so convinced that their refusal to commit to a position despite evidential asymmetry is the only rational course that they are as vigorous in its defence as any other fundamentalist?

seebs

Dunno. As an agnostic theist, I can't comment on the *real* fence-sitters.

Anyway, you say there's evidential asymmetry, and so do the dogmatic theists. Given that, it's hard for me to take either side entirely seriously.

contracycle

Accepted. But please note I find the agnostic position just as dogmatic as the theist position, precisely becuase it accepts both claims to evidence.

Hence, I suggest, the "atheist convinced of their own rightness" is another straw man representation of atheists.

AJ113

No, I made the distinction between my own original point and yours. You attempted to tell me that my own point was not relevant by saying "that's not the point." I did not agree, and I still don't.

I would normally have let the matter lie by now if it was not for the biggotted manner in which you attempted to force your views upon me. If you have an issue with certain individuals directing venomous comments at innocent parties I suggest you take a look in the mirror.