Yellum Notnef

Someone here (I'm not naming any names ) makes it a point in almost every post to accuse us unbelievers of being cynical.

Lets take a little look at the word that we've been hearing so much about for the past year:

cyn·i·cal
adj.

1. Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others: a cynical dismissal of the politician's promise to reform the campaign finance system.
2. Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness: a cynical view of the average voter's intelligence.
3. Expressing jaded or scornful skepticism or negativity: cynical laughter.


I must be missing something here because nothing in that definition has anything to do with why I don't believe the supernatural claims of Christianity. It also has nothing to do with why I believe much of the gospels are pure fiction and that Jesus the man might not have even existed.

I can't see why anyone would continue to use this word in post after post unless they are either grossly misinformed about why we don't believe or as an attempt to belittle us all as a bunch of bitter grouches

Or maybe everyone else here really is a jaded,scornful,negative,pessimist who think supernatural claims are motivated by selfishness.

Cutter

belittle us all as a bunch of bitter grouches

Bingo.

NonHomogenized

To be fair, in many respects, I, for one, am a pretty cynical person.

I don't consider myself cynical about religion, except perhaps by definition #3, since I'm a skeptic, and I'm often scornful of those deluded by someone else's fantasies (or their own). However, I didn't arrive at my skepticism by being a cynic, but, rather, I became cynical about religion well after I became a skeptic.

But then, as Ambrose Bierce wrote in The Devil's Dictionary; cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Family Man

I, too, see nothing wrong about a modicum of cynicism when participating in discussions. One ought to be skeptical of the motives of other posters. What I find funny is that our unnamed poster absolutely wallows in cynicism, and it always seems to come out when our unnamed poster is having difficulties responding to an atheistic point.

sakrilege

How many extheists have testified to the strength of their beliefs when believers and had this testimony ignored? I knom my testimony of belief in god has never been acknowledged and the statement is still being made that true believers can never become unbelievers. So who is the real cynic?

Evil Milkman

Bah, humbug.

Radorth

OK guys, you can take the holy, legalistic mask off. We all know who is being impugned here, of course. I'd report it to a moderator, but I might get someone who claims s/he doesn't know what's going on.

Of course I've never said all atheists are cynics. Far from it. Also, I've never said Christians-turned-atheists don't honestly believe that they were once Christians. You are misrepresenting my position, which has always been that IF they were IN FACT Christians, which no one knows for sure, then they can't just decide not to be. In fact I'm saying we don't really know our own motives or anyone elses. That's not cynicism. And it's not about the kind of deep dark motives some atheists accuse Christians of- e.g. those which supposedly make me "a worse witness than Hitler." (Which, guess who, Fenton and Family Man apparently agree on)

To make such a statement you'd have to accuse me of the most vile motives, for which you haven't one shred of evidence. I'm afraid this is just another sham Salem Rad Trial in the making.

Rad

Radorth

A statement was recently made that Christians believe in God simply because they are fellow egotists, or meglomaniacs or must identify with a powerful being- blah, blah, blah. This person (I forget who) could see no other reasons than those derived from his own psychoanalysis of the Christian mind.

In the case of Christians, if you can't at least allow that people find Jesus an inspiring, egalitarian, righteous example and believe in him for benevolent reasons, (however naive that is) then I'd say yes, you are a cynic.

But do be honest and tell us just why what really motivates us, so that we and less cynical atheists can know your hearts better.

Rad

GunnerJ

What the hell's wrong with being cynical?

Here's a good definition:

Cynic: Optimist's term for a realist.

Yellum Notnef

Theres nothing holy or legalistic about it despite how much you love to use those two words.
LOL! You'd report this thread to a moderator if you weren't so damn cynical of their moderating abilities.

No. You've never said we are ALL cynics. You only break that word out when someone doesn't agree with you.


I'll let someone else handle this one as I never claimed to be a Christian unless you consider kids dragged against their will to church to be Christians.


I did indeed say I thought you were a worse Christian WITNESS than Hitler was,but it had NOTHING to do with what I thought your MOTIVES were. I actually never questioned or doubted your "witnessing" motives at all. I just thought you stunk at it.

You're talking about the Hitler statement again? If you are I've already explained to you that it had NOTHING to do with your motives. But go ahead and be cynical about MY motives if it helps you get through the day.

You wish it was! But thanks for showing us yet again just how cynical you really are.