Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Krieger · 07-15-2002, 02:48 PM

Quote:

BANNING: She assoc� ... associates it to her Christianity ... um ... and ... uh ... her Christian upbringing, but I would imagine, I can't speak for other faiths ... faiths, but I would imagine that people would, when they say "under God", their children say "under God" that it would be representative of ... of possibly um ... um a Muslim child or possibly um, a Hindu child.

Haha. Okay, we now know for sure that the mother is a Xian-fundie. For some reason I doubt that "her" daughter has the same "faith" that she does.

[ July 15, 2002: Message edited by: Krieger ]

Arrowman · 07-15-2002, 04:36 PM

In defence of the "athiest" spelling:

- I have found many times that when I am typing quickly, "athiest" is a common typographical error. It does not necessarily imply poor spelling.

That said, it does turn up far too often and consistently in some people's writings, and there's no excuse for a major news service to allow mis-spellings like that in their material.

But just remember - it is a common enough typo. So don't jump on people every time they use it.

One of the last sane · 07-15-2002, 05:36 PM

I think it's a case of mindless idiots believing "i before e except after c" is an inviolable rule.

fando · 07-15-2002, 06:20 PM

Hey be fair. The whole ei, ie and ee thing is messed up in English. How is each pair pronounced? When do they occur? What are the exceptions? It's so complicated!

Eventually, once you know the differences, you already know the etymology of the word. If ei is pronounced "eye" then it's probably Germanic, etc.

Arrowman · 07-15-2002, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by One of last of the sane:
I think it's a case of mindless idiots believing "i before e except after c" is an inviolable rule.

Agreed. That would be one of the many reasons for this misuse. But apart from typographical errors and ignorance of the rules of spelling and grammar, the most relevant and serious problem imho is as fando puts it:

Quote:

Originally posted by fando:
Hey be fair. The whole ei, ie and ee thing is messed up in English...Eventually, once you know the differences, you already know the etymology of the word. If ei is pronounced "eye" then it's probably Germanic, etc.

I partly agree. But I think the real problem is that unlike a word like, say, "believe" where the etymology is probably unknown to most people (and irrelevant to the day to day use anyway), the word "atheist" has a very clear and simple meaning: "a-theist".

When a fundy uses the "athiest" mis-spelling, whether intentionally or as an uncorrected typo, they are (imho) showing that they do not understand the concept of "theist" or the possible negation of that word "a-". That's not just etymology - that is being blind to the whole concept - in other words, blind to the idea that there could possibly be two types of people in the world, those who believe in gods, and those who don't. To them, it's just "saved" and unsaved".

It's another variation of the "why do atheists hate God" ignorance.

PJPSYCO · 07-15-2002, 07:26 PM

i before e is only an excuse if the ie is in the same syllable
ie thier, a 1 syllable word
atheist has 3 syllables
a-the-ist
If you spell it wrong, you aren't thinking

Shadow Wraith · 07-16-2002, 07:37 AM

Quote:

COSBY: And that's what I want to ask you — in your opinion, by forcing or by asking students to use the phrase "under God," in the classroom, do you think you're imposing a religion? What in your opinion is that doing?

BANNING: Well, children aren't forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance but having "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance I think, is not a matter of conflict for children.

Oh. They aren't? Could've fooled the hell out of me. When I was in school, you were ordered by the teacher to stand and recite the pledge. The schools can get you in trouble simply if you refuse to do what they tell you.

Quote:

COSBY: Do you think it's imposing religion, or do you think it's something that's inclusive, bringing in several different religions, whatever they are?

BANNING: I think it is inclusive, right.

But not inclusive to nonbelievers. How about if I had blurted out "under no God" in school? They'd probably write you up for detention for being disruptive.

There is no justice for atheists and agnostics in this country. The fundies'll just get you some way or another.

babelfish · 07-16-2002, 08:21 AM

All I can say is, I'm MUCH athier than most of the people I know. In fact, out of all the people at work, I'd have to say I'm by far the ATHIEST!

mibby529 · 07-16-2002, 04:40 PM

The guy didn't even know Muslims and Xians worship the same god. LOL It's more of an issue for atheists, who don't have any deity; agnostics, who are undecided; or any number of other non-Abrahamic religions, all of which have different concepts of deities than the JCIG.

uhcord · 07-16-2002, 05:08 PM

Quote:

The president thinks?

Very, very good point.

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07-15-2002, 04:36 PM	#12
Arrowman Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,358	In defence of the "athiest" spelling: - I have found many times that when I am typing quickly, "athiest" is a common typographical error. It does not necessarily imply poor spelling. That said, it does turn up far too often and consistently in some people's writings, and there's no excuse for a major news service to allow mis-spellings like that in their material. But just remember - it is a common enough typo. So don't jump on people every time they use it.

07-15-2002, 05:36 PM	#13
One of the last sane Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: hereabouts Posts: 734	I think it's a case of mindless idiots believing "i before e except after c" is an inviolable rule.

07-15-2002, 06:20 PM	#14
fando Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Los Angeles Area Posts: 1,372	Hey be fair. The whole ei, ie and ee thing is messed up in English. How is each pair pronounced? When do they occur? What are the exceptions? It's so complicated! Eventually, once you know the differences, you already know the etymology of the word. If ei is pronounced "eye" then it's probably Germanic, etc.

07-15-2002, 07:26 PM	#16
PJPSYCO Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rolla, Missouri Posts: 830	i before e is only an excuse if the ie is in the same syllable ie thier, a 1 syllable word atheist has 3 syllables a-the-ist If you spell it wrong, you aren't thinking

07-16-2002, 08:21 AM	#18
babelfish Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Augusta, Maine, USA Posts: 2,046	All I can say is, I'm MUCH athier than most of the people I know. In fact, out of all the people at work, I'd have to say I'm by far the ATHIEST!

07-16-2002, 04:40 PM	#19
mibby529 Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Cali Posts: 170	The guy didn't even know Muslims and Xians worship the same god. LOL It's more of an issue for atheists, who don't have any deity; agnostics, who are undecided; or any number of other non-Abrahamic religions, all of which have different concepts of deities than the JCIG.

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