If Atheists Ruled the World

[_harmony]

Yup. You're so smart, and we're so stupid...

You can say so but you will have a difficult time finding someplace where I said so. I don't think atheism it is simply a matter of smarts.

I don't think it matters a whole lot, to a theist, that you don't think atheism is simply a matter of smarts. What matters is what the theist thinks an atheist thinks.

You can believe me or not. Makes no difference to me. It just looks to me like it would be easier for a Mormon to get elected president... or a Muslim (God forbid)... or a Buddhist. People are selective: Christian first (used to be Protestant first, Catholic second, but now that's changed to just Christian, I think), outer fringes of Christian next (that would be the Mormons and a few others), belief in something/anything next, and atheist dead last.

The Why of that would make an interesting study. While I don't think the "I''m so smart and you're so stupid" thing is the ony reason, I think it's a big part. People don't like to be looked down on, and they feel denigrated when an atheist makes fun of them for believing in God.

And please don't say atheists don't ridicule people for believing in God. It happens here all the time.

...and look who gets the votes to become the most powerful person in the world. Hint: it's never an atheist.

So you've got it all figure out, huh? See, I'm still trying to figure it out. I thought it was bigotry and arrogance of theists that causes them to only elect other theists. But clearly theists are smarter, and that's why. Thank you for your help today, harmony. I have come away enlightened.

See? Ridicule. You just proved my point, Dude.

[_The Dude]

No, I haven't proved your point.

I'm not ridiculing "people", I'm ridiculing you.
I'm not ridiculing you for believing in God, I'm ridiculing you for being arrogant like the people in the video... have you watched it yet?

Regardless, this is turning into one of those lame back-and-forth-with-harmony threads that I hate to read, much less participate in, so I'm giving it a rest now.

[_Some Schmo]

And please don't say atheists don't ridicule people for believing in God. It happens here all the time.

So what? Theists ridicule atheists for not believing in god. Christians ridicule Muslims for not believing in the right kind of god. Christians ridicule Mormons for not believing in the right kind of Jesus. Muslims ridicule everyone for not being Muslim. Etc etc etc.

The fact is, every demographic has people who ridicule others simply for not believing the same thing they do. Does that make every demographic inherently arrogant?

Sheesh.

[_harmony]

Does that make every demographic inherently arrogant?

Sheesh.

Probably, yes. That still doesn't get an atheist in the White House.

[_Some Schmo]

Does that make every demographic inherently arrogant?

Sheesh.

Probably, yes. That still doesn't get an atheist in the White House.

True, but I think we can rule out arrogance being the reason (or even one among many).

[_harmony]

True, but I think we can rule out arrogance being the reason (or even one among many).

Just because Christians are arrogant doesn't mean atheists aren't, Schmo. And just because Christians don't recognize their own arrogance doesn't mean they don't recognize it when atheists hit them with it.

We're so stupid, you know. We believe in God.

[_Some Schmo]

True, but I think we can rule out arrogance being the reason (or even one among many).

Just because Christians are arrogant doesn't mean atheists aren't, Schmo. And just because Christians don't recognize their own arrogance doesn't mean they don't recognize it when atheists hit them with it.

When did I say atheists aren't arrogant?

We're so stupid, you know. We believe in God.

Speak for yourself. I have a new coworker who's a very religious person, and we've talked about god related subject matter at length. I think he's a very intelligent guy, and extremely nice to talk to (he's very receptive to my point of view, despite not agreeing with it). He's become one of my favorite people here.

In response to this thread, I asked him if he thought atheists are arrogant and he said that, although he's only aware of four of them, he certainly wouldn't say that.

This is the danger of making generalizations and stating them as fact.

[_harmony]

When did I say atheists aren't arrogant?

You implied that with this statement: "I think we can rule out arrogance being the reason (or even one among many)."

We're so stupid, you know. We believe in God.

In response to this thread, I asked him if he thought atheists are arrogant and he said that, although he's only aware of four of them, he certainly wouldn't say that.

This is the danger of making generalizations and stating them as fact.

So because your co-worker doesn't agree with me, you can make the generalization that I'm wrong? Dangerous, Schmo.

[_Some Schmo]

When did I say atheists aren't arrogant?

You implied that with this statement: "I think we can rule out arrogance being the reason (or even one among many)."

No, you inferred it from that statement. The point I was making is that every group has its arrogant types, and since it's common, it stands to reason that it's not a determining factor.

In response to this thread, I asked him if he thought atheists are arrogant and he said that, although he's only aware of four of them, he certainly wouldn't say that.

This is the danger of making generalizations and stating them as fact.

So because your co-worker doesn't agree with me, you can make the generalization that I'm wrong? Dangerous, Schmo.

LOL... saying you're wrong about this isn't making a generalization. In fact, what I'm saying is very specific to the idea you put forth. I'm not saying you're wrong about everything (that would be a generalization). Right now, I'm talking about this one specific thing.

Some people may not vote for an atheist (were they ever to actually be confronted with that choice in the first place) because they view them as arrogant, but it's incredibly doubtful that would be the main reason for most people.

[_Thama]

The point I was making is that every group has its arrogant types, and since it's common, it stands to reason that it's not a determining factor.

Arrogance is something far harder to recognize in one's own group than in other groups. It may be tremendously hypocritical for conservative Christians to cite "arrogance" as a determining cause in their dislike for atheists (and decision not to vote for them) but that doesn't mean that it isn't a major influence nonetheless.

The Chinese think Americans are arrogant for sending recon boats within range of their territory. The Americans think the Chinese are arrogant for harassing their vessels in international waters. The world goes round...