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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Organized religion is, to a lot of us, one of the greatest forces of good out there.
It's just America has some genuinely fucked up cults used by the conservatives as bludgeons against human rights.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.If I was running for office, I would just say I was a Unitarian Universalist and call it a day. Some of those guys are basically atheists. If my political career hinged on being affiliated with a church, I would just lie through my teeth every chance I could for those votes. If the voters are dumb enough to demand their leaders, no matter how otherwise qualified or unqualified they may be, worship Sky Daddy, they're dumb enough to be lied to.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."![]()
I would call that pretty much the GOP in a nutshell. They embody false piety, contempt for their voters, and disrespect for the beliefs they claim to espouse. I know many atheists who believe in the tenants of my religion and the GOP embodies the prinicple of professed Christians who believe in nothing.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Sep 26th 2020 at 6:56:36 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.I don't think it's a "which faith?" question, but a "is there faith?" question. It's worth noting that even in a climate of intense Islamophobia, most voters are more open to the idea of a Muslim president than an atheist one.
So, if you're interested in politics, but you don't believe in God, you better be prepared to lie. There are plenty of conscientious atheists out there who could benefit the country through public service, but they're always going to be locked out of power unless they learn to adapt.
Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Sep 26th 2020 at 10:02:19 AM
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
I feel like you're not feeling the Bern.
Yes, the large number of Progressive Christians and Jews behind him were fully aware Bernie was an atheist.
Yes, I felt he was wrong about some fundamental elements of the universe but I felt he better embodied my values than Trump. You know, the way that the Sun feels warmer than dirty swampwater.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Sep 26th 2020 at 7:05:57 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.No, Bernie is upfront about being nonreligiously Jewish.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.You're not. Jesus has a whole me about how the self-righteous despise others and distort what should be good and godly compared to those who humble themselves and seek grace. The former do not find favor with God, while the latter do.
What's amusing is that back then conservatives started whispering that Kennedy would be controlled by the Pope and so couldn't be trusted to be president. Kennedy responded that he wouldn't be "A Catholic president, I would be a president who happened to be Catholic."
The hatred of atheists by the American people is not exactly partisan. Twitter's leftist community can't stand atheists. They complain about what they call "New Atheists," yes, with capital letters, and some derisively call atheism a religion. Hopefully this is just Twitter being one big asshole convention where people get clout by being perpetually embarrassed and contrarian, though.
Edited by Lennik on Sep 26th 2020 at 10:54:16 AM
That's right, boys. Mondo cool.There's also a huge chunk of Alt-Right atheists.
They're just a smaller chunk of the White Anglo Protestant (WASP) establishment that exists to Kill the Poor.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.Many of the "enlightened asshole atheists" definitely found a home in the alt-right, but I think a lot of leftists forget that argumentative atheists came to prominence when the Rick Santorums and Michele Bachmanns of the world were at the height of theirs as well. Every day was "Gay marriage can't be legal because God." It was hard to be polite in the face of that nonsense.
Edited by Lennik on Sep 26th 2020 at 11:08:12 AM
That's right, boys. Mondo cool.![]()
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Maher is exactly that sort, and it makes a lot of us wince because, while we may share some of those feelings, we know better than to say them out loud.
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The Westboro Baptist Church, sexual abuse by Catholic priests... the list goes on and on. It's not exactly difficult to understand why people might be turned off by open avowals of faith given what those seem to lead to.
You say that, sure, but atheists challenge something deep and personal within religious people: their certainty in a higher power. If you're being intellectually honest, you must admit to yourself that it's a contradiction. If your faith teaches that belief in the divine is the exclusive path to salvation, and you see someone who disavows all divinity, is it not the demand of your faith to convert them?
If that person can be good and moral without faith, does that not challenge the ostensible reason for having it in the first place?
Edited by Fighteer on Sep 26th 2020 at 11:10:59 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Well...they are. Left-wing Christians seem very unwilling to push religion as a source of values. I've complained before that there's so much of the New Testament about feeding the poor that they could be bringing up, but the only notable politician who was doing that was Kasich, who's on the wrong team for that.
Hence, religion is becoming a tool of fascism because even Pope Francis is an isolated voice.

When my lack of belief came up at work, I encountered genuine curiosity about how I found a moral compass. People still ask those questions even today.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"