Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by kOrsan on April 23, 2012 at 3:33pm

I know what you're talking about. I have a friend, who is a lovely person, she's intelligent, highly skilled at math, feisty and fun to hang around with... aaaaand she's a Muslim. Also believes in astrology.

Yes, it might not be right, but it's really hard for me to show theists respect. No matter how many nice things they have going for themselves, it all falls apart when they say they believe in god, or "spirituality" etc. These people would be so much better without god, but they throw it away. It's like having a huge bowl of ice cream ruined by a nugget of shit on top of it.

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Permalink Reply by Tobie Barb on April 23, 2012 at 3:52pm

I think a much less prejudiced view would e to take the strength of their religious views as a statement of how much they care about whether what they believe is true or not more than actual intellectual ability, though I do sympathise with your feeling as the limit between prejudice and fact is sometimes a very hard line to draw simply because there is often a situation where something is so common that you might as well assume it to e true.

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Permalink Reply by kOrsan on April 23, 2012 at 11:59pm

You can't argue with that, this man's right.

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Permalink Reply by Teri G on April 24, 2012 at 1:01pm

Haha I like your point of view

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Permalink Reply by Doug Reardon on April 23, 2012 at 5:59pm

Delusion is no respecter of IQ. 

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Permalink Reply by SteveInCO on April 23, 2012 at 6:19pm

Well I know I've said many times here that just about all of my close friends and family are atheists, but I was reminded of an exception to that; a friend of mine from Georgia just lost his wife and he is deeply religious.

They both seem to me to be nice people but noGod only knows what would happen if he were to find out I was an atheist.  He might not be bigoted that way against atheists--you know the type, those who would shun you and go to war against you just because you are an atheist.  And then again he might be. As much as I like the guy I can't shake the suspicion he'd be the bigoted type.  (If he were ever to ask I'd have a dilemma on my hands, but in the end I'd be truthful.)

And that's the bitch of it:  you can't tell how a religious person will react to finding out you are an atheist; it can tear apart marriages, and families.  Is it prejudice to play it safe and assume that they will react badly, so keep your mouth shut?

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Permalink Reply by Diane on April 23, 2012 at 8:59pm

I think I assume certain things about theists.  There is, of course, a spectrum of beliefs theists could have, ranging from all-out whack-job fundamentalists who talk to the Jesus in their heads, to people who don't really believe but think of "God" as a metaphor for things we don't understand.

I do question people's intelligence and psychological makeup when they tell me they are YECs or when they repeatedly try to convert me when I've clearly stated I'm quite happy with my current belief system.  Maybe that's not fair, but their thinking seems very flawed to me.

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Permalink Reply by Logicallunatic on April 23, 2012 at 10:26pm

People can apply critical thinking to all sorts of problems and yet they cannot apply the same rationalization to their religious belief. It's just "off the table", period. A lot of it is Compartmentalization.

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Permalink Reply by Teri G on April 24, 2012 at 1:14pm

I have seen a few studies like these and as much as I wish to believe it is accurate, I feel that accepting such a study would be the height of my prejudicial beliefs. Are there any counter studies done that prove otherwise?

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on April 24, 2012 at 12:23am

I'm an atheist myself, but I'm appalled at the degree of prejudice against Christians and Christianity I sense here. I grew up an Episcopal, which is a far cry from the dopey Christianity of Jimmy Swaggart and Pat Robertson. The only more liberal major Christian sect are the Unitarians.

I can't share the notion that all Christians are either dupes or evil. Likewise, I can't see all Christian religions as evil. Certainly some are, but some are simply wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Dijksman on April 24, 2012 at 3:07am

Nobody is saying that all christians are evil, or that all christian religions are evil. All that's being expressed in this thread is that atheists generally feel that christians are rather stupid to believe in god and that it makes them do stupid things.

I tend to take religious people less seriously too. It's hard to take them seriously, even when they are obviously intelligent, because in my view it's impossible to be intelligent AND trying to still believe there is higher power out there. It tends to make people adapt their views on how the world works instead that it lets them adapt the idea how god would be able to exist.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Wright on April 24, 2012 at 10:37am

I agree Laura.  I just can't get myself to take religious people seriously.  I read a study that said Christians and Muslims have the lowest IQ of any groups of people.  I think of that everytime I see someone wearing a cross or a t-shirt with a god quote. My neighbor, who has a doctorate, is a christian and doesn't believe in evolution. Unless we talk family or weather, I can never thing of anything to say to her.  Thanks for the great post. 

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