New Member "?": Misconceptions about Atheism?

Hi Everyone,

I am a new member and just wanted to say hello! I received the intro email and noticed in the signature that our site is dedicated, in part, to: "...breaking the misconceptions about atheism." I was just curious as to what these misconceptions may be?

Looking forward to talking with you all :)

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Permalink Reply by Rob McLean on April 27, 2011 at 2:35am

Those carrying the monkey of religion on their back like to blame atheists for just about everything. Don't you just love the way the deluded twit in the video tries to redefine atheism as yet another belief system. Xians should know better, everytime any of them step in front of a camera, they pound another nail into the coffin of whatever it is they believe in. They're secretly on our side, but just don't know it.

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Permalink Reply by Akshay Bist on April 27, 2011 at 3:28am

Hi Chris, welcome to TA.

People could have all kinds of misconceptions.

Common ones are -

Atheists are immoral, promiscuous & generally bad.
Atheists are unhappy with something in their lives & are acting out, blaming god
Atheists are not patriotic.
Atheism is a or like a religion.

And for the uncommon ones, well with the kind of crazy theists who come around here on TA, who knows what kinds of lies they have cooked up about us atheists in their heads.

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Permalink Reply by Walter Maki on April 27, 2011 at 10:01am

For that last part they would probably say we are arrogant and act like know it alls.

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Permalink Reply by Akshay Bist on April 27, 2011 at 12:52pm

Ironic, since it is they who claim to know it all

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on April 27, 2011 at 5:22am

Welcome to TA!

There are a number of common misconceptions, some of which have already been listed.

The ones I run into most often are:

Atheists really believe in God, they just claim not to so that they can sin and not feel like they will be held accountable.

Atheists have no morals because morals only come from God/Allah/etc.

Atheists claim that they are 100% certain that there is no god.

Atheists are angry at God.

Atheists worship Satan.

Atheists worship science.

Atheists are miserable and cannot be happy. (Usually because of a 'Jesus-shaped hole' in their hearts)

Atheists are nihilists.

Atheists do not believe in anything.

Atheism is a religion.

Atheists turned away from God because of some tragedy or hurt in our past.

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Permalink Reply by Walter Maki on April 27, 2011 at 10:05am

I wouldn't say I worship science, but it does have some pretty good arguments to get me thinking.

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Permalink Reply by Apple on April 27, 2011 at 10:12am

More than being attacks on us, these arguments are made by theists to convince themselves. They are desperate to avoid the truth that many atheists have come to their position through an open-minded critical evaluation of scientific and historical evidence.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 27, 2011 at 10:21am

Exactly! Another indicator of this is their almost obsessive aversion to critical evaluation and academic sources.

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Permalink Reply by Walter Maki on April 27, 2011 at 11:19am

Also their view of knowledge doesn't help.

1 Cor 1:18-31 (Phi) The preaching of the cross is, I know, nonsense to those who are involved in this dying world, but to us who are being saved from that death it is nothing less than the power of God. It is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent will I reject." For consider, what have the philosopher, the writer, and the critic of this world to show for all their wisdom? Has not God made the wisdom of this world look foolish? For it was after the world in its wisdom had failed to know God, that he in his wisdom chose to save all who would believe by the "simple- mindedness" of the gospel message. For the Jews ask for miraculous signs and the Greeks an intellectual panacea, but all we preach is Christ crucified--a stumbling-block to the Jews and sheer nonsense to the gentiles... for God's "foolishness" is wiser than men.... But God has chose what the world calls foolish to shame the wise... that no man may boast in the presence of God.... And this makes us see the truth of the scripture: "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 27, 2011 at 11:31am

Very helpful, Walter. So they are basically saying, "You city folk with all yer smarts and fancy schoolin' don't even know nothin' 'bout the glory o' Jesus!"

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Permalink Reply by John Garbutt on April 27, 2011 at 12:24pm

Here's a fairly decent online article that talks about some of the misconceptions about atheism:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/12346

And another similar list:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/keith_parsons/misconceptions...

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 27, 2011 at 12:50pm

I think the biggest misconception that theists hold about Atheists is that they are 'wrong'. Most Atheists have just based their beliefs on the evidence before them, and haven't actually asserted a claim regarding our ultimate origins, so there really can't be an assertion of Atheists being 'wrong'.