Comment by Cara Coleen on December 1, 2012 at 3:02pm

It's a major straw-man, isn't it? I was having a debate with a Christian recently... then just threw my hands up when she basically told me that my intentions and intellectual honesty didn't matter. She was sure Nazis were being honest in their belief they were superior to all other races, but they still deserved Hell. Like... wow... so I'm as bad as a Nazi, even if I've never committed or endorsed genocide? Oh right. We're all sinners, and our actions aren't really what matter... only that we blindly believe in a murderous god. Cool.

Comment by RobertPiano on December 1, 2012 at 3:34pm

Christians are often historically challenged.

During WWII the catholic country called Slovakia had a Roman Catholic bishop as head of state. They struck a deal and sold their own Jewish citizens to Nazi Germany for slave labor. Of course, any Jews that could not work were immediately murdered.

The mostly atheist country of Denmark was the ONLY nation that actively sought to protect their Jewish citizens at great risk to their own safety.

Hitler was a catholic, and the Nazi's immediately made pacts with the complicit catholic church. Fascism (national socialism) originated in the two most catholic nations, Spain and Italy. Japan worshiped their King as a god.

When people attribute Nazism to atheism, I can only walk away.

Comment by Ronald Pyatt on December 1, 2012 at 7:18pm

The sad part is that so many of them start from this position and assume that atheists are the type that just don't care about anything. 

If xtians only put it together that they're actually celebrating the birth of murderous god we might see a little more sense. (I know some of them have put it together, but those nut-jobs are rejoicing in the murderer.)

Comment by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on December 1, 2012 at 7:45pm

I have a long list… but am to chilled out today to start a rant. So I will just say on of the things that annoys me most is the assumption that Atheists deny the existence of gods rather than just not believe that they exist. And no I am not angry with your god either.

As for the Nazi argument once again Hitchens. Please remember to remind Theists of his words.

Comment by Kris Feenstra on December 1, 2012 at 10:19pm

I accept the baggage that comes with the term for the most part, including the misconceptions and outright mischaracterizations. It's part of the price of using a label, but my overall experience is that it's not such a high price to pay for the convenience the term offers. I only find it exasperating when someone assumes I am an atheist out of pure naïveté or ignorance, as if I had simply never given existence or morality a second thought. 

It is much worse when that someone is actually quite earnest and well-intentioned. "Fuck off cretin" just isn't a fair reply in that scenario, but at the same time I've been giving my personal philosophy considerable thought for over two decades, and I don't relish feeling like a Tour de France cyclist being offered a children's bike with training wheels.

Comment by Ronald Pyatt on December 1, 2012 at 11:04pm

From strangers, it's easy to see how they how the uninformed can view an atheist as immoral since a stranger can brush it away as someone being an inhuman caricature. But friends and family that know you, shared good times, helped, grieved, and pretty much had bonds of steel, should know better. It's like their Christian brains check their coat at the reason rack and dine on idiot soup.

Comment by Sagacious Hawk on December 1, 2012 at 11:20pm

@ Cara

According to Godwin's Law... you won that argument.

Comment by jared manley on December 2, 2012 at 3:38am

@ cara. I've been there before. I wonder how many christians know that Hitler had been known to quote the bible to further his agenda.

 This whole immoral atheist bit is disturbing. People are still getting use to us though. Trying to wrap their heads around the concept of atheism. It was pointed out in a recent documentary that back when people went on literal witch hunts if someone may have suggested that there is no such thing as a witch that that person would probably be thought of as a witch and killed. Who else would suggest such a thing but a witch. 

A part of me wonders about the "us and them" component of labels. If we didn't identify ourselves as we do I think it would be less easy to ignore that we are all human. The word "sin" is an archery term that means "to miss the mark". In that sense humans often do. While I'm using that term lets throw out the word "repent" which is basically a sincere regret and an honest attempt to not repeat the behavior. People do this to various degrees. The word "sociopath" comes to mind but  atheist is not synonymous with sociopath.  

 A bit rambling but I think you all get my meaning. It's never been hard for humans to understand and acquire morals. Simply being religious doesn't make it easier to grasp or practice morality. In fact, I would argue that it often confuses things. Self righteousness tends to allow people to act immoral with out giving a particular behavior (like killing witches) a second thought.

Comment by Gallup's Mirror on December 2, 2012 at 4:08am

Correct them. A believer in nothing is a nihilist, not an atheist.

Nihilism aside, this quote is handy for dealing with Christian personal attacks. Print it on a business card. Pass it out. Remind your Christian attacker that, according to Jesus himself, he is risking eternal damnation in hell by getting angry, telling you to step off, or calling you a fool.

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says Raca* to a brother or sister is answerable to judgement. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. - Jesus of Nazareth, Mathew 5:22

*Raca is an Aramic word that essentially means "Screw you!"

Comment by Milos Cakovan on December 2, 2012 at 8:07am

I asked a theist to explain his reasoning for atheists believing in nothing. The reply was along these lines:

If you don't believe in god, then there is nothing left to believe in, since god made everything. So, if you don't believe in god, you believe in nothing."

To them, god is everything, and they can't imagine a world without the need for god. So, to them, not believing in god = believing in nothing.

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