Why is atheist a bad word? How do we flip this word because I don't think I can (honestly) call myself anything else!
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Permalink Reply by booklover on November 6, 2012 at 1:35pm Good for you Sentient Biped! I love your answer!
Permalink Reply by sk8eycat on November 6, 2012 at 12:04pm After reading the posts in here, and thinking, I must ask, Whatever gave you the idea that "atheist" is a "bad word"? It never was.... except to the ignorant.
"Shit" is a semi-bad word...and the eff-word; if you ever read the Crank Mail in Freethought Today, you'll see that xians use those words, and worse, when attempting to communicate with an organization that is devoted to defending the First Ammendment.
Makes ya wonder, doesn't it?
Permalink Reply by booklover on November 6, 2012 at 1:37pm I was just reading the crank mail in FFRF's paper last night and laughing. Most of the haters can't even spell!
Permalink Reply by sk8eycat on November 6, 2012 at 5:45pm The October Crank Mail wasn't as vicious as earlier issues, but what frightens me...sends chills down my spine...is that FT doesn't publish the worst letters and emails. The threats. They turn them over to the FBI
And these "writers" don't seem to realize (or care) that their full names and towns are traceable through their e-mails.
If they can't spell, they can't really read, and if they can't comprehend their own language, they can't think.
And they vote.
sk8eycat in the Freethought Today magazine there are many letters and emails they receive that are death threats and laced with all sorts of profanities.
It is scary - very scary.
Permalink Reply by Amanda Schneider on November 6, 2012 at 7:54pm I guess I never thought it really was a bad word. Except maybe ages ago when I was nominally religious. I started the discussion because I wanted to hear why other people choose to use that word and encourage myself to use it in order to take the "bad-ness" out of it. By now, it has, and I love the word.
Permalink Reply by Madhukar Kulkarni on November 6, 2012 at 2:57pm I do not wish to argue whether the word 'Atheist' is a bad word or not. I am an atheist in the accepted sense of the word and have very positive feelings about it. The word "Materialists" has been used since ancient times to describe those who do not believe in the supernatural but believe only in the material world and the natural phenomenon. The ancient Indian atheist Charvaka and his followers were described as materialists. The word Atheist must be an equivalent word of relatively recent origin. The term "Scientific materialist" is reeally fine but it would still be good to continue to use the word "Materialist" for the sake of simplicity. It is well accepted that every materialist in today's world strongly believes in science.
Permalink Reply by Tim on November 6, 2012 at 3:19pm I'm enjoying reading the comments on this discussion. It's very thought provoking.
Permalink Reply by JP Carey on November 6, 2012 at 10:59pm It strikes me as VERY ODD to even have to explain our atheist position -it's dumb.
It's like saying...
NO, I don't believe there is a 2nd invisible sun in the sky.
And NO, I don't want to buy your 2nd invisible sun sun-screen so that I may avoid the horrible death by invisible skin cancer.
-but when you're the minority (sane), and a direct threat to their cherished world view = instant bad guy.
You might make to much sense to them.
Permalink Reply by Tyler Holmstrom on November 7, 2012 at 7:02am It's a bad word because we have this ignorant notion that all morals come from the Abrahamic God.. or a specific religion which in the past has been a great way to dehumanize people but nowadays it's archaic. People don't need a God or any belief in the supernatural to be inherently good. It boggles my mind and frightens me when I speak to people who think without their God people would be raping and pillaging in the streets. This should make us worry more about them than the other way around. We also get compared to atheistic dictators of the 20th century like they killed people solely because they don't believe in a higher power.
Mainly though I think our existence makes them consistently question their own beliefs which they detest most of all. What point of life is there without immortality? /sigh
Posted by Debra Stevenson on May 21, 2013 at 2:37pm 0 Comments 1 Like
There is a video of the Pope's 'exorcism' caught on film. The man isn't demon possessed, there are likely no 'real' demons. He's just delusional and doesn't want to accept personal responsiblity for his own behavior for his own dysfunctional life.
Brandi Amari Williams
Posted by Debra Stevenson on May 21, 2013 at 2:28pm 2 Comments 2 Likes
There is an ad that reads ' Do you support 'traditional' marriage? Vote Now"! .
No, I don't support 'traditional' marriage because there is no such thing. I support heterosexual and same-sex couples marry each other legally , yes. 'Traditional' marriage promoters largely do not believe that heterosexual women are co-equal to their husbands. Their only purpose in 'traditional' marriage is to sexually satisfy their husbands if they can and raise children and do all…
ContinuePosted by matthew greenberg on May 21, 2013 at 12:18pm 6 Comments 1 Like
i've got no problem with everyone saying "merry christmas" on christmas day. however, they've turned it into an entire holiday season where it lasts a month or more. in those situations it should be perfectly acceptable to say "happy holidays" or call it a…
ContinuePosted by Two Cult Survivor on May 21, 2013 at 11:30am 0 Comments 0 Likes
I posted the bulk of this on another thread, but wanted to add some context separately.
I finally confronted my faith and embraced the fact of my atheism late last August, 2012. Days after I revealed my "epiphany" to a few friends who knew me from another message board, my sister died from Lou Gehrig's Disease (which pissed her off because she hated catching a disease from someone she never f---ed).
THAT was my sister, understand? She was a beautiful, life-loving, potty-mouthed…
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