Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Just Mara on December 1, 2011 at 6:29am

I read that yesterday. What bothered me, was that we're on the same trust level as a rapist. Seriously?!

Permalink Reply by David Raphael on December 1, 2011 at 6:32am

Even worse:

 

"The only group the study's participants distrusted as much as atheists was rapists, said doctoral student Will Gervais, lead author of the study published online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology."

 

I think we need to destroy the myths and misconceptions. However, the problem is that believing in things without just cause is how how the religious think...

Permalink Reply by Susan Stanko on December 1, 2011 at 9:02am

I am far more worried about someone who's only reason for not raping someone is that they will be punished.  Really?  You have no conscience what so ever?

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on December 1, 2011 at 10:55pm

Susan, a child's fear of punishment might cause the development of conscience.

You perhaps never heard of a survey done (in Berkeley as I recall) during a dangerous period of the cold war between the US and the USSR, when fear of a surprise nuclear attack was high.

People were asked what they would do during the thirty minutes between the launch of nuclear missiles and the destruction of whole cities. A radio news report, describing only sound bytes and not the full results, told of a few men who said they would rape every woman they could.

Many people were surprised. The report said nothing of the survey's other findings so I don't know what other men or women said.

Permalink Reply by Mark Zima on December 1, 2011 at 10:28am

Why does this make me think of dirty cops?  Athiests are like that one clean cop who threatens the status quo by not accepting the easy money (religious dogma) resulting in abuses, threats, and so on.  Our honesty threatens all cultures because there is a growing population worldwide who regard their deepest beliefs are a deception and hinderance to progress. They should be scared, they are amoung the last generations who live their lives with blinders on. 

Permalink Reply by Ann N. on December 1, 2011 at 10:47am

Oh well . . . when everyone is an atheist, people will distrust the christians. Don't worry. Seriously. Any identity marker can have that effect to others with the same identity. "What? They are Trekkies? I'm a Trekkie. They must be OK." "What? You are biracial? I'm biracial. It's like we're cousins." These are the subconscious thought processes that go on.

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on December 1, 2011 at 11:04pm

1. I have long distrusted xians, even during my final years as one.

2. Imagine this thought, which might not be subconscious: "I'm a Trekkie/biracial/xian and you're a Trekkie/biracial/xian. Surely you won't cheat another like yourself."

Reagan's inviting the fundies into the Repub Party was a short-term political master stroke and a long-term disaster.

1. Fundies, who without thinking obey their leaders, made the Party almost a monolith.

2. A monolithic party drives moderates away and weakens the party.

Permalink Reply by Mark D. Zima on December 1, 2011 at 10:52am

I'm an atheist, and I know a lot of very moral atheists who are wonderful people.  But, on the other hand, I totally distrust atheists who are followers of Ayn Rand.  I regard her philosophy as being sociopathic in its extremes of selfishness and lack of empathy.  And if she, or her followers, ever becomes what people think of when they think of atheists, then I think there will be much reinforcement of the already existent distrust of us.

Permalink Reply by Maruli Marulaki on December 1, 2011 at 11:04am

It is a mental fallacy, when people mix up the lack of a belief with the declaration of proactively being guided by selfishness.   Selfishness is independent of the religious faith.  

Christians appear to be restricted in some way by religious rules.   But they are dangerous in another way.   They do not consider the evil done by them as so bad, because the believe, that their victims get an adequate compensation for their suffering in the afterlife.   They consider their own transgressions as a business between themselves and the god.    Once they have done enough repentence to believe to have earned the god's forgiveness, the victim is considered as god's business.  This is why I do not trust christians.  

Permalink Reply by Patricia Tarallo on December 1, 2011 at 4:51pm

How ironic, I as an atheist I would say to distrust any one who follows any religion, I have seen so much

hypocrisy from most people who are religious, I disagree, the mistrust is towards those who are fundamentalists in any organized religion or institution. The world is aleady full of prejudice, so now we just got added to that list of people being prejudiced agains us, one's behaviour isn't based on the fact of whether one believes in a "God" or not, and again I have seen more misbehaviour from those who are religious, and as far as cooperation or honesty, once again, that I have seen form political leaders globally who preach about a "God" and their religion and they are the ones who are most uncooperative and dishonest.

One example, the catholic church, priests molest and rape young boys and yet they walk away free, leaving many young boys world wide tramautized, behaviour problems as they grow up, and all sorts of other dysfunctions in their life.

I only discovered 4 years ago that I am a true atheist, I was raised as a Catholic, but I am proud to be an atheist, I will speak up for myself as an atheist and all atheist and I will voice my opinions loud for the world to hear.