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Question166

. What do you, as atheists, think is the worst thing theists say about atheists? How do your respond to this?

• That we have nothing to stop us from going around killing, maiming, pillaging and raping. (Chris Nelson #135)

• The lack of morals and the 'mad at god' thing.

  Depends on how polite the theist is. I have a tendency to respond in kind, unless I think their rudeness is inadvertant. (Stoney #9)

• Since everyone said the immoral thing, another one that I really hate is being told that atheists are bad parents, since we don't take our kids to church or teach them about gawd and bla bla bla.

  (shudder at the thought of torturing a kid by making them go to church) (Ernest Domenigo #1613)

• The worst thing is that they consider rational and scientific thought a lower form of thinking, which is equivalent to their claim that intuitive knowledge of the divine was somehow superior and more truthful. That's dangerous, and I don't know how to respond, because any of my responses would be based on "inferior" rational and scientific thought. (Matthias Weiss)

• I do not think they are able to say bad things about atheist They say a lot of WRONG things, but coming from those wo do not think for themselves, how can we take offence?

  I do get a little itchy though, when they start discriminating people without truly discriminating that is. One had the nerve to call all non-jewish and non-christian women Harlots As most none-Christian and non-jewish women may not even be Atheist, this is not exactly what the question is about, but I do take great offence against such slander.

  So actually I care more about what is said abot Muslims, Christians, Jews Homo-sexuals, women and so on, that what they actually say about Atheists. Surely the atheists are the least fulnerable persons in this Newsgroup anyway! (Peter van Velzen #1107)

• The usual crapola along the lines of "well, if you don't believe in "God", you can't be a good person, because there's nothing to stop you from raping, killing or robbing people, etc".

  > How do your respond to this?

  By asking them if they'd do the same if they stopped believing in their version of "God". (raven1 #1096)

• The worst things that theists say about atheists: 1) Atheists are immoral, unethical, etc.

  2) Atheists are trying to take away their right to believe in whatever they believe.

  Response to 1): Most atheists that I know, including myself, are good citizens who pay taxes, vote, obey the laws, don't kill, rape, steal, etc. Morality is derived from human reason and aspirations, not handed to us by gods.

  Response to 2): In the USA, atheists are less than 10% of the population, so it is very hard for us to take away any right of the 90%, even if we wished to do so. Also, it is not the atheists, but the believers who are trying to force their views on us, rather than the opposite, by school prayer, teaching creationism as science, public display of the 10c, Christmas nativity scenes, etc. (John Hachmann#1782)

• The worst thing that theists say is that we are without morals or that we want not to be restrained by laws or standards. This is an attitude promoted by their (xtians) dogma.

  I know many atheists, and all of them are very concerned with ethics and what is good, right and just. On the other hand the worst people I've ever met were all believers. This is not saying that all believers are amoral jerks or that being an atheist guarantees decency.

  It is a vulgar insult for a believer to make a judgement of this nature for no other reason than we don't blindly accept their religion. (Vic Farrow)