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Discrimination Against Atheists


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:club: Anyone can get reprieve if they can prove housing discrimination or other illegal discrimination. People not liking you and telling you that you're going to hell is not illegal. Sorry. Move. There are a ton of places they would feel more "welcome." I'm sorry they have to move, but sheesh. I feel like Pat Robertson would have a bit tougher time living in San Francisco than in South Carolina or wherever he holes up.
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I love the oh-so balanced panel discussion in part 2...."what more do they want!?""what does an atheist believe? nothing""the real discrimination is atheists against Christians""they need to shut up!"I find it incredible that atheists are the most hated and least trusted minority group in America, and also that an educated populace is so religious

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Quoting myself from an above thread"Please don't yell at us frustrated atheists. Put yourselves in our shoes when we have to see the continuous spread of this religion. To me, it's a detriment to the growth of humanity and, especially, our society. You might tell me some line about how churches donate such and such money more then anyone else... and I still wouldn't care. Religion is psychological crutch and explainably (new word, I think ;-) ) shady at best. Plus the Christians vs. Muslims war is really getting on my (and a lot of atheists') nerves. Not only that, but Christianity continues to grow in popularity, mainly due to the continuous folktales passed down from generation to generation. Then with the invention of the internet, the fad is spreading more quickly. God is used as a mystical stress-ball when times get too personally tough, always part of some mystical plan when things are globally tough, and seems to somehow be the reason for everything good in life.So don't get mad at atheists, you would feel the same way in our shoes. And no, we're not all typically bitter people. Most of us, actually, are very friendly and emotionally in control due to our firm grip on reality and ability to handle the rough swings in life. Most of us are quite grounded, too :-)But even the best humans (teasing) are able to be logically upset. We've had to deal with ignorance of large numbers of people for the longer parts of even our most personal lives.... trying having to explain why "spirituality" is a gibberish word and how people can enjoy their lives without a god alllll the time (especially in Indiana). Try having to be denied long-term personal relationships or having to deal with family in-law pressure because of the fact that I don't believe a "higher-power" exists. My gay best friend compares my situations to those of his losing boyfriends to ignorant family "religious/right-wing/conservative" pressure. So, seriously, if you can just put yourselves in our shoes......................I don't care what anyone believes. If they want to believe that the santa really puts gifts under the tree, then fine. But the day it starts to intrude on my personal life, you can expect how a person would react. At least this government allows you people to have your churches, your AA, your tax-relief, etc... I bet it's pretty nice to live in a country where you're allowed to be as Christian as you want everyday of the year. I guess if I was one, I really wouldn't have anything to complain about either... agh, sorry, that wasn't necessaryJust ... please... try to be a tad more understanding to our frustrations.And yes, Daniel, we can go to any other forums... we know, but we like your forums and even the debate on your religious threads.But Christians, really... quit being surprised, upset, hurt, angered, etc. when an upset atheist makes some emotional post on your threads. If you didn't want the atheists to say such things, the rules of your Christian threads should say "No Atheists Allowed". Most of these people do have reasons why they are upset and their posts have quite a bit of meaning behind them.:-) and have a nice day as always

"Regarding discrimination against atheists... call it what you want. Watch the last 25 seconds of the video I posted and I'll think you'll really understand a very basic view from an atheist standpoint. On top of that, put yourself in the shoes of someone who didn't believe in god. Then live that way for just a few years... on top of that, you have to be completely genuine about yourself to everyone who inquires (and yes, people do inquire). I don't know discrimination... at least I don't think I do... but just see how you feel when your best friends, your lovers, people in your family, etc. look at you as if you're an oddity... or look at you as if "oh, he's just going through a phase".... or treat you like your satan's right-hand man trying to bring down the world (AND WE DON'T EVEN BELIEVE IN SATAN... AGHHH)There are so many Christians who act like they are the unsupported minority who have to fight through the intolerance of America. Try again... most everyone thinks there is god... most don't know why... most say they were just raised that way or taught that god existed.... sure, they aren't as fired up as evangelicals are about their spiritual views... but most people are on the theist's side.I love this poker forum, though :club: full of responsible and respected people of society who just bathe themselves in all kinds of sin :D
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Isn't there a difference between institutional discrimination (whether dejour or defacto) and just intolerance/bigotry? Every group (Christians and Athiests included) will have their detractors, but I really want to know what Athiests are being held back from legally that they can't get through the courts if it's illegal discrimination. Not saying any other groups are either, just wondering about Athiests here. Do athiest kids get kicked out of school for praying out loud? Are athiest teachers allowed to have "there is no god" on their desks or a picture on the wall? Just wondering, I have no clue really. Is there an athiest symbol?

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As an atheist, I've never felt discriminated against. It irks me when I see illogical people spewing garbage about Gods or UFOs or big foot or.... But having illogical people spew garbage from their mouths is not discriminations.No, there is not an "atheist" symbol. At least not n the way the cross served as the idoltry of the Christians.We have the Darwin fish, but that isn't idoltry as much as a jab at Christians. Besides, I really don't like it as Christians already like to say that we make man into God, so any appearence that we are worshiping Darwin makes me uncomfortable.An organization called American Atheists has a icon that they'd like us all to adopt as the symbol of atheism. It looks like an atom with 3 electrons (Lithium?), with the orbit of one electron chopped off to be an A... It is at the top left of their website.....http://www.atheists.org/Engh... That one leaves me cold.This is the biggest "problem" with atheists. They're freethinkers, rejecting all myth, folklore, superstition, group think, etc. We're highly, highly uncontrolable, non-conformists. We're not going to suddenly start worshiping an idol simply because one group claiming to represent us tells us we should.

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As an atheist..
I have a question. You are 100% sure beyond a reasonable doubt that there is no such thing as a God. Isn't that just as close minded as those christians who believe with 100% certainty that god Does exist?
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I think it odd that athiests are organized at all. I would be less surprised if it was an organization named "PAOR" or "PFTSCS" (people against organized religion or people for the total separation of church and state).

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I have a question. You are 100% sure beyond a reasonable doubt that there is no such thing as a God.
Ahhh..... watch your case. If you are referring to a specific god, such as God of the Bible or God of Islam then it is a personal name, and therefore capitalized.If you are talking about any possible god, such as "a god" then it is a non personal noun, and therefore, not capitalized.I am an atheist to each of the (big G) Gods. I'm agnostic to the possibility of a (little g) god.Why? Because building a religion around a God requires assigning attributes to the God. Attributes that the founders of the religion could not possibly know... or at a minimum, I can't reliably test their knowledge of said God. For example, the God of the Old Testiment. The first page of the Bible says that the earth is a flat disk floating in a great ocean, that it is covered with a skydome and that there is water above the dome. Later, the Bible describes rain as the windows in the dome being opened to let the water above the sky dome fall to earth. It also describes God as a physical being that lives on top of the sky dome. The God is petty and jelous and vengeful, etc. I reject the existance of this God.The New Testiment God is all loving and good, but retains many of the attributes of the OT God. He is a physical being that lives above our heads, while we live on a flat disk covered with a dome. He sits at the right hand of himself, having sacrificed himself to himself to allow himself to forgive us for making us the way he did. Bah. I reject this God as well.I reject all big G Gods.While remaining open to the possibility of a god, I think it impossible for us to know if a god exists, or what its attribues would be, or if we could possibly relate its attributes to our knowledge foundation.Make sense?
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I think it odd that athiests are organized at all. I would be less surprised if it was an organization named "PAOR" or "PFTSCS" (people against organized religion or people for the total separation of church and state).
American Atheists (no, I'm not a member) is a political organization, not a religious one. It is much more of a "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" type organization than Holy Roman Church type organization.It is an organization who's goal is to prevent the religious from forcing their beliefs onto the non-believing.
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a·the·ist –noun; a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings. So you're not an atheist at all then.

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a·the·ist –noun; a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings. So you're not an atheist at all then.
In my experience, most atheists are either really agnostics to just have an axe to grind with organized religion.The funny thing about being an agnostic is that it's really just a place holder. You really have only three options: 1) become an atheist if God proven to you to not exist, 2) become a theist if God is proven to you to exist, or 3) stick your head in the sand and avoid progress.
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In my experience, most atheists are either really agnostics to just have an axe to grind with organized religion.The funny thing about being an agnostic is that it's really just a place holder. You really have only three options: 1) become an atheist if God proven to you to not exist, 2) become a theist if God is proven to you to exist, or 3) stick your head in the sand and avoid progress.
Wrong. Aren't 3 options better than 1? Also, option 3 isn't not that, it is continue to seek knowledge and try to come up with explainations that will lead to either 1 or 2. What do you Christians do if one day number 1 is proven?For agnostics any option is still available. To me that's not funny, that's smart, open-minded, and logical.
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Wrong. Aren't 3 options better than 1? Also, option 3 isn't not that, it is continue to seek knowledge and try to come up with explainations that will lead to either 1 or 2. What do you Christians do if one day number 1 is proven?For agnostics any option is still available. To me that's not funny, that's smart, open-minded, and logical.
1 or 2 will be proven to you in a very short while. When you die you with either meet your maker or you won't and you'll have your answer. What will the non-believers do when face-to-face with God?All along I've maintained that there is enough evidence for one to logically conclude that either 1 or 2 is true. I believe that if the agnostic follows the evidence that's precisely where they will end up. If not, they are choosing option 3.
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1 or 2 will be proven to you in a very short while. When you die you with either meet your maker or you won't and you'll have your answer. What will the non-believers do when face-to-face with God?All along I've maintained that there is enough evidence for one to logically conclude that either 1 or 2 is true. I believe that if the agnostic follows the evidence that's precisely where they will end up. If not, they are choosing option 3.
How can their be enough logical evidence to conclude two contradicting conslusions, they would cancel each other out. Use your head dude.
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1 or 2 will be proven to you in a very short while. When you die you with either meet your maker or you won't and you'll have your answer. What will the non-believers do when face-to-face with God?All along I've maintained that there is enough evidence for one to logically conclude that either 1 or 2 is true. I believe that if the agnostic follows the evidence that's precisely where they will end up. If not, they are choosing option 3.
How can their be enough logical evidence to conclude two contradicting conslusions, they would cancel each other out. Use your head dude.
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1 or 2 will be proven to you in a very short while. When you die you with either meet your maker or you won't and you'll have your answer. What will the non-believers do when face-to-face with God?All along I've maintained that there is enough evidence for one to logically conclude that either 1 or 2 is true. I believe that if the agnostic follows the evidence that's precisely where they will end up. If not, they are choosing option 3.
How can their be enough logical evidence to conclude two contradicting conslusions, they would cancel each other out. Use your head dude.
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I find it amusing when I say I'm agnostic to people. Many Christians look at that like "Oh, so he REALLY knows... he knows there has to be a God" ... lol, then I look them straight in the face and I tell them that I don't believe God exists... I get the "wtf?! wait a second, you just said you were agnostic" response. Which is when I inform them that I am agnostic because you can't disprove God just like you can't disprove any other fairy tale that people like to create. I say this very openly without any aggression, but it seems like the words themselves stop most Christians from continuing the discussion. And I don't want it to seem like I'm looking for people to start these discussions with. I got a scholarship to a Christian university for tuba so I went for the money matters. I, of course, made quite a few new friends... and in being with friends, you learn things about people.... being "agnostically atheist" (haha my new made-up phrase for the day) seems to be something that spreads fast in a Christian university. Then I get singled out by all of the gung-ho "I can't leave people alone" Christians... bah. Don't worry, though, it wasn't my bad experiences that set me off about the religion. Ever seen the movie Jesus Camp? It's a documentary without a position that follows evangelicals through on of their "camps". They showed two sides... the evangelical's side (which they showed a lot of) and a radio announcer who was doing a show with the position against the actions of the religious fundamentalists. That movie, though, scares the absolute living hell out of me... this is the way people's kids are being raised? The sad thing is, at least they will be so uneducated that they will most likely never achieve any serious positions of importance in this society. That is sad, though :club: These fundamentalists short change their kids so much in life because of their own religious beliefs. AGHHHAGHAGHGHAGHAGHAHGAHHHAAGAGAGH that kills meoh yeah, we're talking about discrimination against atheists. Of course, being an atheist in this country almost has... rebellious tendencies to it because it is against the norm of our society. Therefore, there will always be those active atheist. People see that and peg atheism as these terrible "force your ideas on others" types of people. Just as Muslims are look at as militants... etc etc. Judgments from people who typically are just seeing what they want to see. I, personally (and my own friends who I know don't think God exists), don't search out people to pick my bones with. I like these forums because I am free to voice my opinion and I get many more varieties of a response from different types of people across the world. Otherwise, my mouth is usually as shut as I can keep it. I will say, though, I wish the Christians didn't think that they needed to bug everyone about their beliefs.. call it "witnessing" ... call it being forceful and foreword with your opinions... call it caring... whatever it is, just please stop! And then don't look at us like we're the crazy active ones trying to rid this country of everything dear to it.

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But you dont' rule out the possibility of a 'god'.Also, you can prove many fantasitcal tales false beyond a reasonable doubt.I just started this through a clarifcation of semantics about people who claim to be athiests but are really, by definitino agnostic.

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How can their be enough logical evidence to conclude two contradicting conslusions, they would cancel each other out. Use your head dude.
How does a jury send an innocent person to jail? Not an indentical situation buy fairly analogous. There is one set of evidence upon which two different conclusions can rationally be based.
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No no no, but the jury, supposedly, has met the criteria of reasonable doubt, meaning it was impossible beyond reasonable doubt to believe that the person DIDN'T commit the crime, whether they did or not is irrelevant.lunch break. back..one hour.

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I find it amusing when I say I'm agnostic to people. Many Christians look at that like "Oh, so he REALLY knows... he knows there has to be a God" ... lol, then I look them straight in the face and I tell them that I don't believe God exists... I get the "wtf?! wait a second, you just said you were agnostic" response. Which is when I inform them that I am agnostic because you can't disprove God just like you can't disprove any other fairy tale that people like to create. I say this very openly without any aggression, but it seems like the words themselves stop most Christians from continuing the discussion. And I don't want it to seem like I'm looking for people to start these discussions with. I got a scholarship to a Christian university for tuba so I went for the money matters. I, of course, made quite a few new friends... and in being with friends, you learn things about people.... being "agnostically atheist" (haha my new made-up phrase for the day) seems to be something that spreads fast in a Christian university. Then I get singled out by all of the gung-ho "I can't leave people alone" Christians... bah. Don't worry, though, it wasn't my bad experiences that set me off about the religion. Ever seen the movie Jesus Camp? It's a documentary without a position that follows evangelicals through on of their "camps". They showed two sides... the evangelical's side (which they showed a lot of) and a radio announcer who was doing a show with the position against the actions of the religious fundamentalists. That movie, though, scares the absolute living hell out of me... this is the way people's kids are being raised? The sad thing is, at least they will be so uneducated that they will most likely never achieve any serious positions of importance in this society. That is sad, though :club: These fundamentalists short change their kids so much in life because of their own religious beliefs. AGHHHAGHAGHGHAGHAGHAHGAHHHAAGAGAGH that kills meoh yeah, we're talking about discrimination against atheists. Of course, being an atheist in this country almost has... rebellious tendencies to it because it is against the norm of our society. Therefore, there will always be those active atheist. People see that and peg atheism as these terrible "force your ideas on others" types of people. Just as Muslims are look at as militants... etc etc. Judgments from people who typically are just seeing what they want to see. I, personally (and my own friends who I know don't think God exists), don't search out people to pick my bones with. I like these forums because I am free to voice my opinion and I get many more varieties of a response from different types of people across the world. Otherwise, my mouth is usually as shut as I can keep it. I will say, though, I wish the Christians didn't think that they needed to bug everyone about their beliefs.. call it "witnessing" ... call it being forceful and foreword with your opinions... call it caring... whatever it is, just please stop! And then don't look at us like we're the crazy active ones trying to rid this country of everything dear to it.
No one is going to argue that every Christian is a perfect example of Christianity. We have our faults as much as anyone. But at the very least, most of the Christian who bug you about your beliefs are probably doing it because they care about you. I don't argue my position because I just want to be right, I want people to know and love Christ because I want their salvation even more than my own. I firmly believe that atheism is a completely defensible position equally as much as Christianity. I believe that is the way it was intended to be.
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No no no, but the jury, supposedly, has met the criteria of reasonable doubt, meaning it was impossible beyond reasonable doubt to believe that the person DIDN'T commit the crime, whether they did or not is irrelevant.lunch break. back..one hour.
I think I used a poorer example than I should have. A better example is that of a hung jury, especially one split right down the middle. There are two factions of people who have decided completely differently based on the same set of evidence. Presumably, after jury selection, we can conclude that these are all rational, intelligent people.
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