A Muslim, a Jew, a Christian and an Atheist walk into a coffee bar...

[Soph0571]

Hehe. Indeed

[DFW]

1. I have good friends in all four categories

The only unrealistic part is that few of the people I know would stick to coffee........

[Soph0571]

2. SAME!

hehehe

[Cary]

3. There are fundamentalists of all persuasions except maybe the atheist

I submit that fundamentalism, the belief that some Bronze Age story is literally true (by ones own definition) is pathological and toxic.

Religion is personal. It cannot be proven or disproven and it is not something to impose on others.

[Hortensis]

9. Oh, passionate atheism amounts to a secular religion to some, a

arising from the same psychology as religion, and some are every bit as extremist and potentially dangerous in their fervor as any religious zealot. Someone here used to insist sincerely that government should ban all religions, a rigid, one-sentence (anti)religious doctrine that that person felt was beyond question.

Nice joke. My kind of people.

[Cary]

11. Perhaps

But there is no slavish adherence to the literal meaning of a Bronze Age text that cannot possibly be literally true.

[Hortensis]

13. :) Details. Many people choose to give unreasoned and

unproven beliefs the strength of passionate faith, putting themselves beyond the reach of rational argument. We see some of that right here, where political beliefs are developed or incorporated into belief systems that are not and cannot be literally true. No surprise that these secular alternatives to dualist, deity-based types show up on political forums.

[Cary]

15. Alas, the devil is in the details!

Ha!

Is there an atheist counterpart to Joel Osteen, Jim Bakker, Billy Graham et al.?

[Hortensis]

22. Trump? Sanders? Any others who draw SOME people

prone to passionate, faith-based, facts-irrelevant-and/or-disputed support? What we're talking about isn't transient and whimsical, though; it has to be part of what become enduring beliefs in that person so they live on as people and situations change.

Whenever I run into the kind of Sanders supporter who passionately believes he would have been president if Hillary/dozens of state Democratic parties hadn't stolen the nomination, I wonder if that person will ever be able to recognize truth or, seemingly more likely, simply replace him over time with others who push that same belief button. Unlike most Christians who were born into Christian families, most of these seemingly come relatively on their own to people and groups who promote those kind of suspicious, conspiracy-prone interpretations.

Btw, wouldn't the differences between strong conspiracist thinking, as in about the Illuminati, and ascribing supernatural/religious causes to events be mostly in the details?

[Cary]

24. Read Karen Stenner's "The Authoritarian Dynamic"

About 30% of the population cannot handle complexity and their authoritarian tendencies are triggered by a demagogue like Orange Hitler. They are beyond redemption. The only way to overcome this plague is to rise up in full force against it and crush it.

This is why I advocate for simplicity and a sharp focus. We have to put aside our petty bickering.

Authoritarians exist on the left but they are far more prevalent amongst "conservatives."

[Hortensis]

29. I've read Stenner articles and other books on authoritarianism.

Yes, agree we have to solidly outvote them. And somehow calm an anxious nation.

After all, that 30% you mention may drop to roughly 20% in secure times, but it rises in anxious times like these to 30%, 40%, 50% and more. Scary times even draw some who normally vote Democrat to a RW authoritiarian, and of course some to the LW candidate with that "only I can fix it" authoritarian note.

Biden's talking both reassuringly of restoring normalcy and inspirationally of our true American values to the nation, and I wish all our Democratic candidates would do more of it. Simplicity, sharp focus, as you say, on what we always have been and should be. Without confidence-destroying strife, which, of course, is why anti-Democratic media portray everything we do and say as strife and failure. Authoritarians aren't the only ones who like winners, either.

[Caliman73]

30. Perhaps

Christopher Hitchens was pretty extreme. Sam Harris also. The underlying premise of Atheism, the doubt as to whether a god exists, doesn't lend itself as well to extremism is does the belief that there is one true God whose tenets must be adhered to. There are however, many types of atheists from those who just doubt and want proof, to those who rail against religion and call adherents "idiots" and other pejorative terms.

[Merlot]

32. True, but atheist bashing is always in style

Along with the ascertain that atheists are just as dogmatic as religious extremists. Always, on any topic that even peripherally mentions atheists, someone will pipe up with the "extremist atheist" trope.

Count on it.

[murielm99]

12. Atheists and vegetarians!

The two worst types of proselytizers on the planet.

[Cary]

16. The worst proselytizer is the one facing you at any given moment

The subtle, insidious ones are the worst.

[Hortensis]

18. Lol. Perfect examples.

And the veggies' more extreme sect, vegans, seemingly have almost taken over that foodie religion. How many restaurateurs are still trying to hold ground on a vegetarian menu that vegans crusade against?

[UniteFightBack]

23. Yeah well then you must not get out much. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. And bicyclists.

[murielm99]

27. LOL!

[FakeNoose]

34. Some people ride bicycles because they have to

For example, the ones who lost their drivers license for too many DUIs.

Just sayin'

[geardaddy]

38. So fitting for MPLS.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

45. Don't get me started on the Jeff the Cyclist types

who ride their bikes on Minnehaha Parkway amongst the cars, creating a traffic hazard, instead of on the very nice bike path the city constructed just for them. And it's always the guys in the head-to-toe Spandex suits and the $2,000 bicycle.

[IronLionZion]

44. LOL! I know the type. Also know some cyclists who are all about fatty food

but not carbs.

[Codeine]

55. Best. Cartoon. EVAH!! nt

[Merlot]

33. Possibly atheists and vegetarians find all other religious people to be

the worst type of proselytizers.

Except that for the most part, they don't care.

[flyingfysh]

39. There is an excellent scholarly series on fundamentalisms

On Amazon, look for The Fundamentalism Project. This is a scholarly series by scholars (Marty and Appleby) at the University of Chicago. It deals with all kinds of fundamentalisms and what they have in common.

[hunter]

58. I've run into too many atheists who quit believing the Bronze Age myths...

... but keep all the other baggage that made the religions they left suck.

Ex-fundamentalist Christian atheists especially can be just as annoying as Fundamentalist Christians.

In and of itself atheism is not a higher state of being or awareness.

[jcgoldie]

4. wait

How do we know he's an atheist, is it because he has a cell phone?

[whopis01]

5. Clearly the one with the cell phone is the Muslim

That was a joke. I don’t know which was the Muslim or the atheist. And I don’t think you are supposed to be able to tell.

They aren’t necessarily lined up in order of the text. The one wearing a cross is second from the left, but Christian is listed third in the text.

Perhaps they are lines up in order of the text from right to left. Who knows? More importantly who cares?

[jcgoldie]

6. was just clowning

But thanks for the thorough analysis

[JI7]

14. the one next to the Christian is the Muslim. look at the clothing and hat

the phone guy is Jewish and the black guy is atheist.

[TheBlackAdder]

25. It seems to be Atheist, Christian, Muslim & Jew, in that order.

[BlueJac]

7. K&R

[doctorzuma]

8. All this sounds real good until the dogma of each religion creates tension and conflict.

All this sounds real great until the dogma of each religion creates tensions and conflicts. As an atheist who thinks religion is anti-women, anti-LGBT, and anti-earth (breed like rabbits and don't use birth control) the imposition of these attitudes and beliefs is where the problem begins. But it is a cute little fantasy, I guess?

[Hortensis]

19. It's the personalities of the people. Nice people either

gravitate to nicer religions or they live the one they happen to belong to more nicely. And same for people naturally more intolerant and aggressive toward differences.

[JI7]

21. people practice religion in different ways and often it's more cultural

[marble falls]

10. And they got the one with the cell phone to report the "suspicious' black guy to the PD..

[SlogginThroughIt]

17. Seems like many in this thread completely missed the point

good job

[defacto7]

51. Isn't that the fact...

What does that make the defenders in this thread? Well, argument makes it interesting but some seem to have become the fifth person in the joke, the one not in the picture.

[Gothmog]

20. This is so very true

[brooklynite]

28. ...but no Momons.

Coffee is still a no-go for Mormons even if you call it caffe or mochaccino

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a warning to members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by “competent” doctors.

...snip...

The rules prohibit alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and coffee and tea. They are based on what church members believe was a revelation from God to founder Joseph Smith in 1833. The faith’s rejection of coffee has long generated curiosity and more than a few jokes, including a scene in the biting satirical Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon,” in which dancing cups of coffee appear in a missionary’s nightmare.

...snip...

The new instructions about coffee make clear that there’s no gray area allowing coffee-infused drinks and allude to the wide variety that could tempt members of the faith widely known as the Mormon church.

“The word coffee isn’t always in the name of coffee drinks. So, before you try what you think is just some new milkshake flavor, here are a couple of rules of thumb: One, if you’re in a coffee shop (or any other shop that’s well-known for its coffee), the drink you’re ordering probably has coffee in it, so either never buy drinks at coffee shops or always ask if there’s coffee in it,” the article said. “Two, drinks with names that include cafe or caffe, mocha, latte, espresso, or anything ending in -ccino usually have coffee in them and are against the Word of Wisdom.”

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-08-18/java-is-still-a-no-go-for-mormons-even-if-you-call-it-caffe-or-mochaccino

[IronLionZion]

43. I've had a Mormon woman take me to coffee shop on a date after a museum

she drinks the non-caffeinated drinks, of which there are many choices.

Same with bars where they have non-alcoholic mixed drinks these days since sobriety and happy hour culture are popular in some cities.

[FreeState]

47. I would say they aren't one of the groups in the cartoon

The LDS Church is not monotheistic.

[Ohioboy]

31. Yes!

[CTyankee]

35. 'Scuse me. I don't see a woman in that mix...silly me...

[IronLionZion]

41. How do you know? They didn't specify anyone's gender.

[CTyankee]

42. None of them look female to me...

[Wednesdays]

49. No true Scotsman would ever create such a post.

[geardaddy]

37. I saw that on Facebook

It's fantastic!

[IronLionZion]

40. It's a normal part of life for many liberals and urban folks

There's lots of diversity so you get to know all sorts of people.

Conservatives and rural folks are often a bit more isolated. Not all, but definitely the type who voted for Trump.

I know there are liberal rural people and conservative urban people but there are less of them.

[bucolic_frolic]

46. It might be interesting

if such an approach went viral, but to include not just on the basis of racial diversity, but religious and political too.

Because for me at least, my diversity contacts are limited, not by choice, but by locale. I don't know anyone of an 18th century Protestant German sect for example, or any MAGAts either.

Agree to disagree with healthy and civil interactions.

[PJMcK]

48. Another great one, Soph!

Keep 'em coming!

[warmfeet]

50. Atheist here.

I love it!!!!!!!

[Mars and Minerva]

52. Is this the one where they stick the Buddhist with the check?.....nt

[Tobin S.]

53. Yes, the Buddhist doesn't mind.

[Mars and Minerva]

59. In fact, he mindfully doesn't mind. nt

[IdealsAndReal42]

54. Unfortunately, impossible nowadays in many countries.

[doubleplusgood]

56. another way to look at it

If the Jews and the Muslims would just think like Atheists, then they could treat each other like Christians.

[maxsolomon]

57. As long as they don't talk about religion.