FOX News:"Today's atheists are bullies - and they are doing their best to intimidate the rest of us"

[trotsky]

I say, if you're pissing off FOX News, you must be doing something right.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/20/todays-atheists-are-bullies-and-are-doing-their-best-to-intimidate-rest-us-into-silence.html

To cite a few recent examples: Last December, the group “American Atheists” launched its annual billboard campaign with the slogan: “Stay Away from Church—it’s All Fake News.” In February, the “American Humanist Association” became furious when President Trump had the gall to mention Christianity and Jesus Christ without also mentioning atheists—at the National Prayer Breakfast! (How dare he!) And just this month, the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” raised holy hell because the Reverend Billy Graham was laid out in state in the Capitol Rotunda before his burial.

They put up billboards! WHAT BULLIES!!

But while their arrogance is annoying, it’s nothing compared to their ignorance. Atheists believe that the vast majority of human beings from all periods of time and all places on the Earth have been wrong about the thing most important to them. They basically dismiss this vast majority as being either moronic or profoundly naïve. What they don’t seem to know – or won’t admit – is that the greatest contributions to civilization have been made, not by atheists, but by believers.

Hmm, argumentum ad populum. Favorite fallacy of FOX News and a couple of DUers!

You bet they are. The truth is, the atheist position is incapable of supporting any coherent system of morality other than ruthless social Darwinism. That’s why it has caused more deaths, murders and bloodshed than any other belief system in the history of the world.*

*Citation needed.

And it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Atheists don’t believe in God, so they don’t believe in any transcendent, objective moral law. Nor do they believe that human beings are made in the image of God, and so they don’t believe humans possess infinite value and dignity. When you put these two beliefs together, you have a deadly recipe that makes killing “problematic” human beings quite easy and defensible.

Neat, huh? I'm not exactly sure how such a tiny minority is able to bully people who control every aspect of the government, but hey, we all know logic has no place at FOX News.

[ExciteBike66]

1. So many dumbs here!

"What they don’t seem to know – or won’t admit – is that the greatest contributions to civilization have been made, not by atheists, but by believers."

Well, considering how for millenia following a certain religion was necessary to stay alive/have a career/be elected to an office, this is no surprise.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Yes! The way, for instance, the Catholic Church embraced Galilieo!

Oh? It didn't?

Never mind.

[Cartoonist]

2. The Truth is . . .

As an atheist, I seldom, if ever, claim to speak Truth with a capital T.

Religious people do.

[bitterross]

10. Thank you. I try to do the same.

I am an atheist and at times I find myself becoming a rabid one. So, I have to tone it down. I know I'm never going to change the mind of someone else with my comments. Especially if they are rude, derogatory and demeaning. All of which I've tried in the past and it doesn't work.

So now, I just tell it how I see it and let it go. I admit the one thing which really differentiates me from the zealous is I can admit I don't have all the answers. I admit I am comfortable with there not being a simple, pat answer to everything. The evolution of our sciences and knowledge makes me comfortable that there are answers out there without having to resort to supernatural explanations. We may not know them in my lifetime, but that's okay.

[Lithos]

3. You are arguing fact

This is purely another attempt by Faux News to shore up their base who tend to be emotional and reactive in their response and to inject a false narrative - ex. The US was founded to be capitalistic country, it was founded to be Christian, Atheists are bullies, Socialists want to steal from you.

L-

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Oh, poor precious snowflakes.

Maybe we should go back to feeding them to the lions. Let them know what "bullying" really means.

[Mariana]

8. Atheists never fed Christians to the lions.

Religious people did that.

[RoBear]

25. Right.

It's revealing to note that, as pointed out in passing by William Manchester in A World Lit Only by Fire, when Christians came to power they were "united in their determination to raze the temples of the pagans, confiscate their property, and subject them to the same official persecutions Christians had endured in the catacombs, including the feeding of martyrs to lions."

And they're still using the same tactics after centuries. So much for "Christian love"!

I've never seen such hatred in society at large in my 77 years...

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. Pretty interesting how these FOX talking points are so frequently repeated here.

Atheists are bullies... check.
Argumentum ad populum... check.
Objective morality.... check.
Life without intrinsic value... check.
Atheists prone to mass murder... check.
Atheists are arrogant... check.
Vicarious accomplishment... check.

All "arguments" we've seen right here.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

14. I was just going to post that some contributors here could have been on that show.

But they will probably never see that connection in their own minds.

[trotsky]

21. Isn't it though?

Perhaps the tactics will be recognized by others, too.

[DetlefK]

6. That exact same argument can be used to bash Christianity.

- Christians believe that all non-Christians "from all periods of time and all places on the Earth have been wrong about the thing most important to them."

- "What they don’t seem to know – or won’t admit – is that" the vast majority of murderers and psychopaths and criminals in general in Europe and the US are Christians.

- The truth is, the christian position is capable of supporting any incoherent system of morality as long as you pay lip-service to the morals.

- When you put these two beliefs together, you have a deadly recipe that makes killing “problematic” human beings (like witches, heretics, atheists, homosexuals) quite easy and defensible.




You know what's funny? The greatest contributions to civilization were made after 1700. When scientists decided to ignore the Bible.

[Nitram]

7. "Ruthless social Darwinism" is a conservative construct.

Invented by conservatives who don't understand science and are still clueless about the Theory of Evolution.

[appalachiablue]

9. Atheists, the problem, Not. Indeed oppose "ruthless social Darwinism"

So many uniformed don't realize what this dangerous ideology is and how it's very much at work here and elsewhere..

Learn about Herbert Spencer if you don't know, who coined "survival of the fittest," more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Spencer

[MineralMan]

11. Oooh! Atheists Are Teh Scary!

And there are so many of them, too!

[bitterross]

12. Snowflakes can't take it.

Poor little snowflakes need to find their safe space.

[BigmanPigman]

13. I have a sudden urge to change into my new I HATE FOX NEWS t-shirt

that a nice stranger gave to me after I admired hers at the Border Wall Protest last week.

[Mariana]

15. Stirring up fear and hatred of members of a minority population.

Last edited Tue Mar 20, 2018, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

And their Christian audience love it.

Will we see many religious leaders issuing press releases and getting in front of cameras to say Fox was wrong to publish this hate-fest? Not likely. For that matter, will any of the fine Christians in this group leap up to condemn this?

Edited for clarity.

[YessirAtsaFact]

16. Republican evangelicals are some of the worst bullies in America

Atheists?

Most atheists I know are not gun toting violent hillbillies.

Lots of “religious” repugnant goons are.

Once again the right is accusing others of using their tactics

[Iggo]

17. I think they have us confused with Libertarians.

[edhopper]

18. Well yes

"What they don’t seem to know – or won’t admit – is that the greatest contributions to civilization have been made, not by atheists, but by believers."

But the contributions of China, India, Ancient Greece and Egypt were by believers in different gods than the ones you believe in.

They didn't believe in the God of the Bible.

And many of those who do believe in him, namely the Muslims and Jews, don't have the same beliefs about him as you do.

So take your condescending Christian superiority and suck on it.

[Iggo]

19. Yes.....Because there's more of them.

[Voltaire2]

20. Sounds very familiar.

[NeoGreen]

22. Sooo...

...is the "Atheist Bully" meme now officially a "Right Wing Talking Point"?

[trotsky]

23. I do believe it's worth noting it as such.

Because that's exactly what it is.

[Lordquinton]

24. Check and check

I think this is a good one to remind people of when it inevitably comes up yet again here.

[trotsky]

32. One would hope that if someone read a FOX News opinion piece...

and nodded vigorously with its many points, that it might just give an intelligent liberal a moment to pause and reflect.

That is, if they're intelligent.... and liberal.

[Cartoonist]

27. From the article

Bullies
Intimidate
Furious
Raised holy hell
Arrogant
Ignorant
Dangerous
Pompous prigs
Loud, nasty, unapologetic and in-your-face (4 in a row) high score
Madness
Pseudo-intellectual hatemongers

[Mariana]

33. I suspect the author's book will be very popular among Christians.

He knows what his readers like.

[Corvo Bianco]

26. Religious brain:

Where saying "I don't believe in God because I prefer facts" is bullying, and saying "I believe in God and you're going straight to hell for disagreeing with me" is... not bullying.

[Girard442]

28. The late, great Douglas Adams would have said of DeStefano's Foxian verbiage:

...when his own large intestine - in a desperate attempt to save life itself - leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain.

He was talking about a recital of the second worst poetry in the galaxy, but the sentiment works here too.

[flibbitygiblets]

29. You know who's LEGENDARY at controlling bullies? Melania Trump.

Sic 'em, Mel!

[Ferrets are Cool]

30. How I wish it was true. nt

[Pope George Ringo II]

34. And now those mean and nasty atheists are even publicly wishing that Bergoglio would die.

Oh, wait. My bad. That's catholic priests wishing their boss would die.