Do All Atheists Have Personality Defects?

[SamG]

We all know atheists are perfect, right? *snicker* Let's take on some of these common theist misconceptions about atheists!

tentomdrummer's responses (Comment but please DO NOT troll!):

[deucemagnet]

1. Poor tentomdrummer is quite the naive little fish in a barrel, isn't he?

Like the first guy said, he seems sincere and nice enough but his Dunkin' Donuts explanation of faith and invoking Pascal's Wager are pure amateur hour.

[saras]

2. Yes, and killing the messenger doesn't change it any, just like the colorblind are "defective"

A rare few of them can talk sensibly about "religious" experiences and how one might interpret them differently than mainstream (or any) religion, but the large majority give the impression of second-graders who haven't learned to add trying to discuss linearly homomorphic signatures over binary fields. The "personality defect" consists of the Dunning-Kruger effect, i.e. they don't get that other people have experiences that they don't, often have decades worth of these experiences and much education in others' experience of these realms, and these experiences change one in sometimes radical ways that need explanation and resolution.

But they'd rather, in general, focus on fundamentalists and literalists, because then they are basically quarreling with equals.

Personally, I just don't talk to people about fashion. I know that I don't get it. I just don't see, even with schooling and guidance, the things that people who CARE about fashion see. I am, for all practical purposes, blind to them. So I know that my insights are of trivial benefit, if that.

[JoeyT]

3. When someone tries to use what they think is their superior

fashion sense to legislate what pants you can wear, and demands you constantly bow before their obviously much grander outfits than yours, then your silly-ass comparison will have some merit.

Most of us understand religion better than religious people. Hell most of us were religious at one time. Not believing something there's no evidence for isn't closed minded, especially if you're willing to consider new evidence. Being willing to consider new evidence is far more than the vast majority of theists can say. Which is why atheism is the only religion that isn't determined mostly by what religion your parents were.

We focus on fundamentalists and literalists because they're the ones doing most of the damage to causes like gay rights, bodily autonomy for women, and anything that helps the poor. And because we don't trust the "liberal" Christians to do it because they often shy away from criticizing their more strident fellows, and when they DO bother to criticize the hardline Christians, it turns into a grand game of "YOU aren't a Real Christian!" "No, YOU aren't a Real Christian!" that does absolutely nothing useful for anyone. Not much focus on the target of the oppression, just a pissing contest to see who gets to use the label.

We do thank you for your ironic use of Dunning-Kruger, though. I say ironic because it doesn't mean what you think it means. Neither does personality defect.

[Lucy Goosey]

5. Uh, I think it was a rhetorical question?

All atheists defective? Really?

Most atheist I know don't really talk about religious experiences - we want you to be free to have your religious beliefs and experiences. I know that religious people have experiences that I don't have; I concede that point. I just don't want anyone's religion dictating what can be taught in science classes, or what I can and can't do with my own reproductive system.

[dmallind]

6. Funny - atheists score higher than believers on religious knowledge overall

Last edited Tue Apr 10, 2012, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

And a remarkable number of former ministers are atheists. Maybe they didn't have all those "experiences" when they were pastoring their flocks after all. Wait a minute, maybe......

[BiggJawn]

4. Coffee...

That is so lame. I don't call ahead and see if they have any coffee because in the 2,397 times I've stopped by there in the past, they have coffee. That's not faith, that's a reasonable expectation. It's Dunkin' Donuts, for FSM's sake! They SELL coffee!
And besides, even if they didn't have a fresh pot up? They'd make me one.

Can't say the same about GAWD.

[Iggo]

7. I know I do.

[dmallind]

8. More than I can shake a stick at

In fact shaking a stick at things is one of them.

None of my plethora of problems however are related to a desire to see, and an ability to evaluate, evidence for extraordinary claims.