Posted on 07/12/2010 10:20:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I always bring up the topic of Christians being fed to the lions by the Romans, then ask the question: "Are we to hate Italians for that?"
The fermi paradox assumes without warrant that faster than light travel is possible.
LOL
Excellent!
By that logic, the Emperor of Japan doesn't exist, either. After, all, he's never dropped by my house or sent me a message.
Actually, a lot of atheists love discussing possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox, of which there are many.
2. Join Mensa.
No problem with that - a lot of intelligent people are also emotionally very needy and cannot do without the fake comfort provided by an empirically unfounded belief system.
3. Bait and Switch # 1. Atheists love to talk about the Spanish Inquisition.
Actually, a lot of atheists are also political conservatives, who despise totalitarianism.
4. Bait and Switch # 2. Despite their pretence to moral relativity, atheists will still grant that Adolf Hitler was epically evil. [...] After about a half-hour, suddenly strike a quizzical look and say, “Wait a minute,” removing the dust jacket, “How did that happen? This is my copy of Margaret Sanger’s The Pivot of Civilization! Say, wasn’t she the founder of Planned Parenthood?”
Actually, a lot of atheists are also political conservatives, who despise Planned Parenthood.
5. Learn to talk like William F. Buckley. A comfortable prejudice for American atheists is that religious believers all speak with a heavy Southern accent and use small words.
Ha-ha!
6. Have Lots of Children. Atheists love humanity as long as there is less of it.
Simply not true.
7. Host a Darwin Read-a-loud. Invite some atheist friends to read and discuss Darwin, and then read some purple passages from his Descent of Man where he waxes eloquently on the importance of eugenics, the biologically based moral and intellectual inferiority of “lesser races,” and the inevitable evolutionary extermination of the “negro” and the “Australian.”
It's not a problem for me to acknowledge that people 150 years ago adhered to different cultural mores.
8. Talk about the Impending Crash of the World Economy. Ideas have consequences, and some of the worst economic ideas were hatched by John Maynard Keynes. [...] Then mention ever-so-casually, “Wasn’t Keynes an atheist?”
Keynes was wrong - as many atheists likewise believe.
9. Stage a Nietzsche Practicum. Atheists love the nihilistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who famously declared “God is dead.”
Well, I do admit to a liking for his "Fröhliche Wissenschaft," but many atheists are not apologists for Nietzsche.
10. Assault Them with Charity (cont’d. from No. 9).
My suggestion: Treat them with respect - just as they should treat you with respect.
Regards,
The good:
* Great point about the numbers killed in the inquisition. I didn’t know that, and will definitely use it!
The bad:
* I pulled up The Origin Of Species on Google Books. It doesn’t contain anything that you described. So I crossreferenced with the history of Eugenics. It was Darwin’s half-cousin Francis Galton who came up with it based on Darwin’s research, not Darwin himself. Darwin and he exchanged a number of letters, but Darwin apparently disagreed with his notions.
* Atheists usually like Keynsian economics, and credit the financial collapse to the world straying from Keynesian ideals and toward deregulation. Pointing out that Keynes was an atheist will just earn atheism brownie points to them.
* I don’t think you’ve actually read Nietzche.
Neutral:
* The charity one is good, but I’d do it differently — I’d simply point out that, despite all of the Humanist pontificating that they’re charitable out of their interests in the good of humanity, statistically, religious people give notably more.
None of this is insulting or upsetting in the least. In fact, there’s nothing here that would impact my life in any way.
Sorry guys!=)
In all fairness to Scripture, I’m pretty sure we are not supposed to be “baiting” people.
Great article! Thank you for posting this. I am putting my Mensa ring on and keeping it on right now!
You think this is excellent? As if belittling, trapping, ambushing, or criticizing them will somehow win them over to God?
The only item this list worth considering is #10, but even then I get the impression it is being mentioned almost tongue-in-cheek. As if it would be something you would purposefully do to wound them, rather than SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO.
My pastor gave a great sermon on this a while back. He basically said that we should be demonstrating why living a Christian life is so fulfilling instead of ATTACKING the lifestyles of others. I think I agree with him.
My suggestion: Learn to recognize a humor piece when you read one.
This article is going on my FB page.
Already sent it to my email contacts.
You don’t call yourself seekandfind
for nothing. LOL!
I always assume that people who feel compelled to write articles like this have serious insecurities about their own faith.
MENSA burp! :-)
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