Ten Ways to Make Atheists Cry

Human Events ^ | 07/11/2010 | Benjamin Wiker

[SeekAndFind]

1. Discuss the Fermi Paradox. Atheists love aliens because they always assume that, a) brainy creatures gushing out of every galactic cranny shows that Earth is low-rent cosmic real estate, and b) the smartest aliens will be atheists. Against this giddy optimism, the famous physicist Enrico Fermi asked a quite innocent question: If Earth is a typical planet, and there are lots of planets in the universe, then why haven’t any extraterrestrial critters dropped by, or even sent us a text message (“ur nt solo, n btw ur nt vry smrt”)?

2. Join Mensa. Atheists are obsessed with their IQs and they love to flaunt their membership in an organization of people dedicated to self-congratulation. The atheist assumption is that religion is a sure sign of evolutionary atavism. A devout believer whipping out his Mensa card is entirely incomprehensible and ultimately indigestible.

3. Bait and Switch # 1. Atheists love to talk about the Spanish Inquisition. Get them, ever so casually, to talk about persecution by zealous believers in general, and then the persecution by zealous Marxists in particular. Finally, since atheists like math, have them compare the number killed by the Inquisition over several centuries (2,000-6,000) with the number killed by devout Marxists in one century (100,000,000).

4. Bait and Switch # 2. Despite their pretence to moral relativity, atheists will still grant that Adolf Hitler was epically evil. Having gotten them to admit this point, offer to read aloud some of the most offending passages from Mein Kamp (a special copy of which you just happened to be carrying). 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?”

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.

6. Have Lots of Children. Atheists love humanity as long as there is less of it. They are especially grieved by biologically prodigious believers who seem to be taking Darwin at his word, but for all the wrong reasons. Nothing is more irksome than to behold their own future self-imposed extinction amidst the swelling tide of the God-fearing.

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.”

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. Make clear to your atheist interlocutor that the wide-scale adoption of Keynes’ conception of government as the grand fiddler micromanaging the economy through narcotic stimulation with freshly printed money is the single most important cause of the current American and European financial implosion. Then mention ever-so-casually, “Wasn’t Keynes an atheist?”

9. Stage a Nietzsche Practicum. Atheists love the nihilistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who famously declared “God is dead.” More exactly, they love it in theory, but invariably cringe at the practical implications Nietzsche quite logically drew out: without God, there is no moral order and the strong should devour the weak, for “life itself is will to power.” Invite your favorite atheist to meet you for lunch to discuss Nietzsche. Order the most expensive meal on the menu, steal his iPhone while he’s in the bathroom, and then at the end, stick him with the check. Then on the way out snatch the keys to his Saab and speed away in it singing at full lung, “I love Nietzsche! He’s really rather peachy. A world devoid of moral qualms is far more fuuunnnn…than one that’s preachy teachy!”

10. Assault Them with Charity (cont’d. from No. 9). Drive around the block to the restaurant again, and pull up to your fuming atheist friend. After returning the keys to his Saab and his iPhone, and shelling out your share of the tab, say “I just can’t bring myself to act as if God doesn’t exist.” Then, forever after treat him with unfailing kindness, as if he were Indian Untouchable and you were Mother Teresa.

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Benjamin Wiker is the author of 10 Books Every Conservative Must Read: Plus Four Not to Miss and One Impostor (one of the books being C. S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man), and 10 Books that Screwed Up the World. His website is www.ameaningfulworldaudio.com

[ansel12]

You are now changing that to more religious, more likely to be conservative. That is quite different from your initial claim of religious vs. non-religious.

Get real, " the religious right", "social conservatives", "the Evangelical vote", "the born again vote", "the Bible belt vote", they don't mean that every Christian votes conservative, since almost 80% of Americans will label themselves Christian, but they do mean that of the ones that take it seriously most of them make up the bulk of the conservative portion of voters.

Everyone knows that the despised Christian vote is owned by the GOP and that the hip, enlightened vote of the atheists and the less religious and non religious are owned by the Democrats.

I have never seen anything, that tries to sell the idea that atheists are mostly conservative (or anything other than almost all liberal voters), yet we do know that the deeply religious Christians are conservative.

Atheists are not big enough to have their own category in this graph, but you will not find many of them among McCain voters.

You seem to agree in this sentence saying that highly religious Christians are attracted to the Republican party, by the way, I never said anything about religion being the only reason to vote a certain way, I only pointed out that believing Christians (and Jews) are naturally conservative and that people that are not very Christian, or are atheist, are drawn to the left. "There are far more reasons than religion to vote a certain way. There is no natural affinity between modern liberalism and atheism. There is an attraction of highly-religious Christians to the Republican party,"

[ansel12]

A lot of atheists align with the Libertarians

You can save your time with me by ignoring those kind of micro details, there is not "a lot" of anything in the Libertarians, their greatest victory, their electoral highlight was in 1980 when they tried to stop Reagan, even then in their strongest showing in history, they couldn't reach a million voters.

What percentage of atheists are you claiming voted libertarian that year? What percentage of atheists are you claiming to have voted for the Republican party in any year?

[antiRepublicrat]

What percentage of atheists are you claiming voted libertarian that year? What percentage of atheists are you claiming to have voted for the Republican party in any year?

I don't know, but they are part of the many holes I have put in the claim that religiosity directly correlates to conservatism.

[antiRepublicrat]

Now it changes again. Your chart shows that highly religious whites voted for McCain (itself definitely not a measure of conservative values). Notice another factor in there other than religion? I noticed religious blacks and Mexicans voted Obama. Blacks, who tend to be more religious than whites, voted for Obama in an even higher percentage than WASPs voted McCain.

I only pointed out that believing Christians (and Jews) are naturally conservative and that people that are not very Christian, or are atheist, are drawn to the left.

Drawn to the left, or repelled by the right? From what I was reading on atheist boards in 2008, a lot of atheists didn't like Obama but couldn't bring themselves to vote Republican because of the religious right issue. Most people vote what they perceive to be in their best interest. They voted to keep the religious from dictating their lives. I voted McCain because the continued existence of the country was more important to me than the issue of religion.

There is no part of the Democrat platform that is inherently attractive to atheists, they just do not scorn and reject atheists.

[Pan_Yan]

Atheists are not big enough to have their own category in this graph,

Wouldn't they be in the 'Seculars' category?

[ansel12]

You haven’t put holes in anything, trying to ignore the religious difference between left and right in this country doesn’t work on anyone.

I have proved that the religious are overwhelmingly conservative and vote republican, and that that the less religious people are, that they are more likely to be voting democrat.

Atheists are definitely overwhelmingly anti-republican, and I notice that you have not shown any numbers to dispute it.

[ansel12]

I’m not sure that they meant that all the secular are atheists, but of course all atheists would be in that grouping.

It is clear that atheists, or secular are overwhelmingly liberal, unlike the committed Christians that are overwhelmingly conservative.

[ansel12]

Drawn to the left, or repelled by the right? From what I was reading on atheist boards in 2008, a lot of atheists didn't like Obama but couldn't bring themselves to vote Republican because of the religious right issue. Most people vote what they perceive to be in their best interest. They voted to keep the religious from dictating their lives. I voted McCain because the continued existence of the country was more important to me than the issue of religion.

This is silly, you keep admitting that the right is too religious for atheists, that even the small number of partly conservative atheists have to overcome their anti-faith objections to the right to vote for them. They don't have that same religious issue with the left do they?

By the way that chart never broke out religious blacks and Hispanics, you made that up, it merely listed the entire categories that say they are Christian, it did not try to determine level of religiosity as they did with whites.

[antiRepublicrat]

It is clear that atheists, or secular are overwhelmingly liberal, unlike the committed Christians that are overwhelmingly conservative.

The first problem is that you equate voting for McCain with actually being conservative. The second problem is that you equate voting for Obama with actually being liberal.

I have given you a clear reason why many atheists did not vote for McCain despite having more conservative views. I couldn't stand big-government McCain, soft on illegal immigration. Unfortunately, I felt I had to place a strategic vote against Obama since I was in a state that could go either way. Other non-liberal atheists also didn't want to throw away their vote, but couldn't vote Republican for the religious reason.

If nothing else, take this lesson from this thread: Do not purposely alienate potential allies. It can cost you elections.

[DollyCali]

BTTT

[antiRepublicrat]

You haven’t put holes in anything

Completely eviscerated your original claim, which you later changed.

I have proved that the religious are overwhelmingly conservative and vote republican, and that that the less religious people are, that they are more likely to be voting democrat.

You also showed that blacks overwhelmingly vote for Democrats, although they are also the single most religiously active racial demographic in the country. Conversely, the more religiously active a Jew, the more likely to vote Democrat. Religious activity may be *a* contributing factor, but it is definitely not the controlling factor.

Note your chart reports relative religious activity, the social interaction at a church, not necessarily level of religiousness. Blacks also report a higher level of religiousness than whites, yet vote Democrat.

Atheists are definitely overwhelmingly anti-republican

That is a very different from a claim that they are liberal. Of course most would be against an organization containing large, powerful faction that despises them.

[antiRepublicrat]

They don't have that same religious issue with the left do they?

Do you ever see the left bashing atheists? Did a leftist VP candidate ever say he didn't think atheists could be citizens or patriots?

[ansel12]

LOL, which is the point of course.

[ansel12]

The first problem is that you equate voting for McCain with actually being conservative. The second problem is that you equate voting for Obama with actually being liberal.

Welcome to our country, where conservatives vote Republican and liberals vote Democrat.

[antiRepublicrat]

Welcome to our country, where conservatives vote Republican and liberals vote Democrat.

Which is how we got the Democrat Zell Miller who was more conservative than most Republicans, and the Republican Olympia Snow who is more liberal than many Democrats.

[antiRepublicrat]

LOL, which is the point of course.

The point is we have one party that welcomes us, and another party with a large, powerful, vocal faction that thinks we are immoral scum, that our kind isn't even qualified to hold office, isn't even worthy of citizenship.

Other than that basic fact, there is ZERO ideological reason on any other issue why an atheist should necessarily vote Democrat.

IOW, if atheists vote Democrat, it is because they are pushed away from Republicans, not naturally attracted to liberalism.

[ansel12]

Sorry that you dislike conservatives so much, but that is why atheists are overwhelmingly liberal, they don’t agree with us.

[antiRepublicrat]

Sorry that you dislike conservatives so much,

I don't dislike conservatives, being one myself. I don't even dislike religious fundamentalists who want to use the power of government to bend others to their religious beliefs. To me they are just the flip side of the big-government liberals who want to use government to bend others to accept their beliefs.

they don’t agree with us

A small government also means one that doesn't have the power to project religious beliefs on others. Yes, I don't agree on having such a powerful government. I do not consider most evangelicals to be governmentally conservative. Instead, they are only socially conservative.

[ansel12]

Keep telling yourself that, that kind of thinking and anti-conservatism is part of what makes atheists overwhelmingly liberal, they despised the pre 1960s America and all their ‘God stuff’ and ‘moral hangups’.

[antiRepublicrat]

Keep telling yourself that, that kind of thinking and anti-conservatism is part of what makes atheists overwhelmingly liberal

And with your vile attitude, you wonder why they vote against you.

they despised the pre 1960s America and all their ‘God stuff’ and ‘moral hangups’.

If you don't hold the likes of O'Hare against me, I won't hold the likes of the Westboro Baptist inbreds against you. But, yeah, we do have problems with some older "moral hangups" you religious people had, and some probably still have. I, for example, never understood what your hangup was about a white woman marrying a black man.