Why did you run in misogynistic and racist circles, Doggg? This speaks badly for your character.

What mischaracterization? I am asking you to clear up what point you are making by posting that link.

Its more like the mischaracterisation is on your part. You have a very, very, strange idea of what "atheists" do, and what effects atheism has on a person. If they were an ******* before being atheist, they will likely be an ******* once they become one.

Perhaps its because you personally thought that as an atheist you had to be a certain way. Thats what comes across in your posts, and when you talk about your time as an atheist. That you had ideas about what atheism was, what it meant you had to do. There is no atheist code. People are *******s the world over.

You should probably let her know.

My problem isn't with the atheist on the street. I know exactly who he is. He just says "f$%^ that god stuff" and goes on with his vitriol and mindless ranting. He wouldn't know the first thing about theology or philosophy. You might as well be speaking in klingon to him.

I was very clear to define who I was speaking about: Usually leftist, politically active and vocally anti-christian.

My God, man, there are millions of them. Just look around you.

this is exactly what I mean.....


I dont know anyone like this, but admittedly I dont get out much.

Whats the difference between the vitriol and mindless ranting of the atheist in the street, and the vitriol and mindless ranting of the leftist politically active atheist?

QED.

Thank you.

?

You said you abandoned all your Christian friends, meaning that the people you hung around with were these misogynist etc... Atheists, right?

Well, I am an Athiest, I don't hang around with mysoginists, or racists or anyone of that ilk.

So why hang around with people with such abhorrent qualities?

This is the whole problem. You Have no idea who your average atheist is.

Hint: You most likely wouldn't know the difference unless you explicitly asked.

Never met an athiest who thought like this, by the way. This must mean according to my experience, Christians are all totally misogynists

http://www.fixthefamily.com/blog/6-r...ter-to-college

I guess the overall context is being missed (and demonstrated and confirmed by various posters, all the same). I'm dead tired of preachy atheist types who are quick to label your beliefs as reprehensible, and come at you from the moral high horse, when I know, in fact, that ALL MEN are sinners, left or right, straight or gay, atheist or christian. If you don't know that, you just don't get out much.

The average internet atheist, who posts on reddit religiously, probably doesn't get out much. It's real easy for someone like that to live in an ideological shelter, and sit there and point fingers and judge others.

As I am being judged because I knew a few racists and misogynists.

Word up. I still do, and in fact even LOVE a few of them, unapologetically.

Trust me, I was delighted to see those posts.

As I said before, I think the strong moral positions taken by these types are partly feigned, and disingenuous, and rooted in anti-christian mischaracterizations more so than any sense of a viable morality.

Edit: I mean, look: you can't be a christian without getting your hands dirty. Christ himself was criticized because he ate with sinners. Well, how else was he to talk with them, except to be around them?

No, you are being "judged" because you tried to make it seem like that was somehow unique to atheism, and its not.

You say all people are sinners. OK. If you really believe that, then why do you single out Atheists so often?

Yes, some Atheists are morally reprehensible. If that's your only point we can all go home. If you want to stretch it anywhere beyond that, you have to show your work, or you'll be continually told you are wrong,

You were running with them while you were an atheist so what's your excuse?

Here's my problem with your posts in this thread. You start by suggesting Dawkins spoke inappropriately to a woman in an elevator at an atheist conference. You've set Dawkins as a bad guy, you correct yourself by editing the post you don't just remove the accusation and replace it with the correction you leave it, and the atheist conference as the location.

This in a thread where Dawkins is being discussed in relation to his memoirs covering an incident of sexual abuse he experienced and you have the audacity to claim others have created a strawman. You then recount tales of running with misogynists and racists while an atheist making a claim to the character of atheists based on a particularly unsavoury group you yourself ran with.

This woman may have received hate mail from trolls on the internet and I have no time for those that have abused her in this way but to try and infer the character of the atheist in the street, the atheists here, the atheists on reddit or indeed the "leftist political anti-christian" atheists of which there are millions, from her experience, or yours, is ridiculous.

When you don't know the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning, you really shouldn't play with latin acronyms.

You must have missed Leno's man on the street segments. Your average atheist no more knows any thing about the kalam cosmological argument than does your average christian.

People who post on this forum are in no way indicative or reflective of the general populace, imo.

In fact, sometimes I don't even want to bother with them at all, as I have felt like I was in physical danger on more than one occasion in talking these issues out with randos on the street.

You missed the thrust of my post.

Your average atheist won't go off on rants or whatever, they will be just like any other person.

The bolded sounds more like a personal problem than anything else.

Well, once I posted it, and then confirmed that the details were wrong, I knew I was in a no-win situation. If I deleted it, it is likely that someone already was responding to it, so I thought it in the thread's best interest to leave it with an addendum.

Lol at the criticism, though.

Lame as can be, bro.

Sound it's lame but it's lame in the context of a strawman you created in a thread about Dawkins own experience. You couldn't have researched it prior to posting, you're in such a rush to post that you can't confirm the details prior to posting at 6.12 only to edit at 6.30.

You might want to read some of the quotations I posted. It shows that she was able to track down some of these "internet trolls", and they were the same people who attended these conferences and functions.

Also, I think it should be pointed out, since so many are trying to play semantic tricks here, that I did not seek out misogynists and racists to befriend. I was seeking like minded, freethinking atheists. I found myself among some of the most vile, morally bankrupt scum I have ever met.

Like anyone, they don't just announce that they are scum when you first hang out. You usually find out when they stab you in the back, or otherwise capitalize on you in some way.

Lol. Exactly!!

Can't be the atheists, no no no. Must be a character flaw in the christian.

Just MUST BE.

Or, as I have been trying to get across, its both. That with atheism, and religion, both have a small or even non existent part to play in how much of an ******* anyone is...

are you sure?

Yes, it is you. but not because you are a Christian, because your personal hatred of Atheists boarders on unhealthy.

What quotations have you posted confirming she tracked down some of those that emailed her? The only quote I can find is

"Hundreds of atheists have informed me that either they wanted to rape me, someone should rape me so that I will loosen up or that no one would ever rape me because I am so ugly"

Which doesn't tell me that.

Which only draws your judgement into question.

And yet you continued to hang around them....

If you're trying to find freethinking liberals and end up "running with racists and misogynists" (paraphrased) who qualify as "the most morally bankrupt scum you ever met", wrong steps have been taken to a rather impressive degree.