Agnostic.com

16 8

Christian calls atheists "toxic and "fearful." Your thoughts?

Today on Fitness Singles a man whose username is "NotDrPhilYet" sent me this message. He's studying for a doctorate. I laughed because he wrote in his profile:

"Please have some sort of faith; believe in something."

My reply was succinct:

"Calling atheists toxic and fearful is mean. Stop generalizing about people."

Hi Kathleen,

I’m sure at this point in our lives we have dated a variety of different types of people.

One thing I’ve noticed, is that if a person does not believe in anything they generally tend to be more toxic….even if they try to be involved and help out in the community.

They also tend to be more fearful.

About 75% of the women on this site are agnostic or atheist. I think the trend is because if someone does not believe in something what else do they have but their fitness and health.

…and it’s probably pointless getting in a theological debate with you.

LiterateHiker 9 Aug 9
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

16 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

Big red flag!!

1

I suspect this guy suffers from the most common of prejudices, the one that makes us humans believe we are special. We are not. We'll end up in the same dirt as the cockroaches and eventually recycle back to whatever we become. We just are. No god daddy, no fairy momma. Just whatever science can explain and physics allows.

2

Point out that the word "atheist" does not mean, believe in nothing, just none belief in a sky fairy. In fact most of the atheists I know believe in a lot of things, perhaps more than theists, believing just in one thing alone, and most theists do, is really the rejecting of wider belief.

I for one believe that: The material world is all we get, and it is wonderful. Humans are basically good, and worth loving as a whole. Human rights are good, and should be respected even if they are not objectively provable. That loving and appreciating the material world and nature is our highest calling, and that would still apply even if there was a god. That science is the best method to find objective truth. That you can not be dead, since no such state exists, you can only be, not alive. And a whole lot more...

@Fernapply

Thank you.Well said. I summarized your reply and sent it to him.

@LiterateHiker Well done. You are welcome.

2

In the old YMCA days I would occasionally run into a theists that would attempt to use that lame ass atheists don't believe in anything argument. It was fun face to face as you could quickly and authoritatively assert, "No. You are profoundly wrong. Your assertion is fantastically flawed. It really is mind bending that you fail to recognize how ludicrous your argument is. Although there is a spectrum of foundations in beliefs within those who identify as atheists, for myself and all those I know who identify as atheists, we do not lack a believe in anything. We simply have a higher standard of truth (defined as testable and demonstrable) over supernatural faith based claims that are not testable or supported by evidence. In other words, we don't accept most fantastical nonsense as fact." Demonstrate a fact with repeatable, testable evidence and we believe."

In this clown's case I would ask him:

How can you possibly believe not fearing such nonsense as the devil and other demons could make an atheist "Fearful"? Sound like he is as classic example of psychological projecting. Lame.

3

Asinine projections which are standard, because they can't seem to stop themselves from doing it. It's silly on it's face. He's probably an Incel. He doesn't want to debate because he knows how weak his position is. He's already overflowing with cognitive dissonance, as demonstrated by his hostility.

What is toxic is lying to yourself and others in order to support a moronic cult. Fear is refusing to learn enough about the world to see how absurd your religious beliefs are, even thought a universe of information is at your fingertips. How scared is someone who is disengaged from reality? That would be a lot. There's your God-fearing for you.

He's basically just trying to act sane, knowing he isn't. It's tragic and pathetic and disgusting, all at the same time.

2

YES! It sucks having fitness and health! What an awful way to live.
If I was a man of faith, I'd NEVER be able to make a connection between a 12 donut snack and my 48" gut (is this what he is saying? HELP ME .................argh ArrWW!)

twill Level 7 Aug 9, 2022
2

Atheists toxic and fearful? I might be toxic to a believer but please explain to me what I am fearful of. No dreams of Heaven or Hell, and I do not wake up with night sweats in fear of anything. I'm not going to let anyone else define my activities as to what I do or why, let alone try to control what I should be doing. Oh, I need to be a productive member of society. What is it that I'm gonna produce? My call, and not yours. Sorry Bub. That's just the way it is.

I love the usage here of "tend to be." This or that person "tends to be" is a generalization and usually made up of stereotype stuff. Yes, "everybody knows", etc., etc.

5

"Please believe in something."

My reply would be,

"Ok, i believe in logic, evidence and science. I believe in personal accountability, and not deflection onto a made up enemy (the devil) where the only salvation is submission to a made up deity. I believe in science that is correcting and learning, where as a theist tend to always pass the buck onto a contradicting gas lighting higher power -- you gave us freewill but are also all knowing, so basically no matter what we do, you knew we were going to fail or pass."

@MacStriker

I told him:

As an atheist, I never believed in an invisible being that resides somewhere beyond the clouds.

I believe in treating people with respect and kindness, the importance of volunteering to help people in need, in picking up litter and protecting the enviornment. I believe in being honest. In exercising. That cooking from scratch is far more healthy than eating processed food.

Being a kind, respectful and good person is a series of daily choices.

@MacStriker

Love your reply. Thank you.

4

Poor thing, surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass.

2

If he wants to live in a fantasy then he should find his fantasy girl and not push his beliefs on a real girl. 😉

Betty Level 8 Aug 9, 2022
6

"Please have some sort of faith; believe in something.“

Ah, the pleading of the faithful to the faithless. As if Faith itself was some sort of virtue! As a nullifidian, I no longer accept the cognitive position of Faith as honorable or virtuous. In my opinion, the sooner we as a species devalue Faith, the more rapidly we may move on to solve the important problems on our own, without wishing for miracles or divine intervention.

"We all have to rely on the Great Big Daddy in the Sky because all of us are incapable of solving our own problems."

2

I see him as being largely devoid of both empathy and even rudimentary cognitive skills.

4

Focusing on real things is good for you and imaginary things can cause other things.

5

Ugh! These folks always seem to equate not believing in their ideas with “not believing in anything,” which strikes me as small-minded, arrogant, or both. A quick look at the posts on this site, for example, shows a wide array of beliefs — often passionate — concerning values, politics, philosophy, etc., as well as interests in all sorts of stuff: music, movies, quilting, quotes, cats, humor … yes: even fitness and health! I don’t think all that can be neatly fit into a “toxic and fearful” basket.

7

Fearful?! hahahahahaha That's rich coming from someone that fears their creator, let's assume projection on that one.

Toxic. Sounds like this guy is repeating buzzwords from daytime TV, Dr. Phil type crap. As he doesn't tie that word to anything so who knows.

A small man with a small mind making a sad attempt to be more.

MizJ Level 8 Aug 9, 2022
4

Nothing but theist indoctrination.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:680615
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.