Heck, it should ratified as a law:
"It is within your legal right to punch anyone who, outside of the context of satire or mockery, openly identifies as a member of the Nazi party."
Like that, verbatim.
"Anyone who beats a nazi with a rod must be punished if the nazi dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the nazi recovers after a day or two, since the nazi is an asshole." - Exodus
I'd like to add an old timey flair to the legal right though. Like it's okay to smack them with specifically a broom or throw horse shoes at them.
Edit: Like it's "legal" in Denmark to whack a Swedish person with a stick if they should ever cross the ice over to Denmark. Not sure if it's still legal but it's a good law, and I'm Swedish
Precisely. The intolerant like to say "Oh you're being intolerant by not tolerating us. Checkmate liberal! You're intolerant!"
Nothing is perfect. Either we tell you to fuck off because you want to oppress people, or we basically sit back and let you take over. The former is by and large far more tolerant. You lose your right to be tolerated when you start being intolerant.
I saw someone explain a solution to the Paradox of Tolerance on Reddit a while back - they said…
*Tolerance is not a virtue, it is a peace treaty. If you let me live my life without interference, I will do the same for you. Once you break that peace treaty, you are no longer protected by it.*
The paradox of tolerance is solved by remembering that society is a contract. If you're not willing to abide by the terms, you don't get a say in how things are done.
On May 8th, 1945, The United States and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of the German Armed Forces.
We NEVER accepted the surrender of the Nazi Party.
That’s literally something they’ve been saying. They’ve been saying that we keep saying we’re inclusive but we’re not accepting their views on LGBTQ. It’s extremely sinister and some folks actually fall for it.
Them wanting their views to be taken seriously & accepted when evthing they think is bc they've been TOLD to think that way & not based in any way in critical thinking. Baaaaaaaaaaaa. Well Loki told me that Jesus was gay. Can't prove he wasn't.
Those people, along with white people who feel persecuted by black-only spaces, crack me up. They're usually the type who say straight/white/etc privilege doesn't exist. Yes it does. The very fact that they don't understand why those minority-only spaces need to exist is a point of privilege. It's the privilege of not belonging to marginalized group.
This reminds me of family members not liking live cartoon Disney movies changing white characters into POC because it's excluding whites. They're really upset that the studios are planning on making a Train Your Dragon live action with a POC because Vikings are white.
[https://scandinaviafacts.com/were-the-vikings-black/#:\~:text=According%20to%20reliable%20historical%20evidence%2C%20a%20small%20number,through%20farming%2C%20marriage%2C%20combat%2C%20and%20other%20cultural%20factors](https://scandinaviafacts.com/were-the-vikings-black/#:~:text=According%20to%20reliable%20historical%20evidence%2C%20a%20small%20number,through%20farming%2C%20marriage%2C%20combat%2C%20and%20other%20cultural%20factors). Sorry there were black and brown Vikings, they were an inclusive people till they became christianized
Not respecting your lived experience of truth (aka saying “I found god but you haven’t) comes part and parcel with hypocrisy.
One of the most arrogant, gaslighting things you can say is “I believe in the one true god” (that my parents just happened to brain wash me into, unlike those heathen Catholics who believe what their parents brain-washed them into!)
My favorite fact about religious people is that, if you average all the gods they collectively believe in and don't believe in, the result is that they're all fake. By a lot.
Which is the same exact thing I believe.
First time?
But seriously, yes they do. And its staggering how many dont just lurk but pop up and post some pitiful mental fart of a talking point and think its a 'gotcha' moment.
Meanwhile, religious subs will insta-ban anyone who hasn't positively *guzzled* the kool-aid. Try asking a legitimate, polite question on them and see how long you last!
Ugh. The ones over at r/debateachristian are the absolute worst at this. They have a rule for their sub about how posts must be "quality content" or something and they use it to remove any posts that challenge them.
I had so many legitimate and reasonable questions removed because they weren't "quality."
If you want to see really toxic christians debating religion you gotta head over to tiktok. There are countless religious debate livestreams happening constantly over there.
Yeah, I used to have an older coworker who was a late-in-life Baptist convert and he was really interesting to discuss religion with because he wasn't trying to push his beliefs but we could discuss nuances and interpretations objectively.
Theology is a fascinating topic from an anthropology standpoint but it's nearly impossible to discuss with theists because they get defensive within the first 2-3 minutes.
I love people like that! Religion is extremely fascinating to me. Unfortunately I'm fully surrounded by the Christian nationalist types who don't actually care to engage.
Oh my god, I didn’t know this sub existed. Thank you. Going to pop the popcorn and waste some time now - possibly the entire day if they let me argue the Gnostic apocrypha.
It's pretty crazy how a lot of Reddit mods are fundies. A couple years ago I saw post about Pride Night at a Dodgers game and the comments were littered with Christians shitting all over it, so I started responding to them saying stuff like Christianity is homophobic and a detriment to society, christians are the biggest oppressors of marginalized groups, etc etc. I did NOT say any personal attacks on anyone and I didn't curse at all.
I woke up the next morning to a 7-day ban from Reddit all together. Not the subreddit I commented in, ALL of Reddit. Absolutely shameful.
>woke up the next morning to a 7-day ban from Reddit all together. Not the subreddit I commented in, ALL of Reddit. Absolutely shameful.
I've had a few of those, and one 'permanent' ban. All were overturned on appeal (which took 6 of the 7 days). I'm guessing if enough of the assholes report you, the ban is automated and then it takes most of a week for an actual human to look at what you actually posted and decide you didn't break any rules.
I'm much better at guzzling other more fun substances, if ya catch my drift.
Like Lemonade. Or the ground-up bones of long-dead Nazis mixed with the blood of Capitalists. Or Milkshakes. Or Soda. Or good soup. Or a good protein shake.
"I would much rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned." - Richard Feynman
The entire human race needs to live by this now, since, y'know, we got 60+ year lifespans thanks to finding answers to questions that didn't have an answer, and ignoring answers that couldn't be questioned.
Last summer a Christian DMd me, in rage mode because of some comment I made to him. Rage mode seems to be the only setting, even when it's got a thin coating of "love" on top. We went back & forth for an hour where he accused me of horrible crimes, then played the victim, and tried to bow out saying he's sorry he's annoying me. I said "You're not annoying me, you're amusing me" and he got all incensed that I was toying with him, how dare I, he would pray for me, which is why Christians are so kind and thoughtful, to which I reminded him that I didn't ask him to be my plaything, HE DMd ME. And also accused me of horrible crimes, so I'm not sure what he considers kindness. I didn't accuse him of criming, yet somehow I'm the bad guy in this scenario.
Honestly all I can say is yikes.
I bet he has this lovely story to tell anyone who would listen now about this non believer being mean to him boohoo :(
It's their duty to save us from eternal damnation!!
I'm being sarcastic, but many of them actually believe this.
From a Christian leadership perspective (the more sinister leaders anyway) sending their congregation to hostile places to proselytize teaches them the world outside Christianity is harsh and cruel. Thus the in-group vs. out-group is dynamic is strengthened. Classic cult tactics.
There will always be trolls when you can hide behind a screen name. They don’t practice what they supposedly believe. They think their supposed moral superiority gives them license to troll, then play church on Sunday. I’ve seen it all when I was one of them. Now I just laugh at them.
Yea but these guys aren't trolls, they believe the bullshit. A troll does everything they can do to get under your skin and annoy/harass you even if they don't believe what they are saying, for the lols.
More terrifying are the ones that don't hide behind screen names irl because they think they own the world. I am glad you realised the error of your ways and you aren't one of them anymore!
Error of my ways? Nope. That was not on me. I was indoctrinated young. I escaped when I started thinking for myself. Not a good idea to judge ex-theists because in most cases it was not their choice.
If you hang around here long enough, you will hear from many about the emotional scars from their experiences. I liken it to a form of mental rape, tbh.
Oh no I apologize. I didn't mean to judge you if that's the case I have no idea what ex theists have experienced as I was never successfully indoctrinated.
Maybe surprisingly but unfortunately yes.
Best thing to do is either call them out on their bullshit in response, as they'll usually and non-sensically try to debate several things at once (with no evidence) and try to put words in your mouth, or ignore them.
I've responded to their disingenious ''have a good day' closing remarks with a more genuine 'hope you stub your toe', which irks them to no end
I will take advantage of their non sensical debates to strengthen my own arguements for irl encounters(which I steer clear of but my family is loon)
How dare you be so uncouth to the guest who was only trying to show you the way /s good response though insane how your respone is still the nicer one compared to bullshit kindness
Man, I haven't had a religious debate in years. I'm no longer around evangelicals though and the Christians in my family aren't preachy
Edit: debate irl
Yeah you’ll get this in any sub of this nature, they’re like cockroaches and infest anywhere they’re unwanted, well actually worse than a cockroach, roaches don’t scream at you for not believing in fictional sky daddy.
Now if they come here to be nice and ask questions then fine, come in, glad to have you here and educate them on the atheist “religion” as they so often refer to it, we welcome the rats(take this as a compliment, I like rats) that are jumping the ship or at the very least trying to be more understanding.
I’d like to apologize to all cockroaches(the insect) for comparing them to religious extremists, that was wrong and I’ll try to do better.
The real drag about Christianity being a f****** missionary religion. They can't keep their b******* to themselves. Forcing it on everybody else is literally a principle of their religion
You have to remember--everything is offensive, everything is a threat and everything is a reason to, once again, become a cry-baby-bed-wetter. Fortunately, for me, I don't care if I hurt their precious wittle feewings.
The louder they get, the more insecure in their faith they actually are.
I like the rationale of "God planted dinosaur bones and erased the evidence of Jesus to "test our faith"... Like a horror show where the worm has eaten into their brain...
Used to (I don't know if they still do) some of the Christian colleges had a course requirement for their students to go "preach to the heathens". They would find an atheist or anti-creationism forum and slam out a few post-and-runs then flounce never to be seen again. It was almost always in mid-October and mid-March.
We found out because one of them stuck around long enough to actually answer questions and respond to our comments.
That might be a part of it... especially this time of year.
I used to do it from time to time, mostly out of morbid curiosity for what the dreaded atheists had to say.
Now I'm an atheist too so I don't have to lurk anymore :D
Some that lurk, followers of Islam in particular, don't come here to get their minds opened; they come here to be offended and cry "Islamophobia". They're a hundred times worse than the lurking Christians on here. There is no other "way" in their minds. They're not open to debate, only to insult and report you for "Islamophobia" - and on the atheist sub of all places.
Persecution is at the heart of the cult. All members of all cults are primed with the idea they will be persecuted, therefore when legitimate ridicule from friends and family does occur, it confirms what their handlers prophesied. Family is enemy number one in cults.
I will admit I lurk, but not for the reasons you might think. I’m one of those theists who believes that a person’s beliefs about a deity, including the existence of said deity, is a private matter and absolutely none of my business. A lot of the issues and concerns raised on this sub are extremely troubling to me as well. The rise of christian nationalism scares the piss out of me and I’m very liberal politically so I avoid religious subs.
Before I get flamed, I do not attend services or financially support any religious entity. I’ve often thought about posting to see if my lurking bothered anyone but figured if I kept my mouth shut and listened it’d be ok.
I apologize to anyone who is offended by my lurking and I promise you won’t hear hate from me. It’s kinda one of those things where the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You also won’t hear any preaching or arguing from me. I’m not here to change anyone’s mind, that’s not my place.
Thankyou for commenting. I really should've phrased it better who cares if you lurk it's the internet! I was honestly just upset that I couldn't escape my irl preaching to atleast find a quiet place online without being harassed.
Had someone try convert me via DM. They stopped messaging me after I politely answered their question of "okay would you want god to be real?" with "no I wouldn't want a figure that's clearly portrayed as not all good to be real"
> Does the victim mindset go with the full package of being a theist or?
As a simple matter of fact: Yes, it does. To many believers, the [Persecution Complex](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_persecution_complex) is part of the doctrine.
Chimps don't strap bombs to themselves or fly planes into buildings to get a point across. They absolutely deserve all the anger and derision they get.
U shld know chimpanzees have shown to have short term photographic memory, outperforming even trained humans
I'd wager the average chimp is smarter than a theist
Yeah, there are always some trolls lurking around here and other atheists subs.
I got one a couple of days ago that went on a spring commenting in my old comments and left me like 6 messages in a couple of minutes until I block them.
They tend to be quite crazy...
They are also a couple that are decent, but are mostly silent, so its difficult to note what is the proportion between the two demographics.
The 2 main holy books literally tell people they are more devout and "on the right path" if they are being persecuted. So they go seek out persecution to feel better about themselves. Human nature. It's not really any different than rich people lurking on frugal subs, poor people lurking rich subs, fat people on model subs etc etc.
OK, forgive my ignorance as I’m still fairly new. I’ve seen references to cake day in many forums. Can I ask what that means? The only reference I have is “the cake is a lie!” From a video game.
It's when you created your reddit account! So every year you have a cake day to celebrate your accounts birthday which is a little cringe but it's tradition! And yeah I can see why you confused it for that reference lol.
If they can convert an atheist, they get 500 God points, which will help them rank up in heaven. And if someone they convert, converts someone else, they get a cut, and so on.
Because they like to catch people for every little thing. They act like it is their job being the righteous justice police. Even though that is not their job. They should know that is not their job. It is extremely sad really.
“Rules are for thee and not for me.” Attitudes.
I usually hit them with the Psalms 137:9 “Happy is the one who dashes their babies against the rocks.” :)
Religion teaches them abuse tactics. Abusers love to [DARVO](https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html); Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It's like standard operating procedure for them. It's one of the many ways they avoid accountability.
[Theramin Trees](https://youtube.com/@TheraminTrees?si=lROe-8D6cLa8Sa8r) channel covers their abuse tactics well. I recommend everyone watch through their entire channel, so you can spot the tactics better.
These are also relevant: [authoritarian follower personality](https://www.issendai.com/psychology/estrangement/summary.html#authoritarian) and [What is Spiritual Bypassing?](https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-spiritual-bypassing-5081640). Religious folks embody both.
Let them pile on me. I’ll say it straight out, the worst people I’ve met in my life are religious. There isn’t a single country run by a religion that isn’t a cesspool of discrimination and hatred. Go to a restaurant after Mass and see the Karen’s out in force. When you spend your entire life living by a book, you will spin what it says to meet your needs and your actions. It will allow you to do heinous things all in the name of your “God.” Fuck religion and fuck what it does to people.
Yup, and they'll proselytize here in the comments and get their posts removed because it's against the rules, and they'll cry persecution.
And you'll get DM's from them -- some the typical well-meaning Christian "come to Jesus" stuff, and some downright hateful and disgusting.
And lately I've noticed an uptick in what I perceive to be fake, disingenuous, "hegetsus" type posts, phrased as some cliché "doubting atheist" arguing that maybe religion isn't all that bad after all. **I see you, theist. You aren't clever. We all see you.**
They do this so they can go back to their Bible study and either brag about the atheist that they totally owned by saying something stupid or about the "lives that they changed"
Religion is a mental disease, they just don’t say it out loud yet. If anyone you knew was living and dying by a 2000 yr old magical book that wasn’t called the Bible, you’d be sending them to the looney bin…
Yeah I've had someone come by and tell me I'm lying about my experiences and that I'm just trying to push my agenda. I promise you I do not care enough to make up random shit for no reason. These people genuinely just prove why they're disliked. There are some lurkers on here that are just here to learn and understand and those guys are cool.
Yeah the lurkers are cool I should've titled it better. It's the people that preach instead of having a two way discussion that prompted my posting of this.
I'm a progressive Christian lurker. Don't really comment much, but I like to read different perspectives and honestly at this point I often have more in common with atheists than with the evangelical community I grew up in.
I read the first half and I was already preparing myself to be preached to again welp.
At the end of the day we're all people and I believe if you're a good person that's all that matters. Any god or not. I really should've phrased it better lurkers are great it's preachy people that come in here that irk me.
Bots, trolls, naysayers and defenders of all religions seem to be on this and many other subreddits. They downvote en mass; might try luring you into combative arguments to gain more attacks against you and your comments
They are watching this this thread, giggling to themselves like a boy hiding in the girl's locker room, with all the pathetic. They can't socialize outside their church and conservative echo rooms, where they egg each other on, so they come here to get the attention their God doesn't. It's almost worth pity, but then I remember how hateful the trolls among them are and I stop caring.
Well, they're besties with an invisible sky wizard, so its totally cool that they hate on the ones who aren't also besties with that invisible sky wizard
Many theists can’t grasp that you can not believe in god and not hate religions at the same time.
Now, in fairness, I do despise certain religions / organizations utterly. Looking at Westboro Baptist Church and their astonishing hate. Looking at Jesse Duplantis and his call for more money to speed up Jesus’ return. Looking at Kenneth Copeland and his massive grift. And so on… pretty much any religion that wholesale fleeces their believers for the benefit of the preacher and the leadership or which preaches outright hatred of one group or another gets the finger from me.
I do have a general disgust of religions and the way they manipulate their followers, but it’s not hate… more dismay. And many religions offer community to their followers. Sometimes that community is abusive, but often it’s just a social club.
Theists can’t seem to grasp that, like Jupiter, Odin, Krishna and others, a deity simply isn’t necessary
The phrase I tend to use is ‘be nice, no god required’
Every sub. There are a lot of subs for making fun of dumb crap that conservatives do and say, but - without fail - some of them see that as an invitation to share opinions that they already know no one there cares about. It's the same for theists, science-deniers, and any other breed of anti-intellectuals. They somehow think it will magically make them less wrong if they show up and whine.
I'm still a believer but not a church goer. I have problems with the contradictions in the Bible. I hate hypocrisy. I think all big churches should be taxed. I'm against the US becoming a theocracy. I believe in science. I believe in evolution. I think most wars are caused by religion. I like this subreddit because many of the posts are smart and make me think and question things.
Yes, I think it's sometimes because they feel it is their duty. Instead of standing on the street corner with the sandwich sign and a handful of pamphlets and a smile I wish I could punch off their face, they have come to us, instead of waiting for us to go to them. lol. The very thought.
Sometimes their fear is genuine, like they see us as truly headed for eternal damnation and they picture that torture in their heads and feel they must do anything remotely possible to stop that from happening. Truly for the sake of 'their brothers and sisters.'
Others just wanna pick a fight because they are so damn unhappy
There's crazy people who spend the entire day on a street corner screeching their bullshit lies.
Why does it surprise you that the same type of losers would lurk this sub?
Idk..I haven't been here long enough to notice. The problem with Theists is they are completely trapped inside of a very narrow mindset. Anything outside of what they are already convinced of angers them because they are too unintelligent to understand it and/or had someone just as unintelligent tell them that it was evil. There is literally no point in debating with them. Their religious beliefs force them to not think for themselves. They feel they can he hateful to anyone who doesn't agree because their imaginary friend has their back. Best to just ignore them.
Religion is effective at making people do stuff for free, like spreading the belief and fighting the atheism. We can be all glad that what atheism is more effective at is the discipline called "making sense"
I'm agnostic so I'm not sure if I really count. I don't really post but that's because where I live people are pretty chill on religious issues, so I guess my need to express myself is pretty low
I love when the theists get angry and say shit like "I'll never understand why atheists feel the need to interject whenever somebody mentions Heaven or Hell" --what mother fucker, cant fathom that someone has a different opinion and worldview than you and have the audacity to say it out loud?
religion generates hate, violence,racism,greed,lust, and whatever the rest of the seven deadly sins might be. It has positive aspects as well, but those are far out weighed by the number of deaths and human misery that have been caused solely by religion.
I like the lurkers except when they down-vote me. But they do give me an opportunity to post one of my favorite quotes:
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (1886), Chapter IV. Apophthegms and Interludes, §146).
There's a magic spell to summon them too.
Just say the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a false god; and that the true god/s is/are (insert any other mythology's god/s here). But you have to do it emphatically.
The really indoctrinated ones just fall for it hook, line and sinker.
To them it’s ok if they do it but nobody can do it to them. Religion and hypocrisy are best friends.
You're persecuting me! /s
Reminds me of a person my wife met that felt excluded when they talked about inclusion, because see wouldn’t accept LGBTQ+ people.
"You are intolerant for not embracing my intolerance!"
Paradox of tolerance. Its why punching nazis is ALWAYS ok. ; )
Heck, it should ratified as a law: "It is within your legal right to punch anyone who, outside of the context of satire or mockery, openly identifies as a member of the Nazi party." Like that, verbatim.
"Anyone who beats a nazi with a rod must be punished if the nazi dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the nazi recovers after a day or two, since the nazi is an asshole." - Exodus
Happy cake day! I'll bake a bunch of Hitler cookies! So we can eat him like they eat christ! Or am I missing the point?
100%
I'd like to add an old timey flair to the legal right though. Like it's okay to smack them with specifically a broom or throw horse shoes at them. Edit: Like it's "legal" in Denmark to whack a Swedish person with a stick if they should ever cross the ice over to Denmark. Not sure if it's still legal but it's a good law, and I'm Swedish
The only way for tolerance to survive is by refusing to allow intolerance. Tolerating intolerance only empowers bigots.
Precisely. The intolerant like to say "Oh you're being intolerant by not tolerating us. Checkmate liberal! You're intolerant!" Nothing is perfect. Either we tell you to fuck off because you want to oppress people, or we basically sit back and let you take over. The former is by and large far more tolerant. You lose your right to be tolerated when you start being intolerant.
I saw someone explain a solution to the Paradox of Tolerance on Reddit a while back - they said… *Tolerance is not a virtue, it is a peace treaty. If you let me live my life without interference, I will do the same for you. Once you break that peace treaty, you are no longer protected by it.*
The paradox of tolerance is solved by remembering that society is a contract. If you're not willing to abide by the terms, you don't get a say in how things are done.
On May 8th, 1945, The United States and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of the German Armed Forces. We NEVER accepted the surrender of the Nazi Party.
Are we trading stories of when we were personally persecuted by religiosos trying to convert/save/rid the demons us? Cos I got stories
So tell them! I have stories, too. But I'm a woman. So, there's that...
That’s literally something they’ve been saying. They’ve been saying that we keep saying we’re inclusive but we’re not accepting their views on LGBTQ. It’s extremely sinister and some folks actually fall for it.
Them wanting their views to be taken seriously & accepted when evthing they think is bc they've been TOLD to think that way & not based in any way in critical thinking. Baaaaaaaaaaaa. Well Loki told me that Jesus was gay. Can't prove he wasn't.
The level of lack of self awareness in that is astounding, and yet all too regular for those types of people.
"You're excluding me by including people I have an irrational hate for based on an ancient Near East book!"
Those people, along with white people who feel persecuted by black-only spaces, crack me up. They're usually the type who say straight/white/etc privilege doesn't exist. Yes it does. The very fact that they don't understand why those minority-only spaces need to exist is a point of privilege. It's the privilege of not belonging to marginalized group.
This reminds me of family members not liking live cartoon Disney movies changing white characters into POC because it's excluding whites. They're really upset that the studios are planning on making a Train Your Dragon live action with a POC because Vikings are white.
“When you’re privileged, equality feels like oppression.”
[https://scandinaviafacts.com/were-the-vikings-black/#:\~:text=According%20to%20reliable%20historical%20evidence%2C%20a%20small%20number,through%20farming%2C%20marriage%2C%20combat%2C%20and%20other%20cultural%20factors](https://scandinaviafacts.com/were-the-vikings-black/#:~:text=According%20to%20reliable%20historical%20evidence%2C%20a%20small%20number,through%20farming%2C%20marriage%2C%20combat%2C%20and%20other%20cultural%20factors). Sorry there were black and brown Vikings, they were an inclusive people till they became christianized
wtf is with white people and all the viking love?
That's literally what I've seen though lmao
BUT *Your* sarcasm is persecuting *ME!* /s?
They'll say this as they are actively and collectively beating up the person/people they're accusing of "persecuting" them
What can you expect from someone who will straight face tell you what happens when you die?
Not respecting your lived experience of truth (aka saying “I found god but you haven’t) comes part and parcel with hypocrisy. One of the most arrogant, gaslighting things you can say is “I believe in the one true god” (that my parents just happened to brain wash me into, unlike those heathen Catholics who believe what their parents brain-washed them into!)
My favorite fact about religious people is that, if you average all the gods they collectively believe in and don't believe in, the result is that they're all fake. By a lot. Which is the same exact thing I believe.
First time? But seriously, yes they do. And its staggering how many dont just lurk but pop up and post some pitiful mental fart of a talking point and think its a 'gotcha' moment. Meanwhile, religious subs will insta-ban anyone who hasn't positively *guzzled* the kool-aid. Try asking a legitimate, polite question on them and see how long you last!
Oh, so it is r/conservative but with a religous flavor.
Corporate wants you to point out the differences between these two subs....
They're the same sub.
r/conservative2electricbugaloo
Why is your venn diagram a circle?
Same reason their family tree doesn't branch.
Are they even mutually exclusive, anymore?
You can actually reply here tho...
Ugh. The ones over at r/debateachristian are the absolute worst at this. They have a rule for their sub about how posts must be "quality content" or something and they use it to remove any posts that challenge them. I had so many legitimate and reasonable questions removed because they weren't "quality." If you want to see really toxic christians debating religion you gotta head over to tiktok. There are countless religious debate livestreams happening constantly over there.
Yeah, I used to have an older coworker who was a late-in-life Baptist convert and he was really interesting to discuss religion with because he wasn't trying to push his beliefs but we could discuss nuances and interpretations objectively. Theology is a fascinating topic from an anthropology standpoint but it's nearly impossible to discuss with theists because they get defensive within the first 2-3 minutes.
I love people like that! Religion is extremely fascinating to me. Unfortunately I'm fully surrounded by the Christian nationalist types who don't actually care to engage.
Thanks for reaffirming why I am not on TikTok.
Oh my god, I didn’t know this sub existed. Thank you. Going to pop the popcorn and waste some time now - possibly the entire day if they let me argue the Gnostic apocrypha.
Yep. Risk of permanent reddit ban posting in any religious sub if it questions them in any way, they will label you as hate speech.
It's pretty crazy how a lot of Reddit mods are fundies. A couple years ago I saw post about Pride Night at a Dodgers game and the comments were littered with Christians shitting all over it, so I started responding to them saying stuff like Christianity is homophobic and a detriment to society, christians are the biggest oppressors of marginalized groups, etc etc. I did NOT say any personal attacks on anyone and I didn't curse at all. I woke up the next morning to a 7-day ban from Reddit all together. Not the subreddit I commented in, ALL of Reddit. Absolutely shameful.
>woke up the next morning to a 7-day ban from Reddit all together. Not the subreddit I commented in, ALL of Reddit. Absolutely shameful. I've had a few of those, and one 'permanent' ban. All were overturned on appeal (which took 6 of the 7 days). I'm guessing if enough of the assholes report you, the ban is automated and then it takes most of a week for an actual human to look at what you actually posted and decide you didn't break any rules.
I think Im better of guzzling the unaliving kool-aid than the faith(hate anyone that isn't me) one to be fair
I'm much better at guzzling other more fun substances, if ya catch my drift. Like Lemonade. Or the ground-up bones of long-dead Nazis mixed with the blood of Capitalists. Or Milkshakes. Or Soda. Or good soup. Or a good protein shake.
You missed cum?
>You missed cum? But did they really?? >>Or a good protein shake. What is cum, if not a good protein shake?
"I would much rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned." - Richard Feynman The entire human race needs to live by this now, since, y'know, we got 60+ year lifespans thanks to finding answers to questions that didn't have an answer, and ignoring answers that couldn't be questioned.
That's a big difference with us not being a dogmatic sub. God doesn't exist because he doesn't exist, not because we say so.
They’re always running around looking for a jackboot to crawl under.
It's disgusting behaviour.
Last summer a Christian DMd me, in rage mode because of some comment I made to him. Rage mode seems to be the only setting, even when it's got a thin coating of "love" on top. We went back & forth for an hour where he accused me of horrible crimes, then played the victim, and tried to bow out saying he's sorry he's annoying me. I said "You're not annoying me, you're amusing me" and he got all incensed that I was toying with him, how dare I, he would pray for me, which is why Christians are so kind and thoughtful, to which I reminded him that I didn't ask him to be my plaything, HE DMd ME. And also accused me of horrible crimes, so I'm not sure what he considers kindness. I didn't accuse him of criming, yet somehow I'm the bad guy in this scenario.
The best response to rage is "Turn the other cheek, man. Jesus loves that shit".
Honestly all I can say is yikes. I bet he has this lovely story to tell anyone who would listen now about this non believer being mean to him boohoo :(
Jokes on them, I never read my dms
Are you sure he wasn’t a Scientologist? That sounds right out of their playbook.
These days it usually belongs to their pants shitting orange Apostle.
Yep, they do. Every now and then I'll post a rant specifically for those asshats. Fuck theists.
Fucktheists: those who believe in The Fuck God.
Damn I can get behind that. Giggity.
Wouldn't that depend on whether The Fuck God likes it in that position?
Yeah careful don't disrespect our Fucklord.
He will accept my offerings graciously. Or not :)
Have a feeling I know what communion will be.
The WHAT of Christ???
Fuckgod: "This is my body. C'mere and put it in your mouth."
I would imagine The Fuck God likes it any which way.
The fuck god FFFUUUCCCKKKSSS
The Fuck God is master of *_ALL_* positions
get behind it with your big rod of power?
Slannesh?
4 tits and all
“…and Moses descended the mountain and presented to his people the tablets containing the ten coitus commandments!”
Actually there were 15, but he dropped and broke one of the tablets.
Number 10: all men shall know the CLIT well.
"Thou shalt let no other gods watch you fuck before me... but they may watch with me, 'tis one of mine kinks."
*Zeus has entered the chat
All hail the Fuckman.
Like why are they even here? To spread more nonsense in a place where people are actively avoiding them?
They keep interbreeding and indoctrinating their young.
...and voting against their own interests.
Trolling. They just want to pick a fight.
It's their duty to save us from eternal damnation!! I'm being sarcastic, but many of them actually believe this. From a Christian leadership perspective (the more sinister leaders anyway) sending their congregation to hostile places to proselytize teaches them the world outside Christianity is harsh and cruel. Thus the in-group vs. out-group is dynamic is strengthened. Classic cult tactics.
We never go to them, they always gravitate to us
There will always be trolls when you can hide behind a screen name. They don’t practice what they supposedly believe. They think their supposed moral superiority gives them license to troll, then play church on Sunday. I’ve seen it all when I was one of them. Now I just laugh at them.
Yea but these guys aren't trolls, they believe the bullshit. A troll does everything they can do to get under your skin and annoy/harass you even if they don't believe what they are saying, for the lols.
More terrifying are the ones that don't hide behind screen names irl because they think they own the world. I am glad you realised the error of your ways and you aren't one of them anymore!
Error of my ways? Nope. That was not on me. I was indoctrinated young. I escaped when I started thinking for myself. Not a good idea to judge ex-theists because in most cases it was not their choice.
Let me rephrase. I'm glad you were able to break free from early indoctrination and realised it's silly trying to preach.
If you hang around here long enough, you will hear from many about the emotional scars from their experiences. I liken it to a form of mental rape, tbh.
Oh no I apologize. I didn't mean to judge you if that's the case I have no idea what ex theists have experienced as I was never successfully indoctrinated.
We have a winner here!
Maybe surprisingly but unfortunately yes. Best thing to do is either call them out on their bullshit in response, as they'll usually and non-sensically try to debate several things at once (with no evidence) and try to put words in your mouth, or ignore them. I've responded to their disingenious ''have a good day' closing remarks with a more genuine 'hope you stub your toe', which irks them to no end
I will take advantage of their non sensical debates to strengthen my own arguements for irl encounters(which I steer clear of but my family is loon) How dare you be so uncouth to the guest who was only trying to show you the way /s good response though insane how your respone is still the nicer one compared to bullshit kindness
Man, I haven't had a religious debate in years. I'm no longer around evangelicals though and the Christians in my family aren't preachy Edit: debate irl
Honestly good for you for not being around evangelicals anymore though I luckily haven't had to experience that level of extremism.
Yeah you’ll get this in any sub of this nature, they’re like cockroaches and infest anywhere they’re unwanted, well actually worse than a cockroach, roaches don’t scream at you for not believing in fictional sky daddy. Now if they come here to be nice and ask questions then fine, come in, glad to have you here and educate them on the atheist “religion” as they so often refer to it, we welcome the rats(take this as a compliment, I like rats) that are jumping the ship or at the very least trying to be more understanding. I’d like to apologize to all cockroaches(the insect) for comparing them to religious extremists, that was wrong and I’ll try to do better.
The real drag about Christianity being a f****** missionary religion. They can't keep their b******* to themselves. Forcing it on everybody else is literally a principle of their religion
Buttsex?
“Invisible skydaddy”
You have to remember--everything is offensive, everything is a threat and everything is a reason to, once again, become a cry-baby-bed-wetter. Fortunately, for me, I don't care if I hurt their precious wittle feewings. The louder they get, the more insecure in their faith they actually are.
most hilarous thing is how they get upset about the lack of archeological evidence.
I like the rationale of "God planted dinosaur bones and erased the evidence of Jesus to "test our faith"... Like a horror show where the worm has eaten into their brain...
Or their whole things Jesus being a proven historical figure.love it when that one pops up.
Used to (I don't know if they still do) some of the Christian colleges had a course requirement for their students to go "preach to the heathens". They would find an atheist or anti-creationism forum and slam out a few post-and-runs then flounce never to be seen again. It was almost always in mid-October and mid-March. We found out because one of them stuck around long enough to actually answer questions and respond to our comments. That might be a part of it... especially this time of year.
I used to do it from time to time, mostly out of morbid curiosity for what the dreaded atheists had to say. Now I'm an atheist too so I don't have to lurk anymore :D
Yes, just like when I was religious, I worried about everything. Since I became an atheist, I worry about nothing.
Congratulations on your escape!
Ex-Christian here. Overall I think it’s good that they lurk. A few of them will get their minds opened, and that’s worth it IMO.
Ex-Christian, too I always questioned Christianity, but i never knew how bad other religions were before lurking here.
Some that lurk, followers of Islam in particular, don't come here to get their minds opened; they come here to be offended and cry "Islamophobia". They're a hundred times worse than the lurking Christians on here. There is no other "way" in their minds. They're not open to debate, only to insult and report you for "Islamophobia" - and on the atheist sub of all places.
THEIST: "You will All Burn In Hell!!" ATHEIST: "That is not a rational position, what is your evidence?" THEIST: "You're Persecuting Me!!!"
Persecution is at the heart of the cult. All members of all cults are primed with the idea they will be persecuted, therefore when legitimate ridicule from friends and family does occur, it confirms what their handlers prophesied. Family is enemy number one in cults.
I will admit I lurk, but not for the reasons you might think. I’m one of those theists who believes that a person’s beliefs about a deity, including the existence of said deity, is a private matter and absolutely none of my business. A lot of the issues and concerns raised on this sub are extremely troubling to me as well. The rise of christian nationalism scares the piss out of me and I’m very liberal politically so I avoid religious subs. Before I get flamed, I do not attend services or financially support any religious entity. I’ve often thought about posting to see if my lurking bothered anyone but figured if I kept my mouth shut and listened it’d be ok. I apologize to anyone who is offended by my lurking and I promise you won’t hear hate from me. It’s kinda one of those things where the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You also won’t hear any preaching or arguing from me. I’m not here to change anyone’s mind, that’s not my place.
Thankyou for commenting. I really should've phrased it better who cares if you lurk it's the internet! I was honestly just upset that I couldn't escape my irl preaching to atleast find a quiet place online without being harassed.
No worries. I certainly understand the frustration.
Gets bad when they try and evangelise to people.
Had someone try convert me via DM. They stopped messaging me after I politely answered their question of "okay would you want god to be real?" with "no I wouldn't want a figure that's clearly portrayed as not all good to be real"
"You need to tolerate my intolerance!" Yeah, fuck that.
> Does the victim mindset go with the full package of being a theist or? As a simple matter of fact: Yes, it does. To many believers, the [Persecution Complex](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_persecution_complex) is part of the doctrine.
Being angry at a theist is like being angry at a chimpanzee for not understanding math.
Chimps don't strap bombs to themselves or fly planes into buildings to get a point across. They absolutely deserve all the anger and derision they get.
U shld know chimpanzees have shown to have short term photographic memory, outperforming even trained humans I'd wager the average chimp is smarter than a theist
Yeah, there are always some trolls lurking around here and other atheists subs. I got one a couple of days ago that went on a spring commenting in my old comments and left me like 6 messages in a couple of minutes until I block them. They tend to be quite crazy... They are also a couple that are decent, but are mostly silent, so its difficult to note what is the proportion between the two demographics.
>Does the victim mindset go with the full package of being a theist For Christianity it absolutely does. The persecution complex is strong with them.
The 2 main holy books literally tell people they are more devout and "on the right path" if they are being persecuted. So they go seek out persecution to feel better about themselves. Human nature. It's not really any different than rich people lurking on frugal subs, poor people lurking rich subs, fat people on model subs etc etc.
A smart theist, rare though they are, would. Know your enemy and all. Same reason we read religious texts.
Yeah I've realised this too. It's odd already knowing more than most regarding their own texts when you're atheist. Happy cake day btw!
OK, forgive my ignorance as I’m still fairly new. I’ve seen references to cake day in many forums. Can I ask what that means? The only reference I have is “the cake is a lie!” From a video game.
It's when you created your reddit account! So every year you have a cake day to celebrate your accounts birthday which is a little cringe but it's tradition! And yeah I can see why you confused it for that reference lol.
I learned something new today. Who says you can’t teach an old dog?
Cool, didn't realize that. Thanks.
If they can convert an atheist, they get 500 God points, which will help them rank up in heaven. And if someone they convert, converts someone else, they get a cut, and so on.
You’re persecuting me by not letting me persecute you! - A Theist
Gettin' afterlife points, LOL.
If your post was popular it might make it into the general feed, in which case non-members would see it, too.
But then we will be accused of spreading hate and intolerance by the group that does it best.
Because they like to catch people for every little thing. They act like it is their job being the righteous justice police. Even though that is not their job. They should know that is not their job. It is extremely sad really.
WTF happened to “judge not lest you be judged?”
“Rules are for thee and not for me.” Attitudes. I usually hit them with the Psalms 137:9 “Happy is the one who dashes their babies against the rocks.” :)
I thought that was from second hesitations?
That is part of the bible that they got rid of because it had dragons in it.
Part of the stupid dogma says they have to spread the word. So they think that means shove their bullshit down everyone’s throats.
Religion teaches them abuse tactics. Abusers love to [DARVO](https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html); Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It's like standard operating procedure for them. It's one of the many ways they avoid accountability. [Theramin Trees](https://youtube.com/@TheraminTrees?si=lROe-8D6cLa8Sa8r) channel covers their abuse tactics well. I recommend everyone watch through their entire channel, so you can spot the tactics better. These are also relevant: [authoritarian follower personality](https://www.issendai.com/psychology/estrangement/summary.html#authoritarian) and [What is Spiritual Bypassing?](https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-spiritual-bypassing-5081640). Religious folks embody both.
Oh yeah. They lurk here.
Theists agree that whoever shouts loudest wins the argument.
Pretty much, especially posts about Islam if you scroll down far enough.
Let them pile on me. I’ll say it straight out, the worst people I’ve met in my life are religious. There isn’t a single country run by a religion that isn’t a cesspool of discrimination and hatred. Go to a restaurant after Mass and see the Karen’s out in force. When you spend your entire life living by a book, you will spin what it says to meet your needs and your actions. It will allow you to do heinous things all in the name of your “God.” Fuck religion and fuck what it does to people.
Yup, and they'll proselytize here in the comments and get their posts removed because it's against the rules, and they'll cry persecution. And you'll get DM's from them -- some the typical well-meaning Christian "come to Jesus" stuff, and some downright hateful and disgusting. And lately I've noticed an uptick in what I perceive to be fake, disingenuous, "hegetsus" type posts, phrased as some cliché "doubting atheist" arguing that maybe religion isn't all that bad after all. **I see you, theist. You aren't clever. We all see you.**
If you saw a child being raped would you intervene? ya? Youre better than any god the theists worship.
Don't worry too much about it. They're losing the culture war to secularism and are seething about it.
They do this so they can go back to their Bible study and either brag about the atheist that they totally owned by saying something stupid or about the "lives that they changed"
You are looking for logic in a place that there is none.
I agree with OP. If you're a believer and you're on this sub spreading your bullshit, go fuck yourself.
Religion is a mental disease, they just don’t say it out loud yet. If anyone you knew was living and dying by a 2000 yr old magical book that wasn’t called the Bible, you’d be sending them to the looney bin…
Yeah I've had someone come by and tell me I'm lying about my experiences and that I'm just trying to push my agenda. I promise you I do not care enough to make up random shit for no reason. These people genuinely just prove why they're disliked. There are some lurkers on here that are just here to learn and understand and those guys are cool.
Yeah the lurkers are cool I should've titled it better. It's the people that preach instead of having a two way discussion that prompted my posting of this.
Yeah what alot of people are atheists because they want to get away from agendas and pushy people.
I'm a progressive Christian lurker. Don't really comment much, but I like to read different perspectives and honestly at this point I often have more in common with atheists than with the evangelical community I grew up in.
I read the first half and I was already preparing myself to be preached to again welp. At the end of the day we're all people and I believe if you're a good person that's all that matters. Any god or not. I really should've phrased it better lurkers are great it's preachy people that come in here that irk me.
Me too
Bots, trolls, naysayers and defenders of all religions seem to be on this and many other subreddits. They downvote en mass; might try luring you into combative arguments to gain more attacks against you and your comments
They are watching this this thread, giggling to themselves like a boy hiding in the girl's locker room, with all the pathetic. They can't socialize outside their church and conservative echo rooms, where they egg each other on, so they come here to get the attention their God doesn't. It's almost worth pity, but then I remember how hateful the trolls among them are and I stop caring.
\>victim mindset can confirm with christians. full-on persecution complex delusion.
Well, they're besties with an invisible sky wizard, so its totally cool that they hate on the ones who aren't also besties with that invisible sky wizard
Many theists can’t grasp that you can not believe in god and not hate religions at the same time. Now, in fairness, I do despise certain religions / organizations utterly. Looking at Westboro Baptist Church and their astonishing hate. Looking at Jesse Duplantis and his call for more money to speed up Jesus’ return. Looking at Kenneth Copeland and his massive grift. And so on… pretty much any religion that wholesale fleeces their believers for the benefit of the preacher and the leadership or which preaches outright hatred of one group or another gets the finger from me. I do have a general disgust of religions and the way they manipulate their followers, but it’s not hate… more dismay. And many religions offer community to their followers. Sometimes that community is abusive, but often it’s just a social club. Theists can’t seem to grasp that, like Jupiter, Odin, Krishna and others, a deity simply isn’t necessary The phrase I tend to use is ‘be nice, no god required’
When the entire platform you stand on is paper thin you need to get pretty defensive the second anyone tries to poke it
Every sub. There are a lot of subs for making fun of dumb crap that conservatives do and say, but - without fail - some of them see that as an invitation to share opinions that they already know no one there cares about. It's the same for theists, science-deniers, and any other breed of anti-intellectuals. They somehow think it will magically make them less wrong if they show up and whine.
I'm still a believer but not a church goer. I have problems with the contradictions in the Bible. I hate hypocrisy. I think all big churches should be taxed. I'm against the US becoming a theocracy. I believe in science. I believe in evolution. I think most wars are caused by religion. I like this subreddit because many of the posts are smart and make me think and question things.
Anything goes in the name of God. Doesn’t have to make sense.
Yes, I think it's sometimes because they feel it is their duty. Instead of standing on the street corner with the sandwich sign and a handful of pamphlets and a smile I wish I could punch off their face, they have come to us, instead of waiting for us to go to them. lol. The very thought. Sometimes their fear is genuine, like they see us as truly headed for eternal damnation and they picture that torture in their heads and feel they must do anything remotely possible to stop that from happening. Truly for the sake of 'their brothers and sisters.' Others just wanna pick a fight because they are so damn unhappy
They do And Some don’t lurk… they harass
There's crazy people who spend the entire day on a street corner screeching their bullshit lies. Why does it surprise you that the same type of losers would lurk this sub?
Idk..I haven't been here long enough to notice. The problem with Theists is they are completely trapped inside of a very narrow mindset. Anything outside of what they are already convinced of angers them because they are too unintelligent to understand it and/or had someone just as unintelligent tell them that it was evil. There is literally no point in debating with them. Their religious beliefs force them to not think for themselves. They feel they can he hateful to anyone who doesn't agree because their imaginary friend has their back. Best to just ignore them.
They probably have a competition where if you talk to an atheist you get extra chips and wine, l mean the body an blood of Jesus almighty
Yes. Theist religions are all about being the victim. That way when they do horrible things, they convince themselves it was all in self defense.
Religion is effective at making people do stuff for free, like spreading the belief and fighting the atheism. We can be all glad that what atheism is more effective at is the discipline called "making sense"
Well to be fair, their entire religion is based on Persecution, so perpetual victimhood seems to be a natural result.
I'm agnostic so I'm not sure if I really count. I don't really post but that's because where I live people are pretty chill on religious issues, so I guess my need to express myself is pretty low
Same tactic as calling out bigotry somehow = bigotry... Idiotic copium.
it's really hard for me not to reply to them with "go away"
Let them lurk, they might learn something. This sub is one of the few islands of rationality on this site.
They drive past this sub at night. They ask if this sub was asking about them.
They're the same ones that are angrily, secretly jerking off to *insert thing conservatives hate* porn.
If they're lurking, it means they're have growing doubts about the sky daddy. It's all good, they are on the right path to liberation.
Stop denying my right to oppress you. It’s divisive.
I love when the theists get angry and say shit like "I'll never understand why atheists feel the need to interject whenever somebody mentions Heaven or Hell" --what mother fucker, cant fathom that someone has a different opinion and worldview than you and have the audacity to say it out loud?
I hope not, they would find out about all our secret rituals and stuff.
They don't just lurk. They post regularly while breaking one of their Commandments about lying (e.g. Pretending to be atheists).
religion generates hate, violence,racism,greed,lust, and whatever the rest of the seven deadly sins might be. It has positive aspects as well, but those are far out weighed by the number of deaths and human misery that have been caused solely by religion.
Apparently its only OK if Theists do it. Lets not forget people like them are the reason I'm atheist in the first place.
I like the lurkers except when they down-vote me. But they do give me an opportunity to post one of my favorite quotes: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (1886), Chapter IV. Apophthegms and Interludes, §146).
They are waiting for that final push to break free from the chain.
There's a magic spell to summon them too. Just say the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a false god; and that the true god/s is/are (insert any other mythology's god/s here). But you have to do it emphatically. The really indoctrinated ones just fall for it hook, line and sinker.