<p>^I too have never heard of it being impolite to be an atheist in public. </p>
<p>And there is Pete Stark who is an atheist congressmen. The country is turning less and less religious. We will have more openly atheist politicians. Do you think our parents growing up would ever imagine a time with Muslim politicians? A black president? A woman as the defacto leader of the Republican party? A black man as the leader of the RNC? Times constantly change.</p>
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<p>I would be offended not because I disagree with you, but because you appear to be mocking others by using a neutral statement – decomposition – as a compliment. If not that, then it still is just a neutral compliment in a way that the woman’s was not. You presumably have no opinion, so to me that would be like saying, “Jesus exists, so be prepared for the last judgment.”</p>
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Right. For a lot of people, their “ideology” is Christianity. The main thing is that atheists just aren’t the norm.</p>
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<p>well, duh, of course you can talk about (almost) anything in public without being in danger of the law.</p>
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<p>I didn’t know that. I would be really surprised if he really plays it up though. I’d bet that when he first got elected to the house that he either didn’t mention his atheism or maybe even outright lied and said he was a christian.</p>
<p>She’s not afraid to show her religion. I think that’s pretty important regardless of what you believe in. I’m a Christian but I refrain from comments like that at irrelevant times because I think showing his love has greater effect than telling it.</p>
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<p>I’m a cashier at a grocery store and this happens all the time.</p>
<p>The fact that you even care at all about this shows that you will grow up to be a lame adult. I’m an agnostic but c’mon, give me a break. You are taking things way to seriously.</p>
<p>People need to chill out.</p>
<p>youre reading too much into it. i bet she says that to everyone and didn’t have intentions to insult or offend you.</p>
<p>So someone is offended. Big whoop! Time to put on the big boy pants and move on.</p>
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How the hell is that offensive to atheists?</p>
<p>^Maybe it’s an islamic prayer? Who knows…lol this is kind of ridiculous, I would look at it oddly, and just shake it off and move on to the next person.</p>
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<p>Excuse me, sir. As an Atheist, I am deeply offended by your use of the word “hell.” How dare you refer to concepts that have no basis in reality in your daily speech? Eternal damnation is a heinous construct of religion that has no place in our Modern World of Science and Rationality. Are you trying to scare me into becoming a Christian with your fearmongering and preying on irrational thought? Do you mentally abuse children with your religious diction in your spare time, too? You should be ashamed of yourself. People like you are the absolute, utter scourge of the earth.</p>
<p>^Naw, naw man, Fred Phelps is the absolute utter scourge of the earth, that guy is so bad I’ve honestly had people not believe me when I bring him up in conversation. It reminds me of that episode of Mission Hill where Posey is talking to the Pimp and refers to him as some “Cartoonish Villian” he’s so heinous he’s unreal</p>
<p>Religious nuts like HarveyLewis are the human shields of religious supernuts like Fred Phelps.</p>
<p>Considering there are multiple meanings for the word hell, pigeon holing hell into only one meaning is being very narrow minded. Your hell might be different than my hell.</p>
<p>Oh, sure, and your rationality might be different from my rationality, too? Your logic might be different from my logic? Your religious “reasoning” clearly relies on numerous Logical Fallacies. Let’s all make up our own definitions of words, so that we might not pigeon-hole them in to one specific meaning! Yeah, right.</p>
<p>Edit: You have also asserted that I have a “hell.” This is an additional Logical Fallacy on your part. Need I remind you that I am an Atheist and do not pretend that things are real when they are not. “Hell” has no basis in reality; you are merely another religious nut trying to manipulate me into thinking irrationally.</p>
<p>We all have a hell Sithis.</p>
<p>I should probably point out at this point that #s 51,53, and 55 are parody/sarcasm.</p>
<p>I’m not offended by those types of comments. Unless they chastise me for not being christain. We live in a judeo christain country. No need to get offended or upset because someone wants to share the love. I think those comments come from a good place. I find it funny so many young people are quick to label themselves athiests. </p>
<p>How can you deny the existence of anything when you’ve barely lived? I think you should just say you’re undecided. You have critical thinking skills for maybe 10 years, I don’t think that’s enough time to make conclusions about how the world works. Maybe that’s just because I had an incredible, unexplainable religious/spiritual experience and felt myself die and come back to life. After that I decided not to make conclusions about spirtuality until I lived a little. I am at the point where I don’t think everything could have existed forever, so at some point nothing could have existed, and something had to spark it all. I am trying to find an explanation for it all, and have decided not to rule anything out until it has been disproved. I don’t get annoyed when people try to be kind and it doesn’t hurt me, they are just trying to share insight they think they’ve gained from an experience. No harm in that. I Ironically I find myself reading Sartre.</p>
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<p>Hell is other people.
And this thread reminds me why that is… lol</p>
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<p>You’re saying that we don’t believe in God because we’re young? Sorry, but that’s absurd IMO. Denying or believing in the existence of something has nothing to do with your age or experience. </p>
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<p>So did I. I renounced Catholicism soon after and became an atheist (I have since drifted back to agnosticism although I still do not believe in a God figure). We all have different reactions to similar situations.</p>
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<p>Don’t quit your day job, Sithis.</p>