Some thoughts about atheists

[tacit]

I've been seeing an uptick lately in popular media about atheism. A lot of these things I've been seeing start with "Atheists are..." and then lay out the premise that folks who don't believe in some kind of supernatural god have all sorts of negative characteristics, whether they be fat or immoral or selfish or whatever

Comments

[red_girl_42]

I have had many Christians chastise me for generalizing about Christians. They are, after all, a VERY diverse group.

The only generalization anyone can make about atheists is that they do not believe in a god or gods. Beyond that, anything goes.

[lovewithoutfear]

ICON LOVE, especially with Easter coming up

[sweh]

Two comments

[roguebaby]

yeah, I've never understood why I am supposed to have a carrot and a stick offered to me in relation to morality.
I think a lot of it boils down to "Don't be a douchbag"

[datan0de]

"Although I do wonder if its easier to get laid as a Christian. "

This is purely anecdotal, but my experience is that no, it isn't easier to get laid as a Christian (unless you're a high ranking religious official, apparently). I say this despite the fact that I lost my virginity to the girl whose Catholic confirmation I was sponsoring. >:-)

[6_bleen_7]

Very well said! I'll definitely bookmark this.

Re "Atheists are like Hitler": A useful work for exploring the "atheist Hitler" myth is The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945, by Richard Stiegmann-Gall. It supposes considerable knowledge of prewar Nazi Germany, and it's a reworked Ph.D. dissertation, so it's not light reading, but very informative.

Obligatory nitpick: The earth's surface is just under 71% water (about 66% by oceans and 5% by freshwater and salt lakes). A sea-level rise of 5 m would bring the coverage to almost exactly 75% (probably assuming total lake volume doesn't change).