You know, sometimes the only way to learn a lesson about yourself is to see what evil you are capable of. Sometimes, for the unfortunate few, you can only truly grow and improve yourself upon reaching lows in life. I think that this is because when we are low we are finally willing to face the tough questions, challenge ourselves in deeper ways, and the ascension gives us newer perspectives.
The shame is that so many people that discover this give “god” the credit. I think that this diminishes the lesson.
Skepticism, Properly Applied 
shaunphilly, you are the owner of this blog?
The atheist, polyamorous, geek
Criticism is not uncivil
Well, I am not directly into criticism but into exchange of thoughts with you.
And let me commend for not imposing a screening by yourself before messages or comments here are published right away, as my experience so far has been the case.
The fact that you are talking about your atheism is proof that you do care to know what people think of you and your atheism.
There are folks who just don’t bother with being atheist or about atheism, they just live without God whatsoever, and don’t write in the web about why they don’t concern themselves with God and they don’t talk about God or no God at all.
You are different, you talk about it and write in the web for people to know you and your being an atheist and that you are not troubled by your lifestyle of polyamory, and that you believe that the best way to find out how far into evil of the kinds Christians are avoiding is to do it — just don’t get in trouble with the law of the law though.
Now I happen to believe that your way of knowing how much evil you can do is unreasonable and altogether unfeasible.
Tell me, suppose you put to practice how much evil you can do by doing it:
Do this evil act which is evil for Christians: commit suicide, but leave a note to your fellow atheists that if you succeed to tell people that you have just experienced how much evil you can do and you tried suicide by shooting yourself in the head with a magnum pistol.
My regret is that if you do commit suicide to really try how much evil you are capable of doing, then I will no longer have this blog to contribute my comments to about your kind of atheism and lifestyle.
Thanks in advance just the same for this chance to have my comments published here.
Gerry
I think you misunderstood. I was saying that sometimes you learn things about yourself in a time of weakness, having done something evil while angry or otherwise not in control. It was a comment about how when we do things out of loss of control, we see what we are capable of and then finally are willing to see what lies below the every day mind.
I don’t advocate doing evil, I just appreciate what I’ve learned as a result of what I’ve done. I just wish I could have learned the same lesson without the harm to others.
Why is it that you have such persecution anxiety? You claim that atheists should stop being “wussies” yet with all your talk of weaknesses, insecurities, fear, etc. you come across as though you have the emotional fortitude of a fragile 15 year old girl. Both your sciamachy and moral turpitude lend credence to the fact that atheists need Jesus. You’d be doing us all a favor if you just packed it in.
I’m curious what makes you think I have any persecution anxiety. I do sometimes feel a slight discrimination based upon ignorance, fear, and insecurity on the part of believers challenged by my lack of belief, but I am not anxious about it, just concerned and fascinated.
I talk of weaknesses and fears because I realize that the vast majority of people have them. I don’t find it weak to admit this and to try ti learn from them by unearthing them to see clearly.
I do find it somewhat ironic that you would criticize me using the word “sciamachy,” as it seems to imply that as an atheist I’m battling with an imaginary foe; since most theists view atheists as battling god, I find this highly ironic. But that isn’t what you meant, I know.
I don’t see any moral flaw here. I also don’t see what Jesus could offer me, especially since if he did ever exist, he was just a dude with some message that was being thrown around by many so-called Jewish prophets of the time.
And yes, I’m sure you’d love it if we just stopped criticizing theistic beliefs so you could continue to stop feeling persecuted for doing battle with your imaginary sin. You post, dear sir, was the height of projection onto me the fears and insecurities you seem to have yourself.
Why is is that theists seem to, so often, use their own insecurities as weapons?
I should have put “fact” in sneer quotes when I wrote “…credence to the fact that atheists need Jesus”. I’m an atheist, not a Christian, that is sad to see people like yourself try to make us into victims which we decidedly are NOT. The fact that you thought I was A Jesus freak
and wrote:
“You post, dear sir, was the height of projection onto me the fears and insecurities you seem to have yourself. ”
betrays a kind of bigotry for there is nothing in my brief statement that even were you to believe I was a christian that indicates “fears and insecurities”. The “us” I mentioned in “You’d be doing us all a favor if you just packed it in.” referred to those atheists confidant enough to let time and scientific progress do most of the work. But its nice to show yet another reason why people like you shouldn’t be spokespeople for rationalism.
I live in the same society you do but I don’t feel discriminated against because of my theological beliefs or lack thereof. Certainly not in a way that rivals ways in which I clearly am discriminated against for example you try being a High School math teacher that isn’t a liberal & fan of the teacher’s union.
To say that atheists are under siege or threatened is ridiculous. Even though most people profess to be Christians in this country few of them “really” believe that. How many Christians do you know that abstained from sex until marriage? Even Sarah Palin gave birth to her first child only a few months after she was married and we all know about her daughter. The cultural determinants at work render most activism on the part of atheists counterproductive.
There will always be some discomfort for the weak if they are in a minority, and it need not be based on race or beliefs. You may feel uncomfortable if you are overweight, too old, too young, unattractive, unintelligent, too intelligent.etc. In the event some religious blowhard attacks atheists I just smile and feel sorry idiot whose mind is locked in such a primitive gear.
And as for your personal foibles this is your blog and you can write about whatever you want but if you want to burnish the ethos of atheism or even simply promote a more rational approach to life, dwelling on insecurities and fears or even mentioning them is not the way to do it. While everyone can be moody or sad at times mentally healthy grown-ups are not bothered enough by such things to even mention them.
Whininess is unbecoming of any person or movement that wishes to be taken seriously. As I said do us atheists a favor and pack it in.
My apologies for not understanding your point of view. But your post sounded like many I’ve seen from Christians.
Still, I don’t see how I’m being whiny. I expressed a thought about how fears and insecurities can have affects on people’s beliefs, and I think this is true for almost everyone. You are attacking me for claiming discrimination that I never whined about in the first place. My concern is with people who, being led m=by emotions, are unwilling to challenge themselves. You are not one of them? Great, I’m glad to hear it.
I suppose the only question I have is where you live. From your comments about being a math teacher who is not liberal and not a fan of teacher’s unions, I’m guessing not in the Bible belt. If that is the case, yet another case of someone who isn’t surrounded by what little discrimination there is for atheists (especially ones who are not shy) telling me that I’m whining.
And I admit, living ina liberal area, I have seen little to no discrimination based on my being an atheist, yet I know it does exist in some places. The point of my blog is not to whine, but to discuss issues of polyamory and atheism, both of which make me a minority in themselves and are misunderstood by most.
I do not dwell on fears and insecurities so much as I am keenly aware of them having do deal with my own. I see how many people around me are subject to the same things and so I talk about it. If you don’t want to read about that, please visit one of the other thousands of blogs.