# A credible atheist **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 27, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697 "2013-07-27T21:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/21 "2013-07-28T00:36:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I could have sworn we’ve had threads before, not just on religion and politics, but on this exact question. Most probably, but I’ll be goddamned if I’m wading through all the search results to find out. > [@](#): > > Does he really think being a billionaire genius is an advantage? In becoming POTUS? How could it not be an advantage? Although I’ll grant that the ‘genius’ part may not help as much… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/22 "2013-07-28T00:38:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What would it take for a lawyer to get elected president in the America we know today; is there anything that could ‘override’ the public distaste for lawyers in order for a lawyer to be elected to the highest office in the land? Lawyers aren’t anywhere near as despised as atheists are. ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/23 "2013-07-28T00:39:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What would it take for a lawyer to get elected president in the America we know today; is there anything that could ‘override’ the public distaste for lawyers in order for a lawyer to be elected to the highest office in the land? We shysters just can’t get a fair shake…except those of us as handsome as Oprah and as personable as George Clooney, like Millard Fillmore. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/24 "2013-07-28T00:47:24Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Look at how quickly gays went from pariahs (and even outlaws) to becoming mainstream and (largely) accepted. We have had gay Congressmen. We certainly will eventually have openly atheist Congressmen. A big part of that was liberal religions endorsing gay rights. Would they do the same for atheists? Seems like endorsing your own destruction. ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/25 "2013-07-28T00:52:24Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > A big part of that was liberal religions endorsing gay rights. Would they do the same for atheists? Seems like endorsing your own destruction. I certainly oppose any discrimination against anyone for their religious views (or non-religious as the case may be). Why would that mean endorsing my own destruction? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/26 "2013-07-28T02:22:37Z")
> [@huck](#): > > I certainly oppose any discrimination against anyone for their religious views (or non-religious as the case may be). Why would that mean endorsing my own destruction? Because we atheists are you liberal Christians’ biggest competitors, and we certainly do intend to pick off your members as fast as possible. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/27 "2013-07-28T02:25:31Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > At the same time, I can’t really blame religious people for feeling this way. Really? I find it fairly easy. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/28 "2013-07-28T02:30:12Z")
But are you blaming them for feeling this way given that they are following a religion that makes doing so mandatory (and, within the bounds of that worldview, makes sense)? Or are you blaming them for belonging to that religion to begin with? The latter I can get behind, although it is hard for people to overcome doctrination from a young age. ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/29 "2013-07-28T02:32:30Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Because we atheists are you liberal Christians’ biggest competitors, and we certainly do intend to pick off your members as fast as possible. 🆒 Be prepared. You’ll have to provide fair-trade coffee and cake to a bunch of hypocritical cherry-pickers eve Sunday morning, and be hit up for donations to the food pantry and the after-school program. We can’t help ourselves… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/30 "2013-07-28T02:59:44Z")
It would depend on what kind of atheist they were. If they just plain old didn’t believe in any God or higher power, but were okay with others doing so, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. If they were the militant variety, nope. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/31 "2013-07-28T03:05:23Z")
**Near** , here’s the thing (and I think this is a big underlying issue religious people have with atheists): even if any given atheist seems to ostensibly be “okay with others doing so”, there is a fundamental reality of their \*actual \*opinion of those others (if we’re talking about a real atheist here and not an “agnostic”). Namely, that said theistic people are under the delusion that an imaginary superbeing in the sky is actually real and made everything in the universe. No matter how polite an atheist acts outwardly, we all think most people around us are essentially nutso, credulous, or both. ---
**Author:** ![huck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@huck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/32 "2013-07-28T03:12:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > **Near** , here’s the thing (and I think this is a big underlying issue religious people have with atheists): even if any given atheist seems to ostensibly be “okay with others doing so”, there is a fundamental reality of their \*actual \*opinion of those others (if we’re talking about a real atheist here and not an “agnostic”). Namely, that said theistic people are under the delusion that an imaginary superbeing in the sky is actually real and made everything in the universe. No matter how polite an atheist acts outwardly, we all think most people around us are essentially nutso, credulous, or both. Huh. I don’t think you can really claim universality here. I was more or less brought up by my grandfather, a staunch atheist but far too smart and honest to believe that most people around him were crazy or stupid. Especially not given the historical evidence (and that of his own experience) to the contrary. My two kids who are atheists are a young adult and a teen ager. I suspect they think everyone who disagrees with them is crazy or stupid, but they’re intelligent and will grow out of it. ---
**Author:** ![NotDeadYet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotDeadYet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotDeadYet)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/33 "2013-07-28T03:22:44Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What would it take for a lawyer to get elected president in the America we know today; is there anything that could ‘override’ the public distaste for lawyers in order for a lawyer to be elected to the highest office in the land? Please forgive me as I am new here. I guess you are being funny, right? Bill? Hillary? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/34 "2013-07-28T03:47:27Z")
So **huck** , your grandfather: –staunchly believed there was clearly no invisible omnipotent man in the sky who created everything –thought it was perfectly reasonable for other people to believe the opposite Really? How’s that work? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/35 "2013-07-28T04:07:55Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > So **huck** , your grandfather: > > –staunchly believed there was clearly no invisible omnipotent man in the sky who created everything > > –thought it was perfectly reasonable for other people to believe the opposite > > Really? How’s that work? How’s that odd? I’m an atheist, and I don’t think most theists are nutso or credulous. So, I’m with **Huck’s** grandpa on this. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/36 "2013-07-28T04:30:50Z")
And you feel the same way about people who firmly believe other imaginary beings are real? Like if someone insisted that there is a sort of spirit named Jack Frost who actually makes frost on windows? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/37 "2013-07-28T04:36:45Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > Already happened: [Pete Stark - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Stark) He was my congressman, and a very special case. His district is incredibly diverse - I think it is majority Christian but not by much. We are also extremely liberal, even for the Bay Area. And Stark came out after he’d been in Congress forever. (He also prided himself in being a bit confrontational.) To give you an example of our town, the one religious person on the School Board put forth the idea of a day of prayer, the chairman said he’d sue if she got it passed. It got a bit less support than teaching a paganism section would. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/38 "2013-07-28T05:11:28Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Really? How’s that work? Being an atheist simply means you believe that people who _do_ believe in God are wrong; they’re mistaken or incorrect. If you don’t understand how it works that you can disagree with someone on something important without thinking them stupid or crazy, I sure don’t want to vote for you. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/39 "2013-07-28T05:15:32Z")
Being an atheist means you can’t have the social appeal of Oprah by definition. Of course it goes without saying we’re all at least as attractive as Clooney. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697/40 "2013-07-28T06:16:04Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > And you feel the same way about people who firmly believe other imaginary beings are real? Like if someone insisted that there is a sort of spirit named Jack Frost who actually makes frost on windows? Probably not, but I don’t know if that’s a particularly common belief in the early 21st century US. In a society or culture that had a strong, common belief that a spirit named Jack Frost made frost on windows, then I would. People don’t tend to believe things because they’ve looked at the evidence and objectively come to the conclusion. People tend to believe things because they’re socialized to do so, because people who they’re close to or admire believe them, and because people in their ingroup believe a certain way and there’s pressure to conform. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-credible-atheist/664697.md?page=3)