# Atheist, dammit! Atheist! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 11, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049 "2005-03-11T17:33:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/1 "2005-03-11T17:33:56Z")
Atheist: from a- and theist (from the Greek “theos”, God.) The E comes before the I for God’s sake! I’m so damn sick of people - in the endless threads about Christianity and atheism and invisible pink unicorns - arguing about “athiests”! It is not a superlative form. There is no “athy, athier, athiest”. No, gobear is not the athiest poster here; he’s not athier than Polycarp. It’s got the same “-ist” ending as Buddhist, Daoist, Animist, and Unitarian Universalist. It’s not that fucking hard to spell! This irrational foaming-at-the-mouth grammar rant brought to you by a very large cup of coffee and nothing to do at work. After typing that, now they both look wrong to me. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/2 "2005-03-11T17:52:41Z")
**I** before **E** , except after **C** , or when soundling like **A** as in **Atheist**. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/3 "2005-03-11T18:04:18Z")
Ya know, there are a lot of athey people in this world, but the folks on this board are just that Atheist! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/4 "2005-03-11T18:06:00Z")
> [@Little Bird](#): > > …just that Atheist! I mean **the** …atheist… crap ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/5 "2005-03-11T18:09:05Z")
Athiest : One who is most like an England Cricket Captain. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/6 "2005-03-11T18:11:18Z")
9 times out of 10 it’s a typo. Lighten up. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/7 "2005-03-11T18:13:52Z")
Does this mean you don’t believe in a diety? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/8 "2005-03-11T18:16:40Z")
It’s damnit, not dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/9 "2005-03-11T18:20:24Z")
Oh no, I’m with you. I don’t go around misspelling “theist” or “god-botherer” do I? 😉 It’s not that difficult! ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/10 "2005-03-11T18:50:11Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Does this mean you don’t believe in a diety? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/11 "2005-03-11T18:50:32Z")
The one I can never remember is whether it’s “fundie” or “fundei.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/12 "2005-03-11T18:54:49Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Huh? A god of weight-loss programs. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/13 "2005-03-11T18:58:37Z")
I wrote that under that defintion, you can include babies as atheist. I believe it too. They are born without a belief in god. To see how **not** to defend your position, learn from my mistakes. And now, I can’t seem to find the link to the thread. A :wally is me. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/14 "2005-03-11T19:03:25Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Huh? I was just playing on another common typo. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/15 "2005-03-11T19:17:50Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > I wrote that under that defintion, you can include babies as atheist. I believe it too. They are born without a belief in god. This makes me think of a theoretical question. If a person was brought up in isolation from the concept of a deity (I.E. No one ever mentioned God, Religion, to that person) and when that person asks existential questions, the only answer given was “I don’t know” then would that person Likely be an Atheist in adulthood? It is an underlying unconscious question (I imagine) behind a few of my long-past atheism threads, which try to argue that on a very broad and generalised level - religion still exist because childrend’s minds are highly suggestable, and adults minds are not… And that children led to believe in deitys will likely be deists as adults if never exposed to opposing views (atheism) A bit like “If the wind changes your face will stick like that” (paraphrased) On a seperate note. I saw the logic in **Polycarp** ’s OP. I know him too well to think that he would _actuallly_ argue that I am not an Atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/16 "2005-03-11T19:19:23Z")
Oh man, my typing is way off today! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/17 "2005-03-11T19:20:30Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > The one I can never remember is whether it’s “fundie” or “fundei.” Those are those little cars, right? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/18 "2005-03-11T19:41:08Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Oh man, my typing is way off today! And my aim too!! I thought this was the ‘There Are No Atheists On This Board’ thread. Oh well. Maybe I should just go away and see how many crayons I can stick up my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/19 "2005-03-11T19:58:16Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Those are those little cars, right? They answer the age-old question “What would Jesus drive?” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049/20 "2005-03-11T20:08:26Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > They answer the age-old question “What would Jesus drive?” Jesus drove his dad’s Honda. “I’ve come not by my accord, but by my father’s.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-dammit-atheist/294049.md?page=2)