# Atheist- would you take god away? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417 "2010-12-26T11:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/41 "2010-12-27T02:52:52Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Because if it was any _other_ fictional character, you’d see how fucked up that is. If someone could only get through life because they thought Harry Potter was real, and tithed 10% of their income to Rowling in gratitude, they’d be considered a complete loon that needs help. Alot of people believe in fucked up things. So what. If it isn’t harming your life or anyone elses it’s really of no business of anyone to set them straight. I think alot of people are really underestimating how important faith is for some people in order to live a positive life. That could be for a variety of reasons. From what I’ve noticed these people have a real hard time accepting the fact that their may be nothing after death for one. It really freaks them out. For me it doesn’t personally the idea of the big long sleep doesn’t scare me the slightest. Also, some people find life difficult. Just day to day things and find it hard to be positive. Positive thinking can work wonders for people that have a hard time getting through life. So if they feel they go to church every sunday and pray to Jesus and tell themselves that if I go to church and pray everything will be ok. Who are we to tell them their methods are ridiculous. Real atheists aren’t suppose to give a shit what other believe in . If they try and convert me or want to debate it that’s another story but I choose to live and let live. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/42 "2010-12-27T03:50:30Z")
Depends. I know all about the concept of ‘live and let live’ and all that. But when it comes to religious people who are authoritarian, draconian or who are turning science and social/economic justice backwards yeah I’d take their god away if it made them less likely to turn society backwards. The problem is an authoritarian who expressed that through religion might just find a secular outlet for those feelings. Nationalism or fascism as examples. Basically, I’d want to take authoritarianism out of people if I could more than religion. The more agnostic societies seem to be better run than the more religious ones from the little I know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/43 "2010-12-27T04:18:08Z")
I took away my Mig’s beliefs somewhat, and even just a little has caused him a lot of sadness. He’s a simple guy. Not stupid, just simple. He can’t read very well because he never went to school. He works 60+ hours a week and doesn’t ask for much. He is the kind with quiet faith, who just believes Jesus will make things better, even if we don’t understand. “Mysterious ways” and all that. Sometimes I think people need their gods, even if they are just in their own imaginations. That doesn’t make them stupid or weak, it just makes him faithful, and possibly more imaginative. It’s not hurting me that he believes, so I don’t talk to him about religion anymore. To me it’s just not that big of a deal for me these days. Perhaps it’s because I don’t at all believe religions are destructive or foolish. I think we all have the capacity for foolishness and destructiveness and we use all sorts of labels to get what we want. It’s part of our awesome humanity. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/44 "2010-12-27T04:30:26Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Sometimes I think people need their gods, even if they are just in their own imaginations. That doesn’t make them stupid or weak, it just makes him faithful, and possibly more imaginative. What use is it to be faithful to something that isn’t faithful back? It doesn’t take any imagination to simply swallow religious beliefs whole, by the way. Just the opposite, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/45 "2010-12-27T08:23:57Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What use is it to be faithful to something that isn’t faithful back? > > It doesn’t take any imagination to simply swallow religious beliefs whole, by the way. Just the opposite, actually. Well _they_ certainly think it’s being faithful back. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/46 "2010-12-27T08:47:20Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Real atheists aren’t suppose to give a shit what other believe in. Since when are you the Grand Arbiter of what real atheists are and aren’t supposed to do? Being a real atheist means that you do not believe in god. That’s it. I give a shit about what other people believe in because their judgement is suspect if the foundation of their thought process is suspect. Religious thought can lead someone to the right conclusion, but only either by being derived from secular thought, or by pure chance. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/47 "2010-12-27T10:34:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Real atheists aren’t suppose to give a shit what other believe in . If they try and convert me or want to debate it that’s another story but I choose to live and let live. I take it you’ve never heard of Christopher Hitchens, Madelyn Murray-O-Hair, and Richard Dawkins, to name a few atheists who DO or did give a shit what others believe in? ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/48 "2010-12-27T14:15:02Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Since when are you the Grand Arbiter of what real atheists are and aren’t supposed to do? Being a real atheist means that you do not believe in god. That’s it. > > I give a shit about what other people believe in because their judgement is suspect if the foundation of their thought process is suspect. Religious thought can lead someone to the right conclusion, but only either by being derived from secular thought, or by pure chance. Because someone gave me a cap that said so that’s why. But seriously, following your own advice “Being a real atheist means that you do not believe in god. **That’s it**.” It’s fine to debate it generally but to make it your mission to try and “save them” from their delusions makes you just as offensive as the jehovah witnesses that coming banging on your door every sunday morning while your having breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/49 "2010-12-27T14:22:26Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > But seriously, following your own advice > > “Being a real atheist means that you do not believe in god. **That’s it**.” That wasn’t advice, it was a definition. See if you can work out why this distinction is important. > [@](#): > > It’s fine to debate it generally but to make it your mission to try and “save them” from their delusions makes you just as offensive as the jehovah witnesses that coming banging on your door every sunday morning while your having breakfast. Telling the truth is just as offensive to your worldview as telling falsehoods? Really? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/50 "2010-12-27T14:29:16Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Also, some people find life difficult. Just day to day things and find it hard to be positive. Positive thinking can work wonders for people that have a hard time getting through life. So if they feel they go to church every sunday and pray to Jesus and tell themselves that if I go to church and pray everything will be ok. Who are we to tell them their methods are ridiculous. Yeah, except for [positive thinking doesn’t work wonders.](http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/brightsided.htm) Or [more precisely, it doesn’t work.](http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/regarding-self-regard/200903/should-we-re-think-positive-thinking) > [@](#): > > But are positive self-statements actually beneficial? In an experiment that will be published in Psychological Science, Elaine Perunovic, John Lee, and I tested this idea. We recruited people to participate in our study based on their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, which has 10 questionnaire items such as, “I feel that I have a number of good qualities.” People who scored in the lowest third of the distribution of Rosenberg scores (low self-esteem) and in the highest third of the distribution (high self-esteem) were invited to come to our laboratory, where we randomly assigned them to one of two conditions. We asked participants to either repeat to themselves the statement, “I’m a lovable person,” (positive self-statement condition) for four minutes, or to write down their thoughts and feelings (control condition) for four minutes. Our results indicated that people who were low in self-esteem felt worse about themselves after repeating the positive self-statement. Their moods and their “state self-esteem”–their feelings about themselves at that moment–were more negative than those of lows in the control condition. In contrast, people with high self-esteem did feel better after repeating the positive self-statement, but to only a limited degree. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/51 "2010-12-27T14:37:16Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Godaway. Apply directly to the spirit > Godaway. Apply directly to the spirit > Godaway. Apply directly to the spirit > Godaway. Apply directly to the spirit > > 😛 Oh man…I’m going to need some Pissaway when I launder these panties. 😃 I’m not sure how to answer the thread question. Like **Lynn** , I think it depends on the believer. They aren’t the most stable bunch, you know… ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/52 "2010-12-27T14:47:25Z")
I have always liked this passage: (hope it isn’t too long) ‘And what is the saint doing in the forest?’ asked Zarathustra. The saint answered: ‘I make songs and sing them; and when I make songs, I laugh, cry, and hum: thus do I praise God. With singing, crying, laughing, and humming do I praise the god who is my god. But what do you bring us as a gift?’ When Zarathustra had heard these words he bade the saint farewell and said: ‘What could I have to give you? But let me go quickly lest I take something from you!’ And thus they separated, the old one and the man, laughing as two boys laugh. But when Zarathustra was alone he spoke thus to his heart: ‘Could it be possible? This old saint in the forest has not yet heard anything of this, that God is dead!’ —trans. Walter Kaufmann, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Prologue, sect. 2. I would probably ask their permission. I would warn them that I am convinced that I can convince them with simple logic, and if they wanted to proceed, I would apply the godaway. I have wondered; if my child was dying from cancer or something, with very little time…would I apply giveagod? I mean, right now, she says she doesn’t believe in an afterlife… I might be tempted to give her some comfort. I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/53 "2010-12-27T15:21:56Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Telling the truth is just as offensive to your worldview as telling falsehoods? Really? Yeah, really. Tell the truth if people ask for it. But I don’t think its any business of yours to go around trying to shake the foundation down of what people believe in if it helps them and isn’t hurting anyone else. You help some old lady after she had a spill on the street and after she thanks you with a “god bless you son” your going to rip into her about how god doesn’t exists, really ? People believe in all sorts of things, I have a friend who’s a certified 911 foiler but he knows not to debate it with me. Because it just upsets him. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/54 "2010-12-27T15:25:09Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Yeah, except for [positive thinking doesn’t work wonders.](http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/brightsided.htm) Or [more precisely, it doesn’t work.](http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/regarding-self-regard/200903/should-we-re-think-positive-thinking) Well it help me from stopping my anxiety attacks. But go ahead tell me what really stopped them. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/55 "2010-12-27T15:39:57Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Well it help me from stopping my anxiety attacks. > > But go ahead tell me what really stopped them. Ahh, so the plural of anecdote is now data? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/56 "2010-12-27T16:51:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Or, you know, feed and wash diseased beggars and stuff. You don’t need religion to show you how good it is to help people. That’s self evident. If all religion went away today, people wouldn’t stop helping other people. But religion is useful to help you convince yourself that it’s okay to hurt people. It’s a comfort to the evil. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/57 "2010-12-27T16:52:48Z")
There are crazies on either side. It’d be douchey of me to try to enlighten someone who didn’t care to be enlightened. I don’t want to be witnessed; why would I witness someone else - just so I can say “nyah-nyah! I’m right!”? Seriously, though - what do you (general you; I’m not referring to anyone in particular) expect someone to do with that? Now that they believe like you do…what? What happens next? Are they supposed to evangelize atheism? What is taking god away supposed to accomplish? As long as the person thinks rationally and isn’t affecting me negatively, whether or not they believe in god is like meaningless trivia that’s trotted out at parties. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/58 "2010-12-27T17:01:03Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > … If all religion went away today, people wouldn’t stop helping other people… If all religion went away today, every religious person would attack the nearest person they don’t like claiming, “He stole my religion” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/59 "2010-12-27T17:04:47Z")
Listen folks, if you got in an argument with anyone about ANYTHING, and convinced them that you were correct and they were wrong, how is that bad, assuming you were in fact right? ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417/60 "2010-12-27T17:08:05Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Listen folks, if you got in an argument with anyone about ANYTHING, and convinced them that you were correct and they were wrong, how is that bad, assuming you were in fact right? It’s not, but the OP also included this: > [@Shakes](#): > > Also, if you knew that said person’s faith was very important to them; would you take it away? So, I don’t think it’s an argument exactly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-would-you-take-god-away/565417.md?page=4)