# Do you believe atheists? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721 "2012-04-23T18:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721/61 "2012-04-24T17:19:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m sure you THINK you have a point, but I can’t see what it is. > > You want to point to somewhere in Scripture where Jesus said, “Women mustn’t vote”? > > Now, as a practical matter, NOBODY could vote in Jesus’ day. In 30 AD, most nations were ruled by monarchs or tyrants of one type or another, and MEN didn’t get to take part in elections, either! > > As for jobs, Jesus’ dad had one. He was a carpenter. Peter, James and John had jobs- they were fishermen. > > So, while you seem very pleased with yourself, I’m curious as to what you think you’ve proven. Astorian, perhaps I should’ve used more paragraphs. Why did you assume I was talking about ancient times? I meant now. Women are looked down upon throughout all religious scripture. I never said Jesus said women can’t vote. (Jesus was mentioned in the previous sentence, not the one about voting.) And although voting was not common then, it is now. The OT states all the limitations on women. And Jesus upholds the current “laws” his apostles question him about in Matthew 5 - 17:46. So as far as not voting (if it were possible) and other rights denied to women, Jesus supported that. As far as Peter, James and John’s jobs, I don’t remember any mention of them keeping these jobs once their savior came around. I don’t think they followed JC just on lunch breaks. I wasn’t out to prove anything. This is not a debate. But I did bring out the common hostility when questioning scripture it seems. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721/62 "2012-04-24T17:25:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Rich Mann** : > > In my experience many believers conflate the concept of ‘belief’ with that of ‘worship’. Many also conflate the concept of “belief” with “faith”. They may be correlated, but they’re not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721/63 "2012-04-24T17:30:47Z")
Yes, OP, I generally believe atheists when they say they don’t believe in any kind of higher power. I think they’re dead wrong, of course, but I can see (sort of) how one could arrive at that conclusion. The bigger a dick they are about their atheism, though, the more likely I am to believe that it’s not that they don’t believe, they’re just really pissed off at whatever deity they profess to not believe in. I call it the MacBeth factor. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721/64 "2012-04-24T18:05:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You want to point to somewhere in Scripture where Jesus said, “Women mustn’t vote”? The scripture does say that women must not hold office where they would be in authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11-12). This verse has been used by conservative congregations to justify policies against women voting in church matters, and a plain reading of 1 Timothy 2:9-14 would certainly imply that women should abstain from the polity altogether. YMMV, of course, as it generally does with religion. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721/65 "2012-04-25T12:20:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Could you expand on this? What in the “why” do you often have trouble believing? I’d be interested in hearing more about this as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-atheists/619721.md?page=3)