# Hey Atheists How do You Like These Nicknames? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 18, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710 "2001-01-18T16:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kyberneticist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/61 "2001-01-19T05:09:35Z")
Very sorry for the duplication of one small portion of above post. Netscape was doing funny things when I tried typing it up in it (too long?). Crashed at one point, and I lost a quarter of what I had typed, so I did it in Vi and cut and pasted into Netscape. Unfortunately, I cut n pasted one section a bit too liberally. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/62 "2001-01-19T06:43:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by deb2world \* > \*\*I read your post and have been thinking about a calm reply. What I have been assuming on this thread is that we are having a debate about whether derogatory labels for Christian is ok or not. I did not know we were debating if WB is a good person. > \*\* Who said we were debating whether WB is a good person? You asked why people treated his question in a particular fashion, and I gave what I consider to be the correct answer. -Ben ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/63 "2001-01-19T17:57:12Z")
I believe the accepted PC term for athiests is “spiritually challenged”. Or maybe that’s just for agnostics. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/64 "2001-01-19T20:57:54Z")
Call me whatever you want. It makes absolutely no difference to me. I don’t think it makes you a very good Christian, though. This whole game of “How would **YOU** like it if I did this to **YOU?** ” is just about as anti-Christian as I can imagine. **Turn the other cheek.** Unless that’s a part of the Bible you don’t happen to want to take literally. (In which case, don’t worry. You’ve got lots of company if you’re a **Fundamentalist Christian**.) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/65 "2001-01-19T23:13:12Z")
Wildest Bill wrote: > [@](#): > > I’m sorry but that is the lamest argument I ever heard as a reason to make fun of Christians because what some people (claiming to be Christians) have done in the past. How about lets call all the people in the middle east “towel heads” since some of them terrorize. And here I thought it was because of the turbans… ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/66 "2001-01-20T08:32:35Z")
I like all the nicknames just fine 🙂 But I suppose this is what I’ve come to expect from the mystics of spirit…their general attempts to slaughter the human spirit through attempts to force mindless devotion and guilt onto others. I won’t make this into (too) much of an Objectivist rant, but suffice it to say that I have very strong moral/ethical reasons for my objections to religion. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Maxwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jack\_Maxwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Maxwell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/67 "2001-01-20T16:16:56Z")
Actually, I’ve always preferred the term ‘Apatheist’, but I really don’t care what anybody calls me. I have thick skin. ---
**Author:** ![Kyberneticist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/68 "2001-01-21T15:59:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Maxwell \* > \*\*Actually, I’ve always preferred the term ‘Apatheist’, but I really don’t care what anybody calls me. I have thick skin. \*\* Reminds me of a label I ran into somewhere. **apathetic agnostic** don’t know, don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![S-Terry\_Dan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@S-Terry\_Dan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S-Terry_Dan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/69 "2001-01-21T19:13:23Z")
Hm… which god… Tetragrammmaton Jehovah: People go to Heaven, a city made of precious metals. Allah: People go to a lush garden with wine and beautiful virgins of both sexes. Sign me up, Effendi. Qadim el-Dan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/70 "2001-01-21T20:52:20Z")
Wildest, I can see only one advantage to everyone not using durogatory terms to describe Christians who are far right-wing hatefilled pieces of scum(NOT _all_ Christians, which I am sure people are sick and tired of explaining to you). If the terms never pop up, you get to pretend that these people don’t exist, you don’t have to confront them(it wouldn’t be the “Christian” thing to do, would it?☹ ), and you get to put forth the idea that Christianity has no faults. And if I hear the tired old refrain,“But those aren’t _real_ Christians!” one more time, I’m gonna hurl. This business of disavowing those who set a bad example looks like a coverup when the CIA, FBI and NSA tries it, it it looks the same when you try it. When the hand of G_O_D comes down and touches you on the forehead, and the voice of G_O_D says to the whole earth,“This man speaks for me and his interpretation of the Bible is the one true way!”, I’ll accept your right to pick and choose what Christianity is or isn’t, and who is or isn’t a Christian. O.K. Rant off. ---
**Author:** ![Felice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Felice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felice)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/71 "2001-01-21T21:52:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > \*\* > While I am not an atheist (there’s less work involved in being an agnostic), I think “godless” or “faithless” _are_ rather pejorative, much as “childless” is when applied to those who’ve decided not to have kids. \*\* I’m confused. What’s wrong with ‘childless’? It is accurate - I don’t see that it is perjorative. I mean… I have no home, I am homeless, I have no hair, I am hairless, I have no kids, I am childless. Where is the problem with this? Just bemused by the whole thing… ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/72 "2001-01-21T22:41:40Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by deb2world \* > \*\* > Is it correct that posters are allowed to use derogatory labels about Christians because the majority of people on these boards hold Christians in contempt? Should we not treat religious beliefs with the same respect as other personal choices?_\* Those who would like their views to be respected would do well to hold respectable views. I mean ‘respectable’ as in ‘capable of being respected’. If one maintains views which are silly, or self-contradictory, or outdated, or merely arbitrarily-selected extracts from assorted medieval superstitions, then it is unsurprising if other people find it hard to ‘respect’ these beliefs. I do not advocate hatred or contempt for those who are so in the grip of the religion mind-virus that they cannot see the fatuousness of their statements. But I fail to see why they feel entitled to respect unless and until that advance beliefs which are respectable. Personally, with regard to religious beliefs, I respect the person, and the person’s right to maintain whatever beliefs they wish (subject to the usual prevailing social and cultural mores), but I do not see that I have the choice to respect the beliefs themselves, since they are not respect-able. Well, not unless one wants to start ‘respecting’ nonsense, which I do not. A man who proclaims that Big Purple Spoons With Watering Cans For Heads roam freely in his backyard, and have some sort of determining effect on his behaviour and ethics, may complain that his views find little respect among his peers. However, his entitlement to respect diminishes the more he advances what are plainly silly statements. A belief in ‘God’ is no better-founded than a belief in the Big Purple Spoons mentioned above. The religious-virused, in the final analysis, have no stronger argument to offer than something which equates to ‘inner personal experience of God’, which is a demonstrably fatuous way to arrive at any significant conclusion having a determining effect on one’s behaviour or ethics. Or would they accept that their own ‘inner personal experience’ is of no greater validity than that of the Big Purple Spoons worshipper? On the other hand, there is nothing nonsensical about having skin of a given colour, or a particular ethnic heritage, or a given sexual orientation, and hence all may be respected and, in my book, should be. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/73 "2001-01-22T00:34:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Felice \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > > \*\* > > While I am not an atheist (there’s less work involved in being an agnostic), I think “godless” or “faithless” _are_ rather pejorative, much as “childless” is when applied to those who’ve decided not to have kids. \*\* > > I’m confused. What’s wrong with ‘childless’? It is accurate - I don’t see that it is perjorative. I mean… I have no home, I am homeless, I have no hair, I am hairless, I have no kids, I am childless. Where is the problem with this? > \*\* Jeez, you got troubles. If I were hairless (some kind of genetic mutation, you poor thing?), living on the streets with no kids to take care of me, I’d be bemused too, at the very least. Where can we send contributions? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/74 "2001-01-22T17:04:12Z")
S-Terry Dan wrote: > [@](#): > > Tetragrammmaton Jehovah: People go to Heaven, a city made of precious metals. > > Allah: People go to a lush garden with wine and beautiful virgins of both sexes. Correction: According to the Koran, only **men** get to be surrounded by beautiful virgins in Paradise. Women get the short end of the stick, so to speak, in the Islamic afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/75 "2001-01-22T18:41:50Z")
**Dinsdale** said: > [@](#): > > I also believe there are numerous technical definitions of various types of heresy. Yes, there are three types of heresy: heresy by thought, heresy by word, heresy by deed, and heresy by action – _four_ types of heresy . . . (you know you were asking for that ;)) Anyway, I’m kind of torn on this issue. Certainly \*\*WB’s \*\* “epithets” don’t offend me, but I think it really is preferable to attack the substance of a person’s actions/beliefs/statements, rather than resorting to name-calling. On the other hand, I must admit some fondness for the term “cretinist” to describe anti-evolution crusaders. I guess I’ll have to try to restrain myself in the interest of polite and logical discourse. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/76 "2001-09-21T02:36:40Z")
**Wildest Bill** , if you look at the more current thread started by\*\* Fenris\*\*, you’ll see that your point is finally getting some serious attention. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/77 "2001-09-21T03:21:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, there are three types of heresy: heresy by thought, heresy by word, heresy by deed, and heresy by action What’s the difference between action and deed? I sure hope I haven’t missed out on anything fun! ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/78 "2001-09-21T03:28:40Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Yes, there are three types of heresy: heresy by thought, heresy by word, heresy by deed, and heresy by action > > What’s the difference between action and deed? > I sure hope I haven’t missed out on anything fun That’s a reference to the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch. ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/79 "2001-09-21T12:47:20Z")
Personally, I prefer being referred to as a “Commie Pinko Faggot”. (I think this implies the whole godless commie thing). Of course I belong to a Second International party rather than a third or fourth, but I have worked with them in coalitions, and don’t mind being associated with them. Pinko is a little problematic, since I’m not really pink, my colouring is more like that of a fish belly, but what the hell, my ancestors are from boggy places. Definitely a faggot. Of course I tend to refer to myself as a born-again atheist, but not the door to door missionary type. So, OPer, I’ll let you know when you come up with a label that bugs me. K? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710/80 "2001-09-21T19:07:59Z")
I personally don’t think “fundie” is that big of an insult (see more detailed reply in the other “fundie” discussion thread). So if **Wildest Bill** wants to call me a “damned godless atheist,” that’s fine by me. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-atheists-how-do-you-like-these-nicknames/50710.md?page=5)