# I'm an atheist and even I'm mad at god about this **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697 "2010-01-20T15:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/21 "2010-01-21T02:49:30Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Exactly. It’s all about packaging and hype. Maybe if Haiti had a better press agent? > > Of course, a million people left homeless in a day is pretty striking. The earthquake is the press agent. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/22 "2010-01-21T02:51:15Z")
I guess you could maybe get some sort of team to exorcise the tectonic plates. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/23 "2010-01-21T02:55:09Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > I guess you could maybe get some sort of team to exorcise the tectonic plates. I saw this video once. I think Sarah Palin knows a guy. Someone call her up post haste, it’s not like she has anything better to do lately. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/24 "2010-01-21T03:45:26Z")
What frustrates me most, even though at the emotional level I understand it, is the number of times “miracles” are being reported. Such and such survived under a crushed house and they were finally extracted after five days – it’s simply a miracle they are alive. Sorry. No it isn’t. Simply cold, hard stats. 100 people jump off a 20 story building, the “miracle” wouldn’t be the fact that one survived – again, that is simply statistics at work – but rather that _all of them_ did. Not gonna happen. Having said that, if they can find sort of Divine Strength by rationalizing things this way…guess it can’t hurt them anymore than they already are. Or could it? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/25 "2010-01-21T05:40:12Z")
Aftershocks are fucking scary. I feel for those people. At least after the quake I was in we had a fucking _house_ and were basically unhurt – physically, anyway, not counting a bunch of understandable anxiety. The Earth does shit. We’re just along for the ride. Having the ground moving underneath you sort of shoves that lesson into your head. But it’s not fun. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/26 "2010-01-21T06:22:56Z")
This pretty much wraps it up for the power of prayer, doesn’t it. There were news stories about people praying outside because their churches collapsed; and God responded by knocking down the piles of rubble he caused in the first place. I’m not sure if the universe is better without god, but it makes a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/27 "2010-01-21T14:23:47Z")
Looks like seismic activity is increasing [all over the Caribbean](http://www.tribune242.com/sports/01202010_tt-caymanquake_news_pg1). My dad lives in Grand Cayman and said the 5.8 was barely noticeable, though - he only noticed it because his desk chair rolled about a foot away from the desk. ---
**Author:** ![Jump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@Jump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jump)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/28 "2010-01-21T14:47:13Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Atheist, agnostic, or theist, you can’t help but think that someone/thing has it in for Haiti. Who/What would an athiest believe has it “in” for Haiti? Honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/29 "2010-01-21T15:07:01Z")
Regardless of your belief in God, don’t forget to thank him for inspiring a huge amount of the humanitarian aid that’s going there to help the victims. Not to mention the ongoing relief programs that were already in place there before the earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/30 "2010-01-21T15:08:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Who/What would an athiest believe has it “in” for Haiti? Honestly. Pat Robertson? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/31 "2010-01-21T15:11:47Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > 100 people jump off a 20 story building, the “miracle” wouldn’t be the fact that one survived – again, that is simply statistics at work – but rather that _all of them_ did. Especially since the last one to jump will have something soft to land on… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@Jump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jump)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/32 "2010-01-21T15:13:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Pat Robertson? Is he a bigger moron than the person that thought “golly, an aftershock after an earthquake? Even an atheist must blame god?” no… no he’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/33 "2010-01-22T15:44:23Z")
“Fair” is a Human Ideological concept. There is no ‘fair’ in the Universe. The Universe is both Shiva and Kali, incredibly hospitable to Life and incredibly hospitable to Death. The spore or seed may wander into a place where it can flourish, or straight into the mouth of something that needs it to live. A star may explode and destroy all life within scores of light years. There is no conscious decision making process in any of this. It simply IS. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/34 "2010-01-22T23:40:15Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > Regardless of your belief in God, don’t forget to thank him for inspiring a huge amount of the humanitarian aid that’s going there to help the victims. Not to mention the ongoing relief programs that were already in place there before the earthquakes. Now, now, you know the rules. Blame God for all the bad stuff, but the good stuff was going to happen anyway. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/35 "2010-01-22T23:46:30Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Now, now, you know the rules. Blame God for all the bad stuff, but the good stuff was going to happen anyway. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/36 "2010-01-22T23:49:56Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Looks like seismic activity is increasing [all over the Caribbean](http://www.tribune242.com/sports/01202010_tt-caymanquake_news_pg1). My dad lives in Grand Cayman and said the 5.8 was barely noticeable, though - he only noticed it because his desk chair rolled about a foot away from the desk. Bah… That happens every friday night that I find some good burning goat pron on the interwebs…after about 2 minutes of course… ---
**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:** [January 23, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/37 "2010-01-23T04:53:03Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb\_haiti\_earthquake](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb_haiti_earthquake) > > Was that really necessary? That isn’t even kicking people when they were down. The first earthquake hitting a dirt poor nation with tons of problems did that. > > This is more like kicking someone when they are down then finding out which hospital they are staying at, going there, and pissing on them while they are lying on a hospital bed with tubes coming out of them. Really, why are you so mad ? You weren’t affected. Or is it because God compelled you to make a donation ? Strangely, The people who actually suffered the earthquake and aftershocks are thanking God for their salvation. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/38 "2010-01-23T06:57:28Z")
I find it very amusing how so many so called atheists and agnostics actually end up sounding like recalcitrant Christians. Hootie ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/39 "2010-01-23T11:01:46Z")
> [@This\_Just\_In\_2](#): > > The best part about god is that he is all knowing. Therefore, he knows everything that will ever happen - including the earthquake on the little island on the little planet circling a little star in a little galaxy in the universe somewhere near sector 743.284.853dte45d. > > Since from his perspective it is all pre-determined god must actually be powerless to change it, or some kind of paradox would occur. Perhap then satan would win forcing us to stop symbolically eating zombie jesus. Or maybe he knows more than that. Like, maybe he knows every single possibility that can be caused by chance and and random decision making etc. So maybe he can nudge the odds in certain directions, since he knows what will happen down those paths… Back to square one really. Though if he really is good, and he really is nudging the odds in a direction that’s good, it’s pretty depressing to think that this is the best we can get. Although there is of course the negligence option. Maybe god just got bored creating perfect universes and we got slightly unlucky with our little petri dish experiment. I swear sometimes when I look at the clouds for too long, I can see a little boy with a magnifying glass peering through. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697/40 "2010-01-24T16:21:20Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > It’s sort of sad and disturbing that an earthquake/tsunami/hurricane gets such a near-universal outpouring of aid and support, yet attempts to fix the grinding poverty, ethnic violence, and disease that are a constant condition for a large portion of the world’s population are either ignored, branded as first-world imperialism/policing, or are viewed as a waste of resources since those people just can’t help themselves. Agreed. x 1 zillion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-atheist-and-even-im-mad-at-god-about-this/525697.md?page=3)