# Intolerant Athiests **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172 "2012-01-11T16:04:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/341 "2012-01-17T19:08:08Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > Thank you. The 1920’s would just be when it was proven to be true then. 1923 to be exact. > [@](#): > > The first known galaxies were longly known before their nature as “island universes” came to light - this fact was finally proven only in 1923 by Edwin Powell Hubble, when he found Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Galaxy M31. > **[Galaxies](http://www.messier.seds.org/galaxy.html)** But, and this is important, a lot of really smart people knew it was true long before the mainstream accepted it. Because they dismissed all evidence and possibilities of the real nature of things, based on beliefs, the majority of experts and scientists were simply wrong. Because of beliefs that were simply wrong, but still perceived as the truth. This is so common in the history of science, it ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/342 "2012-01-17T19:19:40Z")
… has it’s own term, a “paradigm shift”. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/343 "2012-01-17T20:14:41Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/344 "2012-01-17T22:45:01Z")
Thanks - when I finish my wife’s sentences, all I get is a dirty look… ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/345 "2012-01-17T23:16:40Z")
…that lets me know I shouldn’t have said anything. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/346 "2012-01-17T23:58:19Z")
What a great idea for a ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/347 "2012-01-18T00:26:29Z")
…game show. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/348 "2012-01-18T20:07:26Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > God’s existence has been conclusively established by Cecil. Cite please ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/349 "2012-01-18T20:26:47Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Nice, I dunno. He seems to be [making a run](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638597) at “most crazy”, though of course he has a long way to go to even be within sniffing distance of **kanicbird**. Oh, we have \*got \*to introduce the two of them. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/350 "2012-01-18T20:28:50Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Oh, we have \*got \*to introduce the two of them. Can you do it in a forum I don’t moderate? ---
**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 18, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/351 "2012-01-18T20:40:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Can you do it in a **forum** I don’t moderate? (bolding mine)Did you mean to say “message board”, or perhaps “internet”? ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/352 "2012-01-19T10:39:27Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > 1923 to be exact. > > [Galaxies](http://messier.seds.org/galaxy.html) > > But, and this is important, a lot of really smart people knew it was true long before the mainstream accepted it. Because they dismissed all evidence and possibilities of the real nature of things, based on beliefs, the majority of experts and scientists were simply wrong. Because of beliefs that were simply wrong, but still perceived as the truth. > > This is so common in the history of science, it No. A lot of ‘smart’ people did not ‘know’ it. Some people speculated but had no supporting evidence just as people speculate about all sorts of stuff all the time. It was not until the early 20th century that the conjectures were resolved with evidence. Until then experts in the field had fundamental disagreements over the size of the universe and each could muster supprting evidence for their positions. [The Great Debate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_debate) in 1920 was a milestone event in the history of astronomy. > [@](#): > > In astronomy, the Great Debate, also called the Shapley–Curtis Debate, was an influential debate between the astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis which concerned the nature of spiral nebulae and the size of the universe. The basic issue under debate was whether distant nebulae were relatively small and lay within our own galaxy or whether they were large, independent galaxies. The debate took place on 26 April 1920, in the Baird auditorium of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The two scientists first presented independent technical papers about “The Scale of the Universe” during the day and then took part in a joint discussion that evening. Much of the lore of the Great Debate grew out of two papers published by Shapley and Curtis in the May 1921 issue of the Bulletin of the National Research Council. The published papers each included counter arguments to the position advocated by the other scientist at the 1920 meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/353 "2012-01-20T08:39:17Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Cite please Read my claim narrowly. For Cecil’s take on God: [Is there a God? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3021/is-there-a-god) And be sure to catch Part II: [Is there a God (revisited)? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3025/is-there-a-god-revisited) Spinoza’s claim about God and nature: [Baruch Spinoza (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)](http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza/) In the discussion thread, a poster directed me to the cosmological argument, which I unfortunately have not reviewed. Der skewers one version of Spinoza’s presentation earlier: > [@Der Trihs](#): > > The lightspeed limit on information transfer makes any sort of universal mind impossible. Of course that doesn’t exclude Gaia or other large-body consciousnesses. Other speculations involve the emergent properties of large social communities that possess language or chemical signaling in the case of insect colonies. I’m also frankly unfamiliar with this alleged limit as my background in physics is weak, though I seem to recall the claim made in various popular sources. > [@Der Trihs](#): > > . And if something isn’t sentient, it isn’t God. Well, that’s the sleight of hand in Column I: if God is First Cause, following Saint Thomas, He is not necessarily sentient. Define Him narrowly enough and (or broadly enough, if you want to blur the issue) and His existence becomes undeniable except as a matter of faith. > [@Der Trihs](#): > > Pure egomaniacal wish fulfillment. You are conflating 2 different issues. According to St. Francis God loves the animals: these teaching make up a core aspect of Sunday School teachings. Like most religions, Christianity encourages kindness to others, so it doesn’t reflect ego-mania as commonly understood. But it does possess a certain lack of imagination insofar as anthropomorphizing is considered. **Novelty Bobble** : I’m not going to watch an entire freaking video. I’m fairly open minded about the ideomotor effect for a small number of options such as “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”, and I accept that it explain dousing. But as for spelling out words on the Ouija board I maintain that a sort of universal consciousness is operative: specifically there’s a comedian in every group and occasionally a gullible person as well. Nice link though. > [@Der Trihs](#): > > Since most people are believers, very few people want to compare believers and unbelievers if they think the believers will look worse. Given that approximately 1/3 of this board is theist, and the public humiliation of Camping in 2011, I suspect the ground is shifting under our feet. Sociologists have studied religion for a while: we might be seeing some edgier presentations over the next few years. Medically, I understand that attending church advances better health outcomes, but that might be understood to be related to the benefits of membership in a wider community. That said, “When compared with weekly attendees, those who attended less than weekly or never had a 66 percent greater risk of dying from respiratory diseases and a 99 percent greater risk of dying from digestive diseases.” [http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/4132](http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/4132) Here’s a better table from a lit review in American Psychologist Jan 2003 ```auto Table 1 Hypotheses Tested and Summary of Strength of Evidence for Them Hypotheses Mediated Model(a) Independent Model(b) 1. Church/service attendance protects against death. Persuasive Persuasive 2. Religion or spirituality protects against cardiovascular disease. Some Some 3. Religion or spirituality protects against cancer mortality. Inadequate Inadequate 4. Deeply religious people are protected against death. Consistent failures Consistent failures 5. Religion or spirituality protects against disability. Inadequate Consistent failures 6. Religion or spirituality slows the progression of cancer. Consistent failures Consistent failures 7. People who use religion to cope with difficulties live longer. Inadequate Inadequate 8. Religion or spirituality improves recovery from acute illness. Consistent failures Consistent failures Religion or spirituality impedes recovery from acute illness. Some Some 9. Being prayed for improves physical recovery from acute illness. Some Some a Studies include adjustment for the demographic confounders of age, gender, ethnicity, education, poor health, and disability. b Studies include adjustment both for the demographic confounders of age, gender, ethnicity, education, poor health, and disability and for established risk factors including aspects of a healthy lifestyle (e.g., smoking, alcohol, physical activity, diet), social support/integration, and depression. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Galty\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7c8e57/32.png) [@Galty\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galty_Boy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/354 "2012-01-20T09:23:38Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > As a militant atheist I need to know who the fuck this Tebow person is before I grab my pitchfork. What the hell, who cares what he did, it’s about time we atheists start throwing people to the lions too. No more pussyfooting. > > Speak for yourself! “There seems to be a terrible misunderstanding on the part of a great many people to the effect that when you cease to believe you may cease to behave”:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/355 "2012-01-20T13:07:53Z")
> [@Galty\_Boy](#): > > “There seems to be a terrible misunderstanding on the part of a great many people to the effect that when you cease to believe you may cease to behave”:dubious: Here, have a comb, you look disheveled. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/356 "2012-01-20T13:49:25Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/357 "2012-01-20T13:55:50Z")
Porn needs a Tim Tebow, doing with “John 3:16” via anal bleaching what Tebow did with eye black. Whew, now that that’s out of my sytem, I’ll go back to tolerating theists and everyone can be happy. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/358 "2012-01-20T17:07:57Z")
Doesn’t the title bother anyone else? And, How can you be upset enough about something to rant about it, and not able to spell it?? ---
**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 20, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/359 "2012-01-20T17:15:27Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Doesn’t the title bother anyone else? > > And, > > How can you be upset enough about something to rant about it, and not able to spell it?? I was going to…but then I considered the source. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/360 "2012-01-20T17:42:14Z")
Generally I won’t fix spelling mistakes unless I’m asked to, by the person who made the mistake. Sometimes I fix coding mistakes without being asked, especially when it’s something where leaving off the / on the end of a quote, with multiple quotes, screws up the rest of the post. In this case, though, I think it gives us yet another reason to snicker at the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172.md?page=19)