# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/161 "2012-01-12T04:00:16Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Nah, that was just an early draft of “Only you can prevent forest fires”. Actually, it first appeared in _Anthology of Rejected Adages_. Although it was later adopted by the church. ---
**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 12, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/162 "2012-01-12T04:04:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think you understand how the militant thing works. We’re going to have a seminar about it after the discussion group next Wednesday. You see, I didn’t get this memo. Until we get our feces together and organize we won’t have nice things. Like fancy clothes, spiffy hats and tax-free status. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/163 "2012-01-12T04:53:42Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > I’m sure that a player who pointed out that there was no God every time he scored a touchdown would go over very well > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > By pointing at the sky and making a “jerk-off” gesture? I’m thinking the atheist player should give a hip thrusting fucking motion and declare, “and I thank my parents for giving me the genes leading to this unbelievable athletic ability”. Well, I was going to say, “God given ability”, but that doesn’t quite work. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/164 "2012-01-12T05:33:05Z")
> [@Paralogic](#): > > It’s a public show of mental masturbation – thanking a divine slot machine for paying him back multiple times the quarter he gambled with. I think he just got a quarter back. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/165 "2012-01-12T05:51:45Z")
To be serious for a second, the general test of any situation should be what would happen if the tables were turned. Would it be OK for someone to stand up before a public school graduation and say how thankful we all are to be free of a belief in God, would you be comfortable joining hands before dinner at a Muslim family’s house and thanking Allah for the food, how about pledging allegiance to “one nation without God”? Many religious people have no idea how rude it is to assume that everyone else has the same beliefs that they do. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/166 "2012-01-12T08:24:01Z")
> [@IntelliQ](#): > > You didnt even read the initial post or you’d know Im not a Christian. You keep on insisting that, but the repeated insistence is the odd thing out. Most of the rest of what I’ve seen you argue here and in other threads, reads exactly like the misdirected and flailing arguments of a cornered theist. I mean, you more or less came out with the “just a theory” thing on a previous page here. I’m not going to accuse you of lying about this, but at the very least you probably shouldn’t be too surprised if you keep getting mistaken for a religious person. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/167 "2012-01-12T09:17:03Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I wonder if you guys know it’s possible to be right AND offensive. > > Like walking into a funeral service held for a child and saying out loud, “that’s one less person using up the worlds resources”. I’ve never heard of that happening. I have heard of believers standing up at funerals and telling the assembled that the deceased is burning in hell because they were an atheist or homosexual. Often, the clergyman who’s supposed to preside. > [@madmonk28](#): > > I just want to say that I really, really, really hope that next year there is a devout Muslim in the NFL who starts overtly displaying his faith just to watch wingnuts try to reverse course. Oh, I’d expect most of them to engage in shameless hypocrisy and condemn the Muslims while praising the Christian, and at the same time still trying to pretend that they are all tolerant and reasonable. They’ll claim to be condemning the Muslim for reasons that have _nothing at all_ to do with any personal animus towards Islam. ---
**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 12, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/168 "2012-01-12T14:02:32Z")
Unless there’s something in the Koran similar to Matthew 6:6, the Muslim player would at least be less of a hypocrite. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/169 "2012-01-12T14:08:26Z")
> [@Paralogic](#): > > It’s not offensive. It’s insulting. > > The stance is irrelevant and meaningless and even entertaining to see in a competitor. > > But he has elevated it up to a statement of religious faith. > > It’s a public show of mental masturbation – thanking a divine slot machine for paying him back multiple times the quarter he gambled with. > > That’s mental trash. You’re quite right about Tebow elevating it up to a statement of religious faith. Your seething hatred of religion is noted. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/170 "2012-01-12T14:14:49Z")
That seems more like “somewhat irritated” than “seething hatred”. ---
**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 12, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/171 "2012-01-12T14:53:16Z")
> [@IntelliQ](#): > > I’m an agnostic with no dog in the fight…The intolerance towards Tebow doesnt impact anyone’s life per se, but it does typify the mindset of a minority of haters who have for the past two decades infected public policies with warped views…Again, no dog in the fight personally Uh-huh. I love the smell of concern/tone troll in the morning. ---
**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 12, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/172 "2012-01-12T16:11:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That seems more like “somewhat irritated” than “seething hatred”. Not if, in your fanatical world, any-and-everything short of total acceptance is seen as persecution. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/173 "2012-01-12T17:31:41Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That seems more like “somewhat irritated” than “seething hatred”. Here, put on these victimhood goggles. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/174 "2012-01-12T17:43:10Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > …Oh, I’d expect most of them to engage in shameless hypocrisy and condemn the Muslims while praising the Christian, and at the same time still trying to pretend that they are all tolerant and reasonable. They’ll claim to be condemning the Muslim for reasons that have _nothing at all_ to do with any personal animus towards Islam. Can’t you just picture a young Muslim receiver making a touch down, spiking the ball and yelling “Allah Akbar!” The talking heads on Fox News would absolutely have a full bore freak out. ---
**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 12, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/175 "2012-01-12T18:10:23Z")
> [@](#): > > yelling “Allah Akbar!” Please don’t make me giggle that hard. The thought of all those heads asploding sent me into a fit. Seriously, though, if some person did this for any religion other than Christianity, I imagine that us Merkins would see a great rewrite in our football rules. For that matter, if a Catholic player started praising various saints, I’m sure that it would cause a kerfluffle. I’m barely old enough to remember people worrying that JFK would let the Pope dictate his actions and policies as president. Most people in my life know that I’m an atheist, but they are so accustomed to being around other believers that they are flabbergasted that I don’t want to join them in prayer, or don’t want to make a donation to their church. Really, don’t want to do either one…atheists don’t pray, and I’m not likely to make a donation that is supposed to “spread the good news”, though I have donated to churches when it’s something like a food drive. ---
**Author:** ![IntelliQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@IntelliQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IntelliQ)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/176 "2012-01-12T18:26:46Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > I’m thinking the atheist player should give a hip thrusting fucking motion". Not shocking enough, it’s already done in just about every dance floor in America from ages 14 and up for the past few decades. Only a small sign of Christianity can raise the ire of some. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/177 "2012-01-12T18:53:13Z")
> [@IntelliQ](#): > > Not shocking enough, it’s already done in just about every dance floor in America from ages 14 and up for the past few decades. > > Only a small sign of Christianity can raise the ire of some. And only a smaller sign of ire regarding the small sign of Chrisitianity can raise the ire in smaller OPs. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/178 "2012-01-12T18:59:08Z")
> [@IntelliQ](#): > > Only a small sign of Christianity can raise the ire of some. Yes, that’s the only thing that annoys people these days: an oppressed Christian meekly expressing his faith in the privacy of a football stadium on national TV. Since you’re obviously new to the internet, I recommend you start a thread expounding your views on one of these fun topics: the stupidity of tipping, the laziness of overweight people, the irritating nature of cats, your feelings on children who identify as transgender, or your views on whether or not people who’ve been through sexual reassignment surgery are “really” their new gender. That should be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/179 "2012-01-12T19:20:46Z")
I thought Christians _enjoyed_ being oppressed. Well, maybe not _really_ being oppressed because that would be be, like, annoying, but the _feeling_ of being oppressed is good enough. So being the majority and having a near-lock on the political process in the U.S. _plus_ having to suffer mild criticism… why, that’s just like being crucified like Jesus was! ---
**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 12, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172/180 "2012-01-12T19:24:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes, that’s the only thing that annoys people these days: an oppressed Christian meekly expressing his faith in the privacy of a football stadium on national TV. Since you’re obviously new to the internet, I recommend you start a thread expounding your views on one of these fun topics: the stupidity of tipping, the laziness of overweight people, the irritating nature of cats, your feelings on children who identify as transgender, or your views on whether or not people who’ve been through sexual reassignment surgery are “really” their new gender. That should be fun. SUVs. Dammit, **Marley** , you forgot the SUVs, and how they are a necessary vehicle for people who usually drive solo in urban settings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerant-athiests/609172.md?page=10)