More SDMB memes you're sick of

[Hamadryad]

@LonesomePolecat

Atheism is just as much a matter of unreasoning, gut level belief as theism. That’s why I consider both atheism and secularism to be essentially religious.

@Czarcasm

So you consider it reasonable to believe in something without any evidence to support it? By your definition, you are unreasonable if you disbelieve in anything. BTW, I disbelieve in the tooth fairy-what would you call this “religion”?

You said “strawman,” LP, but I think Czarcasm makes a valid point.

You say that a lack of belief in a god or deity is an unreasoning, gut-level belief. That is why you think it is a religion.
A lack of belief in the tooth fairy is an unreasoning, gut-level belief. Doesn’t this mean that it can also be considered a religion?

I don’t believe that there is a tyrannosaurus rex buried under my house. This is an unreasoning, gut-level response; I have no proof that there is not a tyrannosaurus rex under my house. Does it therefore follow that my lack of belief in the dynosaur under my house is a religion?

Or really, closer to the subject:
Is your typical fundamentalist christian practicing the religion of not believing in Jupiter? Is NOT believing that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his profit a religion? So are christians not only christian, but also a-allahists?

[Kokopilau]

@Hamadryad

Is your typical fundamentalist christian practicing the religion of not believing in Jupiter? Is NOT believing that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his profit a religion? So are christians not only christian, but also a-allahists?

Christians are almost as atheistic as self-proclaimed atheists like Dawkins. Dawkins only disbelieves in one more god than they do.

[Hamadryad]

@Kokopilau

Christians are almost as atheistic as self-proclaimed atheists like Dawkins. Dawkins only disbelieves in one more god than they do.

Yup. I’ve thought “One Further” would be an entertainingly enigmatic atheistic bumper sticker.

[Hamadryad]

Speaking of atheists…

Fired for not believin’.

[Mangetout]

Needless, knee-jerk skepticism gets me down sometimes. You know - those threads where someone asks “is there such a thing as an albino crow?” and someone answers “It’s certainly possible - because I’ve seen one in my garden quite often - in fact, i just looked out the window and it’s on my lawn right now”, then someone else has to whine about anecdotes not being data, or screech “Cite!?”. Doesn’t matter how many people chime in after that saying they’ve seen albino crows, or that they keep a tame one as a pet, nothing short of a published, peer-reviewed paper on the subject of hypomelanism statistics in corvids would satisfy the knee-jerk skeptic, and maybe not even that.

There are actually some questions that can be legitimately answered “yes, there’s one in front of me right now”, without needing to resort to ridiculous levels of proof.

[Plynck]

@kidchameleon

Marcel Marceau

I thought that was funny, but we’re not supposed to post in French.

Quel dommage…

[marshmallow]

Secularism is != atheism, unless your name is Rush Limbaugh or maybe Ann Coulter. There are more secular theists than not, which is a good thing for the future of liberal civilization.

[fisha]

@Mangetout

Needless, knee-jerk skepticism gets me down sometimes. You know - those threads where someone asks “is there such a thing as an albino crow?” and someone answers “It’s certainly possible - because I’ve seen one in my garden quite often - in fact, i just looked out the window and it’s on my lawn right now”, then someone else has to whine about anecdotes not being data, or screech “Cite!?”. Doesn’t matter how many people chime in after that saying they’ve seen albino crows, or that they keep a tame one as a pet, nothing short of a published, peer-reviewed paper on the subject of hypomelanism statistics in corvids would satisfy the knee-jerk skeptic, and maybe not even that.

There are actually some questions that can be legitimately answered “yes, there’s one in front of me right now”, without needing to resort to ridiculous levels of proof.

*I’ve *never seen an albino crow.

[David_Simmons]

@dahfisheroo

*I’ve *never seen an albino crow.

That’s probably because many birds tend to kill and kick out of the nest any hatchling that looks greatly different from the norm.

[Quiddity_Glomfuster]

@Mangetout

Needless, knee-jerk skepticism gets me down sometimes. You know - those threads where someone asks “is there such a thing as an albino crow?” and someone answers “It’s certainly possible - because I’ve seen one in my garden quite often - in fact, i just looked out the window and it’s on my lawn right now”, then someone else has to whine about anecdotes not being data, or screech “Cite!?”. Doesn’t matter how many people chime in after that saying they’ve seen albino crows, or that they keep a tame one as a pet, nothing short of a published, peer-reviewed paper on the subject of hypomelanism statistics in corvids would satisfy the knee-jerk skeptic, and maybe not even that.

But people don’t dispute things like that. People dispute, and require cites for, statements like ‘all Muslims want to destroy the West’. A crow is something concrete - can be seen with the naked eye. Not so with beliefs and attitudes. If someone is asked ‘cite’ when they say ‘everyone with tattoos is a puppy-beater’ it’s because that individual is spouting BS as though it were fact and people are trying to show them that.

[Quiddity_Glomfuster]

@Charlie Tan

Are we going to do this again? :sigh:
There is no empirical evidence for love, justice, fear, anger, hate, wisdom, or any other of a myriad intangible things. Just because you can’t meassure it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Belief in God is real. That doesn’t mean God is real.

Fascinating. Did you not notice that in the bolded (by me) sentence, you directly contradicted the second bolded (bye me) sentence after? :rolleyes:

BTW, ‘empirical’ also means

depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, esp. as in medicine.

(dictionary.com) so a person’s belief based upon experience is indeed ‘empirical’.

[Quiddity_Glomfuster]

@LonesomePolecat

Atheism is just as much a matter of unreasoning, gut level belief as theism. That’s why I consider both atheism and secularism to be essentially religious.

It seems to require a certain level of intellect to be able to grasp that concept. I’d have thought more Dopers might be at that level.

[Czarcasm]

@Quiddity Glomfuster

It seems to require a certain level of intellect to be able to grasp that concept. I’d have thought more Dopers might be at that level.

Thankfully, a lot of us have risen above that level of intellect.

[Ryan_Liam]

Some memes I hate.

Me: I support the Coalition in Iraq, I support Iraqi Government efforts to secure it’s country.

Some other posters: 'You Republican Hack etc etc, you’re racist, you hate brown people, how can you justify deaths etc etc, you support rapists etc etc, Troops out! Here’s some cites from MoveOn.org, we’ll lose because we’re occupiers, Saddam was a Middle Eastern Tito, if you support the war why don’t you go over there and join the action? (one of the most ridiculous arguments ever, dumb shits, yeah I’m looking at you Merijeek.)

The internet message version of a pile on if I ever saw one.

[Ogre]

@Quiddity Glomfuster

It seems to require a certain level of intellect to be able to grasp that concept. I’d have thought more Dopers might be at that level.

The idea that atheism is religious is pure idiocy.

[Slithy_Tove]

@dahfisheroo

*I’ve *never seen an albino crow.

I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one.

[Secret_Volcano_Lair]

Here’s one that annoys me.

Dopers…are supposed to be several cuts above the everyday people, are we not?

[Sarahfeena]

@Ogre

The idea that atheism is religious is pure idiocy.

I am a believer in God, and I don’t buy into that idea, either. Around here, it seems to be mainly used by some religious people to refute the claim atheists make that religion is irrational. To me, it makes believers seem defensive and willing to make very weak arguments in order to justify their belief.

[Li_l_Pluck]

@Sarahfeena

I am a believer in God, and I don’t buy into that idea, either. Around here, it seems to be mainly used by some religious people to refute the claim atheists make that religion is irrational. To me, it makes believers seem defensive and willing to make very weak arguments in order to justify their belief.

I certainly can’t speak for Ogre, so for myself, thank you for this.

[Ogre]

@Sarahfeena

I am a believer in God, and I don’t buy into that idea, either. Around here, it seems to be mainly used by some religious people to refute the claim atheists make that religion is irrational. To me, it makes believers seem defensive and willing to make very weak arguments in order to justify their belief.

Yep, you nailed it. Thanks!