# Why Are Athiest Assholes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771 "2002-07-13T11:27:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/101 "2002-07-15T23:46:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > **Considering that my atheism comes out of a lifetime of studying human behavior, psychology, and history, and strenuous effort put into attempting to understand how things work, I must take vehement exception.** Wow. Vehement exception. The point I was trying to make is that to follow a faith based religion requires a lot of thinking. I was responding to a poster who claimed that anyone who had any kind of faith was intellectually lazy. I do believe that an intelligent person can spend a lifetime studying human behavior, psychology and history, all the while putting strenuous effort into attempting to understand how things work…and come up with a completely different outlook on life than you have. It doesn’t make any of you less intelligent than the other…it just means we’re all different. Its stupid to keep slagging on each other. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/102 "2002-07-16T00:13:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Its stupid to keep slagging on each other. I agree heartily. I look forward to your retraction of the idea that atheism is _ipso facto_ intellectually lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Apache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Apache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apache)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/103 "2002-07-16T00:43:59Z")
WOW! So much good stuff. What my ham-handed attempt was to spark debate on this issue but without the pleasantries that would be necessary in Great Debates. Also, I wanted the input of the Atheist-Fundamentalists as well, so I figured a somewhat provocative title for this thread in order to um… “fill the pews”. I need to compose some answers and thoughts about what I see here. So I will be back in a moment, as if anybody may care. In answer to **Beeblebrox** my beliefs are pretty simple, for me anyways. Call me a seriously backsliding Baptist with some faith holes. Perhaps a Bap-nostic? 😉 See you all in a few. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/104 "2002-07-16T00:56:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apache \* > \*\* > > In answer to **Beeblebrox** my beliefs are pretty simple, for me anyways. > Call me a seriously backsliding Baptist with some faith holes. > Perhaps a Bap-nostic? 😉 > > See you all in a few. \*\* Yaaay Apache! Me too! I had the wonderful experience of growing up in a General Association of Regular Baptist Churches fundamentalist organization. I’m always interested to meet other backsliders. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/105 "2002-07-16T00:57:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\*I agree heartily. I look forward to your retraction of the idea that atheism is _ipso facto_ intellectually lazy. \*\* I retract the idea that atheism is _ipso facto_ intellectually lazy. You like dat?😉 ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/106 "2002-07-16T02:25:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ouisey \* > \*\*The point I was trying to make is that to follow a faith based religion requires a lot of thinking. \*\* No, it doesn’t. That is not to say that a great many religious people don’t think about their religion; many do. But faith-based religions don’t **require** thinking; one can as easily sit back, listen to the pastor, believe what they’re told, and never think about or question their religion at all. My great-grandfather (who raised my mother and her siblings after their parents’ deaths) was a wonderful man and extremely devout. He was completely illiterate and couldn’t have read the Bible or any book debating the Bible; he could only know what the church told him. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/107 "2002-07-16T14:34:10Z")
I’ve always liked the Rabbis (spelling?) that I’ve met. Men who openly debate the meaning of their holy texts and how they should apply it’s teaching to the modern world. Then I see some of the christian religious leaders ☹ Some days I swear I want to use baby jesus as a blunt weapon. If Jesus want’s me to be saved, he can get off his ass and tell me. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771/108 "2002-07-16T14:50:51Z")
**Squish** , you’re right. We’ve all seen religous people who are content to be sheep and never think for themselves. I should have said that to follow a faith-based religion requires a lot of thinking _for me_. I’ve had the misfortune to be born both a skeptical and a spiritual person. **CRorex** , I’ve been impressed by the Jewish faith as well. They have an evolving faith. Also, they don’t condemn each other to hell as often as Christians do for disagreeing with each other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-athiest-assholes/118771.md?page=5)