# Why is this site overwhelmingly atheist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938 "2014-08-30T04:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**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:** [September 8, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/261 "2014-09-08T18:48:01Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I trust that was the JBS’ sentiment, not Dylan’s. I would blow some fuses at any remark disparaging Lincoln (and it takes some doing to attack Jefferson or either Roosevelt who became President). Duh. I’m not aware of the JBS attacking Lincoln or Jefferson, but they definitely said that Eisenhower might be a Russian spy - which was no doubt the inspiration for the verse. Good song - I think I have about four versions of it, including the one that got kicked off Freewheelin’. Ed Sullivan wouldn’t let him do it, which was why Dylan was never on Ed Sullivan. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/262 "2014-09-08T18:58:17Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Fulfilling it isn’t the same as changing it. And he also told them that not a dot in the law would change until the end of times. So how come Christians are eating pork and aren’t circumcized? I’m not even sure what fulfill means here. It is not like the laws were stopgap until something else came along. As for your question **dropzone** got it. Evangelist to Roman: Join the church, give your self to Jesus, and you will have eternal life. Roman: Sounds good! What do I have to do? Evangelist: Pulling out a knife. Whip it out. Roman: Jupiter doesn’t sound so bad after all. Feets, get moving! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/263 "2014-09-08T19:32:41Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m not even sure what fulfill means here. It is not like the laws were stopgap until something else came along. > > As for your question **dropzone** got it. > Evangelist to Roman: Join the church, give your self to Jesus, and you will have eternal life. > Roman: Sounds good! What do I have to do? > Evangelist: Pulling out a knife. Whip it out. > Roman: Jupiter doesn’t sound so bad after all. Feets, get moving! Imagine now - 2 months later Centurian #2 - “Hey, I just joined this group garunteed eternal life” Centurial #1 - “Yeah, I joined a couple months ago, made me snip the tip -its worth it” Centurian #2 - “yeah, enrollment was down, they stopped requiring that” ---
**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:** [September 8, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/264 "2014-09-08T20:14:28Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Imagine now - 2 months later > > Centurian #2 - “Hey, I just joined this group garunteed eternal life” > Centurial #1 - “Yeah, I joined a couple months ago, made me snip the tip -its worth it” > Centurian #2 - “yeah, enrollment was down, they stopped requiring that” Out pops W. C. Fieldanius. Ah, yes. You think losing 10% was worth it? Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll let you, for the glory of God, donate 10% of your earnings to the Church, in other words, me. I’ll use it for my wine budget, I mean, to spread the Gospel. (To himself.) Best idea I had since I sold volcano insurance to Pompeii. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/265 "2014-09-08T20:26:35Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > You don’t think God should be allowed to change His own rules? Compare the 11th chapter of Leviticus with Acts 10:15. His rules, I acknowledged. But when does an “abomination” suddenly become acceptable? (It does give us hope that Christian anti-Gay obsession will suffer a similar reform. “You know that Linen-Wool thing? Gays? No problem.”) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/266 "2014-09-08T20:31:06Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > It is impossible for any attributes to have a flaw , because it would be non-existent, There are no qualities to something that doesn’t exist. Well, yes, very good. You’ve identified a flaw in a classical Christian argument that goes back some thousand years or so. Now – beam and speck – learn from this and stop making the same mistake yourself with the “God has to have a place to be” argument. It is very similarly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/267 "2014-09-08T20:33:05Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > They are not true Christians! > > 😉 > CMC fnord! If. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/268 "2014-09-08T20:33:39Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > So how come Christians are eating pork and aren’t circumcized? St Paul started his church, preaching to the Gentiles. His churches were highly profitable, whereas the church in Jerusalem being run by St James (or St Peter) was impoverished and the members were being struck by a famine. Paul had never talked to anyone in the Jerusalem church, never met Jesus (in person), and claimed to have been given a separate piece of divine revelation from the spirit of Jesus. The revelation included a statement that kosher and circumcision rules were no longer required. So Paul taught this for for three years, before hearing about the state of the church in Jerusalem. He gathered a big bag of gold and went to the starving-to-death disciples of Christ, who had actually known the living man and trained under him for several years. Using the money he had collected from his Gentile churches, he saved them and then asked them to hold the [Council of Jerusalem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Jerusalem). There, they voted for the status quo. The church of Jersualem continued to preach to Jews that Christians had to eat kosher and get circumcised. The church of the Gentiles would continue to preach to Gentiles that those were no longer necessary. But most importantly, the Council accepted that Paul’s church was of good provenance. So that’s how it happened, technically. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/269 "2014-09-08T20:36:00Z")
> [@simster](#): > > So, now you’re defending Jefferson? > > How about getting back to the topic at hand? I certainly am defending Jefferson–when it comes to Birchers. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/270 "2014-09-08T20:38:25Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I certainly am defending Jefferson–when it comes to Birchers. and that has to do with what in this topic? More importantly - what the hell does it even mean? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/271 "2014-09-08T20:45:53Z")
> [@simster](#): > > and that has to do with what in this topic? > > More importantly - what the hell does it even mean? Closest I can come up with is > [@](#): > > Birch·er (bûrchr) also Birch·ist (-chst) or Birch·ite (-cht) > n. > A member or supporter of the John Birch Society, an anti-Communist organization founded in 1958. > [After John Birch (1918-1945), Indian-born American missionary and intelligence officer.] ??? ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/272 "2014-09-08T20:50:51Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > St Paul started his church, preaching to the Gentiles. His churches were highly profitable, whereas the church in Jerusalem being run by St James (or St Peter) was impoverished and the members were being struck by a famine. > > Paul had never talked to anyone in the Jerusalem church, never met Jesus (in person), and claimed to have been given a separate piece of divine revelation from the spirit of Jesus. The revelation included a statement that kosher and circumcision rules were no longer required. So Paul taught this for for three years, before hearing about the state of the church in Jerusalem. > > He gathered a big bag of gold and went to the starving-to-death disciples of Christ, who had actually known the living man and trained under him for several years. Using the money he had collected from his Gentile churches, he saved them and then asked them to hold the [Council of Jerusalem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Jerusalem). There, they voted for the status quo. The church of Jersualem continued to preach to Jews that Christians had to eat kosher and get circumcised. The church of the Gentiles would continue to preach to Gentiles that those were no longer necessary. But most importantly, the Council accepted that Paul’s church was of good provenance. > > So that’s how it happened, technically. This is a version of early Christianity I hadn’t heard. Do you have a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/273 "2014-09-08T21:39:58Z")
> [@Reyemile](#): > > This is a version of early Christianity I hadn’t heard. Do you have a cite? Acts 9-15. 1 Corinthians 16. 2 Corinthians 8-9. There might be a few other references, but that should get you started. No extra-biblical resources are needed, and it’s actually a fairly straightforward accounting of what it says in the Bible, though the NT timeline does skip around a bit. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/274 "2014-09-08T22:04:16Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Closest I can come up with is > > ??? There was some dissing of Jefferson’s deism going on, I quoted Dylan’s funny song, and dougie took it seriously. Nothing to see here. Move along. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/275 "2014-09-08T22:20:46Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Closest I can come up with is > > ??? I am going on the assumption–perhaps not quite accurate–that the JBS has pegged non-conservative politicos generally, as Reds or Pinkos. In any case, I know Jefferson had enemies during his lifetime and has been commonly attacked since his death. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/276 "2014-09-08T22:23:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > There was some dissing of Jefferson’s deism going on, I quoted Dylan’s funny song, and dougie took it seriously. Nothing to see here. Move along. Funny song?? Well, excuse me, but I didn’t see the great big sign that said "funny song. " I never even heard of it until you quoted it in this thread. I am not clairvoyant. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/277 "2014-09-08T22:27:53Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Out pops W. C. Fieldanius. > Ah, yes. You think losing 10% was worth it? Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll let you, for the glory of God, donate 10% of your earnings to the Church, in other words, me. I’ll use it for my wine budget, I mean, to spread the Gospel. > > (To himself.) Best idea I had since I sold volcano insurance to Pompeii. Egad…you’re alluding to W. C. Fields here? (Yes, I noticed the Roman suffix.) An ancient Roman as a prototype for the dregs of humanity… ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/278 "2014-09-08T23:01:51Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > If. What “if”? If the Bible said 2 + 2 = 5? or If the Bible said something that is proven to be factually incorrect? Like, say, God’s cure for [leprosy](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/14.html#2)? Or God not understanding the basic [biology](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/dt/14.html#7) of bats and rabbits? CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/279 "2014-09-08T23:27:25Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > What “if”? > > If the Bible said 2 + 2 = 5? > or > If the Bible said something that is proven to be factually incorrect? > > Like, say, God’s cure for [leprosy](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/14.html#2)? > Or God not understanding the basic [biology](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/dt/14.html#7) of bats and rabbits? > > CMC fnord! Those were just errors in transcription/translation. God tried its level best to explain this stuff, but the imperfect humans wrote it down wrong. Or maybe they wrote it down right at first but it got messed up in the copying process or distorted in translation. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/280 "2014-09-08T23:35:34Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > What “if”? > > If the Bible said 2 + 2 = 5? > > […] > > Or God not understanding the basic [biology](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/dt/14.html#7) of […] rabbits? I think the Bible makes it fairly plain that God really only understand multiplication. fnord [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938.md?page=15)