"Angry Atheists"?

[ReDValKyRiE13]

My spiritualist aunt is convinced that my atheist father is not an atheist because he becomes angry at the very existence of/belief in religions - especially christianity - and is pretty open about it. She believes that this is unbecoming of an atheist and does not fit her stereotypes of how atheists act (namely: calmly and dispassionately logical). Furthermore, she counts it as evidence that he's clearly just "angry at god".

Now, I know this is one of the slightly more flattering stereotypes but I think that saying someone clearly doesn't hold a certain ideological standpoint because they're angry at the opposition may actually be just as damaging to atheism as any other stereotype. It opens up a whole new set of grounds on which to deny the validity of atheism (aside from the fact that its not true - there are plenty of angry atheists).

So, I have a couple of questions:

*What do people think about "angry atheists"?
*Does theism piss you off?
*Do you find that a lot of people try to deny your atheism based on your reaction to theist arguments/behavior and what's your usual respose?


"Why do christians offend you?" - Jeff Dee (an "angry atheist")  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I think I love this guy. XD

 

[Undecillion]

he's not mad at god, he's mad that people ignorently beleive in a god without any proof.

theres a big big difference.  

[chemos32o8]

We all have reasons to be upset at religion, It's not always that we're angry at god. It could be that we're angry at the believers themselves for blindly following without question and letting themselves be brain washed into thinking that there way of life is better then anyone else because they believe in an imaginary being.

But your aunt does have a point we shouldn't let ourselves get upset, it sets a bad example, the last thing we want is having them believe we're all angry beings.  

[=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=]

What do people think about "angry atheists"?

well, firstly, define "angry atheists". Do you mean they are angry at the deity specifically, or at the people worshipping the deity? If angry atheists are the former, then they are indirectly acknowledging the existence of god and therefore TECHNICALLY aren't atheists.

Does theism piss you off?

If I have to categorize myself into one of the two types of "angry atheists", I would be the type that is mad at the people persecuting atheists. Theists do not piss me off; I simply feel sorry for them because of their blind faith in a non-existent being. (I have a christian friend who was like "but how do you cope with it? What [do you believe] happens after you die?" And I just wanted to laugh at how he couldn't imagine outcomes other Heaven/Hell) However, theists who attempt to attack atheism by calling us "immoral" or "evil" really get on my nerves, especially the ones trying to degrade us to their level by claiming that there will be no law and order if a majority of people are atheists.

Do you find that a lot of people try to deny your atheism based on your reaction to theist arguments/behavior and what's your usual respose?

I don't ever react in a way that they can say I'm not an atheist. My response are usually the reasoning that I've done in my head before or I question them back.  

[ReDValKyRiE13]

=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=

What do people think about "angry atheists"?

well, firstly, define "angry atheists". Do you mean they are angry at the deity specifically, or at the people worshipping the deity? If angry atheists are the former, then they are indirectly acknowledging the existence of god and therefore TECHNICALLY aren't atheists.

I was referring to the latter. My father (like many other "angry atheists" and non-angry atheists) is quite a good debater. I mean, he can bring up anything from statistics to christian history in a debate at the drop of a hat. The thing is that he also becomes very impassioned when arguing and really hates theism. That's mostly what I think she's reacting to.

But even though it seems nice on the surface to have a shift in stereotypes about atheists (since the "angry atheist" tends to be the default) is it really any better? On the one side, it can be incredibly helpful in that it could be an indicator that people are starting to see atheism as being a rational, logic driven viewpoint and will therefore be more likely to engage in meaningful discussion with atheists. (Or maybe its just my aunt)

On the other hand, for people to assume that a person must not believe what they're saying simply because they become impassioned about it (thus acting out of the supposed norm) can become a very convenient way of shutting down conversation.  

[Dathu]

I tend to find that all stereotypes for Atheists are inaccurate. I have met a WIDE variety of Atheists both on and offline, and I can say with some confidence that Atheists cover the WHOLE spectrum of personalities, moralities, intelligence levels, and races. I think that, perhaps, people tend to see a typical kind of Atheist because usually that kind is the kind that will openly and eagerly voice their Atheism, where as the other kinds may keep it personal, hide it, or outright lie. surprised  

[=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=]

ReDValKyRiE13

=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=

What do people think about "angry atheists"?

well, firstly, define "angry atheists". Do you mean they are angry at the deity specifically, or at the people worshipping the deity? If angry atheists are the former, then they are indirectly acknowledging the existence of god and therefore TECHNICALLY aren't atheists.

I was referring to the latter. My father (like many other "angry atheists" and non-angry atheists) is quite a good debater. I mean, he can bring up anything from statistics to christian history in a debate at the drop of a hat. The thing is that he also becomes very impassioned when arguing and really hates theism. That's mostly what I think she's reacting to.

But even though it seems nice on the surface to have a shift in stereotypes about atheists (since the "angry atheist" tends to be the default) is it really any better? On the one side, it can be incredibly helpful in that it could be an indicator that people are starting to see atheism as being a rational, logic driven viewpoint and will therefore be more likely to engage in meaningful discussion with atheists. (Or maybe its just my aunt)

On the other hand, for people to assume that a person must not believe what they're saying simply because they become impassioned about it (thus acting out of the supposed norm) can become a very convenient way of shutting down conversation.

If it's the latter, then he's still an atheist. I understand why he would hate theism. After all, that's the thing that has ruined so many lives and suffocated many more. If you just think about it, if, just simply if, there is no religion and all those insensible rules and teachings, what a better place the world will be.

I don't think the default stereotype of atheism is angry atheist. In fact, the most common and popular stereotype was the "atheists are logic intellectuals" one.

Either way, people have always been willing to engage in a conversation with atheists. The problem lies in whether or not they are actually listening to us or they are just trying to disprove us (if you hear A LOT of "but" and "well you see" after you made a point, then those people are trying to disprove you).

If someone thinks that you don't believe in what you're saying simply because you are impassioned, then that someone isn't exactly a person to engage in an intellectual conversation with...  

[Dathu]

=X-Sparker + AquaKiller=

If someone thinks that you don't believe in what you're saying simply because you are impassioned, then that someone isn't exactly a person to engage in an intellectual conversation with...

Amen!  

[Labtech Soosh]

My entire family is basically Christian (except for me of course), they tried to convert me at a young age too, brainwash and such. It would have worked too if I hadn't become angry at the very god they tried to make me worship.

You see at a very young age I was highly religious, but I was also highly curious about everything around me. I have this disease called Asperger Syndrome and basically it means I get TOO into the things I try to study, one of those things just happened to be biology. Because I looked and acted different from the other kids at school I kept getting my a** kicked around (white boy living in the ghettos), the teachers did nothing but watch for fun. I prayed to this 'god' every night to help me and save me...no savior ever came. No other kids stood up and helped the weaker kid, no teachers intervened in the fight until I was flat on the floor, NOBODY helped me. I've alerted the other teachers and my family too, all that led to was more blood shed and rocks to my head because the kids were angry that I told on them.

That left serious emotional scarring.

Eventually I made a bet with God, if he would let me go unbullied for just ONE day I would pay a million dollars to the church when I get older, if not then he owes me the said million (it was a stupid argument, I know, but I was young at the time and VERY pissed). Long story short I got my a** beaten to a pulp the WORST I've ever had that day...seems like that said "god" still owes me a mother ******** lottery. I stopped believing, I detested the very god I worshipped with a great passion and I turned to Satanism for a good long while.

After a while all religions seemed pointless to me, I began seeing humans as fellow animals instead of this "perfect being made in the image of a GREAT CREATOR -dum dum DAAAAAH-!" Religious scriptures began to look very easily disprovable to me, I worked hard finding ways to ruin the bibles name, nothing but the rage against an omnipotent being that doesn't exists fueling my fire.


TL;Dr (or the End to the little story I just told)
Now to this day I've grown a little wiser. I still have hate for the Christian religion and any "god", but now my views are solely based upon science and I try to stay away from all god discussion with Christians in hopes that I don't offend them. I used to push my sciency views on people but nowadays I just sit back and calmly watch the s**t hit the fan.


So originally I became an Atheist purely for my detestion against god.