describing atheism
In my last post, I invited readers to suggest a humorous descriptive label that could be attached to atheism or atheists. I was seeking to create a fair playing field for good-natured and long suffering Christians, who have to endure their god, God, being referred to as a ‘sky wizard’ or ‘celestial dictator’. Although both these descriptions seem fairly accurate to me, I thought it would be fun to work out a similarly colourful metaphor to use for those of us without deities.
My poorly worded invitation was received with some confusion, followed by blank stares. It seems no-one could come up a notion that ridiculed (in a harmless fashion, of course) atheism. Apparently, refusal to worship deities that cannot be detected with any of our five senses, who only leave evidence in the form of clumps of writings delivered via men and subsequently used by other men to control their fellow human beings, cannot be neatly summed up with a humorous soundbite. Inconceivable as it may seem, it’s seriously difficult to ridicule absence of superstition, and rational use of common sense.
I’m sure there are some clever turn of words out there, but the problem facing Christians is they’re generally not very smart (in fact, they’re mostly quite juvenile and stupid) and simply don’t have the creative nuances to turn said words appropriately. If some theist chooses to pay me $10,000 for a month-long consultancy position i’ll happily come up with a whole slew of things, but if there’s no financial reward in it my brain just isn’t prepared to jump through those hoops. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh my, you’d sell your soul to Satan so easily!
LikeLike
Beelzebub has a bad wrap 🙂
LikeLike
How about a Dawk?
A dork with an ‘O’ is considered a proper twit (it is, in point of fact a whale’s willy)
Or a Hitchbanger ( Hitching-big bang)
Or maybe roughrider. Atheists do tend to ride roughshod over every Christian argument, after all.
Or Dartboard. – a load of empty holes made by pricks.
LikeLike
Hitchbangers has a nice ring to it. I guess it would annoy me because I know nothing of Hitchins and I could claim that Christians don’t understand atheism … so, job done! You big Hitchbanger! Take your Hitchbanging views back to the lab where they belong!
LikeLike
I shall wear it as a badge of honour.
Bless you, my child, Dominoes, Spirits and Sanctions or whatever those christian crossdressers say.
LikeLike
That should have read Hitchens, of course…
LikeLike
“… received with some confusion, followed by blank stares.” I know how that is!
LikeLike
Is that giving or receiving? 🙂
LikeLike
That’s how people respond to me.
LikeLike
I usually do not refer to skywizards, or such funny euphemisms about gods. To me the term god is just as funny, silly, childish and accurate term as a “skyfairy”. However, I do think the Theists who claim that such silly terms should not be used because they are innacurate have missed the point. The point being – that these terms sound to the atheist just as silly – regardless if they are accurate, or not. They are uttered to bring out the comparrison, because the Theist seems unable to fathom the sillyness of the concept of human like supernatural enteties. They are accurate enough for the comparrison and need not be more accurate than that for the point being made.
It seems to me, that these sort of Theists who get worked up about the sillyness of the eufemisms seem to demand respect for their unsubstantiated beliefs, because they are used to having it. What they do not seem to understand, is that such respect has to be earned. That it is a false belief to demand respect for adults taking fairy tales at face value. Giving respect to superstitious beliefs about fairies, wizards and gods is a custom derived from cultural heritage from beyond times when people had no idea what causes the lightning, earhquakes, tzunamis, diseases and mental instability.
I like to treat all other human beings with certain amount of basic respect, so that they in turn would treat me and other people with the same amount of respect. When Theists of different religions and sects pay each others beliefs sincere respect, I may consider witholding my scorn. But they do not, because allmost without exeption Theists are atheists about each others silly beliefs.
Why would we need to invent an euphemism for the sillyness of atheism? Atheism in it self seems to be word twisted in the mouths of great many Theists to mean a great deal of different and totally inaccurate descriptions. I have enven run into theists who would want to define the term to mean what they would want atheists to be like. Anything from immoral people to god haters, wich both are rather absurd claims given that atheism means disbelief in a god. Some of these Theists were desperate even to claim the right to define atheists totally contrary to what the atheists they had encountered meant by atheism.
LikeLike
You okay?…bit quiet around here..
LikeLike
Thank you for noticing! Just been busy, and I’ve almost lost the urge to blog, I have nothing to say. But my brother said something that annoyed me today, so I might post soon. You alright?
LikeLike
Hunky Dory.
Please come and read my last couple of posts and especially the interaction with Muslim groupie Paarsurry. You will wet your pants laughing, I swear.And you sound like you need a laugh.
LikeLike
Sounds good! You’re right, I do need a laugh.
LikeLike
Nice pic you got there, where have you been mate?
You have been missed.
LikeLike
Thank you! I’m lurking occasionally. You seem to have cut down on the posts a bit too.
LikeLike
Books have come between me and blogging. That may change soon though
LikeLike
Reblogged this on paarsurrey and commented:
Paarsurrey says:
To ridicule is an expression of a weak position, in my opinion.
LikeLike