For the last couple or years or so, I've noticed that it's become frequent to post videos on Youtube in which an atheist lays into preachers or people who sell religious books on the street with the intention of debating, but it usually turns into an awkward situation.
I'm thinking about people like Ted the Atheist, who warns people not to buy Scientology books (in front of their noses), claiming that it's a fraud or faces Jehova's Witnesses or Mormons and other Christians. He's a smart guy, but he loses his temper too often and too soon.
What's your opinion about this? Have you ever tried to do it? Could this be the reason for the raising of the word "anti-theists"? Do you think this is useful or counter-productive?
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I moved out of the city 12 years ago for a reason. If I am anywhere where there is a street preacher then I am around too many people.
Thanks, Chimp, for your answer. I hope anyone else was driven to share their view...
(I guess I should have written on the general forum).
Has anyone ever thought that maybe the best weapon to use against religious fanaticism is ridicule rather than anger?
Fortunately, I've never seen a street preacher while out and about in the city.
I just keep walking. Yes, it is disturbing but you can't argue with idiots. Most people regard them as a joke. Anyone that doesn't is destined to be scammed in the first place. When I owned a brick and mortar store (meaning a physical location), I had to have the police arrest a few. My location was such that they always stood on MY corner to preach.
I was driving through Morehead Kentucky, and stopped at a red light where there were 4 men standing on the concrete median taking in money for "flood relief" I felt as if they were scammers trying to get money with super big crosses hung around a couple of the men's necks and quoting verses saying how good it is to give, when I ignored them one came up to my window and asked me for a donation I told him NO he said that Jesus knew where my heart was. If I hadn't been in a hurry I would have called the police to see if they had a permit to be out there. I went around the block and came back five minutes later. They were gone
The world is packed full with scammers, my friend. The christian bible calls us sheep. Well, if we are, there are wolves in the herd wearing sheepskin jackets - that's for sure. Religionists are practiced at mugging your wallet, they've been at it for two thousand years. The great pity of it is that, whenever you give money to charity, even for the most heart-felt cause, you seldom know exactly where it's going and who will benefit most.
Never had the pleasure. If I did I'd just tune them out. I remember the obnoxious Krishna fools prancing, dancing and chanting in public transportation terminals years ago sporting togas, sandals, shaved heads and vacuous personas. It was a display of silliness people tolerated and certainly dismissed as fake. It died a quick death.
Then, there are the door-to-door witnesses who are young unfortunates dragged into the doctrine by family and social forces that have preyed upon them and recruited them as missionaries. Very sad. It's a terrible thing to be thrown to the lions at that age and experience negativity at each door visited. But, if you're gonna be stupid you'd better be tough. Then again, I can't think of a tougher road than atheism's rejection of eternity for the sake of championing the pursuit of truth. Sort of makes a person wish he was stupid instead.
Pitar, how do you figure that Atheism necessarily rejects eternity? That's too big a jump in logic for me.
i agree, we cannot simply reject the notion of eternity, simply because our universe may be.
to big a jump for one to make for my opinion, but happy to be lead by the evidence.
a god being eternal though? no, because that imaginary friend dies when the consciousness conceiving it dies.
I think that evangelism in all it's forms, be it Christian, Muslim, Mormon, Atheist or whatever, is wrong in principle. It's a form of indoctrination that detracts from freedom of thought and expression. Similarly, children should not be indoctrinated but left to make up their own minds when they are older. Sure, everyone should be free to choose their own way of life, but only in so far as that freedom does not interfere with, or detract from, the similar freedom of others.
The point is that atheists who tackle preachers or book-sellers claim that the theists are using a public space for dishonest reasons and they are spreading lies, so they have the right to stop them.
For example, the guy I was referring to in the OP recorded a video in which a boy is yelling in a subway wagon how Jesus came into his life, etc., so. Ted the Atheist then started to question his claims with logical arguments. Some passengers then complain to Ted for questioning the boy, and he argues that since the boy is compelling everyone to listen, he has the right to question his claims. Basically, that both have the right to speak (or to preach). And I agree. But I was wondering if this is counter-productive or advisable, since it's a way of discouraging these people to act like that in public and in some cases, to make them question their beliefs.
I think the entire logic ascribed to eternity is a sham no differently than the logic that created god(s). Mankind attempts to persuade itself of some kind of immortality by telling itself that there's a god out there ready to embrace it for eternity. Right. And that will happen when monkeys fly out of my ass.
Mankind thinks it will have some form of eternity; something that allows its consciousness a place in the forever after. Dream on. The human individual came from the ether where it had no consciousness, or awareness of self, and will return to that same state upon expiring. Biologically speaking, it will end and conscious thought will cease. Metaphysically speaking, there's no such thing.
That's the entire premise of atheism. It's hardly a leap of faith to propose mortality as the only reality. It's exactly the opposite. It's a hard assertion; no god, no immortality. Faith is based strictly upon a hope of an outcome that has no basis in fact; a doctrine. Atheism dismisses faith as it would the tooth fairy and all other imaginary conjuring. Along with it is eternity, or immortality if that's your preference, and no measure of hope (doctrine) can shake that assertion.
It's not that I hope to be mortal. If I could change that by some measure of hope I would but let's not be children of imaginary logic. The hard reality is we all know man created god and immortality. We all know that it evolved into the various faiths too numerous to fetch names for at this second. We all know that those of faith cannot fathom the fear of mortality and it takes a very brave will to accept one's finality. Finally, those of faith argue that atheism must task itself with proving that man did not simply create stories of god, faiths and immortality. Theists are so hopeful for eternity that they cannot live happy lives without the knowledge, false as it is, that eternity is truly real. Atheism declares those notions false and dismisses all such hope as the conjuring of an over-active imagination running from fear.
I respect your point of view, Pitar, and you raise some interesting points. Everyone is entitled to a point of view and I find other people's ideas interesting. That's why I'm here. Healthy, honest, debate can only ever be a good thing and you can learn a lot from it. For me, atheism is a rejection of the idea of supernatural gods. It doesn't automatically include the rejection of other possibilities. If someone asks me 'Is there some kind of survival after death of the body?' the only logical and honest answer I can give is 'I don't know.' And I don't believe than anyone knows the answer to that .If you know the answer, perhaps you'd be kind enough to tell me how you know?