Anonymous wrote:If something good happens to you, you can be thankful. The fact that bad things happen to people all over the world does not mean you can not be thankful to something good that happens to you. I thank God if I feel like it - and my life sure has not been all pink and rosy. I am still able to give thanks.

I am an atheist and I am very happy when something good happens to me. If I know who caused it, then I'm grateful to that person or persons, if I don't or it seems to be a stroke of luck, then I'm just happy.

When something bad happens, unless it's obvious that I could have done something to prevent it (like stop smoking) or it's someone else's fault (as in a car accident) I don't blame anyone. I just chalk it up to chance.

To those who believe in God -- when your prayers are not answered, or when something unexpected and negative happens, who do you blame? God? the devil?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Thanking God for the food you have while millions of people around the world starve every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

That is all.

Interesting my child, age ten,, determined very early in life that he God did not exist for him. No amount of talking, consoling, whatever has changed his views over the years. His early beliefs or non beliefs were manifested from the very circumstances derived from the your quote. He lost his first mom, dad, and siblings dipue to starvation. In his young mind a God would have provided him with food and water in his infancy and toddler years. God would have saved his first mother and brother. So every time I thank God for this or that,he says there is no God. I guess I am saying I get what the quote means for many.

Oh and he also lost his language and culture. All he had left remaining was his name, which we did not change.

Anonymous wrote:"Thanking God for the food you have while millions of people around the world starve every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

That is all.

Interesting my child, age ten,, determined very early in life that he God did not exist for him. No amount of talking, consoling, whatever has changed his views over the years. His early beliefs or non beliefs were manifested from the very circumstances derived from the your quote. He lost his first mom, dad, and siblings dipue to starvation. In his young mind a God would have provided him with food and water in his infancy and toddler years. God would have saved his first mother and brother. So every time I thank God for this or that,he says there is no God. I guess I am saying I get what the quote means for many.

If something good happens to you, you can be thankful. The fact that bad things happen to people all over the world does not mean you can not be thankful to something good that happens to you. I thank God if I feel like it - and my life sure has not been all pink and rosy. I am still able to give thanks.

During a time of a horrible, horrible family crisis, my faith became stronger, and my family's lives became richer and much more self-awareness. God did not cure my parent, but he did give us the strength, focus and support we needed. I believe that God works in ways I do not understand. In my case, several family members have changed professions to focus on charitable work for the sick and elderly. That wasn't the answer to the prayers that we were looking for, but it is the one we got. Our personal crisis opened our eyes to suffering and led us to spend our lives alleviating it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

Tuned out? really? So what are you doing reading and commenting on page 3 of this thread?

Still, I'm glad you stayed tuned in long enough to find atheists you like.

Tuned out to the supposed message. Duh.

and still interested enough to check in and comment.

There are two very different things here: (a) this thread discussion, which I'm obviously still following, and (b) the supposed message in that very glib quote, which didn't make me stop and reflect for even one minute, because it was shallow and the OP is antagonistic. So OP's attempt at, what, sparking reflection (?) with that quote is a total fail. Now do you see the difference?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

Tuned out? really? So what are you doing reading and commenting on page 3 of this thread?

Still, I'm glad you stayed tuned in long enough to find atheists you like.

Tuned out to the supposed message. Duh.

and still interested enough to check in and comment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

Tuned out? really? So what are you doing reading and commenting on page 3 of this thread?

Still, I'm glad you stayed tuned in long enough to find atheists you like.

Tuned out to the supposed message. Duh.

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

Tuned out? really? So what are you doing reading and commenting on page 3 of this thread?

Still, I'm glad you stayed tuned in long enough to find atheists you like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

OK -- here's the original "great" quote: "Thanking God for the food you have while millions of people around the world starve every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

This is an opinion -- perhaps one that some don't share and don't like, but an opinion is not proselytizing. It is not trying to sell atheism the way people try to sell religion -- e.g. "believe in the Lord and you will have eternal life. If not - then eternal damnation".

If you feel proselytized to, it might be because the opinion stated is uncomfortably making you think twice about thanking God. Or perhaps you're a "good" atheist is socialized into thinking open but accurate criticism of religion is being a dick.

Look, OP, as an atheist I agree with the logic behind your "great quote." To those of us who don't believe in a deity that seems like an accurate statement, and the logical contortions religions get into trying to explain away the dichotomies inherent in this aspect of theism all ultimately come down to "God is mysterious and we as humans can't understand His divine plan."

So, congratulations. Other atheists agree that you're "accurate," and believers dismiss you because you've just stepped up, uninvited and unprompted, and said, "Wow, your baby's ugly," and when people rightly call you out for being rude, your defense is, "But it's true!"

While it might be true, the truth of your statement doesn't make the way you made it any less rude.

I am 23:54 but NOT OP. that is, the "great quote" isn't mine. As for being uninvited and unprompted -- invitations are not required on DCUM -- look through the threads to see the many uninvited and unprompted posts. I haven't done a check, but it would be interesting to see how many of those are denigrated for raising the issue in the first place, as is the case here.

As for being "dismissed" by believers - lots of posts are dismissed because people don't like the content -- that's the prerogative of anyone here. Besides, the one person who mentioned that obviously didn't dismiss the conversation, because they were still reading and commenting on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

OK -- here's the original "great" quote: "Thanking God for the food you have while millions of people around the world starve every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

This is an opinion -- perhaps one that some don't share and don't like, but an opinion is not proselytizing. It is not trying to sell atheism the way people try to sell religion -- e.g. "believe in the Lord and you will have eternal life. If not - then eternal damnation".

If you feel proselytized to, it might be because the opinion stated is uncomfortably making you think twice about thanking God. Or perhaps you're a "good" atheist is socialized into thinking open but accurate criticism of religion is being a dick.

Look, OP, as an atheist I agree with the logic behind your "great quote." To those of us who don't believe in a deity that seems like an accurate statement, and the logical contortions religions get into trying to explain away the dichotomies inherent in this aspect of theism all ultimately come down to "God is mysterious and we as humans can't understand His divine plan."

So, congratulations. Other atheists agree that you're "accurate," and believers dismiss you because you've just stepped up, uninvited and unprompted, and said, "Wow, your baby's ugly," and when people rightly call you out for being rude, your defense is, "But it's true!"

While it might be true, the truth of your statement doesn't make the way you made it any less rude.

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

OK -- here's the original "great" quote: "Thanking God for the food you have while millions of people around the world starve every single day is like thanking a serial killer because he didn't kill YOU."

This is an opinion -- perhaps one that some don't share and don't like, but an opinion is not proselytizing. It is not trying to sell atheism the way people try to sell religion -- e.g. "believe in the Lord and you will have eternal life. If not - then eternal damnation".

If you feel proselytized to, it might be because the opinion stated is uncomfortably making you think twice about thanking God. Or perhaps you're a "good" atheist is socialized into thinking open but accurate criticism of religion is being a dick.

Needlessly antagonizing. I did not even clue in to that.

Hey OP, I'm curious why you even bothered? I suppose you think that wonderful quote will cause lots of people to question religion and maybe even abandon it. I'm sorry to say, the quote is so shallow, also you're so needlessly antagonistic, that I tuned you out. So, mission unaccomplished.

Thanks to the atheists who pointed out that OP is being a dick and also that OP is proselytizing. I enjoy talking to you guys.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an atheist, I'd like to throw a flag on the OP for violating Phil Plaitt's "don't be a dick" rule of being an atheist.

This wasn't a "great" quote about religion, it was needless antagonism.

some may perceive it as antagonism that they don't need, but that doesn't mean it isn't accurate.

Accuracy isn't the point. The point is that you're being a dick.

--another athiest

Hello, another atheist -- being a dick is relative, just like being antagonistic. To some people, just mentioning mentioning that you're an atheist (or gay) is seen as antagonistic.

Atheist are often concerned about accuracy and have a lot of experience watching religious people act like dicks. Are you really another atheist or did you figure saying that would make your point stronger?

You're correct. Some believers are more sensitive than others, and some get offended simply by virtue of the fact that someone else expresses non-belief. That's not the situation here.

In this case, the OP, sua sponte decided that this was a "great quote about religion" that everyone needed to see, a la Lon Matthews "Not a sermon, just a thought" radio ads. That's not responding to someone else's position regarding religion, that's affirmatively going out and proselytizing your own (non-)belief and doing exactly what annoys us about the way some believers act.

I have no issue with using the OP's quote to respond to someone making religious arguments about how wonderful God is, but to go "casting the first stone" is unnecessary.

Phil Plaitt got some very passionate (and some very nasty) responses to his argument that atheists should follow the "don't be a dick" rule, so it's your prerogative, OP, to decide how you want to live your life and what battles you want to fight. However, from my perspective as another atheist (and I'm also 15:09, so as far as I can tell there are two atheists on this thread who'd take the OP to task), I think the OP is needlessly being a dick.