How to Bitch-Slap a Tool
29 December 2008 by Bob
This just came down the pipeline…
I’ve always thought that Professors should have at least some intellectual integrity. I mean, if you’re going to try to find it, I’d like to think it could be found on a college campus. You’re at the front of the room, for chrissake…
But the more I see idiots like this, the more my skin crawls, because it makes me think that something’s gotten into the water supply. (Not that I don’t feel like that normally.) I’m also constantly reminded that knowledge and skill in one area has nothing to do with knowledge and skill in another.
Just check out these highlights from Sparky here:
The atheists predictably demanded a display themselves. Their wish was granted when city officials caved, but rather than being a statement of their nonreligious, unbelieving “faith,” they chose to denigrate and insult my religious beliefs. I, and many other Christians, simply won’t sit still for this behavior. I know I have friends who are either self-proclaimed or silent atheists, and this column is not about them (even though I can’t understand their decision and know they are making the biggest mistake possible). [...] Why are you so afraid of religion, and Christianity in particular? What do you fear? It’s easy to declare yourself an atheist, especially out of laziness, since I’m sure very few of you ever attempted to give religion a serious chance through exploration and introspection. Isn’t it also quite egocentric to not acknowledge a supreme being greater than yourself? Instead of proudly proclaiming your stance and backing it up with research that led you to your ultimate decision, you choose to exhibit nastiness and hate toward my religious faith.
Ad nauseum…
Yes, tonight on America’s Funniest Videos: CPA’s doing Philosophy…
To his credit, The Atheist Jew gives a nice bitch-slap to this idiot.
Turns out that the guy can’t even spell. Hartwick College must be very proud.
29 December 2008, on 9:01 pm
“Easy to declare yourself an atheist”? I suspect that for many people outing oneself as an atheist is tougher than outing oneself as a gay or lesbian.
Declaring oneself a member of one’s society’s dominant religion, is, of course, the lazy path. Anybody can do it without fear of criticism.
As for knowledge of religion, the atheists I know are far more knowledgable about scripture than Xians, who mostly seem not to have read it, except for the sanitized Sunday school stories taught to children (You know, the lion’s den, Noah’s ark and crap like that).
This fool’s river of philosophical thought is shallower than he can imagine.
29 December 2008, on 9:32 pm
I saw that editorial a couple days ago and felt the same as you do. I was amazed at some of the absurd statements coming out of this guy’s mouth. I planned to blog about it and rip it apart, but since the Atheist Jew did such a nice job of it, there’s little left for me to do.
29 December 2008, on 10:20 pm
This miscreant obviously thinks that we havn’t actually examined their abberation, I for one spent over 2 years going to different churche’s trying with all my heart to find any truth, any factual demonstrable honesty and came away knowing that it was all lies, I feel deep sorrow for these liars, I wanted to understand why they took refuge in these institutions before I wrote my thesis, a comparative analysis of epistemological and ontological behaviour, my grandparents were sky daddy lovers and this always fascinated me, it was something even then I could not fathom WHO were they talking too???? Xians self righteousness is what is their greatest failure, their defense mechanisms always come back to Festingers observatios with his theory of cognitive dissonance, analytical examination is something they can never allow as this causes the discomfort they feel about the discepancies of faith generally, like the intellectual flea who wrote the nonsense we are witness to they always have the need to use this approach to discredit anyone with contrary views to theirs, to do any thing else would be saying in essence Yes you are correct, our faith is purely a subjective view point founded on nothing more than lies and heres the critical issue FEELINGS, feelings are not facts, but these idiots are deluded by the old I feel it so it must be there crap, slain with the spirit etc, it’s a need they have because their uncomfortable with existence.
29 December 2008, on 10:41 pm
Wow, I’d really like to respond to this guys nonsense. But not tonight, man Monday can be a bitch and I’m tired.
I just finished my first semester back to college in 10 years, and it’s disappointing that this asshole is a professor teaching our young people…
29 December 2008, on 11:04 pm
Hell with it, I’m emailing that tool right now.
29 December 2008, on 11:58 pm
The Atheist Jew made a comment in his email to this tool that is very similar to something I said in response to the old “Why do you hate God?” question. I said:
“I do not believe in God in the same way that I do not believe in leprechauns, the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus.”
Now, I just say “Whatever” and find someone else to talk to.
30 December 2008, on 12:02 am
“Why do you hate God?”
Can’t hate something that doesn’t exist, is right? Now I can hate the idea of a mean evil prick of a god like the one found in the Xian Bible. The idea of the vindictive, jealous, terrible god of Abraham repulses me. Xians cannot get that point that gods are imaginary…and idea.
30 December 2008, on 12:47 am
What an arrogant…and truly ignorant…idiot!
More ‘proof’, to me, that religious belief, in effect, blocks…even the most basic…capacity for ANY real rational, critical thinking.
It’s like a certain portion of the brain has been shut down…usually from childhood…and quite often…terminally!
And bravo to The Atheist Jew for such an excellent, rather succinct, retort…Yeah…and to all you guys, as well, for some really nice “zeroing in”…zinger…even “laser-like” comments.
[But let's not get TOO carried away, of course, with GifSter compliments!...you know, like...
getting all Kissie, Kissie?]
What’s that?…
“Not on the lips?”
30 December 2008, on 1:01 am
i emailed him back and cc’d GiFs so Star I guess you’l lread my response. i even plugged GiFs at the end, because this truly is the greatest atheist blog in the world!!!!
i get carried away sometimes don’t mind me
30 December 2008, on 3:01 am
I gave the smug bastard a serve to Trav, didn’t use a single swear word either chris, in case your hiding there in the passage again, watched a doco on the mormons and they are sick puppies or what, the Brigham Young dude is a murderer, it seems that to be a prophet the main criteria is to be a murdering lying raping thieving and in Muhummads case a fucking paedophile too, he had a 9 year old as one of his 11 wives, whoa man that is fuckin freaky but hey that’s par for the course with religion and the cretin who inspired this blog worships the same god and he has the gall to attack atheism, well fuck me that’s bizzarre……………………
30 December 2008, on 4:56 am
While were here dealing with this moron I’m intrigued, do any Muslim arsewipes ever come in to spread their message of hate, they are way more dangerous due to their extreme low intellect this accusation that we as atheists are aggressive and nasty is so farcical, when was the last time we had an atheist stoning or chopped off someones hands or had sex with a child as Islam allows, or sliced off a womans clitoris, or bombed an abortion clinic or went into a public area laden with explosives and blew ourselves up, or attacked tourists doing no more than just having a holiday, when did we condemn and attack gay people, or demand that the public purse fund our schools and allow creationist nonsense be taught to our kids, when did we wage war on others and kill and maim in the name of god, WHEN????or assasinate a countries leaders because they were heathen commies, or go onto the community armed and with malice attack and kill other ethnic groups because they weren’t like us, WHEN????? if your there Chris the persistent fuckin god mother fuckin botherer maybe you’d like to defend that ………………..
30 December 2008, on 9:07 am
I emailed that guy as well a few days ago.
The letter:
Hello Mr. Sears,
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> I just read your column “What are atheists afraid of?” To be honest, I found it ironic and reliant upon fallacious reasoning to make its points. (Every time you say something like 90 odd percent of people believe something it is the ad populum fallacy. 90 odd percent of the ancient Greeks believed in Zeus so that means that god existed then according to your reasoning.)
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> I also blush at the lack of self-awareness displayed by the complaints about the Washington atheist display. It “denigrates” your faith? How so? It is a statement of belief - just like the other religious displays. The Menorah also denigrates your faith. The beliefs of Judaism say you’re wrong about Jesus. How is that different? Because it is simply implicit and not explicit like the atheist display?
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> You also say something that is seriously assumptive and seriously wrong. You said that most of us atheists haven’t “given religion a chance.” Have you ever talked to your atheist friends about this? Or was your admission of having atheist friends simply a rhetorical device? The fact is that a large portion of us were once religious - that is until we started to think critically about its propositions. I myself was a fundamentalist Christian for about seven years. I think that qualifies as giving religion a chance.
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> You ask what are we afraid of. We aren’t afraid of anything sir. Except maybe human irrationality and unreasonableness. If you lived in a society where people went around talking about Osiris - talking about anybody who didn’t believe in Osiris as immoral - talking about anyone who didn’t believe in Osiris as bound for eternal torture - wouldn’t you think that this would be something to at least be opposed in print or display? That is where atheists find themselves. In America. In the only Western nation that still clings strongly to the superstitions and mythology of the past.
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> You write: “Just don’t trample, insult or show condescension toward my religious convictions.” This seems to be a common theme uttered by the religious. In every other realm of human discourse, we are expected to defend and subject our beliefs to differing viewpoints. Ask yourself just how ludicrous this would sound if uttered by Obama at one of the debates to McCain before walking offstage: “Just don’t trample, insult or show condescension toward my democratic convictions.” The height of absurdity right? That is basically what you and those that agree with you are saying. You are saying that your beliefs must be exempt from any criticism which brings me to something that I must ask: Just what sir, are you afraid of if you cannot even take criticism of your beliefs? Afraid they might not withstand?
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> You also ask: “Isn’t it also quite egocentric to not acknowledge a supreme being greater than yourself?” Quite the opposite. What is egocentric about acknowledging that we are finite, mortal creatures? In fact, it is quite egocentric to say that the universe was created simply as a stage for humans - a central and massively anthropocentric claim of religion.
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> Best wishes,
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> xxxx xxxxx
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> Graduate student, xxxxx xxxxx University
His ignominous response:
Wow, have your parents wasted their hard earned funds on your education. You use so many words to say so little. When you grow up and start acting in a less childish, immature fashion, maybe then we can have a conversation.
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> Tom Sears
And my reply:
Hello Mr. Sears,
Your response, like your column, is dripping with unintentional irony. And once again it is reliant upon fallacies to make its “points.” Ad populum in the column and now ad hominem in the response. You didn’t address a single point I had - preferring instead to call names and walk away. Perhaps you are incapable of addressing them.
Oh, and for your information, my parents didn’t expend a dime for my education. I had full academic scholarship as an undergrad and now I am paying for my graduate tuition.
———
He hasn’t replied.
30 December 2008, on 9:17 am
Mommy, he spit on me!!!! Hee hee what a tool.
30 December 2008, on 10:03 am
Wow, have your parents wasted their hard earned funds on your education. You use so many words to say so little. When you grow up and start acting in a less childish, immature fashion, maybe then we can have a conversation.
This response sounds more like high school than a faculty member. (Personally, I thought that your letter was quite charitable, and was more interested in discussion than name-calling.)
He might be a decent accountant, but as an educated member of academia, this guy’s just embarrassing. I can only imagine his “logic” when he speaks up at faculty meetings.
30 December 2008, on 10:32 am
InTheImageOfDNA,
You are my new hero for this week.
30 December 2008, on 1:11 pm
The Atheist Jew got a similar response, Image. Seems this guy can’t take the heat, but wants to stay in the kitchen.
30 December 2008, on 2:12 pm
He might be a decent accountant,
Actually, no he is not. A decent accountant is both skeptical and rational. Sparky is neither. I shutter to think what “education” his students are receiving.
Also, accountants are excellent writers. The final work product of any accounting project is the written report. Accountants expend time and sweat to make sure these reports are as exactly accurate as our language will allow. They labor over the wording, the sentence structure, the flow of information to the reader. Sparky’s writing skills do not even rise to the level of a journalist.
30 December 2008, on 6:38 pm
Why is it only ok to be atheist as long as you don’t admit it out loud to anyone?
You’d think people would be a lot more embarrassed about admitting they believe in a magic sky fairy or magic underwear or a monkey faced deity. But no. It’s the people who have no gods who are the problem.
They make it too difficult for the rest of them to maintain the stupid.
30 December 2008, on 8:52 pm
This reminds me, over the Christmas holiday and visiting my family, I had the opportunity to teach my father about the Bible! (see: <a href=”http://www.positiveatheism.org/crt/whichcom.htm” title=”Which Ten Commandments?”)
At first he denied they existed, until I pulled the old Bible off the shelf and pointed it out. He didn’t really know what to think about it and didn’t have anything interesting to say in response, so that ended that conversation… but, for having been a Christian for 25+ years, you’d think he’d have actually read the book?! Surprising how many Christians have never even attempted to read the whole thing… just the nice passages they’re spoon fed from the pulpits. Oh, and the scary “ur goin 2 hell” ones. So they don’t go off the path.
But I’d say I know a lot more about the Bible than both my parents. And that sort of knowledge only came from a good 5-6 years of losing faith and trying to get it back by learning as much as I could… Pity this particular idiot isn’t open to learning a few things, like… what atheists really know about the Bible! And why they REALLY don’t believe in God!
In fact, I’ve had the best Biblical discussions with atheists. Since they, for the most part, have read the material!
31 December 2008, on 8:59 pm
Christians are terribly sensitive to anything they perceive as a slight. Yet they feel free to excoriate any person, group, political belief, sexual practice or religion they think deserves their stern rebukes. In fact, their “faith” commands them to do so. Then, when any of their targets dares to fire back, the lower lips start quivering, the big ol’ tears course down their cheeks, and the plaintive wail of “persecution” is heard throughout the land. And where did the idea originate that religious beliefs must be respected? Such beliefs are human constructs, like any other value system, and therefore subject to analysis and criticism. When a Christian starts whining like this guy I feel like handing him a security “banky” and saying. “Aw, diddums, don’t cry.”