Atheist/Christian Double Standards

This pretty much sums up the past 2 days for me and an ex-friend. Had to do it, but I had to use the xtian bible against a brainwashed bible thumper for various things. He won’t talk to me anymore b/c I pointed out some of the contradictions in the N.T. And told him about some of the double standards mentioned in the video. So much for turning the other cheek! And to think, he called ME a hypocrite! tsk! tsk!

“You ignored my whole argument, you atheist!” is the one I usually see. It always comes after some irrelevant divergence into scripture quoting. Even if it does get a direct response, why, that filthy atheist is just getting his information from atheist sources!

Zooming in on the eyes at the end was just weird.

The funniest thing about atheists, is that after telling me there is no God to tell me what I should do…then THEY invariably turn around and try to tell me what I should do! LOL!

A few observations…

First of all, in my own experience, there is a difference between telling people what to do, and making an argument for what right behavior should be. Giving orders is not the same as supporting ethics. And those who are religious often accuse those who aren’t of giving orders when it looks like they are just defending proper behavior to everyone else. Just a possibility.

Second, there is a basic observation in this exchange you might be missing. You can’t point to a god and prove he/she/it exists. The atheist however is standing right there talking to you. By definition, if they are telling you what to do, they are right there existing. That puts them a leg up on god.

Lastly, while I don’t support telling people what to do (which again is not the same as making an argument for correct behavior) with the massive set of possible generalizations and assumptions I can see just off the top of my head in your statement, it doesn’t really mean anything.

Do you mean that people don’t tell each other what they should regularly? Is it only atheists who expect certain behaviors? Does not believing in god somehow mean you can’t expect ethical behavior? You aren’t explaining your point very well. Try it again, I feel like I am missing something, maybe you could make it clear.

This might just be my favorite video by Darkmatter ever.

Sounds about right. If on;y I’d accept GOD.

I’m a Christian, and i thought this video hilarious!..on its own terms, i mean, it’s a critique of judgementalism above all else? right?…sure Christians are pictured as the arch-judgementalists…haha ..some of us are !

Pretty well done! Yay! Atheists, unite! Theists, wake up!

That was fantastic!! Wish I could share it with my christian family.

“The funniest thing about atheists, is that after telling me there is no God to tell me what I should do…then THEY invariably turn around and try to tell me what I should do! LOL!”

There are at least two distinct ideas here. One is the belief in a supernatural being, which there is little point in arguing, as reasonable application of logic should have prevented, or at least suspended, the belief in the first place.
Another idea presented is the coercion of behavior of one entity from another. While obviously people have different beliefs towards morality, is there any doubt that all people try to coerce others to behave a certain way? Sure we’d all like to believe we are above this, but don’t be fooled- even leading by example is a form of coercion. Perhaps you don’t consider atheists just as vulnerable to human nature as yourself?

I don’t approve of how most christians act, but I feel the same about muslims, pagans (or neo-pagans, whichever they like to be called), new agers, buddhists, atheists, etc etc.

The grouping of atheists in here is, quite frankly, insulting. I’m curious of what atheistic behavior it is you don’t approve of? I’m sure you could pull a couple of big names out of a hat- people who we could all agree are evil. But that argument has been handled before as well, hasn’t it? A small group of famous evil atheists defines atheism no more than several dozen evil theists, many of whom are alive today, define theism.
Following that same vein, when is the last time an atheist woke you up on a Saturday in an attempt to convince you if you didn’t follow their beliefs, you would be punished? When is the last time, on the nightly news in front of your children, an atheist was shown waving a sign that says “Atheists hate f*gs”? (Luckily, the US networks have to get past the FCC, so those words get blurred out).
So far as I can tell, the worst behavior you can expect from your typical atheist is a rambling rant on a random blog… and usually an atheist blog at that 😛 Is that what you were referring to?

I understand you were just trying to get across the idea that you just want people to get along, and in tandem with that, tolerance of each others’ beliefs. I share your sentiment. Unfortunately, however, the “can’t we all just get along” mentality simply doesn’t work when one side is trained from childhood that the other is inherently evil regardless of actual morality or behavior. And the really sad part? They grow up to become adults that teach their children to prejudge people by which God they do or don’t believe in, rather than actions or morality, as well.

If they ask, then I’ll have a reasonable conversation with them about my point of view.

I’m now a middle-aged man, and to date, I’ve only met one Christian who followed this sentiment – and even he simply abandoned & walked out on the conversation when his arguments ran out of steam. I have been approached maybe a hundred times (I’ve had the good sense to simply not respond to most of them), and out of literally dozens of conversations, his was the only one where I wasn’t insulted, threatened, or stone-walled by repetition of circular logic. And to be clear, I don’t seek out theists, nor do I offer my opinions unless they ask. If only all theists shared the same code of conduct as him, and you, Ninjapino. And before the theists rebuke me for this: try reading your faiths’ texts. In most cases, you are explicitly called upon to spread your faith, and failure to do so is an iniquity.

This may seem benign enough, but is another example of latent hypocrisy: Just the other day, a vendor I buy office supplies from shipped me several boxes with “God Loves You” stickers attached on the outside. Think about this for a second: not only was he begging the question, but using passive coercion towards everyone who handled that package halfway across the country. How would anyone react if atheists engaged in the same behavior? What if on all my future correspondence with him, I printed “Allahu Akbar”? Wouldn’t that be considered antagonistic? (I’d be more likely to use “Good Without God,” but it doesn’t mimic the idea well.)
If someone sent you a package with “The Tooth Fairy Loves You”, would you take it as a gesture of good will? Or would you think they were “poking” you to see how you’d react? So how then is what he did any less antagonistic?
Figured I’d vent here, rather than do what I have the moral stricture not to: call him up and ask him exactly which God loves me? And how could he really be sure, since most texts condemn non-believers?

It’s not that athiests pick on christians or muslims. Rather, we are desperately trying to extinguish the most damaging flames in the wildfire that is religious belief.

I hate the calls for tolerance. There is no tolerance for perjury in court. There is no tolerance for errors in math. There is no tolerance for incorrect theories in science.

Why should there be tolerance for these religions that are so detrimental to our very survival??

It. Is. Madness. It is a curable one, but, without a doubt, madness.

In a few hundred years or so when people are studying history, they will look at this period and say that a lot of people believed a man lived in the clouds and watched their every moves. Just like we look at the Greek Gods now. I’m sure they’ll think it was pretty funny how people could really think it was true.

Is this somewhat of a curiosity to anyone else?

The Federal Bureau of Prisons does have statistics on religious affiliations of inmates. Atheists make up 0.21% of ALL US inmates.
Is this possibly that they truly understand that THEY ALONE are responsible for their actions in life, that nothing is really “commanded by God”?

Maybe theists commit more crimes because they erringly believe that they will be forgiven by their deity? Possibly, since 81.49% of inmates are committed to a Christian religion…

just as this points out stereotypes about athiests, it also points out stereotypes about Christians. Yes, many actually think this way. But there are a sizable number who don’t. Yes, people with different worldviews are going to disagree by nature, but I know there are many wonderful atheists and there are some non judgmental Christians too.

I know I’ve heard the “you Christians always…” before.
We’re more alike than some of us who would like to admit. :-p

Personally, I like to see the video not as making a blanket statement about Christians, but rather pointing out to most Christians, “Hey, this happens on a regular basis. Please be aware when it happens!” Of course, that’s just my take on it.

Just sayin’ one double standard you left out was Athiest/Christian women. 😉

Athiests are “always” godforsaken sluts and/or lesbians hellbent on sodomy and indulgence, whereas Christian women are chaste, and if they’re not virgins and/or have had many partners then they’ve been tempted or are too innocent to see when they’re being used by filthy heathens.

Loved the video nonetheless! <3