Score one for atheism!
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Religion may be a lie but it's a comforting lie and that helps a lot of people get through their daily life.
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I didn't catch the self-deprecation. What makes it clear?
To me, what this comic is saying is that even if you're able to debate someone out of believing in God it's cruel to do it to someone like your mom who has God as the central pillar of their emotional well-being.
It presupposes that you're able to "prove" that God doesn't exist and to me it doesn't necessarily paint the idea of being an atheist in a negative light, just the neckbeard atheist attitude that you should try to emotionally destroy people who do believe in God.
It's a three panel comic so yeah, it's a bit ambiguous, I just think that people are missing that the punchline is really only funny from an atheist perspective. From a Christian perspective the comic is awkward. The last panel wouldn't be a punchline and wouldn't make sense at all, how would these obviously loser neckbeards be able to prove God doesn't exist?
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Religion may be a lie but it's a comforting lie and that helps a lot of people get through their daily life.
Thing is it shouldn't be comforting to anyone if they really take the details seriously. You could do as much damage really educating someone about Deuteronomy and other fun parts of the Bible and ultimately leave them in a worse state than finding a way to make them an atheist.
We forget an atheist is just a non-theist. Someone who doesn't believe in any specific canonical god. I'm an atheist with a genuine faith the universe has more in store for "me" (whatever that is; I don't believe it's necessarily or eternally "ynthrepic") than a mere human lifetime given what we know about the universe as a whole and how mysterious and seemingly fundamental consciousness is to it all. That gives me some relief and comfort from the existential dread. More than I could possibly get from Yahweh and his totally uncompelling biblical heaven and hell dynamic.
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Me at 13 discovering I wont see my loved ones ever again and there's nobody's hand on my shoulder holding me up:
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Thing is it shouldn't be comforting to anyone if they really take the details seriously. You could do as much damage really educating someone about Deuteronomy and other fun parts of the Bible and ultimately leave them in a worse state than finding a way to make them an atheist.
We forget an atheist is just a non-theist. Someone who doesn't believe in any specific canonical god. I'm an atheist with a genuine faith the universe has more in store for "me" (whatever that is; I don't believe it's necessarily or eternally "ynthrepic") than a mere human lifetime given what we know about the universe as a whole and how mysterious and seemingly fundamental consciousness is to it all. That gives me some relief and comfort from the existential dread. More than I could possibly get from Yahweh and his totally uncompelling biblical heaven and hell dynamic.
You're forgetting that some people have coping mechanisms for life around systems containing a kind god that's there looking after them, and will reunite them with people they desperately hope to see again when they die.
Your coping mechanism is hoping the universe is magical and mysterious and has something more for you when you die. You're not an atheist, just a non-denominational theist with a different hope for continuing on after you're dead. I hope it brings you comfort, but don't shit on people who have a different post death comfort they hope for.
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Nobody said reality was all smiles and rainbows. However, it’s entirely possible to find happiness without believing in fairy tales so you can sleep at night.
It's possible but unfortunately when people have spent their entire lives with religion being their (seemingly) only source of happiness, it can be really hard for them to find a different source.
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Thing is it shouldn't be comforting to anyone if they really take the details seriously. You could do as much damage really educating someone about Deuteronomy and other fun parts of the Bible and ultimately leave them in a worse state than finding a way to make them an atheist.
We forget an atheist is just a non-theist. Someone who doesn't believe in any specific canonical god. I'm an atheist with a genuine faith the universe has more in store for "me" (whatever that is; I don't believe it's necessarily or eternally "ynthrepic") than a mere human lifetime given what we know about the universe as a whole and how mysterious and seemingly fundamental consciousness is to it all. That gives me some relief and comfort from the existential dread. More than I could possibly get from Yahweh and his totally uncompelling biblical heaven and hell dynamic.
Most people I know who are religious don't take the bible very literally; most haven't even read it. The comforting lie is stuff about the after-life, heaven, and a caring universe.
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To me, what this comic is saying is that even if you're able to debate someone out of believing in God it's cruel to do it to someone like your mom who has God as the central pillar of their emotional well-being.
It presupposes that you're able to "prove" that God doesn't exist and to me it doesn't necessarily paint the idea of being an atheist in a negative light, just the neckbeard atheist attitude that you should try to emotionally destroy people who do believe in God.
It's a three panel comic so yeah, it's a bit ambiguous, I just think that people are missing that the punchline is really only funny from an atheist perspective. From a Christian perspective the comic is awkward. The last panel wouldn't be a punchline and wouldn't make sense at all, how would these obviously loser neckbeards be able to prove God doesn't exist?
Hmm, that is a pretty insightful point. On the other hand, I think most people I know who are religious are the sort who can appreciate self-deprecating humour themselves -- they might think it's funny for taking an absurd premise to its logical conclusion.
What suggests to me that this author is trying to paint atheism in a negative light is quite straightforwardly "score one for atheism." It doesn't really have a hint of irony to me. I think the author clearly thinks atheism just isn't cool anymore.
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Don't be anti-intellectual about this silly comic. People can apply intellectual analysis to stupid things if they want to, and they damn-well may find deeper meaning sometimes.
Let people have their hobbies.
So you're saying you should just let people believe and leave them be? /s
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Me at 13 discovering I wont see my loved ones ever again and there's nobody's hand on my shoulder holding me up:
Me when I try and pet a cat but they run away.
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With how sad and empty my geriatric mother's life is, the last thing I'm going to do is take away her imaginary friend.
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knowing that they’ve wasted an entire lifetime and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tithing on a con isn’t going to do anything useful at this point.
It always gets me how people can be so comfortable with tithing while so prickly about paying taxes. I've straight up heard "every dollar I give to the government is one I can't give to the church" as an argument, when the town and state I'm living in is joined at the hip with the church they love.
Fifty years ago? Sure, they would have had plenty of time to come to terms with it.
Church is one of those third-spaces that the unemployed and retired flock to when they've got too much time and not a ton of money. A great deal of the appeal of these places, especially back in my parents' day, was as a social center with a feel-good energy. As a born-and-raised Houstonian I've seen it work on enormous numbers of otherwise-religiously-apathetic people. The whole Joel Osteen model is Good Vibes as a religious experience. One big Jesus Themed Pep Rally.
I think you can probably logic your way to a "God's Not Real" conclusion with a generic religiously-ambivalent lay person. But I don't think a simple logic chain is enough to convince folks who consider religion a form of community recreation to stop showing up. No more than you could talk someone out of blaring their favorite brand of Country Music or driving an oversized pickup truck or playing with their toy guns down at the gun range.
These just aren't logical decisions. They are social decisions.
I don't know that my parents were ever the kind of person that bitched about paying taxes. They might have privately, but i don't remember it ever being a big deal. Me, I understand that my taxes are too low for what I expect the gov't to be doing.
And you're exactly right about the social experience. One of the enormous struggles for atheists has been building a community. Churches fill that need, even though they cause real harms in other ways. If you go to a church, it's easy to meet people and make friends when you move to a new community. If you don't, well, good luck because you're going to need it.
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Faith doesn't have any objective meaning either.
But they already grew up with it. Finding a different subjective meaning to replace an existing one is what's hard.
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Yeah, and he doesn't mind killing other people for that
Which shows he would have been better off living in the Matrix considering how badly he reacted to leaving it.
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Sure, that's what satire is. A parody of something to criticise it. Often using clichés to ensure the subject is immediately identifiable.
This comic is a satire of militant atheists, because the author finds that militant atheists are insufferable and deserve to be made fun of, as the comic is doing. Why else would the author choose them specifically to satirize?
You chose those two comments to point at examples of unintellectual discussion. I am pointing out that they are not as unintellectual as you paint them to be. I don't strongly agree with what they are saying, but that does not immediately disqualify them from contributing from the conversation. Your comment was the only one calling for the termination of the pursuit of deeper meaning in the comic, which is an anti-intellectual stance.
Ah, I see your point now; this is basically just like how the author was making the point that refrigerator stores have an annoying way of trying to sell people butthole pictures in this comic:
Your comment was the only one calling for the termination of the pursuit of deeper meaning in the comic, which is an anti-intellectual stance.
I have no desire to terminate anything. For someone going to so much trouble to express how much you care about the importance of intellectual discussion, you are working extremely hard to avoid engaging your intellect when it comes to my comments.
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So you're saying you should just let people believe and leave them be? /s
Depends on whether or not their beliefs harm themselves or others.
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Ah, I see your point now; this is basically just like how the author was making the point that refrigerator stores have an annoying way of trying to sell people butthole pictures in this comic:
Your comment was the only one calling for the termination of the pursuit of deeper meaning in the comic, which is an anti-intellectual stance.
I have no desire to terminate anything. For someone going to so much trouble to express how much you care about the importance of intellectual discussion, you are working extremely hard to avoid engaging your intellect when it comes to my comments.
Your original comment reads
DEAR LORD PEOPLE, SOMETIMES THERE IS NOT A DEEPER MESSAGE AND IT'S JUST A DUMB JOKE!
It's pretty blankly a thought terminating cliché without your later clarification, same as the noteable "The curtains were fucking blue" meme. Even with your clarification, you are now bringing up yet another one of the comics to try and show there is no deeper substance to find from these comics, which I disagree.
With most of these comics, the author does enjoy using absurd humor. But they do still have some grounding in real things. The first example you give is poking fun at taking the saying 'you can do anything you set your mind to' and the second is a joke about dual-businesses, with the premise being, generically, a business with one service that's normal and another service that's something almost no one is going to request.
There's still some interesting things within that you can get from looking closer at them, even when they're absurd by nature. Again, let people have their hobbies. Don't try to make people feel like fools for picking silly comics apart.
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I do. It's such a waste of time. I'm not going to start anything with people, I don't have the patience or energy for that. And honestly, i don't have any debate skills. But I really wish I could just take it all away. Isn't it better to be right than to be happy?
Isn’t it better to be right than to be happy?
First of all, no it isn't. If you think it is, please explain why.
Also,
Is that a decision that you would want someone else to make for you?If not, why do you want to make that decision for other people?
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Your original comment reads
DEAR LORD PEOPLE, SOMETIMES THERE IS NOT A DEEPER MESSAGE AND IT'S JUST A DUMB JOKE!
It's pretty blankly a thought terminating cliché without your later clarification, same as the noteable "The curtains were fucking blue" meme. Even with your clarification, you are now bringing up yet another one of the comics to try and show there is no deeper substance to find from these comics, which I disagree.
With most of these comics, the author does enjoy using absurd humor. But they do still have some grounding in real things. The first example you give is poking fun at taking the saying 'you can do anything you set your mind to' and the second is a joke about dual-businesses, with the premise being, generically, a business with one service that's normal and another service that's something almost no one is going to request.
There's still some interesting things within that you can get from looking closer at them, even when they're absurd by nature. Again, let people have their hobbies. Don't try to make people feel like fools for picking silly comics apart.
To be sure, my comment was absolutely a dumb cliché! If your response to it was to feel like a fool, though, then that's on you.
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To be sure, my comment was absolutely a dumb cliché! If your response to it was to feel like a fool, though, then that's on you.
That wasn't my personal experience from the comment. I simply recognised it as anti-intellectual virtue signalling and didn't want that to go unchallenged. It just seemed very clear that the intent of your comment was to belittle those picking the comic apart.
