Atheist, A Synonym for Bitterness

[bassmonster]

Wow. I wish this thread was more timely. I just want to throw in a thought, without putting much into it yet.

First, a number of members of any group are bitter, right? Bitter comes from a lot of places, but to narrow it down to what I think the OP was getting at, why is there a generalization of bitterness among atheists? I would like to submit as a viable possibility in the multitude of reasons, is that the blind faith that the man behind the curtain will save us and we will live happily ever afterlilfe is a freeing thought. A person with this belief can be afforded a care free attitude, because after this life, it will all be ok. On the other hand, a belief in the absence of the magical fix-it man means that there is a definite end. There is no happily ever after. What you see is what you get. I can see that this finite belief could lead to bitterness in some of its believers.


Of course, this is uber simplified..... just a quick thought

 

[LMP]

Atheists are not bitter, we have simply been labeled bitter by religious people.

If you want to see bitter go back and read simply me's posts.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

Atheists are not bitter, we have simply been labeled bitter by religious people.

Well, to be completely fair, I do sometimes get fed up with theist "logic" and snap at people. That could easily be mistaken for bitterness, I think.

 

[Feuille]

Bit confused by the OP. Are atheists bitter? Certainly this one isn't. My perception of my existence as part of this universe is too wondrous to even begin to explain. Even in the depths of the despair that accompanies mental illness I can find things about all of this to excite my mind to an overwhelming degree.

I believe my experiences would be dampened if I believed in a supreme, creative deity. However, though I do not believe in the existence of any deities, I could not claim that no deity is possible, because I am not placed to know very much at all about the forces which gave rise to the universe, beyond what I have been told. Certainly a personal god, or and entity which we would cognise as a god/creator/supreme being seems utterly implausible to me.

But I'm definitely not bitter about it. The more we can set aside faith and explore our circumstances, the more amazing it all is.

Xx

 

[CHoKPoP]

I believe atheists are bitter because they tend to be skeptics. Most people don't question conventional wisdom, they live their lives in a waking daze. Sometimes events in our lives force us to question conventional wisdom. For example, people tell you that to be happy you should get married. If you get divorced, you may question the institution of marriage. Most people don't know their own values, and their personalities have formed from completely arbitrary events in their lives. They interpret these events as a part of who they think they are. There's a certain bliss that goes with just being a social robot. We are social beings. It feels good to feel like you belong. As a skeptic, you can be bitter about how wrong conventional wisdom is, and how wrong the majority of people are. It can be a scary thing unplugging from the matrix.

 

[oxygen thief]

All I know that as my friends and I age (58) I'm suddenly getting a thousand times forwarded emails containing incredibly stupid "send this to ten people in ten minutes and God will bless you twice tomorrow." I posted some anti-religion stuff on facebook yesterday to give them a clue that I'm not interested in praying to baby Jesus.

One was, Creationists think that the entire universe was created 22,000 years after prehistoric Germans invented sex toys (rock 'sex toy' pictured)

I just went to facebook. A picture of a baby with 'share if Jesus saved you' is the first thing I saw.

 

[Feuille]

Perhaps CHokPoP. I find it exciting to ask questions and to be a sceptic. As for my attitude towards the social norm of acceptance without question, well it could be frustrating, but the phenomenon and the constructs behind it are interesting also. In short I am never bored, because there is ALWAYS something to wonder about.

Xx

 

[CHoKPoP]

We agree. I am fascinated about learning about social constructs, and take them for what they are. I have studied attraction, and what sparks it. I have discovered the healthy way to eat. It frustrates me how a lot of information we get from our peers is completely wrong. I do enjoy continuing to learn, and apply those concepts to my own life.

 

[Feuille]

Yeah, I guess I just get too engrossed with thinking about why they accept (or repeat) wrong information to get frustrated terribly often. That said, I do get frustrated when superficial and alarmist news reports are taken at face value with little or no thought, but I guess people are busy, tired and stressed and the news is cunningly designed to make us afraid and outraged.

Xx

 

[Off Topic]

When someone asks me if I can "prove" that there is no god, I tell them, "Sure, just as soon as you prove there is no tooth fairy."

Bitter? Me? To some extent, yes. I don't like being lied to. Call it a pet peeve. I grew up with one foot in science, one in religion and had to really overwork my brain to try to make them both fit.

Then my patron saint, Carl Sagan, "saved" me from my internal conflict... and all the pieces fell in place.

 

[tranced]

I am very bitter today - very, very bitter. Was up super late last night playing cards and drinking some super, super hoppy IPAs. I'm soooo very bitter - and happy about it

 

[WonderfulDakota]

My burning question is this: Why do theist think they have to come to a sub-forum that is specifically for atheists, and try to "save" us?

 

[Off Topic]

Trolling perhaps. Or they could be masochistic. I kind of feel sorry for them. I had the same delusion imposed on me at a very impressionable age. I had the advantage of a strong science background. The critical/rational/logical thinking skills needed to understand Newton and Einstein teach the brain how to think about things in terms of doubt, rather than faith.

I suspect that made it easier to shed the delusion.

 

[WonderfulDakota]

I adore your avatar! What would Carl Sagan do, indeed.

 

[WonderfulDakota]

I went and checked out the xtian forum. I don't see ANY instances of an atheist going in and pooping all over one of their conversations. WHY is it ok for them to do it to US?

 

[WonderfulDakota]

Oh, and I wasn't bitter until xians started shoving their religion in my face. Religion is like a p*nis. It's great to have one, just PLEASE don't wave it around, stick it in my face, or cram it down my kid's throat.

 

[Off Topic]

I love it when they get pushy with it. It opens the door to something that no religion is prepared to handle. Clinical scrutiny.

 

[skydvejam]

At work and tired so I could not read though it all. Let me explain some of my background though, grew up in a religion of the month type of home, mom had us baptized so much we hardly needed a bath lol . Anyways when I got older and started looking at religion myself I went to Calvary Chapel Bible Collage in CA. Learned a lot reading though the bible in 8 translations cover to cover, and it all did not add up. Went to some courses at the community collage in science and that started to open my eyes some, but I really wanted to believe in god and all that good stuff but it did not add up in the bible. Years later working in communications for the army I realized what I know now.
The only time that I get "bitter" is with people that keep wanting to shove beliefs down my throat and tell me I am going to hell. So funny how they sometimes get in your face and stuff.

 

[Starik]

I'm not bitter.

I wasn't raised religious, so I didn't have to go through the "Santa Claus isn't REAL?" thing that 'converts' went through.

There is definitely a difference between the type of atheist who has their worldview shattered by logic and reason and the type who grows up with it. The first type (my dad) has a reason to be bitter, for sure.

 

[Koman]

Not sure if bitterness is the word...