An amusing little list in the tradition of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Just Might be a Redneck if..." See how many of these you can apply to people you know!

Existence of God

You may be a fundy atheist if....

You became an atheist when you were 10 years old, based on ideas of God that you learned in Sunday School. Your ideas about God haven't changed since.

You think that the primary aim of an omnibenevolent God is for people to have FUN.

You believe that extra drippy ice-cream is a logical proof against the existence of God, because an omniscient God would know how to stop the ice-cream from being extra drippy, an omnipotent God would have the ability to stop the ice-cream from being extra drippy, and by golly, an omnibenevolent God wouldn't want your ice-cream to be extra drippy.

Although you've memorized a half a dozen proofs that He doesn't exist, you still think you're God's gift to the ignorant masses.

You believe the astronomical size of the universe somehow disproves God, as if God needed a tiny universe in order to exist.

You think questions like, "Can God create a rock so big that He cannot lift it?" and, "Can God will Himself out of existence?" are perfect examples of how to disprove God's omnipotence and ultimately how to disprove God. When someone proves to you the false logic behind the questions (i.e. pitting God's omnipotence against itself), you desperately try to defend the questions, but then give up and go to a different Christian site to ask them.
Related to the above, you spend a great deal of your spare time writing to Christian websites asking them these very questions.

You declare on a public forum that you are "furious at God for not existing."

You spend hours arguing that a-theism actually means "without a belief in God " and not just " belief that there is no god" as if this is a meaningful distinction in real life.

You consistently deny the existence of God because you personally have never seen him but you reject out of hand personal testimony from theists who claim to have experienced God as a reality in their lives.

You can make the existence of pink unicorns the center-piece of a philosophical critique.

You insist that "the burden of proof is on he that alleges/accuses", and "it's impossible to prove a negative", then state "That's what Christians do. They lie. Their most common lie is that they were once atheists." When reminded about the burden of proof bit, you reply with, "Well, prove Christians don't lie!"

You adamantly believe that the "God of the gaps" idea is an essential tenet of orthodox Christian faith espoused by all the great Christian thinkers throughout history.

When you were a child, someone came down with a deadly disease and prayed and prayed for God to take it away. God did not remove the disease and your friend died. You ask other Christians why they had to die when they were such a nice person and never harmed anyone. Dissatisfied with their answers, you suddenly decide that there is no God and that all Christians are nothing but lying, conniving con artists and hypocrites....all that is except for your friend who died.

You call a view held by less than ten percent of the American public "common sense".

You're a spoiled fifteen year old boy who lives in the suburbs and you go into a chat room to declare that, "I know there is no God because no loving God would allow anyone to suffer as much as I...hold on. My cell phone's ringing."
You attack your fellow atheists, who hold the "belief that there is no god", calling them "liars," and state that, "I do not deny the existence of any god. I just don't believe in any." Then you tell someone that their God is "made up." When someone calls you on this, you state, "I never made such a claim."

Going with the definition of "without a belief in God", you insist that all people are born atheists, and that dogs, cats, rocks, and trees are as well. You make statements like, "My dog is an atheist. Ask him about his lack of belief."
You believe that if something cannot be touched, seen, heard, or measured in some way, then it must not exist, yet you fail to see the irony of your calling Christians "narrow-minded".

You say that there is no God and that those who believe in God do so in blind faith, yet your claim that there is no God also rests on blind faith.

While you don't believe in God, you feel justified on bashing God or attacking those who believe in something that you KNOW doesn't exist, fighting against or even discussing about a non-existent being are the symptoms of mental illness!

You complain when Christians appeal to their emotions when justifying their belief in God yet you feel justified on appealing to your emotions for lack of belief in God.

You blame God for the starvation, sickness, pain and suffering in the world...when, indeed, it is MAN's greed, politics, selfishness and apathy that not only causes, but also ignores the sick and the starving masses. We aren't our brothers' keepers....but we should be.

For the complete list, see: Athiest Fundamentalists

Ok, that was pretty funny. And not funny because I'm a Christian, funny because well, all humor has a basis in truth.

That whole thing is silly, very silly LOL

Why would an Athesit blame God for just about anything that goes wrong??

This doesnt make sense, cuz to them, there is no such thing as God, so in all fairness its silly to think that they like to blame something that they believe does NOT exist in the 1st place

IMO a fundy atheist is someone that goes out of their way to attack those that follow God, and mock them for it.. Those that destroy churches and other religious places, not to mention those that burn the bible in public, claiming it to be total nonsense ect ect ect..thats fundalmental atheist

Remember fundalmental = extremist = to go to extreme measures to demonstrate your beliefs or non beliefs, that others will see as out of order and evil

That my friend is fundamentalists

I guess the artical was written by someone from a religious group that wants to get back at the atheists for bashing the christian fundys...so writes up a silly trivial statement of their own

Only agnostics pretending to be atheists do this. Friggin' fence-sitters

LOL.....it greatly amuses me, the lengths individuals go to in belittling each other's faiths.

"IMO a fundy athiest is someone that goes out of their way to attack those that follow God, and mock them for it."

See it every day on UM.


Strangely, even though I don't believe in God, (cap G to show my respect for those that do) I find myself wanting to defend Christians because they seem so outnumbered here.

I very much agree with you Michelle, I might be a Chrisitian (albeit a VERY liberal one) there are some atheists who are fundies. We appreciate you're wanting to defend... I find myself wanting to defend a lot of athiests too.. they have a right to their opinion too as long as it is tolerant to those of us Christians who aren't bashing them and in fact defending their right to their opinion (i hesitate to say belief after a few other threads here ahhaha).

And for others who may have missed another thread I posted to... capital G because it's a proper noun, it's not a matter of respect or religion, it's a matter of English grammar. We also capitalize Zeus, Allah, and Isis because they are proper nouns. For verification, consult the Chicago Manual of Style 14th edition.

Thats a great way to explain it Michelle, good point...it is to show respect to those that believe..never thought of that...but well said

Yes i think there are some and i have probably come across as one and if i have i apologize to anyone i have ever offended.


I like and respect you all. I even got on with Boltwave.

Hilarious! If you scroll down that site link you'll find an excellent post regarding the
A Fundy Atheist's Top Ten List :

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. -- Naturally, this is only an inconsistency for someone who thinks NONE of these gods exist in the first place. The analysis begs the fundamental question of whether atheism has validity. This is one reason why atheists can't make good, funny lists like we do.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt. -- Hmm. From dirt, BY a master hand. The point mixes up material with process.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God. -- With the typical Skeptical miseducation, this incorrectly sees Trinitarianism as polytheism. These folks have no idea what a hypostasis is.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" -- including women, children, and trees! -- When and if this is done by Christians, it is indeed inconsistent. But again and again Skeptics turn their own faces purple and refuse to provide rational analysis of any Biblical situation. See thread on TWeb here.

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky. -- In a typically confused manner, the objection mixes up the point of our complaints. We object to the Greek claims not because of any bias against miracles, but because of the paradigm that the other gods didn't exist and therefore could not have slept with women. The Hindu issue is not even a parallel.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (4.55 billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a couple of generations old. -- Begs the question, of course, of divine inspiration; but otherwise the matter is beyond our scope.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving." -- Rather, you should believe "argument by outrage" is rational, and define "love" in terms of mushy sentimentality. See here.

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity. -- Perhaps so. In contrast, "some idiot" making a list, who would not know a hypostasis from a hippopotamus, may be enough to convince you that Trinitarianism is polytheism.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God. -- The whole matter is misplaced in any event.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian. -- Unfortunately true at times. And ironically, these "many atheists and agnostics" end up knowing less than they think they do.





And fyi, some people use the small g to denote god, because they don't acknowledge god is real so they have no obligation to respect it does, in matters of capitalization. Showing respect for people that do believe is a matter far superior to capitalization of g's and j's.

While I understand that it comes from a humorous angle, most of those are exaggerations and/or fabrications. Especially the ones that portray atheists as sheep if you will.. Ask any learned atheist why they are an atheist and you will almost never get a textbook answer, most serious atheists have their own reasons or conclusions about why God most likely or definitely does not exist.

And I've never heard and don't expect to ever hear an atheist say that Christians lie about previously being an atheist.. Because we realize that everyone was born an atheist.

All I'm saying, is that in the English language, it is a proper noun. All proper nouns are capitalized. Respect and obligation don't figure into the rules of English. I don't acknowledge that Zeus was real, but I still capitalize it because it's a proper noun. I would never point out that someone failed to capitalize the word, that would be ill advised. But when someone notes that they capitalize God to show respect or don't capitalize it because they don't believe in God, well, that is when I feel obligated to point out that God is a proper noun, and its capitalization isn't really up for debate. It's English.

GW, you are obviously either a natural or learned grammarian, I can tell by the way you write. I would have thought that you would agree that the rules of the language are the.... rules.

Atheists do not believe in god. They do not believe in God, nor do they believe in any other god(s). Therefore, the small letter g is fitting, per what one would refer to as usage of a proper noun, when Atheists do not believe in the capital g god.

that's not true... i've asked many atheist for proof that God doesn't exist... and i still haven't gotten any... only opinions... and the same text book answer... all this evil wouldn't exist if there was a God... why do bad things happen to good people... God let my mom die... blah blah blah...

everyone dies... get over it...

I dare say one could alter that statement to theists just as easily. I've asked many theists to prove god exists and still haven't gotten any.
Only man the believer can believe what god means, when they live the example that god watches everything they do.

Maybe you should ask more atheists why they believe the way they do, because the last time I heard your "text book answer" I was in high school. Also I've heard the "Why do bad things happen to good people" as a theme for sermons, I've never really heard an atheist make that claim, although I'm sure a few have.

i haven't given a textbook answer cause nobody has asked me... but if you want to know why i believe in God... read my blog... i believe because i've been experienciung spirits since i was very young...

I apologize, I think that my post was confusing and I know that I have an odd writing style. I meant, you said that atheists had given you a text book answer. And I was saying that I hadn't heard that answer that you referred to as being "text book" since I was in high school and that I have heard the "why do bad things happen to good people" spiel in more sermons and from more Christians than from atheists.

There are thousands of different deities....if just one "exists" then all exist.



Per Christian Bible....God is the one that created evil.

Book of Isaiah 45:7 (KJV)
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Actually, you're flat wrong. You seem to miss the fact (or you're being difficult) that God can be used as a noun OR as a proper name. It has NOTHING to do with belief.

For example I could say: "I am a grammar god." <-- here it's a noun, therefore not capitalized
OR, how about: "I am a grammer nazi" <-- here nazi is a noun, therefore not capitalized

Here it's used a proper noun: "One nation under God" <-- here it's a proper name, therefore capitalized.
OR how about: "One nation under Nazi rule" <-- here it's a proper name, therefore capitalized


</english lesson over>

miss wells GW was sharing with you how those of us who don't diefy use lower case we believe in equality, we beleive god is a generic term to mean many things, depending on what you think it means.... not superiorty, not better thans and less thens, not the enslaved who are lorded over ...... There is no right or wrong in the athiest discussion just a look at the many uses of god... You have no reason to get hostile......Also some use gOd the 'o' represents we are all connected....

Ya I get it Sheri, but it still doesn't change the fact that it goes against the proper rules of English, no matter how much you want it to.

There are better ways to express the fact that you're an Athiest than messing with the excepted grammer of the English language. No one said capitalize God to show respect. What grammarians say is capitalize God because it's a proper noun. Why is it a proper noun? Because it's the name of a deity just like Zeus, Isis, the Crone, Thor, Ba'al, El, Asarte, Dionysis, Venus, Athena, Diana, Ra, Brahama; do I need to go on? When you're talking about a supreme being, whether you believe it to be one or not, it's still a proper noun. You don't really get a free pass on grammar because you are not a deist, that would be rediculous.

The next question becomes: Are these deities mentioned above gods? Yes, but then the word gods becomes either a noun or a modifying noun. There may even be cases where you could argue that it's an adjective and in-fact it can be a transitive verb as well, as in godling.

You seem to want me to tell you that it's ok to not capitalize God when talking about religion and I can't do that; not if you are talking about the deity God. I'm advocating that it be used in its correct grammatical form.

I would never pick on this subject except that someone specifically pointed that that they capitalize God as a show of respect to deists. It's not a show of respect, it's proper English syntax. I'm pointing out the usage of the word in various parts of speech--it has nothing to do with religion or lack thereof. I think an Atheist making it a point of religion is odd at best, it's a real head scratcher in fact.

Let me also note that I am not the worlds perfect grammarian, it's obvious I am not. However, I have a book here that I use as a reference for proper grammar when I'm writing a press release or product materials for work. I can say that this publication (The Chicago Manual of Style) has FOUR pages of how to deal with the capitalization of deities and other religious concepts, places, names and honorifics.

i undersatnd but syntax or not how one does or doesn't capitalize is personal preference and it seems gOd isn't anything more than a word....You can have your way and we will enjoy ours a compromise okay.......

I'm getting a iamson like vibe, many are fond of using AKa's around here or he wrote this post, this doesn't sound like your words miss wells, "Advocate using god in its correct form"...I'm sorry i'm not buying this isn't son, nice try.....

Ok Sheri, I don't know how else to explain it. It's not my way. I did not make up the rules of grammar. I merely follow them. If you want to use a small g or a capital O that's fine, Just don't say it's because you don't believe in a deity, say it's because you are mocking the English language and protesting the time-honored rules of grammar as it partains to belief systems. That's fine. At least that would be honest. Or you could just say you're too lazy to press the shift key, that's acceptable too.

Now, as for being called a liar and you calling IamsSon a liar too, or deceitful at best, you'd better be very sure you are right. Which in this case you are not. I have spent the last 15 years or better writing press releases, marketing materials, technical specifications, procedural help files, Web content (note the capitalization of Web, it's a proper noun too), technical white papers and I've even done a little legal writing as it relates to Sarbanes-Oxley (legal SEC documents). I do not need anyone's help when it comes to writing about English grammar and syntax in its most basic forms like parts of speech and word usage, it's what I do for a living. Some people like math and science, I like English and history. Really Sheri, suggesting that IamsSon and I are swapping posts is really sad. Until now, the thought would never have occured to me that people would actually have others write their posts. That's Jr. High school antics. Not my cup of tea at all, I am well over the age of 14.

You could not possibly have believed what you said up there. A vast majority of my posts are written casually in a conversational tone and voice. When I write about something like syntax, software, code, or English, my tone changes drastically because it's part of my training as a technical writer. So yes, the topic here was Atheist Fundamentalists, well if you're going to deliberately ignore the rules of grammar in favor of something that is incorrect, I guess that is one sign that you are a fundamentalist atheist. I have no other option but to think that way. And why are you telling me what GW thinks? Don't you think she should do that? I asked her because she's a decent grammarian as far as I can tell. You are not.

Oh and if anyone needs a SOX writer, drop me a line, I'm available for the next month or so!

Nice one, Sheri!

Couldn't argue against the rules of grammar, so you muddy the water with a baseless accusation. I think I have more than proven that I can take it and dish it out without any help.

Could it be you're just projecting your guilt on someone else. Just because you do it, doesn't mean every one else does.

Come visit chat sometime, MissMels has also become a regular, you could chat with both of us and see we're very different people.

Even though me and Iamson don't really agree on anything much........well I think we agreed on one or two things lol but i don't think Iamson would do such a thing. I think Misswells and Iamson are two separate people.

MissMelsWell you are correct. I think its odd that people get some sort of satisfaction out of "not capitalizing the word god" but hey whatever floats your boat.

As a show of respect to Deists? Then what's your point again!?

Because if it's true you would never pick on this subject except for... then I would say, by your own words above, you are long past the point of quieting down, no!?

Because you are misrepresenting the truth of the matter, even as to why you have reason to take issue, in this case! But then again, I guess this is a lesson to you as you implied one may be afforded to me in how people take my signature. It's how you choose to read something into it, that matters to you! However, how I meant it, what I specifically said, is what matters to the truth in this issue. That would be something you failed to realize as you continue to attack what is clearly your own deficit in reading acuity and grammar!

This is what I said! Easily found if one but goes back to page 1 of this thread and is more interested in the accuracy of a statement, than picking a fight:



And fyi, some people use the small g to denote god, because they don't acknowledge god is real so they have no obligation to respect it does, in matters of capitalization. Showing respect for people that do believe is a matter far superior to capitalization of g's and j's.
Atheists do not believe in god. They do not believe in God, nor do they believe in any other god(s). Therefore, the small letter g is fitting, per what one would refer to as usage of a proper noun, when Atheists do not believe in the capital g god.



Atheists do not believe in god. They do not believe in God, nor do they believe in any other god(s). Therefore, the small letter g is fitting, per what one would refer to as usage of a proper noun, when Atheists do not believe in the capital g god.

When Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM,” He used the aorist tense to describe Abraham's existence and the timeless present tense to describe His own existence, and thereby identified Himself as the self-existent, eternal, infinite, immutable God with a capital “G.” Well has it been said: “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:1,2). (Source)

And now for something to lighten the mood.




Third Grader Awaits Lesson For Cursive G



Anxiously awaiting further lessons, Abigail Werner practices the cursive letter D.



The Onion News (Spoof news)
GRAND RAPIDS, MI–Area third-grader Abigail Werner is anxiously awaiting the lesson for the cursive letter G, George Washington Carver Elementary School sources revealed Monday.

"Abigail has come up to my desk five times in the past three days asking when we would be learning G," teacher Ellen Honig said. "I told her we'd probably get to it sometime next week, but that I couldn't make any promises."

Honig began a cursive unit on Nov. 10 as part of her class' regular language-arts instruction. After teaching her students the five vowels, enabling them to "jump right into" writing full words, Honig moved to the beginning of the alphabet, focusing on one letter per session. The most recent letter taught was D.

Werner has paid careful attention to each lesson, practicing the letters at home, on the bus, and at the lunch table. Last Friday, Werner chose to spend recess inside to practice the letter B. In the first week of cursive instruction, Werner went through an entire 50-sheet pack of penmanship paper.

"I know the A and the B and the C and the D and the E and the I and the O and the U," said Werner, holding up a sheet of paper bearing meticulously rendered, cursive versions of such words as "Cab," "Cub," "Abe," and "Ace." "But I can't wait until we learn the G."

With cursive lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only, Werner may have to wait at least a week to learn the seventh letter of the alphabet.




"We should get to G very soon, but you never know," Honig said. "We could have a fire drill, or the multiplication-filmstrip series I ordered might finally come in. I also have to consider that the capital F usually gives students a fair amount of trouble. That may take a whole day in and of itself, separate from the lowercase F."

Until G is taught, Werner will continue to practice the letters she has learned thus far in the "Puppies And Kittens" Trapper Keeper she keeps in her tote tray at school.

"I'm glad we're learning our cursive letters now, because Mom said she's going to let me write my own name on the Christmas cards this year," Werner said. "I want to write my name like a grown-up. And when you draw a picture, you're supposed to sign your name in cursive."

For the past week, Werner has been writing "Abbie" in cursive at the top of her papers. Though she had long spurned "Abbie" as too childish for a third-grader, preferring the more mature "Abigail," the name does not require any letters she does not know.

Werner stressed that her motives in learning cursive G are not entirely selfish.

"There are lots of people that start with the letter G," Werner said. "My dad's name is Gary, and our dog's name is Grady. And Grandma. Mrs. Honig has a G in her name. And Grand Rapids. And George Washington Carver Elementary. The Powerpuff Girls have a big G. And God, too."

Karen Werner, 38, has been supportive in her daughter's quest for cursive knowledge.

"Abigail's really excited about that G," Werner said. "She had to go to the dentist yesterday but refused to until I called Mrs. Honig to make sure the class wouldn't be learning G that day. They were only reviewing the vowels, thank goodness."

"I'd teach Abigail the rest of the letters myself, but, to be honest, I don't even remember how a lot of them look anymore," Werner added. "I couldn't make a capital Q to save my life."

Werner said this is not the first time her daughter has become fixated on a school subject. In May, she developed a three-week obsession with wooly mammoths. During summer vacation, she made 28 baskets using a paper-weaving technique she learned at a library recreation program.

Just last month, the 9-year-old became so interested in her classroom's hermit crabs, she requested to be permanently placed on the cage-cleaning duty chart.

"When Abigail is curious about something, she really goes all out," Honig said. "Whether it's the four food groups, pilgrims, rocks and minerals, or penguins, she really throws herself into it."

According to child psychologist Dr. Alexandra Levens, Werner's obsession with the cursive G is perfectly healthy.

"Abigail is an eager, precocious child who wants to do things adults can do, like sign their names," Levens said. "This shows intelligence and maturity on her part. Nevertheless, I'm glad I won't be around when Mrs. Honig tells her she has to wait another two weeks to learn the lower-case L she needs to write 'Abigail.'"

Actually thats incorrect. The word for evil "rah" in the hebrew is used in many different ways in the bible. In he KJV, it occurs 663 times. 431 times it is translated as "evil". The other 232 times it is translated as wicked, bad, hurt, harm, ill, sorrow, mischief, displeased, adversity, affliction, trouble, calamity, grievous, misery, and trouble. But lets look at the context. "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these." (Isaiah 45:5-7). This is refering to natural phenomena NOT creating evil itself.

you can read the whole article here and I use this as my source. http://www.carm.org/diff/Isa_45_7.htm

Extremists come in all shapes and sizes, they are not limited to just one 'group' of people. Obviously though, some extremists draw more attention to themselves by means of violence and such, but verbal extremists especially... are crying out for acceptance in a world they feel is unbalanced.

I've often noted that people that call others extremists, are those that enjoy the rights and benefits they label extremists for actively pursuing for themselves. Sometimes the oppressor class thinks if they call someone a name, it makes them less than anyone that should take issue at all with being held in deficit verbally and politically and thereby depreciates their value as having cause at all. Because some people believe "extremist" says it all, and for them there's nothing more to be learned. I've found that those types of oppressor class are extremist in their own right. Because they enjoy privilege and from that lofty seat dean themselves able to declare it's not good enough for all. Making , for all intents and purpose, campaigns for peace, equality and freedom a conflict of extremists.

Atheists Are The Most Hated Group In America

I don't believe in Zeus I don't spell it zeus. Its a proper name when referring to a character whether real or imagined.

harry potter
santa claus


oh snap! I'm not going to capitalize your name because I don't believe in you. Its poor grammar. End of story.

though words are a much more appropriate weapon, they can still cause festering wounds.

son this makes no sense, , you have no idea what you are talking about LOL

I do agree many can be into good grammar...
miss wells, it is a sign of resepct for me not to capitalize gOd as respect to all peoples, all faiths ,I donot play favorites, nor advocate beleifs that exclude anyone and capital g is meant to exclude and it has harmed so many htis is not something i partake of ...You can certainly stick to your rules as you see fit, why not extend the same courtesy to others....

What's with the grammar war?

g or G.. does it need to make any difference at all? (I don't mean grammar-wise, I mean why does anyone care? This is the internet, are you not yet used to bad grammar?)

And all this talk about the g in a thread talking about "athiests". (Atheist is correct of course).

Aren't you doing the same thing when talking about Christian fundamentalists? They are, after all, extremists.

Exactly Truethat.

I'm a Christian and I don't capitalize honorific pronouns like Him, His, or He .

Why? Because in today's accepted rules of grammar it's not required. It's not against the rules, but it's not required. When we are talking about Zeus, we don't say "Zeus rained down lightning because He was angry" No, we use lower-case and that should be the usage when we are talking about God too. Is this usage the real root of your apparent protest to grammar? I can see where you may have an adversion to capitalizing the honorific pronouns. So, if that's the case, by all means, it is perfectly acceptable to use lower case. It's actually preferable.

Capitalization isn't a matter of religion or belief, it's a matter of grammar. If a Christian or other argues with me about honorific pronouns, I will debate them on that usage, but it will be a loose debate, because either is correct, one syntax is just more correct than the other.

I'm still baffled why an Atheist would forgo grammar in favor of a religious statement, that's just well... sophomoric.

Michelle,

Indeed some christians are extremists. But that is an extremism toward an agenda of inequality. Wherein this becomes one nation under the christian ideal of Yahweh or Jehovah God. This campaign takes the activist form of the christian coalition, formerly titled the moral majority. (But one example of many other far right conservative extremist entities.)A sectarian political meme, as it were, that believes the United States is morally bankrupt because it has fostered a liberal agenda in every aspect of society. And they mean to stop that. Read some of the threads in this forum for an example of extremist conservatism.

So while Atheists may be called extremists for wanting to be free from religion, Theists are a community that claims certain aspects within itself that want to make subordinate the entire national community unto a theocratic nation. That's a country wherein gays aren't entitled to be free and equal to straights because god says they're an abomination. That's a country wherein soldiers that die in battle are precluded having a pentagram on their headstone because christians may be offended at the free exercise of the religious expression of a dead hero. That's an agenda that makes popular in the nomenclature phrases like "Politically Correct", that is actually communicating a censorship upon free thought. One simply can't say that anymore. And what is "that" exactly?! It depends on who your talking to. Because someone could take offense and we just can't have that in this nation of freedoms, where one is not free to piss someone off. And what could possibly do that!? How about telling someone else that god has no place in the White House!?

Yep, that'll do it. Extremism, as someone else in this thread has said, takes on all manner of profiles. That's why it's always a battle of extremes, when anyone wants to fight to be free, from those that fight to stay empowered. Like they say, no freedom is ever really free.

Oh Pete sake, I won't argue against that GW. When it comes to preserving the concept of Separation of Church and State, I will be there right along side of you, ready to stand and fight like a rabid dog. Nothing would be worse than a theocratic government. The history and persecution of my own religious sect is one reason we have that separation today and I will go down fighting for it.

Let me also add that I will go down fighting for Human Rights and equality as well. It's at my absolute core belief.



Ya, that was me that said that.

And none of that changes the universally accepted rules of grammar. It would be like changing math, that 1+1=3 (I can make a case that it does, but that would again be silly)

Absolutely sis that I can vouch for..I too agree...but when i tend to tell a christian that I find their ideas intresting and good post..all of a sudden some twit calls me an athesit...and the same if i agree with an atheist post.. LOL catch 22

Sorry, GW...but, you sound like the most hardcore Christians I've ever known pushing an agenda that someone else doesn't believe in.

Maybe it's because I'm not an in your face type of person that doesn't make it such a huge deal that I don't believe in God, but I don't see the persecution that you seem to feel is so abundant...and I live in the Bible Belt.

So, no apology to me for making a baseless accusation? I'm not talking about the grammar, I'm talking about you implying that I either had MissMels write something I didn't have the guts to, or that MissMels is my invention so I can have another account here.

The beautiful thing about this free country today is you're entitled to think that. Congratulations! Just think, extremists over 200 years ago are what made it possible for that to happen without government/church censure. Praise the lords of liberty,if not for the sacrifice of others we would not today be as free. "The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.” Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes (American Baptist Minister and Civil-Rights Leader. 1929-1968)

hold on son, I never ever ever would say you don't have the guts to write for yourself, I know better, you have no problem speaking for yourself, as far as i'.m concerend that is.... i didn't know this was the underlying issue, I'm not involved in it son......... i also think you are the king of grammar hands down, i give kudos where they are due, i felt you helped her write the post , it sounded like you , but i didn't pick up that she too is a grammar pro, i don't know her...so it wasn't an insult to you at all actaully, and it was really a question, now I know she too is picky like you LOL ..come on son I have a fondness for you....My apologys if you thought otherwise, i can see now how you would conclude this based on my psot ,b ut it wans't meant in that tone....
Miss wells no insult was intended, in time you will get to know me and vice versa....

We've come a long way, baby...I don't remember where that catch phrase came from.

Thank you for not giving me the severe tongue-lashing I was halfway expecting.

GW that is....

aww well said

Agreed!!

Another interesting point is using word association tricks to achieve an objective. We hear words like "Christian Fundamentalist" and everybody turns their head tofind out what's being said.

It is interesting to see how many heads were turned when the words "Atheist Fundamentalist" were put together on a thread.

You picked up on that, did you? Well done!! I made the same mistake on the title of the Thread.

That's what I get for not checking my spelling before hitting the "Add Reply" button.

Perhaps because Atheism is fundamental to logic. No god. Everyone is born Atheist, if Atheism is taken at it's essence to impart no god consciousness. One has to be taught to hold faith in what are religious constructs. Theism asks the rational mind to accommodate itself to the irrational.