tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post3349791186132225768..comments2023-05-26T01:08:22.886-07:00Comments on The Religion Virus: Atheists: Get Out of the Damned Closet!Craig A. Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10569974341270668010noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-70388782072947692272011-06-15T21:10:35.736-07:002011-06-15T21:10:35.736-07:001)how is bush jr. a religious terrorist
2)what is ...1)how is bush jr. a religious terrorist<br />2)what is the big problem with religion anyway, this entire blog paints all religious people as insane, children, or mentally challenged. the majority of us are not like that, we are normal people, i have several atheist friends<br />3)stop acting like you're the first group of people to take hate for your beliefs (and they are beliefs) and stop acting like it's worse on you my job requires me to move a lot and i have taken to going with a different religion each time to gauge reactions from most to least accepted the pattern is about <br />1:Christian 2:Atheist 3:Jewish 4:Muslim 5:Wiccan<br />you do not receive as much hate as other religions, and certainly not as much as people of other racesPeternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-90671710542957231002011-02-03T07:09:55.683-08:002011-02-03T07:09:55.683-08:00Holy crap, thanks for doing that tally -- that'...Holy crap, thanks for doing that tally -- that's really surprising!<br /><br />For me, there was never any debate, I started my (atheism-oriented) blog with my real name and never really considered doing otherwise. Incidentally it did cause me a spot of trouble when I wrote a non-atheism-related post complaining about a particular software tool we use at our job. Heh, so I just vowed never to talk about my job on my blog anymore :)James Sweethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17212877636980569324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-65183644942692456292010-09-20T18:09:15.759-07:002010-09-20T18:09:15.759-07:00While I agree with much of what you've written...While I agree with much of what you've written here, I'd like to point out that there are situations, like mine, in which "coming out" would be solely incendiary and harmful.<br /><br />I'm tremendously happy to be an atheist, but my family lives and breathes religion. I love my parents and my grandparents and my aunts and uncles, at least, I love the parts of their personalities that aren't completely poisoned by the bible. I know who I am, so it's not hard to fake it around them just to keep from being disowned. On top of that, I won't be eighteen until a year from now, meaning that I still live with my parents. Being "outed" as an atheist in this household would create a living hell for everyone involved. <br /><br />Fear isn't keeping me in the closet, just consideration for the happiness of my discriminatory, closed-minded family members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-61220373784319480612010-03-27T20:15:53.025-07:002010-03-27T20:15:53.025-07:00I came out with my atheism, being in a catholic sc...I came out with my atheism, being in a catholic school with mostly religious junkies, it was hard. My parents consider me the devil and can't stand me anymore, some kids in my class will tell me that I'm damned to hell and that theres no point of me getting an education. And I'm afraid to go to a public school because all the kids where I live are christians and proud, so I'll be beat up in public schools. But I have pride that I have found the truth and I endure all the christians hateful words, because once I graduate college I'm going to speak for all atheists out there!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-55941324447644845012010-01-04T06:07:03.587-08:002010-01-04T06:07:03.587-08:00Great job! I support you!Great job! I support you!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17457957126329533578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-71489928468388936232009-12-31T01:11:40.430-08:002009-12-31T01:11:40.430-08:00Maybe the atheist bloggers are smarter. Maybe t...Maybe the atheist bloggers <i> are </i> smarter. Maybe they understand the risks of exposing their true identities online more than their fundamentalist counterparts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-29661490956534248072009-12-02T13:38:39.556-08:002009-12-02T13:38:39.556-08:00I like the idea of "coming out of the closet....I like the idea of "coming out of the closet." For those I know in my private life, I already have "come out" as an atheist.<br /><br />I have a couple of "nom de plumes" on the web that have nothing to do with atheism. The reason why I don't use my real name because I'm not getting paid for it. I have no way of defending myself if a wacko person finds out where me and my family live if something I say makes him go crazy.<br /><br />I use the internet to express myself anonymously - to get things off my chest. This allows my thoughts to be expressed along with others with similar beliefs without being attacked. If this were my career & I got compensated for my expressions & could cover the cost of security, I would let everyone know who I am.<br /><br />For those of you with lives that will not be harmed by identifying yourself, go for it & thank you! For the rest of us, we must remain anonymous.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03977109656275668932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-68138870378451346342009-10-29T09:14:36.202-07:002009-10-29T09:14:36.202-07:00I live in the DFW area in Texas.
If its work, fri...I live in the DFW area in Texas.<br /><br />If its work, friends or family in this area - big mistake. You nod your head and keep quiet. Persecution by the religious is VERY real.<br /><br />If its in the North where I originally came from, its not as bad.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-57484425920587837082009-08-27T14:32:15.157-07:002009-08-27T14:32:15.157-07:00Yes it's true, we should come out.
It's j...Yes it's true, we should come out.<br /><br />It's just not safe yet. Seriously. Let's not kid ourselves here. <br /><br />The Competition is the Official Sponsor of the Currency, the Pledge, the Oaths. We're a long long way from parity here.<br /><br />But I applaud your bravery and hope you the best of luck! Go get em tiger.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-2623733260733554522009-07-06T19:07:02.788-07:002009-07-06T19:07:02.788-07:00It's not so easy to come out. I own a retail s...It's not so easy to come out. I own a retail store in the bible belt. As a store owner, I need to not alienate people. I try to live my life as a nice, kind person, using the Golden Rule as my guide. In my area, there are lots & lots of devoted Christians, many of whom are fundamentalists. When they see me doing something kind, they say,"You must have Jesus in your heart!" Instead of saying I am an Atheist, I tell them [politely] that I am not a Christian & hope they just let it drop.I try to stay vague,hoping that they may think I am Jewish! Instead of accepting that, they tend to get very angry. Then they start trying to convince me[often angrily & forcefully] that I need Jesus in my life altho I have not said anything negative to them about their beliefs.circehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12679512045961825110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-85764511105763985632009-02-24T11:50:00.000-08:002009-02-24T11:50:00.000-08:00.. I've never been in the closet, I've been a Norm..... I've never been in the closet, I've been a Normal Person with NO addictions (including religious addiction) all my life and just paid the price of it as I went along... which is harsh... fired from good jobs... religious Xtian mom hates me like she hated my Deiist dad... hated by religious co-workers... tried to run away when I was 4 after hearing the story of Noah's Ark and realizing that non-Hasidic Jews should properly all be drowned even if that meant killing 99+% of the people on the planet and that's OK with a god...<BR/><BR/>.. I don't allow the religics to call me the negative name of "atheist"... I'm PROUDLY and POSITIVELY a NORMAL PERSON with NO religious addiction... I don't want to kill others of different beliefs... I don't want to become a RELIGIOUS TERRORIST! BTW, always use the word "religious" with "terrorist" to emphasize where RELIGIOUS TERRORISTS come from! ALL religions foment religious terrorism! ALL religions CREATE religious terrorists... not just Moslems... DON'T go along with the Christian tagging of Moslems as THE religious terrorists... Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, David Koresh, Jim Jones, John Brown, Adolph Hitler, Bush Jr., etc. are/were all CHRISTIAN terrorists who love to kill innocents!<BR/>.. I don't believe there are as many religious people as they pretend there are... religics LIE about everything... including how many of them there are... they try to say EVERYONE is a religic! WE know better!<BR/>.. When the religics fight amongst themselves for customers, they tell the truth and say stop stealing our already religious religics and go out and convert some of the "55%" (!!) NON-religious people in the world!<BR/>.... There's prolly 4 BILLION NON-religious people in the world! WE are the MAJORITY! Stop cowering and stand up for truth and decency! Take the VOTE away from the mentally ill including those with religious addiction! Allowing the mentally ill to vote is akin to "LETTING the NUTS RUN the NUTHOUSE" !!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-69275415168782810472009-01-06T20:52:00.000-08:002009-01-06T20:52:00.000-08:00Dave, thanks for your response. I understand your...Dave, thanks for your response. I understand your point, that there may be good reasons for blogging anonymously or under a pen name, that have nothing to do with atheism <I>per se</I>, and I didn't try to deduce why each atheist blogger was anonymous or not. It was hardly a scientific survey!<BR/><BR/>But even so, I still think the contrast between Christian and Atheist bloggers is dramatic. Presumably, some of the anonymous Christian bloggers also have reasons why they're anonymous that have nothing to do with their religion, so the gap is still there.Craig A. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10569974341270668010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-290766905166954882008-12-29T17:23:00.000-08:002008-12-29T17:23:00.000-08:00I'm the owner of silentdave.net. You may be intere...I'm the owner of silentdave.net. You may be interested to know that, shortly after the date of this post, I changed the name of my blog to atheistcentral.net and started posting under my full name, which is Dave Holloway. <BR/><BR/>My posting under Silent Dave was not due to any particular desire to remain anonymous, but rather due to the fact that I am better known in the blogosphere as Silent Dave than as Dave Holloway. My decision to start using my real name was similarly unrelated, or peripherally related at best, to any desire on my part to "come out of the closet."Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566025845622103369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-12881538432067893902008-11-30T04:03:00.000-08:002008-11-30T04:03:00.000-08:00Hi Craig.I see what you're getting at, and don't h...Hi Craig.<BR/><BR/>I see what you're getting at, and don't have an answer for that. Point taken though.<BR/><BR/>You wrote: "But to address your specific point: I've been blogging for a while now, and have yet to encounter any harassment of any sort. It would be easy for someone to find me in real life if they wanted to, but it hasn't happened.<BR/><BR/>"But that's me, and I respect every blogger's choice, especially those who live in the more conservative parts of the country (or world), or who have positions in the community that might be jeapardized by their atheism."<BR/><BR/>As I pointed out in my previous reply, I don't anonymise my blog for any reason to do with atheism (I live in the UK, so this isn't so much of an issue) but purely for (no pun intended) secular reasons: fraud/ID theft, awareness of when I'm not going to be home, keeping personal details private (inasmuch as any can be), etc.<BR/><BR/>I'm not going to be naïve enough to suggest that this is in anyway equivalent to having <A HREF="http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/11/2/95449/1437/78#c78" REL="nofollow">magic rocks in my garden that keep tigers away</A>, but I reckon if I put less personal information online, there's less potential for abuse.<BR/><BR/>P.S. Welcome to my blogroll :-)nullifidianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17525511015814128503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-32003509202936900752008-11-26T22:28:00.000-08:002008-11-26T22:28:00.000-08:00Hey Nullifidian,Don't take my categorization of yo...Hey Nullifidian,<BR/><BR/>Don't take my categorization of you as "anonymous" too seriously. My method was simple (as described in the blog), and I didn't ask "why" of each blogger.<BR/><BR/>The most interesting result is that, regardless of why you or any other Atheist elects to blog anonymously, most Christians do not. Why there is such a wide difference is the real question.<BR/><BR/>But to address your specific point: I've been blogging for a while now, and have yet to encounter any harassment of any sort. It would be easy for someone to find me in real life if they wanted to, but it hasn't happened.<BR/><BR/>But that's me, and I respect every blogger's choice, especially those who live in the more conservative parts of the country (or world), or who have positions in the community that might be jeapardized by their atheism.Craig A. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10569974341270668010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-21353253220949170762008-11-26T02:55:00.000-08:002008-11-26T02:55:00.000-08:00This is interesting, considering you used my blog ...This is interesting, considering you used my blog (nullifidian.net) as an example of an anonymous blog in your survey.<BR/><BR/>The primary reason for remaining anonymous is not to do with the subject matter but the medium. I do not, as a matter of course, offer up my personal details for the uncontrollable audience of the public web.<BR/><BR/>My friends, my family, my co-workers and everyone else I know reasonably well in <I>real</I> life (or those where it's a topic of conversation) know that I'm an unapologetic atheist (amongst other attributes and labels) and I have no fear of anyone knowing so.<BR/><BR/>However, there are is an element of the web composed of criminals and crazies (and I'm not talking about the religionistas here) and giving them less ammunition to act as such seems sensible to me. Some choose to accept that risk and, if they wish to do so, that is of course up to them. I simply choose not to, in the same way that I choose not to publish my DoB, my national insurance number, my address and dates when I'll be out of the house.<BR/><BR/>It has nothing to do with being an "in the closet" atheist, and it has everything to do with protecting my personal life from any additional potential risk that I wouldn't be exposed to day-to-day.nullifidianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17525511015814128503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-54779067221886239422008-08-27T00:14:00.000-07:002008-08-27T00:14:00.000-07:00It must really suck to be an American atheist. I l...It must really suck to be an American atheist. I live in Christchurch, New Zealand, my name is Kelsey, and I'm not afraid to say I'm an atheist. Its a lot more liberal around here and I am really glad of that.<BR/><BR/>If you have a problem with that, feel free to email me.<BR/>I check the inbox for kelz@fatedchildren.net fairly regularly. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-84918356168808762452008-08-24T11:40:00.000-07:002008-08-24T11:40:00.000-07:00My name is Stephen Johnson. I live in Wigan UK. I ...My name is Stephen Johnson. I live in Wigan UK. I am an atheist.Diaristhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11176806567980032721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-35251883324238376462008-08-15T23:16:00.000-07:002008-08-15T23:16:00.000-07:00My question asks what difference it makes on what ...My question asks what difference it makes on what name I use on my blog? I know your real name now which means nothing to me (unless you are trying to sell something, then it makes sense). But with that info I can pull your entire financial history off the web, find out where you live, where your kids go to school, etc. While you may be ok with posting personal information online alongside your opinion, many are not and we have a responsibility to those we love to protect them from threats that could be avoided. I think your point would be much stronger if you argued being open to friend, family, and others in real life, but not through blogging. To me, my anonymity has nothing to do with my atheist views, rather the protection of my family. Those who know me in real life knows I am atheist including all colleagues at work, my friends and my family.DBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01267112937396907790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-88623343456677115422008-08-14T17:42:00.000-07:002008-08-14T17:42:00.000-07:00Regarding the comment that Michigan is a liberal s...Regarding the comment that Michigan is a liberal state - parts of Michigan are liberal, certainly not all of it. <BR/><BR/>I grew up in a small town in Michigan and that's where I received physical and emotional abuse from peers, teachers, and other adults. I moved to Grand Rapids, a fairly decent sized city assuming I'd find a liberal and safer environment. WRONG! Grand Rapids is the Calvinist center of the universe and I've seen non-Christian people treated in an appalling manner in parts of the city.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-45353476802586178932008-08-13T05:30:00.000-07:002008-08-13T05:30:00.000-07:00I've been an atheist/agnostic for years, but only ...I've been an atheist/agnostic for years, but only my husband and [some] close friends knew it. Last year I got into a discussion about "sin", wherein I claimed to have never sinned. Mistakes, sure, but not sin. It was the first time I actually thought about that in a rational way. It was frightening and liberating at the same time.<BR/><BR/>I think that the Xtian ethos has so permeated our culture that those like me who were raised in that religion have absorbed it without realizing it.<BR/><BR/>And, yes, I take my "Darwin Fish" off my car when I visit my mother in rural Virginia.<BR/><BR/>SGScience Goddesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04775957957014840142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-89770465809868342532008-08-13T02:04:00.000-07:002008-08-13T02:04:00.000-07:00Wow, those are scary stories. Like strappado, I to...Wow, those are scary stories. Like strappado, I too live in a country where it's no big deal to be an atheist (Austria), so I don't feel that I have to conceal anything. I hope that tolerance for different beliefs will eventually become the norm everywhere, but there is obviously a lot to do yet.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, my real name is Scott Wallace, and if any of you are ever in Vienna, or in the SF Bay Area most summers, drop me a line, and the drinks are on me.zilchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01695741977946935771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-39853204372979734182008-08-12T21:18:00.000-07:002008-08-12T21:18:00.000-07:00Unfortuniatly, I let it out in my Jesusville commu...Unfortuniatly, I let it out in my Jesusville community that I am an Atheist, I cannot now get anyone to come out and do service work for me. I had one guy come out and take my TV apart and left with the parts hanging out of my TV and never heard from him again. They know my real name, it spread like wild fire.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Here's a blog I was coresponding to regularly, she was blogging heavily and now she's suddenly disappeared, I have no way of knowing what happened to her, check it out.<BR/><BR/>http://godisadyke.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/><BR/>This shit is serious.<BR/><BR/>The fucking christians are fucking insane.Steven Bentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16139666223082953913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-30423411436865893372008-08-12T08:55:00.000-07:002008-08-12T08:55:00.000-07:00as I just replied to your comment on my blog- I re...as I just replied to your comment on my blog- I remain anonymous not to hids my ahteism as all who know me know i am an atheist- but because it allows me to comment freely on my work without worrying about breaking confidentiality of any of my patients- not everyone is anonymous for reasons of fear and not everyone can 'come out' as you call it - without consequences :)Psychodivahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11915834209325453776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3381224391260954323.post-82541908043130982782008-08-11T04:04:00.000-07:002008-08-11T04:04:00.000-07:00I wrote a post a little over a year ago about why ...I wrote a post a little over a year ago about why I remain anonymous on my blog: http://tinyurl.com/6jcwo9<BR/><BR/>I just went back and re-read it. Sadly, it is as true today as the day I wrote it.vjackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05868095335395368227noreply@blogger.com