There's no "they". The religious, just like atheists, are not thinking and reacting all in the same way. Mockery is a great way to reach mind's most hidden depths. When it's done right, of course (George Carlin does it right, if you need an example - he doesn't mock the faithful, but the fundamental premises of faith) . It doesn't have to make people reconsider their beliefs. It's enough to make people think about their beliefs. Proof that mockery works is every dictatorship's strict censorship on mocking the government. Humor is a game changer. Reconsidering faith doesn't necessarily mean becoming an atheist. It means reforming, improving, modernizing, making life better for the faithful. How do I know mockery is one of the factors driving the change? Well, because people like it, of course. People pay money for tickets to stand up comedy shows where they are told that their ways of life and long-held beliefs suck. People pay money to have the most intimate moments of their lives thrashed in public by a total stranger in front of hundreds of other people. Yes, mockery works.
I went to a sports camp at a religious school and got some brainwashing there. Very cult like and the people looked like they were on drugs (high on God). Some of my good friends in school went to church but my family didn't. It was just something we didn't talk about and no one talked about it in public school. I think it is healthy for kids to be exposed to atheist ideas before they get all that funny business about God. At least the concept that there may or may not be a God. Santa Claus and the Easter bunny are enough as it is for those poor kids!
I do love me some Carlin, that man was a comedic genius. But I do agree with Swensson -- some religionists of strong faith can laugh at their own faith, but mostly mockery of something so closely tied to peoples' identities causes anything but introspection. Jokes, logical arguments, and all forms of persuasion both for and against religion all have one big thing in common -- they only work with people who are already undecided or conflicted in some way. I think it's healthy for kids to be exposed to all sorts of philosophy and religion -- irreligious philosophies, major world religions, classical religions, as well as the Big Western Three.
Prefer this kind of approach. I agree that if mockery did not hit the mark then authoritarian politicians wouldn't try to ban it. That some people double down on being wrong when confronted with the absurdity of their irrational beliefs says more about how deep the indoctrination can go some times.
So the question then becomes if the problems associated with religion comes from those who are easily swayed or those who just get strengthened.
That is certainly true. I don't pretend to know what any particular Christian or otherwise things (other than myself) I'm more interested in the general ambience of the discussion. Really it comes from the fact that when I discuss religion with religious people, I find that my position is compromised by other non-religious people needlessly antagonising the religious. Sure. Carlin does it pretty well, in that he criticises things which even religious people think are hypocritical. In a way, his criticism and jokes are not mockery (at least not to religious people at large). It depends on who you're aiming at. Lack of censorship would not persuade the dictator or his best loyalists, they'd just be irritated. Those who actually do believe the message are not very susceptible to it, and indeed become less susceptible to other arguments. Sure, I meant reconsidering as in rejecting the views. It was in response to the OP's phrase "makes religious people realize how silly their ideas are".
Silly people can be found within atheists as well. The core of religions are built based on an unknown to humans. This is unknown is about what would happen after death. All suggestion are faith of humans. Atheists seem to have the faith that "none happens". They have this conclusion possibly due to the fallacy that the absence of evidence is the evidence of absence (how silly).
That much is true. Even as non-religious, I'm quite annoyed with non-religious people who just like to sound clever. There is a fine subtlety here. The point that atheists mostly try to make is that they are not convinced by the claims of religion. That is the point they're trying to make to others, in particular in reference to how politics work. In absence of religious claims, many acknowledge "nothing happens" as the most likely conclusion, but that's not a point which is relevant in practice. That is why "atheism" isn't as much of a political force than "secularism" is. Secularism does not propose a statement for what happens after death, it proposes a course of action given that we don't know. Atheism and claims that nothing happens after death are both consistent with secularism, but they are not necessary for secular arguments to find traction in modern politics. Humans have a tendency to go to needless mockery, so it's important to me to make sure that anything off-putting serves a purpose, not just me kneejerking and then conjuring up an excuse. Humans are good at rationalisations like that, and we should avoid it.
Well my position is without evidence its fine to have personal faith, fine, but when you get these people together and hand power to a clergy it turns into at a minimum a waste of valuable resources and time funding that and at the more extreme deadly just look at Islam you have the peaceful Sufism largely harmless to ISIS and slaughtering, enslaving and making aggressive holy war. Christianity had the same issues so did other religions except perhaps a few. But why spend resources and time on faith religious systems without actual solid evidence of any divine powers so I call these people morons and am happy to say so to their faces especially the clergy as leeches not doing anything productive for society in most cases need to do real work. The same for military chaplains the most wasted and pointless soldiers in the armed forces who won't even pick up a rifle and fight even a desk paper pushing clerk will defend themselves and their fellow soldiers if needed. So yes I mock religion until these gods and goddesses show the hell up, let us know what they want us to do and do things for us to earn our worship or to us to out of fear get our worship until then just act as they don't exist and spend the vast wealth and time on things that do make our species and world better like on education, science, social welfare support, improving health care, art or just taking time for yourselves and other things anything other than religion and faith. Until then mock it with extreme mocking!
What is 'Religion'? James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
But whose 'fault' is it that there are children who are poorly taught and poorly raised in this Nation, The U.S of America? America(s): United States, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Canada, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Jamica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, French Guiana, Saint Lucia, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, United States Virgin Islands, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Greenland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands, Carribbean Netherlands, Anguilla, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Montserrat, Falkland Islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_the_Americas_by_population Proverbs 24:24 "He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:" Proverbs 17:5 "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD." There are 195 Countries in the World.. There are 55 Countries in America.. There are 140 Countries which are NOT in America. The United States is 1 Country of the 55 Countries in America 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Which country does NOT justify the wicked nor condemn the just? Out of all the 55 American Countries, The United States being 1 of them, over 80% of the Population acknowledges themselves as believers in Christ Jesus. If you don't want to be abhored or cursed by people and Nations, stop saying that the wicked are righteous and stop justifying the wicked and condemning the just. Times are changing that this will begin.. Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Wiktionary: The Free Dictionary a mind is a terrible thing to waste: One should put one's mental faculties to good use. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_mind_is_a_terrible_thing_to_waste
Who is to blame for what I stated? Obviously the american people, and the demise of a culture that once valued politeness, and respect. For instance, my family and neighbors taught my generation to respect everyone. Now, the meme is to earn respect or you do not get it. That is a helluva difference, right? Rudeness, at least outside of NYC, or other big cities, was not acceptable. Today, it is the rule rather than the exception. These are cultural values which have changed. Being old, can track it back to the late sixties.
Most people who don't believe in God think they are god. We are more spirit than matter because most of what we don't see is thoughts and inventions. Once the spirit leaves the body there is nothing to think with. If we came from primary ooze formed from atoms and gases by now we would have already formed another type of life force or species. It ain't happened because it is not scientifically true.
Well, I think there is a fragment of God in all of us. Salvation is seeking and finding that kingdom within consciousness as Christ taught us about. So, you are referring to the self, the ego, as us making it into a god. Some people hate religion. Some here do. But I know that when this nation was more religious, that is her people were more religious, we did not have the degree of social problems we have today. People were kinder to one another generally speaking, had more respect for others, and you seldom heard the kind of cursing you do today, as people could talk without using f##k, mothe##f##ke#, and so on, with every other word. And road rage was unknown here in the south. As a culture, what religion brought in my youth in the 50s and 60s, was a civilizing force, with more people being cultured in the good sense. No one can deny this. It is no surprise that as we lost it, we descended into an american culture which is defined by its vulgarity, and lack of culture in the classical sense. One could day this change had something to so with the rise and proliferation of atheism. It has nothing to offer a culture, as proven by its rise. IMO
We mock everything. I don't know any aspect of our own lives that we don't mock on a constant basis - our nation, our states, our culture, our religion ... It just doesn't matter what it is. And, it is certainly not left to comedians to do the job.
Those that mock another's beliefs are just inconsiderate people, especially when done in a place like this where the one mocked cannot knock your head off, for insulting him. I always figured it was cowards who mock remotely, so as not to suffer consequences for their inconsiderate behavior. Discussing religion if one thing, mocking another who holds a religious belief, quite another. Generally the mockers are little more than arrogant, rude, inconsiderate human beings who were raised to be such. They do not dishonor their parents because more than likely they are emulating their parents who were not raised well either. IMO
What?? You want the opportunity to physically attack comedians??? You're ready to take it THAT seriously? I agree there is tasteless garbage all over the place. But, let's not go crazy about it.
I agree. And, I've opposed those who are doing no more than ridiculing here on this board - regardless of what religion it is. Have you seen the stuff people say about Islam?
Religion deserves to be mocked in the eyes of atheists, particularly Islam and radical Islam. Many people have opened their eyes to what a joke religion is thanks to comedy and the internet. I find religion sick how it brainwashes children and even naïve adults.
being disrespectful of something so near and dear only makes people maintain the position, not consider another. I like most of carlins work, however he is dead wrong on religion, its theism not religion. You do not need a deity to have a religion, atheists have as much religion as anyone else though like carlin after using incorrect terminilogy for all these years they dig in and are just as entrenched as any other religion.
So when I mock Scientologists, and if this "crystallises their faith" in Scientology, that's . . . just funny. Lolz.
