Why do atheists care about what religious people believe?

[Mithridates]

Reading this thread made me recall a discussion I had once with a colleague who is a believer (Christian, but I'm not certain which flavour ).

In the course of our chat, I queried why a supposedly caring, compassionate, loving God would create something like the flesh-eating bug and he replied that perhaps it was to give someone a purpose in life - to find a cure.

The fucked up logic of that had me so gob-smacked for a moment, words failed me. I suppose we all just have to hope God hasn't chosen us to be one of his horrible experiments "to encourage the others", in case we were getting a bit bored down here and couldn't find enough to do (!).

Although my general attitude is that I don't care what others believe, as long as they don't try to impose it on the rest of us, I sometimes feel compelled to speak up when outrageously fucked up statements like the above are fired across my bows - after all, impressionable neutrals might be listening.

Regards

Mithridates

[DanDare]

Originally Posted by Mithridates

In the course of our chat, I queried why a supposedly caring, compassionate, loving God would create something like the flesh-eating bug and he replied that perhaps it was to give someone a purpose in life - to find a cure.

Its a common piece of religious logic. It does not appear to be sophistry, but grown from a particularly ... um ... innocent (?) point of view where some people (the beneficiaries of gods lurve) are "real" and the victims are just "extras", like the security red shirts in Star Trek.

[EvilDRMike]

@DanDare spot on seriously nail and head territory there. That is one of my biggest grips with god is the idea that some people seem to be here as npcs (hope everyone gets the term) just to make for opportunities for the real people to make choices that make god happy or failing that say we're really sorry and it's just as good as doing "the right thing". You know stoning gays, people collecting fire wood on the wrong day eating the wrong food all that really important stuff.

EDM

[DanDare]

Yep, NPC is correct. And usually the 1 hp minions with no name.

[rayne]

God's a jerk if I'm being used as a tool so other people can make him happy.

[Godless Ray]

It always amuses me that Pell always sees God in every puppy or baby face yet never in stuff like roundworms.

[Lyn7]

"Its a common piece of religious logic. It does not appear to be sophistry, but grown from a particularly ... um ... innocent (?) point of view where some people (the beneficiaries of gods lurve) are "real" and the victims are just "extras", like the security red shirts in Star Trek."
That's quite true.

[Sieveboy]

Originally Posted by Godless Ray

It always amuses me that Pell always sees God in every puppy or baby face yet never in stuff like roundworms.

Or polio or cancer etc etc etc.

[EvilDRMike]

@Sieveboy I can see it now on Today Tonight. "Face of jebus found in 28 year old mother of threes fatal tumor." Praise be to god!

EDM