Why Atheists Are So Angry

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Why Atheists Are So Angry

Posted Dec 4th 2007 8:36PM by Dinesh D'Souza
Filed under: Christianity, Controversy, Atheism

If you haven't, you should read the comments in response to my recent debate with philosopher Daniel Dennett both here as well as on the atheist site richarddawkins.net. From the atheists you hear statements like this: "D'Souza is a goddamned idiot." "Odious little toad." "D'Souza is full of shit." "A smug, joyless twit." "Total moron." "Little turd." "Two-faced liar." Etc, etc. Now admittedly the topic of God v. atheism can be an emotional one, but you will find no comparable invective on the Christian side. Why then are so many atheists so angry? One reason I think is that they are God-haters. Atheists often like to portray themselves as "unbelievers" but this is not strictly accurate. If they were mere unbelievers they would simply live their lives as if God did not exist.
I don't believe in unicorns, but then I haven't written any books called The End of Unicorns, Unicorns are Not Great, or The Unicorn Delusion. Clearly the atheists go beyond disbelief; they are on the warpath against God. And you can hear their bitterness not only in their book titles but also in their mean-spirited invective.

Here is a second reason the atheists sound so angry. They are not used to having their sophistries exposed. For the past three years the new atheists have had a virtually free ride. Dawkins and Hitchens make outrageous claims ("religion poisons everything") and media pundits like Lou Dobbs and Tim Russert fawn all over them.
But in the past few months I've been meeting the leading atheist spokesmen in open debate, and challenging them on the basis of the same reason and science and evidence that they say vindicates their claims. After my first debate with Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic magazine, several atheists on Dawkins' site said, "Well, D'Souza won that debate, but wait till he meets Hitchens. Hitchens will wipe the floor with him. D'Souza RIP." Then after I debated Hitchens the atheists said, "Oh no, this one didn't go as planned. Hitchens didn't do so well." Another commented that atheists could not afford to lose two in a row. Even so, one atheist hopefully noted that Hitchens was not the right guy to debate me; rather, Daniel Dennett has the scholarly weight to do the job.

Now after my Dennett debate, what's the verdict? Well, the audience was full of Dennett supporters who began with enthusiastic applause for him but, as the debate went on, fell largely silent. Several came up to me afterward and told me that I had won. Dennett himself seemed dispirited after the event. Even so, when I posted the debate on my blog, the atheists went into damage control mode. The debate was instantly posted on atheist sites, and atheists rushed to this blog to vote Dennett the winner. This effort gave atheists an early lead, but when the votes were tallied I was the victor. Interestingly my margin of victory was even bigger than that for the resolution, suggesting that several people voted that "God Is a Man-Made Invention" and still thought I won the debate.

A good way to assess a debate is to see what the partisans on each side say. Among Christians the verdict is unanimous. Sample comment from Townhall.com: "My heart went out to Professor Dennett because he was so totally over-matched in this debate You totally demolished him as you have the other atheists you have debated." But all you have to do is to go to atheist sites to see that many atheists also think that I won, although this is sometimes very grudgingly admitted. Here is a sampling of comments that I've taken from richarddawkins.net. "I was at the debate and thought Dennett did not prove his point." "I'm so tired of these D'Souza debates. The more people we send his way the larger his smile grows." "I feel such debates should stop." "I love Dennett's ideas about atheism but I do think he handled this debate poorly against Dinesh." "Ok, Dennett sucked...Dennett's type of responses just made him look like an ass." "Dinesh is an amazingly talented orator, considering how hopeless a case he is arguing." "Hitchens has had a shot, as has Dennett, and neither has succeeded in demolishing D'Souza. D'Souza has a very effective debating technique. Not only did a lot of atheists get up and fire straw-man arguments at D'Souza that he was easily able to counter and make them look foolish, but Dennett...lost his composure and his train of thought." "Let's face it, this guy has taken our best shots and still come out looking good. Maddening."

So where does this leave the atheists? These guys now seem to be 0-3. Some of the blog posters on Dawkins' site are calling on Sam Harris and Dawkins himself to step into the ring. Harris seems willing, although he has approached me about doing a written rather than an oral debate. Dawkins continues to avoid my invitation to debate on a secular West Coast campus, leading one atheist to dub him Richard the Chickenhearted. I really hope that Dawkins proves he has the courage of his convictions. (How brave is it to beat up on former televangelist Ted Haggard?) Otherwise the self-styled "brights" are going to face the empirical fact that when it comes to defending their views, atheists are basically losers. Remarkably, the "party of reason" is simply incompetent to vindicate those claims against an advocate of the "party of faith." Now what could be more embarrassing than that?

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Reader Comments ( Page 79 of 80)

Previous 15 Comments | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1171. Christopher, your words prove Dinesh's point. You're so angry by the fact that there is a God that you're willing to physically abuse your own mother.

And btw, the theory of evolution has more holes in it than Swiss cheese caught in a machine gun crossfire. In actuality, evolution is being disproved more and more. And as for duplicating "every single one of those 'miracles'" that did happen, how does science duplicate the miracle of feeding five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two fish? They are called miracles, because science cannot fully duplicate them.

And you want to wipe away religion by force? Yeah! Good luck with that! Go to Iran or Saudi Arabia and try to remove Islam from the face of the earth. See how long you last.

One thing I love about these outspoken atheists is that when they bash religion, they specifically target Christianity. They don't bash Judaism, because they will be labelled anti-semetic (as well they should). They won't bash Islam, becuase they fear getting killed by a Muslim extremist. So they bash the Christians because they are the easy targets. They won't fight back. And this just shows what sniveling cowards these atheists really are.

James at 10:50PM on Dec 10th 2007

1172. To #1165 "Jesusismysavior60"

Wow, your tune sure changed pretty quick. It would be easier to believe what I am saying if you would quit wishing cancer on me. (What is with the cancer obsession?) Yes, you will be judged by what you do and say, and Jesus saw that last post where you said such angry things with venom dripping from your fangs. You Christians sure do love to use your god as a fear tactic, eh? Unfortunately for you, not everyone is scared of your Sky Daddy.

"You will be tested and it is if you keep the faith or simply give up because something or someone didn't go your way."

How do you know why I left the church? You don't. (Psst... it's because I outgrew the lie.)

"I haven't said anything bad about you and do not intend to."

Then we have 2 different definitions of "bad." You seem to have a hard time grasping simple concepts, so let me break it down for you. This is everything you said "bad" about me in your post #1162.

1. You must be one of those people who like to think you are smart and then look at your **** only after that you realize that is where your brain is.

2. See, you have to attack to make yourself feel good ,like you know everything.

3. Hope the cancer doesn't kill you too fast. I forgive you MC because you are just a sad individual who is upset because i have something to look forward to and you do not.

4. ... your sorry excuse for a brain ...

5. Grow up and get a life. Go on a peace mission instead of smoking whatever you are smoking. [insinuating drug use... nice.]

6. You are just a pawn in this world and i'm the knight moving faster and thinking smarter than you.

7. Go be a man instead of a boy, show the world what you are made of which is bone,tissue, and a tiny,little brain which can't wrap itself around the power that is God. [I am a girl, btw.]

8. You have nothing, a dream and a curse which will manifest itself when the cancer grabs a hold of you.

9. Realize that without God you are miserable, that is exactly how you are now. You are a plague to yourself, you poisin your own mind with a non-believing attitude. [I am miserable and a plague? Christian love... nothing like it.]

Is that a little clearer for you?

"Just remember when you are dying don't ask God for help because you don't believe in him."

Uhh... duh?

MC Hammer at 4:13PM on Dec 10th 2007

1173. Jesusismysavior60

I don't think it's wise to post your IQ in your name.

You lose credibility when you do that.

Linda at 4:22PM on Dec 10th 2007

1174. i have wished nothing upon you and no i'm not a snake nor do i have fangs. You will be scared when judgement day comes. I have nothing left to say to you for you are a lost soul. I didn't post anything angry nor was i angry when i posted those comments. Just know when the end of time comes and you run or hide i hope you think of how you could have saved yourself. May Jesus have mercy on your soul when you get to the pearly gates. Excuse me while i pray for your soul. :"I would rather believe in God now and find out he isn't real opposed to not believing and finding out he is real".

Jesusismysavior60 at 6:49PM on Dec 10th 2007

1175. Yes, I believe in God. I have a personal faith in Christ. I know that the Lord has been with me through many trying times, including combat. I understand that many people choose not to believe. That is your choice. I choose to. That is my choice. I have spent every day of almost 17 years defending your right to your opinion. I may not share your beliefs but I expect you to respect mine. Yes, I see many atheists are angry, verbally abusive, and even violent. I think I would rather stay the way I am.

Peace,
Spyro

Spyro at 10:17PM on Dec 10th 2007

1176. You're spouting B.S., Jesusismysavior60.

The Quran, Surah 9:11:

"Yet if they repent, and take to prayer, and render the purifying dues, they become your brethren in faith: [17] and clearly do We spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge!"

Link: http://www.islamicity.com/QuranSearch/

Nothing about any Eagles there. Next time, try fact-checking. Google is your friend.

Observant, in regard to your incoherent response to my last post, your attempts to raise cosmic origins as proof of your god's existence is a naked confession that you can't demonstrate that your god exists here and now. "We don't know X, therefore goddidit" is a strategy that's failed again and again and again.

"Hey, Aristotle! Bet you can't tell me what causes lightning bolts! Therefore, Zeus exists."

Diseases were thought to be caused by demons. The heavenly bodies were thought to be carried through the sky by angels. Epilepsy was demon-possession. Any turn of bad luck was witchcraft, so you had to go find the nearest old lady that knew folk remedies, and burn her at the stake. On, and on, and on.

The caves of ignorance within which God is made to dwell have continually shrunk, and can only shrink further in the future.

How 'bout one of you answer the question I asked Dinesh:

You feel stabbing pain in your side, which you think could be appendicitis. Quick! What do you do?

A) Hurry to your church and have the elders pray and anoint you with oil, so that the prayer of faith can heal you

B) Call 911 and go to a hospital

kcrady at 11:29PM on Dec 10th 2007

1177.
"I would rather believe in [Osiris] now and find out he isn't real opposed to not believing and finding out he is real".

"I would rather believe in [Allah] now and find out he isn't real opposed to not believing and finding out he is real".

"I would rather believe in [Goddess] now and find out [she] isn't real opposed to not believing and finding out [she] is real".

And that, J60, is why Pascal's Wager is a sucker bet. You Christians would scoff at it too, if it had first been popularized as "Mohammad's Wager."

kcrady at 9:38AM on Dec 11th 2007

1178. Atheists hate what they fear: which is Almighty God. You believe what you want to believe but i will most certainly believe in Jesus Christ: Lord and Savior of the World until the day i die. kcrady go read the bible and find some peace. I recommend the book fo Revelation in the new testament of the Bible, which is THE WORD OF GOD. That will give you a little something to look forward to. Look specifically at chapter 21 verse 8.

Jesusismysavior60 at 12:02PM on Dec 11th 2007

1179. Oh and about the appendcitis pain. It could most certainly be from severe dehydration. I would simply go get a few glasses of water and who says christians can't go to the hospital? never knew that was illegal kcrady. " oh sir we can't admit you in here because you are a christian or jewish or islamic or buddhist"

Jesusismysavior60 at 12:06PM on Dec 11th 2007

1180. and faith has healed me before it wasn't drugs,a doctor, a lawyer, an atheist, or a surgeon. It was the HAND OF GOD.

Jesusismysavior60 at 12:08PM on Dec 11th 2007

1181. ARE ATHEISTS ANGRY AT GOD? HOW CAN SOMEONE BE ANGRY WITH GOD, WHEN ONE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GOD?

AND OF THE MANY APOCOLYPTC BELIEVERS, WHY HAVEN'T YOU JOINED YOUR BRETHREN IN THAT CAVE IN RUSSIA?

JefFlyingV at 12:16AM on Dec 12th 2007

1182. Luke V.
Atheist: We evolved from simple organisms, when volcanic heat and electrical storms struck water, reorganizing the molecular structures of said organisms. In a way, we are all products of the earth.
____________________________________________

When heat and electrical storms struck water,LOL
Hey guy, fill your bathtub up with hot water,Plug your hair dryer into the electrical outlet jump in tub and see how long you live.

If you believe that life from non-life can suddenly begin on it's own accord ,then you have just been conned.

That is no doubt, the stupidest explaination for origin of life,that ever evolved from science.

Observant at 8:12AM on Dec 12th 2007

1183. fly-v
AND OF THE MANY APOCOLYPTC BELIEVERS, WHY HAVEN'T YOU JOINED YOUR BRETHREN IN THAT CAVE IN RUSSIA?

JefFlyingV
___________________________________________

Some of us want to stay around were you atheist are so we can see you fall on your faces and beg for mercy at the last second.

Observant at 8:18AM on Dec 12th 2007

1184. 1178 -- "Some of us want to stay around were you atheist are so we can see you fall on your faces and beg for mercy at the last second."

Filled with the "love of Christ" are we Observant? You betray the real underpinnings of your hate-filled ideology.

Happy_Atheist at 2:40PM on Dec 12th 2007

1185. Happy A.

Filled with the "love of Christ" are we Observant? You betray the real underpinnings of your hate-filled ideology.

Happy_Atheist
------------------------------------------

Their is no hate in my comment.
You say there is no God, I would like to be there, to see all atheist confess That God is. You have spewed your blasphemy all over the world.
You wont be so high minded on judgement day.

Observant at 3:41PM on Dec 12th 2007

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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.