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Soo what is the message here? Atheists are incel neckbeard basement dwellers and god is as real as one of their mother?
Edit: Oh wait I misread the comic in the most funny way! I read it as “my mum god” as if he stopped believing in his mum as a deity. Tired brain plays weird tricks.
That no matter how righteous you believe you are, there are ramifications to your actions with religion. It’s very easy to understand and be comfortable with those beliefs, but with others you are quite literally messing with their identities who they are.
My family is deeply religious. I personally don’t care if they believe in God or not. I focus on individual teachings, that gay people aren’t evil, that they can be religious and believe contradictory things to what others believe, that it’s all deeply personal
There’s also ramifications to ruining one’s religious beliefs, as this comic shows.
If you’re going to completely and utterly destroy someone’s entire outlook on life (and afterlife or whatever), I’d argue that you have a moral responsibility to help them transition and be there for them. Not be a total asshole like the dude in the comic.
A good addition, I agree. I know my mother draws her strength from the church. Without it I’m sure she would be depressed at home. It would require someone showing her how to be self reliant and grabbing satisfaction from that to get her going again
Soo what is the message here?
That proselytizing about atheism without considering the needs and character of your audience can be just as bad as religion doing the same.
Love is more important than being right, and the son in the comic very clearly didn’t show any. As soon as he proved his point, he left to go celebrate with his friends rather than spend time with his mother. He failed to show her that just because there is no big sky god doesn’t mean that is no love.
Not shown is the mother hatefully oppressing others due to her religion.
Religion can be both helpful to those that follow it while also causing those same people to do or support horrific things in its name.
Not shown is the mother hatefully oppressing others due to her religion.
Yes. Exactly. “Not shown”. That’s not part of this comic. You’ve brought it in all on your own. You’ve missed the point of the comic if that’s what you’re focused on. Everybody here knows that religion can harm people. That’s not the point of this comic. The point is that the way the son character went about his goals was exactly as destructive as the way that religion does. It was a warning to ensure that your discussion include love for the people behind the discussion, and not just hate for them for being wrong.
It was a warning to ensure that your discussion include love for the people behind the discussion, and not just hate for them for being wrong.
I think I’ve gone over twenty years with this being the exact thing that bothers me and have never been able to articulate it as well as you just did in one sentence.
The message is it’s fucking funny to think about this situation.
Your typing here says you’re still tired.
It’s about atheists who make atheism their whole personality.
In other words, “anti-theists” instead of just atheists.
Most people whose personalities revolves around being anti-something are insufferable. It’s far better to be for something than against something.
Like, I grew up Mormon, and left when I grew old enough to think for myself. Among my friends who also left the church, there are two major categories: the “post-mormons” and the “anti-mormons”. The anti-mormons are miserable to be around while the rest of us decided we’d rather build our lives around what we love, not what we hate.
This 100%, craft beer drinkers can be just as insufferable when they get someone to “enjoy” a sour for the first time
Probably a better description/label tbh
If anything then, the post is depicting antitheists, not just atheists
Faces of Atheism was considered pretty cringe, and for the most part it was (as would have any “faces of x” group been on Reddit), but the idea behind it wasn’t made in isolation.
Oh boy, I sure love the ol’ “atheists are filthy neckbeards” canard. Haven’t heard that one before.
Don’t forget the “not believing in god = sadness” one. Realizing it is fake actually brought relief for the ex-religious people that I know (anecdotal, I know. I don’t have the actual numbers).
Exactly. Use your own brain, not rely on a sky daddy who literally gave you instructions on how to own slaves.
Thats a little unfair. Most religous people have been religious for most of their lives and it makes up a large part of it. Being convinced their whole philosophy is wrong would crush some people
What a shitty meme to get blocked over
So many militant atheists. Saying so much, all just to prove the comic right.
Some people just can’t handle being released from Plato’s cave.
The first experience for many is crushing despair. It can take time to get out of that slump and learn to find meaning in a meaningless world.
The world has plenty of meaning that doesn’t involve any kind of faith or religion.
Not objective meaning, though, it’s all subjective. But nothing wrong with subjective meaning!
Faith doesn’t have any objective meaning either.
But they already grew up with it. Finding a different subjective meaning to replace an existing one is what’s hard.
So many people in this thread completely missing the satire. The author is clearly also an atheist poking fun at the highschool reddit atheist stereotype. Taking this way too seriously.
I didn’t catch the self-deprecation. What makes it clear?
To me, what this comic is saying is that even if you’re able to debate someone out of believing in God it’s cruel to do it to someone like your mom who has God as the central pillar of their emotional well-being.
It presupposes that you’re able to “prove” that God doesn’t exist and to me it doesn’t necessarily paint the idea of being an atheist in a negative light, just the neckbeard atheist attitude that you should try to emotionally destroy people who do believe in God.
It’s a three panel comic so yeah, it’s a bit ambiguous, I just think that people are missing that the punchline is really only funny from an atheist perspective. From a Christian perspective the comic is awkward. The last panel wouldn’t be a punchline and wouldn’t make sense at all, how would these obviously loser neckbeards be able to prove God doesn’t exist?
Hmm, that is a pretty insightful point. On the other hand, I think most people I know who are religious are the sort who can appreciate self-deprecating humour themselves – they might think it’s funny for taking an absurd premise to its logical conclusion.
What suggests to me that this author is trying to paint atheism in a negative light is quite straightforwardly “score one for atheism.” It doesn’t really have a hint of irony to me. I think the author clearly thinks atheism just isn’t cool anymore.
The drawing of him kicking in the door is hilarious.
I’m an atheist but I understand that religion and/or faith makes a lot of people happy and I don’t want to take that happiness away from them.
Agnostic here and yeah, most atheists and agnostics I have ever met are about the same. We don’t care if YOU believe. We care that you care we don’t. Most of us will never utter a word against your religion and beliefs as long as you “do unto others” and all that jazz. This comic reaks of being drawn by a Christian about how they think Athiests behave and feel. This video is ancient now, but I get the same vibes off this comic.
I take this comic to be more poking fun at the portion of atheists who make their entire personality around disproving God’s existence - people who try to spread atheism the same way christians spread their own gospel. It’s largely not applicable to other atheists.
Yeah, those aren’t athiests, they are assholes. Anyone who prosthelytizes is an asshole. Period.
I do. It’s such a waste of time. I’m not going to start anything with people, I don’t have the patience or energy for that. And honestly, i don’t have any debate skills. But I really wish I could just take it all away. Isn’t it better to be right than to be happy?
Isn’t it better to be right than to be happy?
First of all, no it isn’t. If you think it is, please explain why.
Also, Is that a decision that you would want someone else to make for you?
If not, why do you want to make that decision for other people?
Is the mother supposed to be sad about religion being a sham or sad that her child doesn’t believe? The comic is too ambiguous to me because the 1st and 2nd panel heavily imply a caricature of atheism often spread by religious people who feel powerless in their own lives.
she ded
Even other atheists or agnostics use that caricature of reddit atheists. It’s less so atheists and more like atheists who make atheism their whole personality
Sad that the existential dread of not existing after death makes life pointless.
i think it’s more her grieving the fact that a big chunk of her life was a lie
Having your entire worldview shattered can be pretty emotional
deleted by creator
As long as they aren’t doing horrible things in the name of religion, then I have the controversial opinion that religion isn’t all bad. Not everyone is an intellectual, therefore some religions can be considered a way to promote and preserve morals. While it’s unknown how his mother used religion, the neckband portrayed in the comic had no regard for his mother’s feelings or beliefs, showcasing the bad side of atheism. In the same way, religion could have similar effects. In the end there needs to be balance, a yin and a yang.
As long as they aren’t doing horrible things in the name of religion, then I have the controversial opinion that religion isn’t all bad.
You just described the avg Trump supporter.
And this exact sentiment is what let them spread their cult this far.
As an atheist I have a deep mistrust of proselytizing.
That includes other atheists who think they need to spread their beliefs like a religion.
I have atheist, christian and esoteric friends and family who keep their beliefs to themselves (unless asked for it) and it’s part of my worldview to (while being able to talk about it) not trying to convert someone to my beliefs.
Live and let live, yeah.
But once they try to convert me I go full out.
I mean it is bad, it’s the base of the pyramid that builds up to the tip which is religious extremism. That said religion can’t be banned out outlawed, it will just dig its self in deeper under the pretense of oppression so it’s more a matter of having to tolerate a minor evil and staying vigilant it doesn’t evolve into its final form by keeping life balanced
I’ve got a somewhat different take, but similar
We are shedding light on the world through science and philosophy. We first figure out the most effective ways to think about things with philosophy, and then we apply that thought process with the scientific method to further our understanding.
Eventually, we will always reach the shadows on the edge our understanding, whether personally or as a society. Past that point, we are really just making up apparitions in the dark, until we can shed light on that edge.
That process of spotting forms in the dark is always going to be informed by some unfalsifiable ideation, either because we can’t test the ideas we have, or because the ideas we have are inherently unproveable.
To me, it really doesn’t matter what kind of ideation you have past that point of shadow, be it religion or nihilism or panpsychism or determinism, but I hope that whatever idea you have faith in brings you solace and makes those dark forms in shadow less daunting.
The problem comes, when you chose to be in the dark about something and apply faith-based arguments where light has already been shed, or when you use apparitions you made up as an excuse to do harm to others.
With how sad and empty my geriatric mother’s life is, the last thing I’m going to do is take away her imaginary friend.
delivering someone from a lifetime of sexual and gender oppression, and eliminating their need to tithe a portion of their income to an organization that hides and protects pedophiles and rapists?
Mom’s on the floor weeping with joy.
Not every member of a church experiences those things first hand.
Yeah, there are exceptions in every group
I would go as far as to say that experiencing any of those things is the exception.
lucky! they still subsidize the activity if they tithe tho.
Not every church sends their tithe to the Vatican. Not all christians are Catholic. And not every church has paedophiles.
But I condemn all that do. It’s horrible. Disgusting and despicable. I have two kids, and it drives me insane to think someone would consider doing that to them. 😡
These comments sure are something, eh?
DEAR LORD PEOPLE, SOMETIMES THERE IS NOT A DEEPER MESSAGE AND IT’S JUST A DUMB JOKE!
Seriously, check out the other comics by this artist. They just like absurdist humor, like this one:
Dad’s reaction is exactly what I’d do.
Don’t be anti-intellectual about this silly comic. People can apply intellectual analysis to stupid things if they want to, and they damn-well may find deeper meaning sometimes.
Let people have their hobbies.
Sure, but that also means that I get to make my own contribution to the discussion. 😀
I mean, you get to make your own contribution because we’re on an open platform, not for any other reason. quite often intellectual spaces shut down and deplatform anti-intellectual rhetoric and thought-terminating cliches such as what you’ve stated. It serves no one discussing the intricacies of any work to have someone yelling “The curtains were fucking blue!”, and this comment section literally exists to discuss the above comic and its various aspects.
Example intellectual comments being posted here:
I didn’t realize neckbeard atheists oppressed so many people compared to religion, thanks to the author for opening my eyes
So many militant atheists. Saying so much, all just to prove the comic right.
Having said that, my specific objection is not to all of the discussion taking place here, but to the fact that a lot of the comments seem to be projecting their own personal viewpoints onto the comic.
Also, I was not shouting people down; I was speaking in all caps to be funny. It’s fine if you personally did not think I funny, but that was the intent (which in retrospect could probably have been conveyed more clearly if I had also dropped the comma so that it was purely a stream of words), just like it was the intent of the comic author to make a dumb joke rather than to state a strong opinion about atheists. I think that it is useful to separate the intent of what an author was trying to accomplish from your own thoughts on the subject.
That’s somewhat my bad for taking the adversarial tone of your original comment to being serious and about all comments looking into the comic’s unsaid meanings.
At the same time, though, the comic is 100% meant to make fun of militant atheists, as in atheists who make their whole personality atheism. The folks who’s sole goal seemingly is to make everyone stop being religious. And the punchline is that despite achieving his goal, he only managed to make his mother’s life worse by forcing her through an epiphany she wasn’t ready for and then abandoning her with her own thoughts. The comic is partially funny because of it making fun of militant atheists. The other portion of the humor is the absurd nature of the situation.
The first comment you show takes that joke personally and the second resonates with that message. Neither of these are really off the mark, as grating as their tones may be to some.
I agree completely that the comic is parodying a particular cliche of a militant atheist. I disagree that the intent was to provide serious social commentary.
And I did not find either of those comments grating; I was merely citing them as evidence that not all of the discussion here is “intellectual”. Honestly, the real avenue of criticism that was left open to you that I was expecting you to take was to point out, correctly, that they were heavily cherry-picked for their unreasonableness; it actually surprises me a bit that instead you called them not “really off the mark” as if they were inherently reasonable responses.
Sure, that’s what satire is. A parody of something to criticise it. Often using clichés to ensure the subject is immediately identifiable.
This comic is a satire of militant atheists, because the author finds that militant atheists are insufferable and deserve to be made fun of, as the comic is doing. Why else would the author choose them specifically to satirize?
You chose those two comments to point at examples of unintellectual discussion. I am pointing out that they are not as unintellectual as you paint them to be. I don’t strongly agree with what they are saying, but that does not immediately disqualify them from contributing from the conversation. Your comment was the only one calling for the termination of the pursuit of deeper meaning in the comic, which is an anti-intellectual stance.
People seem to forget that and think they own the limit in what is related conversation. I could talk about how I knew a group of people that looked exactly like these neckbeards and talk about their hygeine. Somehow acceptable but other works from the artist and a mention of their use of absurdist tone?
It feels it’s not about conversation here often, but an actual competition to be the most analytical and factual.
I’d rather comments be part of the open conversation.
So you’re saying you should just let people believe and leave them be? /s
Depends on whether or not their beliefs harm themselves or others.
