jlay wrote:They love to use the "F" word a lot as well.
My cousin has become one, and he loves to incorporate the F word any chance he gets.
Pat Tillman's brother is a perfect example. Here is his Eulogy. Now, you may say he is grieving, but he has been interviewed years later, and it's pretty much the same stuff.
"Thanks Pat. [toasting him with a glass of Guiness beer] I didn't write s--t because I'm not a writer. I'm not just going to sit here and break down on you. But thanks for coming. Pat's a f---ing champion and always will be. Just make no mistake, he'd want me to say this: He's not with God. He's f---ing dead. He's not religious. So, thanks for your thoughts, but he's f---ing dead."
This was at his funeral service. Lovely.
That sounds like a drunken response by a loving brother at a funeral service which had religious overtones he felt his brother would not have wanted, this is just a guess. I don't think I'd have been brave enough and would probably have omitted the swearing too for fear of offending, but if certain friends were to die I'm pretty sure they would want want someone speak out against a religious flavour to their funeral. Years later in an interview would be much easier than at the funeral imo. I attended a good friend's wedding over the summer which had a religious component to 'keep family members happy', the couple were adamant on getting married without religion and after getting married spent the next few hours getting blessings and whatnot to keep various religious family members happy.
I've heard the argument that once you declare God dead, you've lost the most important word in your language and you need a substitute. The F word is a pretty versatile substitute - the range of applications the word and its derivatives have is astounding. I keep my swearing in check here and in many social situations but it is merely a censored version of my full flow. Stephen Fry on the Joys of Swearing pretty much sums up my views, it's on youtube if you fancy a peek but I know from previous experience that direct links to this video are frowned upon.
I enjoy swearing and I think the Scottish accent & dialect is a wonderful vehicle for it.
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My upbringing and surroundings have been largely Christian influenced and as such most atheists I know tend to expend the most effort taking down the Christian image of God they were raised with. Many conversions to atheism I've witnessed have been cathartic processes, there's an initial outburst of hatred or mocking of Christianity which tends to settle down after a bit. If someone has devoted much of their life's energies to something that they begin to see as a lie, anger is likely to follow. From the way I've seen people react it's like finding out many years of marriage or friendship were built on a lies - it brings forth resentment, hurt, anger and hatred.
Atheists forums are often a space to vent, once someone has decided to abandon theism they often feel the need to get it out of their system and the internet is a great place to do so. The only Atheist forum I was a part of was taken offline a few years ago as the owner thought it had done it's job as a cathartic process and it was time to move on. As he had been very hard working in promoting the Christian faith for many years, he put a little of his energies into promoting his newly adopted atheistic stance. He had once provided a safe space for Christians when he was a Christian, he went on to provide a safe space for atheists when he lost his faith.
Philip wrote:After decades of being rather marginalized, atheists are now becoming much more vocal.
This seems pretty normal to me. In comparison Christianity went from being marginalised to one of the most vocal and obvious influences on humanity. If I get on a bus with an atheist slogan on the side of it, the last one I can recall was the ""There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" campaign, there's a pretty good chance I'll be passing several Churches and Chapels displaying their own slogans and opinions. As more people openly identify with atheism over here it would only appear natural that marketing budgets would also see a larger atheist niche. Atheist bus adverts seem pretty lame in comparison to the money, time and effort that is evident in the proclamation of the Christian God.
Philip wrote:1) Thinly disguised anger and hostility, wrapped up in arrogance and pride - that such atheists see themselves as much more enlightened (and thus - implied - more intelligent) than those who believe in some version of a god or God.
This cuts both ways, often those that believe in some version of God seem pretty convinced that they are more enlightened than those who believe in other versions of God or in no God. In many ways I think the voice of atheism is growing as a reaction to evangelism, God even has his own tv channel on my cable package. Atheists think they're right, Christians think they're right - there are arrogant, angry, prideful and hostile people on both sides.
The enlightened claim is one of the things I think that angers many atheists. Atheists who become Christian become enlightened, Christians who become atheists were never Christians in the first place so their testimony means nothing and is as false as their current beliefs. It's a pretty watertight system from the inside.
Criticism of Islam isn't really something atheists in the west need to worry about, Christians have well that covered. Anti-Semitism is pretty much a taboo subject over here, so that's out. Buddhism & Hinduism seem to be confusing to people who accept then reject an Abrahamic concept of God, they are related and both take in a pretty wide range of views and practices which don't always involve adhering to specific claims.
In short atheists have a big problem with Christianity as it's the dominant force of theism in the world and has been for some time.
this is a rhetorical question. 
