Things Atheists Didn’t Do in 2009 – Part 1
By Dave Hitt on Jan 3, 2010 in Religion, Things Atheists Didn't Do
I’ve got a lot of 2009 links left over for the ever-popular Things Atheists Didn’t Do series. Here’s the first half of the list.   (You can find other TADD here.)
This one is actually from 2008. (I have so many of these things saved sometimes they get lost.) Three Christian parents murdered their children by relying on prayer or faith healing instead of getting them proper medical care. Their children, who could have been saved with simple and safe medical procedures, would still be alive if their parents were atheists.
Hurting the feelings of Muslims is a crime in some parts of the world and they’re attempting to spread that insanity world wide.
In January the Pope revealed a list of sins so heinous only he could offer absolution. On the list: a parishioner who has participated in an abortion, even by simply paying for part of it. Not on the list: priests raping children, of course.
Click to Enlarge
Waitresses depend on tips to survive, but a group of Christians told a waitress they wouldn’t be leaving her a tip because they thought working on Sunday was a sin. It was OK for them to enjoy the labor of sinners working on their holy day, as long as they didn’t pay for it.   (In my experience Atheists tend to tip generously.)
In Saudi Arabia housekeepers were hounded into admitting they had cast dozens of spells in people’s houses – because the householders insisted it happened. They should have hired atheists housekeepers. Good luck finding one in Saudi Arabia, where admitting to believing reality can be fatal.
A woman in St. Paul withdrew her federal lawsuit against her husband for using voodoo against her because God told her to stop being an asshole.
Want to get a woman to blow herself up for Allah? Just rape her first. And you don’t even have schedule it yourself – this nice Muslim grandmotherly type will do it for you.
In Saudi Arabia a 23 year-old woman who was gang raped by five good Allah worshiping Muslim men was sentenced to a year in prison and 100 lashes for adultery by a Saudi judge. Because her rapists impregnated her, the most merciful Islamic court will wait until after she gives birth before beating the shit out of her.
In Pakistan popular singers are quitting their profession in the face of threats from the Taliban.
Catholics are pissed off at the Detroit Tigers for starting a game during “holy hours.” The only atheists angry at them were those foolish enough to bet on them.
A Muslim woman who was repeatedly raped by her Imam father fled his home when facing a forced marriage. He formed a 40 man gang and went on a hunt with the explicit intention of murdering her. I wonder if he hangs out with priests? Since Mohamed was a pedophile priests and Imams should get along great.
In NYC a deli owner who accidentally served non-kosher hot dogs to Jews had to fight some of them off with an electric knife. There are no videos of this, which is unfortunate because it would be freaking hilarious.
God is a crappy co-pilot. In Tunisia a pilot who prayed instead of following emergency procedures while is plane went down was (surprisingly) convicted and sentenced to jail. The 16 people who died would have been much better off with an atheist pilot. In contrast, Captain Sullenberger crash landed his plane in the Hudson River and saved everyone on board. When asked if he prayed he said. “I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane.” Which pilot would you want in the cockpit during an emergency?
In Iran a member of the Basiji militia confessed about how, in the name of Allah he would “marry” and rape young girls the night before their execution, because Islamic law forbids executing a virgin. Allah is merciful, piss be upon him.
In Chicago a Muslim woman beat her two year old to death. The Muslim community was outraged – not about the beating death of a child, but by the news media showing her face.
Here’s some relationship advice from Pat Robertson, who is as brilliant as ever.
I’m only about half way through my backlog of links, and I’ve discarded at least half of them. I’ll post the rest of them later this month.
You’ll be notified of the update (and any updates to this blog) if you follow me on Twitter.
Always stunning.. Always! Every time I read stories like this, I see the madness religion can bring unchecked. Christians forget that the foundation of their religion was forced conversions, torture, imprisonment and execution. It wasn’t until much later, generations later, that the forced worship was replaced with heritage, custom’s, pride and history. In many conservative christan towns women were burned as which’s, men were severely punished by what another’s interpretation of “working on the sabbath” ment. Just because christians no longer practice, as widely, these horrible superstitious crimes does not absolve them. Even the most benign religion started out at the point of a sword.
m0nk3y | Jan 4, 2010 | Reply
So the Catholic Church has failed to prosecute priests who molest children, it is not realy surprising. The Church is only concerned with its relationship with God and God’s commandments as revealed in the Bible. The Bible goes into great detail specifying who may have with whom but nowhere specifies a minimum age. Therefore it may be a crime for an adult to have sex with a child, it is not a sin.
Mark.V. | Jan 4, 2010 | Reply
If it’s not a sin for someone who is among the most trusted to rape a child, then the entire religion is completely worthless.
And, of cousre, it is.
Hittman | Jan 4, 2010 | Reply
“Therefore it may be a crime for an adult to have sex with a child, it is not a sin.”
I believe Adultery is a sin, and since the Priests didn’t “Marry” the children before raping them that would be a sin.
Brian Riley | Jan 5, 2010 | Reply
I’m confused–are you saying Sullenberger is an atheist?
Many of the things you describe wouldn’t be done by those who follow a religion, either. Fir example, I see the Jews rate only one mention, and that’s of their anger at someone who inadvertently caused them to eat something they consider unclean. Not all Jews even keep kosher.
There are extremists and there are observers. Religion is a comfort to some and a weapon to others. Would you deny the comfort to those who use it responsibly?
Karen | Jan 18, 2010 | Reply
Kinda agree with Karen.
My general view though is that “religion” is about control, “belief” is personal and can be of comfort to those that have it if that’s what they need – although those beliefs should never be forced on another.
Dan | Jan 18, 2010 | Reply
I have no idea if Sullenburger is an atheist. He’s avoided the subject. But the fact his that when presented with a potential disaster he used his *human* abilities to prevent it, instead of wasting time praying. The pilot who did that killed a lot of people.
Karen, I honestly don’t care about a person’s religious beliefs until the moment in causes them to hurt others. This is a (very) partial list of some of those things, from the silly (like the hot dog story) to the horrific. I try to represent all religions in this list, but there aren’t nearly as many stories about Jews as there are about other religious fanatics.
Dave Hitt | Jan 18, 2010 | Reply
One of the links you posted, from so called “giovanni’s world” comes from a christian fundamentalist right wing nut jobs web site. While seeming to defend free speech, his real agenda is religious hatred. Not that I care for either religions, but I care about playing their little game of “mine is better than theirs” even less. Caveat emptor is in order. Just have a look at http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/christian-leaders-join-obama-resistance/ . The rest of the site is even more bizzare.
Marfar Chicken | Jan 19, 2010 | Reply
That is the problem with religion, they all say “Ours is right and all others are wrong”. Now they can’t all be right, but they can all be wrong. And they are.
By the way Dave, I don’t know if you mentioned, in any of the “Things Atheists didn’t do” posts, that Atheists didn’t build the Creation Museum which has the potential to destroy the minds of anyone who enters. It’s about 16 miles from where I live and I can feel the I.Q. of the local citizenry dropping as I write this.
Brian
Brian Riley | Jan 20, 2010 | Reply
Wow. I never thought I’d hear Pat say something that Dawkins will agree with 100%. There is no middle ground.
Rat Pobertson | Jan 20, 2010 | Reply
BTW, there is a video for the “Non-kosher Hot Dog…” story. http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=125657@wcbs.dayport.com
Rat Pobertson | Jan 20, 2010 | Reply
Very good! So good I linked it on my website at the end of one of my fantasy short stories.
http://www.markcoveny.com/banshees-mourn
Mark Coveny | Jan 20, 2010 | Reply
Illegal acts covered under the guise of “religion” are still illegal acts. You can kill in the name of God all you want, but you’re still going to jail for life.
Freethought Gal | Jan 24, 2010 | Reply
Imagine if an avowed atheists had none any of these things. The howl of outrage in the media would surely make mountains crumble.
Let an theist do it and people shake their heads and cluck their tongues. Is that where the expression “dumb cluck” originates? Or do so many react so mildly because this behavior is so common with theists?
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | Jan 24, 2010 | Reply
So true. Religion applied to life in a moderate manner that doesn’t harm, pass judgment or try to convert others is fine. The extremists in any religion are always the problem. Closed minds allow no original thought. It’s sad for them and dangerous for the rest of us.
Debbie | May 18, 2010 | Reply
Well, while it doesn’t of course say that athiests are any better, this does certainly help show that being religious does not make you superior.
Nice list. Shame about the collateral.
bakedpotatoes | May 22, 2010 | Reply
Oh my no. Religious people are certainly not superior. They just think they are. The worst people I’ve ever worked with, done business with or trusted were religious. Born again, even. Wow. Very unethical. Downright criminal. But they sure love Jesus, so the lying and lack of ethics will all be okay.
Debbie | May 22, 2010 | Reply
I am absolutely terrified of religious people. All religions. There are no exceptions in my eyes. I just cannot get around the fact that they are insane…and there are SO many of them.
Kay | May 27, 2010 | Reply
In my entire life, every time I’ve been cheated, taken advantage of, misused, or otherwise treated badly, it’s been by a “good christian”. So anyone would be well-advised to avoid doing business with them or dealing with them in any way.
When I look in the phone book for a business or service and see that disgusting little fish logo, I look for another business. The logo tells me, “Not to be trusted.”
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | May 28, 2010 | Reply
It is true. Every time I have been cheated, lied to or about, it’s been by a good Christian. Usually born again, to boot. I’ve never been cheated by a Jew, Atheist, Agnostic or Hindu. Maybe that is why i think it was Buddha who said he loved the Christians Christ, but not the Christians because they are so unlike their Christ. I hate to blatantly denigrate an entire group like that so I will chalk it up to coincidence. But I do know that being religious does not make someone a good person, for sure.
Debbie | May 28, 2010 | Reply
I know it isn’t nice to use the word stupid, but Pat Robertson is stupid with two “o”s.
Debbie | May 28, 2010 | Reply
So no atheist committed any crime of any type in 2009? Sanctimonious prick much?
Lager | Jun 8, 2010 | Reply
Lager, that isn’t what is being said. The article is just saying that religious dogma didn’t cause any of these issues because these issues are religious. For instance, atheists bring their kids to doctors if they are sick. It says that foolish things are done in the name of religion. In fact, though, there are fewer atheists per-capita in prison than there are any other religion. To be moral for the sole purpose of being moral rather than fear of repercussion in the afterlife does have a lot of merit. Certainly, though, atheists have committed crimes. Nowhere in this article does it say they didn’t. No need to be nasty.
Debbie | Jun 8, 2010 | Reply
I seldom leave remarks, but i did a few searching and wound up here Things Atheists Didn’t Do in 2009 | Quick Hitts. And I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you don’t mind.
Is it just me or does it look like some of the remarks look
like they are left by brain dead people? :-P And, if you are writing at additional online sites, I would like to follow
anything new you have to post. Would you make a list of all
of all your communal pages like your twitter feed,
Facebook page or linkedin profile?
Stephen | Jul 21, 2013 | Reply
My Twitter name is Hittman. I post three or four tweets a month. You can find me in FaceBook under “Dave Hitt.” There are about 20 of us in there – Currently I’m using a Hunter S. Thompson cat as an avitar.
I also occasionally post on the Moral Compass blog as “Hittman,” but haven’t been too active there lately.
Dave Hitt | Jul 22, 2013 | Reply