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The Experiment on 100 Professed Atheists

Didn't have your stick handy, eh?

Oh, ha ha, you remembered! I still remember that little devil. No, the snake that got in my laundry room was much bigger, a full grown one. My little daughter was going through a period of telling big stories (you know how some little kids will do, she would say her big brother was running around the yard with no underwear because she thought the idea was funny and wanted to laugh, or she would tell us a man was walking down the road when there was no one just so she could see my paranoid husband jump up and start throwing a fit to know who it was) I was sitting at the computer when she came and said there was a snake at the door. Initially, I thought she was telling another story but something in her voice and that scared look told me I'd better get up and look. Sure enough, there was this snake about 3 ft long up near the ceiling around the doorframe.
EWWWWWW!!!
My husband (he may have left Brooklyn, NY but Brooklyn will never leave him) was freaking out and it was so big he didn't want to squish it so I got the pepper spray (same can I used on him, ha!...it's a long story) and went in there and this time the snake was on top of the metal utility cabinet. I stood back and sprayed and saw it coiling up and flopping around. I thought about shooting it but didn't want messy snake guts all over and holes in my wall. It didn't die (it was a she that apparently was in my laundry room to lay eggs because later we started finding baby snakes all around.
My husband is half blind but he actually did try to kill it with a shovel but it/she got away. I hope it won't be back. I am fairly sure it was just a chicken snake. I love nature and such but snakes need to stay away because I don't like them.

I do thank the ones who actually offered possible explanations about what my friend heard, they make a lot of sense. It is entirely possible it could be an urban legend and I can also see how a person could get an emotional response out of someone who is asked about something like that. I also wonder, if perhaps they were not just asked one question but a series of questions on the topic?

I know polygraphs are not admissible in court and are not all conclusive. But they do serve a purpose. I claim to be an atheist but I would be lying if I said I feel strongly there is no god. Truth is, I simply don't know.

I also don't think the negative connotations associated with the term atheist are fair. Atheist is not some dirty word but I have heard a lot of church people talk like it was. Even Joel Osteen welcomes atheists to his church. He kind of gets on my nerves but it is near impossible not to like him.
 
Mayday said:
My husband is half blind but he actually did try to kill it with a shovel but it/she got away. I hope it won't be back. I am fairly sure it was just a chicken snake. I love nature and such but snakes need to stay away because I don't like them.
You sure don't. You pepper sprayed an animal... why? What did that accomplish? No offense, but I kind of doubt that the snake was charging at you, Barbarian style.

I know polygraphs are not admissible in court and are not all conclusive. But they do serve a purpose.

One that is not reliable.
 
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When you post an unsubstantiated, highly-doubtful story that casts atheists in a bad light on a forum full of atheists, is it any wonder some of us would react strongly? Your surprise at that is suspect.


They only work on people with a conscience.


Ah, a low blow. What about people who spread false stories to support their own agenda? Do they have a conscience?

But I am on your side regarding the snake. They have no place in my house either.
 
When you post an unsubstantiated, highly-doubtful story that casts atheists in a bad light on a forum full of atheists, is it any wonder some of us would react strongly? Your surprise at that is suspect.
Is it? Can you please tell me what it makes you suspect of me? In specific?
 
My friend I work with whose abusive husband was killed by a truck was talking about her church and I somehow brought up the subject of atheism.
She told me there was a study done on 100 people who claimed to be atheists. They hooked them up to a polygraph machine to see if they honestly believed there was no god and she told me over 80% failed. I didn't ask where she saw this because I was not there to be confrontational.

Does anyone know anything about this experiment?

Congratulate her on the loss of that thing for me!!
 

LOL.

I am Jack's Wasted Life (love the name) said:
I concede that my friend's friend could have made it up. I have never met the guy. Totally possible. But my friend certainly believed it, and I have no particular reason not to. HOw is this not how the tests work? Elaborate. Because at this point, you are just another atheist with a tendency to just deny another God-related story.

Now that's hilarious.

"I see no particular reason not to doubt what some stranger that I've never met says..."

I guess if it suggested that Christians don't really believe in God, she'd react differently.

Paul S. does a very very good job at debunking the whole thing. Kudos!

A snippet of his post:

Paul S. said:
You seemed to think that the fact that I denied this story reflected narrowmindedness on my part. That's obviously not the case - you'd have to be terribly narrowminded to believe that it's true. This one is a nonstarter - it's obviously false.
 
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The story is ridiculous on oh so many levels. "Oh, hey, I'm a polygraph tech, working for... well, ok, who knows who I work for. But, when I go to work, I like to screw around by asking inappropriate questions. Sometimes about atheism, sometimes about people's sex lives, whatever. It is so FUN!"

It is just one of those lies that Christians tell each other because they have no ethics and are completely gullible.
 
I don't know where she heard this, but I would guess some cheesy sermon from some dorky pastor who made it up to awe people.

I think it's so humorous to watch people get their undies in a wad, though. You all start rolling around like the snake I pepper sprayed that got in my laundry room.

You come across as being cruel just for pleausure. Pity for the snake. Rolling around in your wadded up undies....pepper spray must have been a relief.
 
It is just one of those lies that Christians tell each other because they have no ethics and are completely gullible.

Yeah, alllll those unethical Christians. Every single one of them, yeap.

And all of those atheists are lonely asshats that feel unhappy with their life and are completely unsure on life. Oh wait.

I guess generalized insults are okay if it's directed at religions you don't like.
 
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Yeah, alllll those unethical Christians. Every single one of them, yeap.

And all of those atheists are lonely asshats that feel unhappy with their life and are completely unsure on life. Oh wait.

I guess generalized insults are okay if it's directed at religions you don't like.

He didn't say "all" --

Look, you've been labeled a "god hater" too... http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100807&page=4

And no one is saying anything about all atheists either. Mayday is known by this name and prior names for posting some pretty inane urban myths spread around amongst Christians. Joe isn't a hate monger. He's being funny. You've been more "strong" in your anti-religious humor than that on occasion.
 
When you post an unsubstantiated, highly-doubtful story that casts atheists in a bad light on a forum full of atheists, is it any wonder some of us would react strongly? Your surprise at that is suspect.





Ah, a low blow. What about people who spread false stories to support their own agenda? Do they have a conscience?

But I am on your side regarding the snake. They have no place in my house either.

Get a load of this: I'M AN ATHEIST.

WHY DO YOU GET SOOOO OFFENDED AT A SIMPLE QUESTION??????

I'M NOT SPREADING A FALSE STORY.
THIS THIS IS WHAT MY FRIEND WHO HAPPENS TO BE A CHURCH OF CHRIST CHURCH MEMBER SAID.
 
He didn't say "all" --

Look, you've been labeled a "god hater" too... http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100807&page=4

And no one is saying anything about all atheists either. Mayday is known by this name and prior names for posting some pretty inane urban myths spread around amongst Christians. Joe isn't a hate monger. He's being funny. You've been more "strong" in your anti-religious humor than that on occasion.

I'm not too surprised that some folks don't get things... :D

Although, really, how ethical is it to Lie For Jesus? A little, a lot, not at all?:cool:
 
Hi Mayday

Sounds like bunk to me. Id expect some atheists actually have a lingering doubt (I mean, life is shades of grey, not absolute black and white for most people) but I doubt it would be 80%.

Can you ask your friend where she heard it? Might be interesting to investigate, if nothing else it might give an example of the outright lies being told to the religious.
 
Get a load of this: I'M AN ATHEIST.

WHY DO YOU GET SOOOO OFFENDED AT A SIMPLE QUESTION??????

I'M NOT SPREADING A FALSE STORY.
THIS THIS IS WHAT MY FRIEND WHO HAPPENS TO BE A CHURCH OF CHRIST CHURCH MEMBER SAID.

Was this before or after you sent the tough steak back to be recooked again?
 
He didn't say "all" --

Look, you've been labeled a "god hater" too... http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100807&page=4

And no one is saying anything about all atheists either. Mayday is known by this name and prior names for posting some pretty inane urban myths spread around amongst Christians. Joe isn't a hate monger. He's being funny. You've been more "strong" in your anti-religious humor than that on occasion.

Maybe, but I should still get called on it at times, and it didn't feel like "humor".
Yes, and I find being labelled a "god hater" as being utterly hilarious, but not entirely relevant in this case.

JoeEllison said:
It is just one of those lies that Christians tell each other because they have no ethics and are completely gullible.

This doesn't really strike me as a "joke" or particularly "funny".

"Because they have no ethics and are completely gullible" felt like a generalization, but maybe I misread him. Maybe he was being specific.

Still... "they have no ethics and are completely gullible" seems to be a sub-par joke, if anything.

JoeEllison said:
I'm not too surprised that some folks don't get things...
Right back at you.
 
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Get a load of this: I'M AN ATHEIST.

WHY DO YOU GET SOOOO OFFENDED AT A SIMPLE QUESTION??????

I'M NOT SPREADING A FALSE STORY.
THIS THIS IS WHAT MY FRIEND WHO HAPPENS TO BE A CHURCH OF CHRIST CHURCH MEMBER SAID.

Someone mentioned that the capitalized rants would start soon. It was in a different post re: lottery picks via pendulum or some such nonsense.
 

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