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"The 5 Most Awful Atheists

Lowpro said:
I like Sam Harris, and I think he doesn't belong on that list. Actually if those are all the five "awful atheists" then I'm not too worried; they do little to ruin a good thing.
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I think this is a good point...If this is the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel, most vile and contempible lot among ALL atheists...then that is pretty darn good.
 
Barber Shop said:
I usually like Dr. Myers, but he occasionally takes some positions that I find very odd...
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If you're looking to agree with everything your favorite rationalist espouses, you're going to be disappointed now and again. Perhaps often. Best to shrug at their quirks as others shrug yours.
 
I also smell some political bias in Ian Murphy's list. He seems to dislike anybody who is not left of center.
BUt he is dead on about Penn Jilette (his once excellent Bull....t show became a infomerical for his Libertarian politics) and Maher (his incredible attacks on science based medicine and embrace of some of the most idiotic health woo out there is enough for me to take him off my "Champions of Rational Thought" list).
 
Resume said:
If you're looking to agree with everything your favorite rationalist espouses, you're going to be disappointed now and again. Perhaps often. Best to shrug at their quirks as others shrug yours.
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The highlighted part seems to imply I am less-than-perfect. Now THAT is an odd position to take. :)
 
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Resume said:
If you're looking to agree with everything your favorite rationalist espouses, you're going to be disappointed now and again. Perhaps often. Best to shrug at their quirks as others shrug yours.
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Agreed in general, but for me Maher's attack on science based medicine and advocacy of quackery goes beyond a quirk into something serious enough to call his credentials as a rational thinker into question.
Just being an atheist does not automatically make you a rational thinker. In face I think that belief in some kind of a supreme being does not automaticcaly diaqualify you from being a rational thinker.
 
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So the author really doesn't like libertarians and Islam-bashers. Big deal. Neither of those stances is relevant to atheism.

The only case that even comes close to the charge "awful atheist" is that of S.E. Cupp. That's because she goes around claiming to her political brethren that she's an atheist who wants to be a believer. That's at least a relevant charge.
 
My vote would be for Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, the only openly atheist member of Congress. He seems to be doing his best to set back the case that atheists should hold public office:

-During an interview he told a reporter to "get the **** out of here or I'll throw you out the window" when asked a question on the national debt.
-He physically threatened another member of Congress during a committee meeting and called him a "little fruitcake".
-He accused his 2012 primary challenger of "accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes"- without offering any proof.
-He identified the defunct solar energy company Solyndra (which is in his district) as a car manufacturer.
-He very memorably showed his contempt for a constituent during a town hall meeting by saying, "I wouldn't dignify you by peeing on your leg. It wouldn't be worth wasting the urine."
 
I assume this list is supposed to be the most awful living atheists in the public eye at the moment? Because otherwise any list not including Josef Stalin is going to be rather underwhelming in its characterization of "worst."
 
Halfcentaur said:
I have a great respect for Sam Harris and his use of language and his ability to describe. I think it's just blanket statement to say he is unfairly treating Islam. He points out that to the very core Islam is a religion concerned with converting all other people, on pain of death, and that any version of Islam you see who has gotten around that is just making up their own interpretation of things. He is right, just as Jews and Christians have today their own evolved memes of religion, Islam is at it's heart a religion of war that can be presented in the light of peace.

SE Cupp I loathe and think she is nothing but a professional troll capitalizing on controversy and arguments she instigates.

Penn Jillette I like, though his politics I think are naive. I think he is right that we should give people more credit than we do for being naturally altruistic, but I think he underestimates what ignorance and selfishness can do when left unchecked.

Bill Maher I can't stand, but I love his show. He's like a very annoying teenager who just discovered the latest finding he can champion as bolstering his identity, and his criticism of modern medicine is just sheer stupid.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, I don't know enough about.
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?2 girls, 1 Cupp?
 
Jungle Jim said:
I don't understand the purpose of the list. Being an atheist has nothing to do with one's views regarding economics, medicine, or any other human endeavour.
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You know that, but most other people don't. They think that being a 'Rational Atheist' means that you approach everything rationally.

It's embarrassing to see prominent atheists promoting other irrational beliefs, and Murphy is right to call them on it. Perhaps he is trolling a bit, but I agree with his choices. Every one of them deserves to be criticized, if only to remind people that rejecting gods on rational grounds doesn't mean that your other beliefs automatically gain more weight.

WilsonG said:
Five seems a small sample. I would need to see the *entire* list of atheists ranked by the same criteria before I could possibly comment.
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You are missing the point. No doubt there are other atheists who are worse, but they are not notable. The list of prominent atheists who promote their 'rationality' is much shorter. But what I find more interesting is which notable atheists did not get on his list.

franklinveaux said:
otherwise any list not including Josef Stalin is going to be rather underwhelming in its characterization of "worst."
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I wondered about that too, but it's just the title that's ambiguous. In the article Murphy clarifies that he is only talking about current American atheists (and Stalin did get a mention at the end).
 
dudalb said:
Agreed in general, but for me Maher's attack on science based medicine and advocacy of quackery goes beyond a quirk into something serious enough to call his credentials as a rational thinker into question.
Just being an atheist does not automatically make you a rational thinker. In face I think that belief in some kind of a supreme being does not automaticcaly diaqualify you from being a rational thinker.
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Well said - andI watch Maher for the funny and the political - but cringe of the medical.....................
 
Roger Ramjets said:
You know that, but most other people don't. They think that being a 'Rational Atheist' means that you approach everything rationally.

It's embarrassing to see prominent atheists promoting other irrational beliefs, and Murphy is right to call them on it. Perhaps he is trolling a bit, but I agree with his choices. Every one of them deserves to be criticized, if only to remind people that rejecting gods on rational grounds doesn't mean that your other beliefs automatically gain more weight.
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I don't see why Harris belongs on that list at all. He does seem willing to explore ideas into territory that could be deemed politically incorrect, but he is always openly doing so in the interest of exploring the logic and rationale of other people it seems to me.
 
The only one I agree with is Maher. The guy is one of those rare cases where the old "atheist just to spite Mommy and Daddy" strawman manages to actually exist, and is just embarrassing to watch. He's like a reversed version of Ann Coulter. No reasoning or science, just the same ignorant talking points and dogma with the subjects switched around.
 
Of the list I only know who Jillette is, and I know nothing whatsoever about his politics. I do know that I didn't think that sceptical programme with the title that it would be against board rules for me to post because it's sweary was all that well-reasoned at times. But I don't really care. I've seen a couple of interviews with him about sceptical matters and he comes across as very intelligent, knowledgeable and articulate. And I'm sure he's described that programme as a polemic so, while I might wish that it were a little less shouty and a bit more reasoned, it seems that it is what he and Teller wanted it to be.

And he's a great magician (although I think he'd be the first to say that Teller is a better one) and I thought that Penn And Teller: Fool Us was a wonderful programme, not just because you got to see some great magic on it (and some not-so-great), but because of the well-meaning atmosphere and the honesty on display from all concerned. For example, I remember one guy who did a card trick and Penn said something along the lines of "as magicians we're always aware that if a prop is on the stage, then that prop has a purpose. You got your deck of cards out of that box on stage, and so we think that that is the key to your trick". The magician in question didn't say a word but instead went to the box and opened the lid to reveal, stuck to the inside, a card reading "no". Teller immediately leapt to his feet and started applauding enthusiastically. And it was very common for Teller to make a drawing of how he thought a certain trick was done, only to have the magician in question say something like "not quite, but close enough", when they could have insisted that he hadn't got it. A fantastic programme.

So, um, rambling diversion over, the long and the short of it is that I don't really care if Jillette has political views that I might not agree with. In truth, I don't really care if his views don't match mine on any number of subjects. He's a good entertainer, and an articulate, intelligent, knowledgeable promoter of scepticism. That's all a good thing in my book.
 
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