Changes

At the same time, atheists are known for trolling others and for engaging in internet [[atheist bullying]].<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2012/07/atheist-trolls.html Atheist trolls]</ref><ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/01/mailvox-distribution-of-atheist.html The distribution of atheist intelligence] by [[Vox Day]]</ref>

At the same time, atheists are known for trolling others and for engaging in internet [[atheist bullying]].<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2012/07/atheist-trolls.html Atheist trolls]</ref><ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/01/mailvox-distribution-of-atheist.html The distribution of atheist intelligence] by [[Vox Day]]</ref>

== Atheist community is lacking in confidence ==

== Secular left intolerant of ridicule directed toward secular leftism ==

''See also:'' [[Atheist movement]] and [[Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence|Atheism and social intelligence]] and [[Atheism and emotional/intrapersonal intelligence|Atheism and emotional intelligence]]  

Historically, [[Atheism|atheists]] have skewed towards the [[Leftism|left]] side of the political aisle (see: [[Atheism and politics]] and [[Secular left]]).<ref>[http://atheism.about.com/od/Atheist-Agnostic-Belief-Survey/a/Atheists-Agnostics-America-Politically-Liberal.htm Atheists & Agnostics in America Tend to be Politically Liberal]</ref><ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 [[Russian Revolution]], which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="Guillotine">{{cite book|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=bf3m7IVAa9gC&pg=PA461&dq=France+atheism+guillotine++Christians+executed&hl=en&sa=X&ei=l4lUUaTRBufG0QGe0IHACA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=France%20atheism%20guillotine%20%20Christians%20executed&f=false|title =Christianity|author=James Adair|publisher = JBE Online Books|year=2007|quote=Although the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Changes toAlthough the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Changes to the calendar eliminated references to Christian holidays, and even the ancient seven-day week, and a ist of officially recognized saints included such famous thinkers such as Socrates, Jesus, Marcus Aurelius, and Jean-Jacques Rosseau. A period of political persecution, often with religious overtones, broke out, known as the Reign of Teror. Thousands of people were executed by the guillotine, including many of the original leaders of the French Revolution.|page=461|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="France">{{cite book|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=9WkBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Memoirs of the reign of George III. to the session of parliament ending A.D. 1793, Volume 5|page=105|author=William Belsham|publisher = G.G. & J. Robinson|year=1801|quote=Reign of this portentous period, it has been eloquently tenor, and energetically observed, " that the reign of atheism in France was avowed the reign of terror. In the full madness of their career, in the highest climax of their horrors, they shut up the temples of God, abolished His worship, and proclaimed death to be an eternal sleep:-in the very centre of Christendom, Revelation underwent a total eclipse, while atheism, performing on a darkened theatre its strange and fearful tragedy, confounded the first elements of society, blended every age, rank, and sex ,indiscriminate proscription and massacre, and convulsed all Europe to its centre, that the imperishable memorial of these events might teach the last generations of mankind to consider religion as the pillar of society, the parent of social order, and the safe-guard of nations." It is wonderful that, amid the horrors of this dismal period, while "the death dance of democratic revolution" was still in rapid movement, among the tears of affliction, and the cries of despair, "the masque, the song, the theatric scene, the buffoon laughter, went on as regularly as in the gay hour of festive peace."|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="Reign of Terror">{{cite book|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=Tt5rqiCP1p8C&pg=PA57&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West|author=William Kilpatrick|publisher = [[Ignatius Press]]|year=2012|quote=Actually, it's helpful to think in terms of two Enlightenments: the Enlightenment that cut itself off from God. The former led to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the abolition of slavery, and the civil rights movement. The latter led to the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the suppression of church by state, and the godless philosophies of Marx and Nietzsche and their offspring-National Socialism and communism. More recently the abandonment of God has led to the regime of cultural relativism that regards rights as arbitrary constructions. It's this second Enlightenment tradition that Cardinal Ratzinger referred to when he wrote, "The radical detachment of the Enlightenment philosophy from its roots ultimately leads it to dispense with man." Actually this transition happened no "ultimately" but almost immediately. The first instance occurred when Enlightenment worship of abstract "reason" and "liberty" degenearated quickly into the mass murders committed during the antireligious Reign of Terror in France. "Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name", said Madam Rolande as she faced the statue of Liberty in the Place de la Revolution movements before her death at the guillotine. She was one of the early victims of a succession of secular systems based on rootless notions of "liberty", "equality", and "reason". As many historians have pointed out, the atheist regimes of modern times are guilty of far more crimes than any committed in the name of religion. Communist governments alone were guilty of more than one hundred million murders, most of them committed against their own people.|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref>  

In 2010, Professor Eric Kaufmann, an agnosticism|agnostic, who specializes in religion/irreligion/demographics/politics, wrote:

{{cquote|Worldwide, the [[Desecularization|march of religion]] can probably only be reversed by a renewed, self-aware secularism. Today, it appears exhausted and lacking in confidence... Secularism's greatest triumphs owe less to science than to popular social movements like nationalism, socialism and 1960s anarchist-liberalism. Ironically, secularism's [[Global atheism|demographic deficit]] means that it will probably only succeed in the twenty-first century if it can create a secular form of 'religious' enthusiasm."<ref>[http://www.sneps.net/uploadsepk/JQR%20Demography.pdf Shall the religious inherit the earth? - Eric Kaufmann]</ref>}}

Furthermore, some of the most prominent atheists/agnostics have flip-flopped between atheism and agnosticism/[[theism]] (see: [[Atheism, agnosticism and flip-flopping]]).

Although the secular left is known for ridiculing [[religion]] since at least the time of [[French Revolution]], the secular left is known for its humorlessness when it comes to its own ideology.  

For more information, please see: [[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]] and [[Global atheism|Decline of global atheism]] and [[Atheism vs. Christianity]]

{{Cquote|The leftists have made a concerted attack on humor as an antisocial, antiracial, antilabor, antiproletarian stereotype,” Thurber wrote in 1960, “and they have left no stereotype unused in their attacks, from ‘no time for comedy’ to the grim warnings that humor is a sickness, a sign of inferiority complex, a shield and not a weapon.<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-the-humorless-left-1446769128 Notable & Quotable: The Humorless Left], From Stephen E. Kercher’s “Revel With a Cause: Liberal Satire in Postwar America.”, ''Wall Street Journal''</ref>}}

[[Image:Bahnsen.jpg‎|thumb|150px|Dr. [[Greg Bahnsen]] became known as the "man atheists fear most" due to [[Michael Martin]]'s cancellation of their scheduled debate.<ref>[http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/Bahnsen.htm Bahsen at the Stein debate] by John Frame</ref><ref>[http://simpleapologetics.com/thegreatdebate.html The Great Debate: Greg Bahnsen vs Gordon Stein]</ref>]]

Heywood Gould wrote in ''Heatstreet'':

{{Cquote|The left is trying to remake the world and feels immune to ridicule. It condemns humor as a bourgeois plot to make the oppressed laugh at and accept their exploitation.

''See also:'' [[Atheism and cowardice]]

[[Bernie Sanders]] admits he has a “bad sense of humor.” He won’t need it once his Revolution comes,

Bluster and mockery is often a substitute for competence and is a result of arrogance and complacency - it can quickly pop like a balloon.<ref>[http://lauravanderkam.com/2013/05/confidence-competence/ Confidence and competence]</ref> In 1990, the [[atheism|atheist]] philosopher [[Michael Martin]] indicated there was a general absence of an atheistic response to contemporary work in the [[philosophy]] of religion and in jest he indicated that it was his "cross to bear" to respond to [[theism|theistic]] arguments.<ref>''Open Questions: Diverse Thinkers Discuss God, Religion, and Faith'' by Luís F. Rodrigues, page 201</ref>  Yet, in 1994, Michael Martin was criticized for his eleventh hour cancellation of his debate with [[Greg Bahnsen]] (see: [[Greg Bahnsen and debate]] and [[Press release after Michael Martin pulled out of Martin-Bahnsen debate|Bahnson-Martin debate press release]]).<ref>[http://simpleapologetics.com/thegreatdebate.html The Great Debate: Greg Bahnsen vs Gordon Stein]</ref><ref>[http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/Bahnsen.htm Bahsen at the Stein debate] by John Frame</ref>

According to Marxist theorist Tom McLaughlin: “Under Socialism there will be no classes and consequently no class conflict. Humor will cease to reflect any objective reality and will wither away.”...

At the present time, the [[cowardice]] associated with atheism has become so obvious that it is making newspaper headlines.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/19/christian-pastor-atheists-debates/?test=latestnews Christian Philosopher William Lane Craig Is Ready to Debate, but Finds Few Challengers]</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God]</ref>  For example, on May 2011, the [[UK]]'s ''The Daily Telegraph'' alluded to the cowardice of Richard Dawkins who flip-flops between being an [[agnosticism|agnostic]] and an atheist as far as his public persona (see: [[Richard Dawkins and agnosticism]]).<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/19/christian-pastor-atheists-debates/?test=latestnews Christian Philosopher William Lane Craig Is Ready to Debate, but Finds Few Challengers]</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God]</ref>

When Jerry Seinfeld revealed that fellow comedians had warned him away from colleges because they “were too PC,” he was savaged by the left media. Columnist Amanda Marcotte accused him of making excuses for being “a second rate hack.”<ref>[https://heatst.com/culture-wars/beyond-a-joke-why-millennials-are-losing-their-sense-of-humor/ Beyond a Joke: Why Millennials are Losing their Sense of Humor]</ref>}}

In addition, prominent atheists and evolutionists have established a reputation of dodging debates (see: [[Atheism and cowardice]]). For example, in 2012 both the new atheist Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Society dodged debates with Dr. [[William Lane Craig]]. Also, due to Christian creationists generally winning creation vs. evolution debates in the 1970s and 1980s  atheists [[Creation scientists tend to win the creation vs. evolution debates|tend to dodge creation vs. evolution debates.]]  Richard Dawkins has established a reputation of [[Richard Dawkins and debate|avoiding his strongest debate opponents]].

=== Soviet Union and the Department of Jokes ===

{{See also|Atheism debates}}

 

{{Cquote|For comedians in the Soviet Union, every attempt at humor had to be read from a government-approved list of comedic material. Each year, comedians were required to submit every joke they’d written to a section of The Ministry of Culture called The Department of Jokes, and they couldn’t crack a single one until it had been approved.

 

 

For the next year, they could only tell jokes from their approved list. Improvisation was strictly forbidden. The only way a comedian could keep an act fresh was to steal gags from the competition. Plagiarism was fine, as long as the material you stole was approved.<ref>[http://listverse.com/2016/11/13/10-bizarre-ways-the-soviet-union-controlled-its-people/ 10 Bizarre Ways The Soviet Union Controlled Its People]</ref>}}

== Bible verses related to mockers ==

== Bible verses related to mockers ==