Winning minds is one thing. Winning hearts is a totally different matter. I’ll explain later.
She’s conservative. She loves and defends Christians. She believes America was founded on Judeo-Christian values. She says she would never vote for an atheist President. But S.E. Cupp herself is an atheist. In her own words:
“I’m not a militant atheist. I’ve never really understood the “angry atheist”…I was fascinated by religion at a very young age…I just decided early on that I didn’t buy it, it wasn’t for me. But I’m envious! I’m envious of the faithful! So I defend the faithful, especially the Christian right in America at every opportunity I get…I haven’t closed the door on faith…I really aspire to be a person of faith one day.”
“I’m a fan of George Bush. I think he had a conviction – personal principles – that required him to answer to Someone Else when he went to bed at night. Not to the state, and not to himself…that gives me comfort as a citizen knowing that my President is going to bed answering to a Higher Power.”
“As an atheist, I could never imagine electing – voting for – an atheist President…religion keeps a person who is endowed with so much power honest…This is a person who is answering to a Higher Power every night, and not to the state – he doesn’t think the state has all the power, and he doesn’t think he has all the power. That’s important to me. I represent 2% of the world. Why would I want someone who thinks 98% of the world is crazy running the country?”
“Liberalism is really threatened by fixed values systems, like Christianity.”
“I like to think I adhere to the same Judeo-Christian values that most of religious America does. It’s an understanding of and a respect for these values that keeps me moral…But even if we agree that nonbelievers can be moral people, how would you know? Self-identifying as Christian at least tells you what a person strives for, even if he or she routinely falls short. Self-identifying as an atheist tells you absolutely nothing about my values.”
At least she’s incredibly honest. But what is keeping her from being a Christian now?
“I believe that science has answered [the question of origins] adequately enough for me. I just could never fill that hole – the gaps in our knowledge – with some unseen supernatural being. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Fascinating, because for me it is the exact opposite. I’ve been exposed to plenty of evolutionary science all my life, and it has never made sense to me. I would love to have a long conversation with Miss Cupp.
I recently saw a book advertised that is titled “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as If He Doesn’t Exist” by Craig Groeschel. I haven’t read it, but the concept is quite revealing. The Church in our day and age is at fault for a lot of the nonsense and corruption in the world because so many of her members reason like atheists. By that I mean they do not truly believe in the living power of Christ. They believe in the power of themselves, and when that goes wrong, they seek the wisdom and power of elitists. They don’t live out the Acts of the Apostles – as though believers whose lives are recorded in the Bible worshiped a powerful God who isn’t around anymore. They repeatedly try to compromise intellectually when there really is no need to. They dumb down the Faith. According to S.E. Cupp, the self-proclaimed Christian President Obama “elevates atheism” to something it is not.
Thus we have an intriguing paradox: an atheist who thinks like a Christian in a world of Christians who think like atheists. Most of S.E. Cupp’s mind is won, but her heart is not. The hearts of the “Christian Atheists” might be won, but their minds are not. Hmm…that is still too broad and sweeping of a generalization, however.
I’m curious as to what other atheists (or semi-atheists) think of S.E. Cupp. Is anyone else even the slightest bit envious of people of faith? Does anyone else give credit to and respect Judeo-Christian values and recognize how unique Christianity is in contrast to other worldviews? How do most atheists feel about being such a tiny minority in the world?
~Amanda~
The same could be said that most Christians think like western Greeks, and yet the Bible is written by eastern thinking Hebrews. It’s difficult to fully understand what the Bible is saying if we’re always thinking like Greeks and acting like atheists. We need to train our minds to think like the writers of the Bible.
True. Greco-Roman style thought is most prevalent in our Western World today, and that alters one’s perceptions of Biblical literature. Christian Overman’s book “Assumptions That Affect Our Lives” outlines this well.
~Amanda~
To be clear, I’m not an atheist. I disagree pretty strongly with some of your characterizations here, but I’ll try to merely answer the questions:
I’m curious as to what other atheists (or semi-atheists) think of S.E. Cupp. Is anyone else even the slightest bit envious of people of faith?,/b>
Speaking only for myself, yes, I’m jealous. I used to be a theist, and the faith that there was an arrow through time (re. a path for me to take, and that humanity would end up taking) was very comforting. I’d like to have that back.
Does anyone else give credit to and respect Judeo-Christian values and recognize how unique Christianity is in contrast to other worldviews?
Judeo Christian values are part of what helped found this country, but to say it’s founded UPON those values to the exclusion of others is a fiction. I would respect those values a lot more if they weren’t being used to suggest this is a Christian Nation (TM).
As for its uniqueness, it’s no more or less unique that the thousands of other religions. Its world view is similar to most of them, too. I am unique, but I don’t have much respect for my uniqueness.
How do most atheists feel about being such a tiny minority in the world?
As a deist, my minority is smaller. How do I feel about it? I don’t particularly care. I may remain a deist until I die, or I may become a fundamentalist evangelical; I may decide no Gods exist. I simply don’t know. As far as I’m concerned, my Deism is about as important as my hair color or freckles: it’s merely an aspect of Me. I do wish there were more deists at times, so perhaps it’d be fair to say I feel more lonely than anything else. But I don’t feel this too strongly.
Tiny minority? Not quite. We are of of the fastest growing groups in the world. As societies become more educated, they leave superstitions behind… Like beliefs in sky gods.
As an atheist, I find S. E. Cupp’s views refreshing. Even though Christoper Hitchens occasionally goes over the deep end with his hate of religion, I have great respect for his views as well. How can I be a committed (an oxymoron?) atheist and have respect for religion? Well I don’t have respect for all religions, and respect some only partially. The question for me is does one’s religious faith cause one to live a better life. I’m undecided as to whether it makes a difference whether a person is charitable because he/she is only doing it to reap an eternal reward – – certainly a person doing good because of moral convictions rather than reward potential is a superior person. It is far better for virtue to be its own reward. Religious negatives are pretty obvious: bigotry, cultural myopia and dastardly acts committed in the name of God. On that score, Islam seems to be lining up as the most dangerous enemy of decency in the human animal. You can criticize the Catholic Church for pedophilia, but that is a failing of individuals. Sharia is a failing of the entire religion. There is no moral equivalence between the failings of Catholicism and Islam. Not even is the most radical member of the Westboro Baptist Church as evil as the most moderate proponent of Sharia.
Well I’m a highly educated Atheist who was formerly a liberal xtian. The thing that is most important about SE Cupp is to realize that she is a complete fraud. This was very clear when she went on Real Time and said to Bill something on the lines of “I’m not a militant Atheist, I’m not angry at god.” See an Atheist would never say this. Why? Because the concept of being “angry at god” for an atheist is nonsense. I’m no more angry at god then I am lustful for unicorns. god isn’t real and so I can’t be angry at it. I wouldn’t even consider such an opinion because it is outside the scope of how I know reality to exist.
To respond to some of your other comments:
1. Modern civilization is based on the rule of law and not on “judeo christian values” Codes of Law predate even the old testament and provide for all of the good ten commandments (ie ignoring the ones about worshiping the jewish god and persecuting those who don’t.)
2. Religion does not keep people honest. Look at the current pope and the rampant child abuse he helped to cover up. Not only did his archaic beliefs not keep him in line but they are the reason that he felt the need to help cover things up. They are the reason he insists people in countries overrun with AIDs don’t use condoms. Most people do what they would have done anyway and use religion as a way of rationalizing their behaviours which actually makes them more likely to do horrifying things, like witch burnings (that still go on in regions of Africa) and group think leading to massive genocide (it is well known that Hitler had made a deal with the pope and was fully supported by christian religions in germany it is less well known that the Rwandan genocide involved a number of priests that would have people find refuge in their churches so they could then be turned over to be murdered with machetes.)
Religion is just the twisting of old myths to control people and has no place in a modern society. There are Atheists that don’t understand this and think it has a rightful place among us. These Atheists are simply not very well versed in history and psychology.
SE Cup however is a conservative shill fake Atheist trying to lend unwarranted legitimacy to her silly claims by claiming that in fact she is an Atheist that would be expected to think otherwise but “found the truth” through her superior reasoning abilities.
Atheism is a very wide church, (if I can use that expression). It even has room for Ms Cupp.
I personally am not at all envious of people faith. I regard them as mistaken.
While I accept that religion wouldn’t be so wide spread unless it had some evolutionary value, I think it has outstayed its welcome and we’d be slightly better off without it.
Where I come from regular attendance at any kind of religious ceremony is below 10%. I don’t know any Christians for sure. In my society Christians in general are reticent to advertise their belief, probably because they fear being pitied. So, although we atheists are technically in a minority, it doesn’t feel like it.
“I’m curious as to what other atheists (or semi-atheists) think of S.E. Cupp.”
Ignorant, inconsistent, inferior intellect … like the author.
(“semi-(a)theists” do not exist. Research some basic philosophy).
“Is anyone else even the slightest bit envious of people of faith?’
Just as envious I am envious of heroin addicts; the high seems pretty nice.
Does anyone else give credit to and respect Judeo-Christian values and recognize how unique Christianity is in contrast to other worldviews?
Religious values are inferior to secular ones.
Credit? No.
Respect? Certainly not.
Christianity unique? Sure … like any other religion … and everything else for that matter …?
How do most atheists feel about being such a tiny minority in the world?
As one of the few people not mentally handicapped by religion, I do not care how many people share my lack of belief.
Haha…by “semi-atheists”, I meant those who are close to being atheist but not entirely – agnostic, yet do not necessarily define themselves as such. How is one supposed to define people who don’t know what they believe but don’t like the concept of God?
A non-militant atheist would be a person who doesn’t believe in God, but whose disbelief is not rooted in a hatred of God-fearing people and the concept of God.
Simply put, it is my GOD given RIGHT.Its not only in MY Bible, but in the very Bible they swear on.
Please read and think about Your lord , the creator, the sustainer, all knowing – God. The God who is unique, The God who can only be compared to himself, The God who does not begets and he is not begotten, The only God who is not male or female, nor he is partial to any gender. The God who is the only one who is the most just and he does not oppresses anyone in any way, and he does not like anyone who oppresses or misuse any of his creations. The only god who has the right to make laws for his creations & no one has the right to ignore them. The God who is not limited by time, not limited in strength, not limited in resources, not limited in knowledge.
The God who will judge people good or bad ( reward able or punishable in the afterlife) based upon their Religion; Not – Country, race, nationality, language, color, beauty, riches, education, culture – They does not help if there is anything against the law of the religion.
All of us will die and will return to his kingdom in the skies. Then men & women will have to go to heavens or to hells.
Surrender yourself to the will of god, surrender to the laws of his Religion ( In Arabic which means Islam). Pray and supplicate to your God, so that you may be guided to the real truth. Have love & fear both for your God – The only God who is to be worshiped alone ( In Arabic he [God] is – Allah ) .
Idol worshiping or praying to or hoping to gain rewards & blessings from other than the one true God, worshiping or praying to demi-gods or deity worshiping of animals or stars or trees or man or woman or saints or pious people, is the worst sin of all sins.
Showing respect to pictures / status / sculpture / mural etc showing respect to pictures / status / sculpture / mural etc, is the greatest sin of all sins. God was not born, nor is someone child of God.
Everything is God’s creation. Nothing / no one can be compared to God (Allah) in any aspect. Only God (Allah) has the real control & Knowledge over all good or bad or any future event.
Thinking that God (Allah) is unjust, any law, system, or lifestyle other than by GOD is better is one of the greatest sins.
Thinking that, laws, systems, or lifestyle from GOD is not good anymore or cruel- is one of the greatest sins.
By learning and teaching our children to sacrifice our own benefits for others, we can solve many of the problems. May God help us all. Please copy and save this message for future.
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