@NorthernInvader

I'd have thought that "Team Rationality" would know when they're straw-manning, but it seems my expectations are too high.

@mcfate Treating atheists as an organized group (which would be necessary for the charity you imagine) so you can denounce them is straw manning itself. The only commonality between atheists is their complete lack of belief in any gods or goddesses. There are plenty of charities that can be donated to.

While Buddhism may be what you say - AFAIK then it is the only one from pre-historical times onward that doesn't push some sort of obey our god(s) or bad things will happen to us.

@NorthernInvader

Prehistorical times? No. Shintō's another one. Quakerism. Unitarianism. Heck, Judaism doesn't have a "hell" or even an AFTERLIFE, arguably, and it's surely not about money.

You're mad at Catholics and megachurches, but you paint with a brush as big as the planet.

If someone came up with a swindle that involved getting people to read Kant, you'd be down on philosophy.

@NorthernInvader

People have to be part of some OTHER organization before they decide to organize their acquaintances to do charitable work? Huh?

Do atheists have no atheist friends with common societal concerns?

I mean, the bottom line is that the organized religions make all those atheist claims about high ethics look like hand-waving.

"They're there, but you can't SEE them, and the UNDETECTABLE."

Terrific. Anyone can claim anything.

@NorthernInvader

Meanwhile, Michael Shermer tries to get girls half his age drunk enough so they won't notice he's helping them to HIS hotel room.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@NorthernInvader

It's charming that Sam Harris doesn't need any "God" to tell him that pre-emptive nukings and torture are a-okay if you're doing it to MUSLIMS.

Physicians, heal thyselves. If people are getting specifically scammed, expose the scammer.

What you're doing is like "stopping arson" by demanding that matches and lighters be banned.

@NorthernInvader

If you'd replaced "religion" with "megachurches" or even "right-wing 'evangelicals'", we wouldn't be having this discussion.