Atheist Symbol Suggestions

h0rus · Post by **h0rus** » 2004-04-11 01:42pm

Actually, I don't quite understand this desire to associate yourself with another person via symbols. To me it is cheesy grandstanding. Like 'Look, hey I'm an athiest!'. The kind of garbage that cross wearing imbeciles succumb to. I'd never broadcast my lack of faith/belief in garbage. I deal with people on a 1 on 1 basis. Even if I despise christian doctine, I don't feel myself to be superior, nor do I hang on my lack of faith/belief in garbage. To me this symbol seems to emphasise that choice.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-04-11 02:17pm

The Aliens wrote:Yeah, that's the one I appear to have stole from someone. My friend had it as a display pic on MSN, but she claimed to have made it, so there you are.

that would be the symbol from American Atheists. So unless your friend is Ellen Johnson....

The Aliens · Post by **The Aliens** » 2004-04-11 02:24pm

Alyrium Denryle wrote:
The Aliens wrote:Yeah, that's the one I appear to have stole from someone. My friend had it as a display pic on MSN, but she claimed to have made it, so there you are.
that would be the symbol from American Atheists. So unless your friend is Ellen Johnson....

Well, she clearly lied, and pulled it off a cheap Google search. Shows you what sort of friends I have.

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2004-04-11 02:35pm

Rye wrote:
Sriad wrote:404

It has a nice look to it, don't you think?
This one?

Yea, just like that.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-11 04:36pm

The Aliens wrote:
Alyrium Denryle wrote:
The Aliens wrote:Yeah, that's the one I appear to have stole from someone. My friend had it as a display pic on MSN, but she claimed to have made it, so there you are.
that would be the symbol from American Atheists. So unless your friend is Ellen Johnson....
Well, she clearly lied, and pulled it off a cheap Google search. Shows you what sort of friends I have.

[Joke] That's what you get for trusting an atheist.

[/Joke]

NOTE: The above was a joke. Please don't kill me.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-11 04:38pm

Rogue 9 wrote:
The Aliens wrote:
Alyrium Denryle wrote:that would be the symbol from American Atheists. So unless your friend is Ellen Johnson....
Well, she clearly lied, and pulled it off a cheap Google search. Shows you what sort of friends I have.
[Joke] That's what you get for trusting an atheist. [/Joke]

NOTE: The above was a joke. Please don't kill me.

*stab*

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-04-11 05:48pm

With a spoon Rogue, with a spoon.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-04-11 07:27pm

Rogue 9 wrote:
The Aliens wrote:
Alyrium Denryle wrote:that would be the symbol from American Atheists. So unless your friend is Ellen Johnson....
Well, she clearly lied, and pulled it off a cheap Google search. Shows you what sort of friends I have.
[Joke] That's what you get for trusting an atheist. [/Joke]

NOTE: The above was a joke. Please don't kill me.

Rusty Knife Groin Stab Attack AWAY!!!

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2004-04-11 07:49pm

The Aliens wrote:Take the nuclear model of an atom, stick an 'A' where the nucleus would be, and voila- Atheist symbol.

Or you could steal the Anarchist's symbol. They don't need it anyway; anarchy is a stupid idea, there are plenty of other symbols for stupidity.

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-04-11 07:53pm

The circle is already an ancient sacred symbol, representative of the old goddess fertility cults of eons ago. Perhaps one of the oldest religious symbols around.

As an atheist, I'm not so sure I would want a symbol. Seems to indicate some sort of religious connotation, and I like to keep my atheism as far from being a dogmatic religious belief as possible. I don't need a symbol for my lack of belief in a deity any more than I need one for my lack of belief in supply-side economics or the Tooth Fairy.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-04-11 08:21pm

How about the big black rectangular prism?

SecondStorm · Post by **SecondStorm** » 2004-04-11 08:33pm

Its definately a pretty circle.

But Im not sure if its "appropriate" for atheists to have representative symbols

.
Whatever.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-12 12:02am

I think a distinction needs to be drawn between a symbol for atheism and a symbol for atheists. The former would be the equivilant of a cross or the Star of David, which wouldn't really be approppriate for a concept that really isn't a coherent thing at all--atheism is, by definition, a lack of belief in dieties, and doesn't have anything that could define it as a belief structure. As I said before, a symbol for atheism would be like a symbol for the non-belief in unicorns. Worse, since atheism ISN'T a coherent belief structure, the only way to symbolize it would be in opposition to theism, which isn't accurate and forces atheists to play by theists' rules. It doesn't matter if you use something like a simple unbroken circle or a crucifix with a red X through it--any concievable symbol for atheism would define it in theistic terms, which is a losing proposition.

However (and you knew there was a "however" coming), atheists, as a minority that's on the recieving end of a great deal of unadulterated bigotry, in a society which sees such bigotry as acceptable, could make good use of a symbol. In this case, the symbol would be of the community, not atheism itself. It's something similar to the pink triangle or the rainbow flag--they symbolize homosexuals and the homosexual community, not the biological condition of homosexuality. A symbol could be a useful unifying mark for atheists, a flag to rally around, especially since there's no universal creed for atheism (fundies have a tremendous advantage in being able to rally around the Bible--it's a unifying element for them, and a powerful one).

EDIT: "I" before "E" except after "C", or sounded as "A" as in "neighbor" and "weigh", and, oh yeah, any other Goddamn time we feel like reversing it, apparently.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-04-12 12:04am

Good points and well-written, but ... but ... STOP SPELLING "ATHEIST" WRONG!!!! ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-12 12:09am

Darth Wong wrote:Good points and well-written, but ... but ... STOP SPELLING "ATHEIST" WRONG!!!! ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry.

Fixed. And hey, at least I CONSISTENTLY misspelled it. Though oddly, I spelled "theist" right.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-04-12 12:49am

Perhaps the Symbol of the Trantorian Empire from Foundation, the star and starship.
I'll see if I can find a picture.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-04-12 01:31am

I'm afraid I can't find one, so I'll make one.

Metrion Cascade · Post by **Metrion Cascade** » 2004-04-12 01:59am

How about a Star Destroyer? It's a far more effective killing machine than the cross.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-04-12 02:05am

Perhaps a good symbol for atheists would be the scholar's cap (the black square thing you wear at graduation). Not only is this a recognizable object which is not patented or copyrighted by anyone, but it implicitly associates anti-atheist bigotry with suppression of intellectuals.

Metrion Cascade · Post by **Metrion Cascade** » 2004-04-12 03:43am

Darth Wong wrote:Perhaps a good symbol for atheists would be the scholar's cap (the black square thing you wear at graduation). Not only is this a recognizable object which is not patented or copyrighted by anyone, but it implicitly associates anti-atheist bigotry with suppression of intellectuals.

While simultaneously implying that Atheists are smarter than everyone else.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2004-04-12 10:26am

Darth Wong wrote:Perhaps a good symbol for atheists would be the scholar's cap (the black square thing you wear at graduation). Not only is this a recognizable object which is not patented or copyrighted by anyone, but it implicitly associates anti-atheist bigotry with suppression of intellectuals.

Too pretentious. I'd see that more as atheists trying to clami they're more intelligent than everyone else.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-04-12 10:30am

Rye wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Perhaps a good symbol for atheists would be the scholar's cap (the black square thing you wear at graduation). Not only is this a recognizable object which is not patented or copyrighted by anyone, but it implicitly associates anti-atheist bigotry with suppression of intellectuals.
Too pretentious. I'd see that more as atheists trying to clami they're more intelligent than everyone else.

As opposed to Christians who routinely try to claim they're morally superior to everyone else? The symbol is valid; people with higher education are more likely to be atheists than people with lower education, intellectualism is closely associated with atheism, and freethought is widely associated with scholarly institutions. These are all well-known correlations, and if you don't like it, that's too bad.

It's certainly better than the stupid "atomic man" symbol that the American Atheists use.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2004-04-12 10:56am

Darth Wong wrote: As opposed to Christians who routinely try to claim they're morally superior to everyone else?

This is wrong on many levels:

2 wrongs don't make a right
the christian symbol does not project "we are morally superior"
This is a red herring.

The symbol is valid; people with higher education are more likely to be atheists than people with lower education, intellectualism is closely associated with atheism, and freethought is widely associated with scholarly institutions. These are all well-known correlations, and if you don't like it, that's too bad.

Yeah, I can understand where you're coming from, i just don't think it would curry public favour with a cause that looks like it's saying "join us, we're smarter than you!"

It's certainly better than the stupid "atomic man" symbol that the American Atheists use.

You know theist atoms?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-04-13 02:23am

Rye wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:As opposed to Christians who routinely try to claim they're morally superior to everyone else?
This is wrong on many levels:

2 wrongs don't make a right

the christian symbol does not project "we are morally superior"

This is a red herring.

Hardly. A symbol is not a logical argument, and need not be judged as if it were one. And the larger "wrong" here is anti-atheist bigotry. If the symbol works, then any intellectual qualms you have about the implications of the symbol are utterly insignificant in comparison to the larger issue, particularly since those implications do have an empirical justification.

The symbol is valid; people with higher education are more likely to be atheists than people with lower education, intellectualism is closely associated with atheism, and freethought is widely associated with scholarly institutions. These are all well-known correlations, and if you don't like it, that's too bad.
Yeah, I can understand where you're coming from, i just don't think it would curry public favour with a cause that looks like it's saying "join us, we're smarter than you!"

Atheists are more likely to have university educations than theists. I'm not making this up. What's so bad about publicizing this fact?

It's certainly better than the stupid "atomic man" symbol that the American Atheists use.
You know theist atoms?

No, but I don't like Atomic Man. Witness the strife caused between longtime friends Martin, Bart, and Milhouse over the first issue of Atomic Man.

Rock Lee · Post by **Rock Lee** » 2004-04-13 02:25am

h0rus wrote:Actually, I don't quite understand this desire to associate yourself with another person via symbols. To me it is cheesy grandstanding. Like 'Look, hey I'm an athiest!'. The kind of garbage that cross wearing imbeciles succumb to. I'd never broadcast my lack of faith/belief in garbage. I deal with people on a 1 on 1 basis. Even if I despise christian doctine, I don't feel myself to be superior, nor do I hang on my lack of faith/belief in garbage. To me this symbol seems to emphasise that choice.

This is my opinion exactly.