Animavore wrote:
Oh, it's funny alrigh.

True, but not in the way originally intended, right?

Not at all.

Sonoran Lion wrote:It seems to me to be a bit hard to mock simply believing or not believing in a god. There doesn't seem much to go off of. Religions, however, create belief systems around their belief in a god(s), and that seems to be the meat that mockery lives on. Maybe it is hard to mock atheism because people don't tend to build a belief system around it.

This. I don't think either atheism or theism per se are intrinsically mockable. The specific, 'ridculous', beliefs of individual religions and followers is where the fun's at.

Painful to watch but apparently this is mocking the ridiculousness of atheism:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o_3UIhK-Pw[/youtube]

I've watched a fair few so-called Christian Stand-ups on Youtube, and to be honest Christianity doesn't really feature in their routines either.

Anyone come across the Islamic stand-up yet?

Yeah. Can't remember her name though. British comedian.

That would be Shazia "or at least that's what it says on my pilot's licence" Mirza.

I suspect that religious comedians cannot draw ridicule from atheism not only because there is nothing in a rational disbelief to comment on but also they cannot do it without ridiculing everyone else who disbelieves them, including the members of all competing religions.

There are some good swipes at individuals but, as you say, taking on atheism as a whole is difficult if you aren't playing to a religious audience (and not funny if you are).

In To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf there's a character always referred to as "the atheist Charles Tanley." He's a graduate student of philosophy who is uncultured and socially awkward, desperate to impress people with how clever he is. The writing always links his nerdyness to his openly expressed atheism.

I had to smile at a Guardian TV review listing which described Richard Dawkins as "The Golden Calf himself."

Mike_L wrote:

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up -- they have no holidays.
- Henry Youngman

That one's pretty good

For the rest it's mostly straw men and other fallacies that make theists feel smug I guess.
Like this one my sister posted on facebook:

Yes. South Park and there failure to mock atheism without resorting to ridiculous strawmen was noted in the OP. Got anything that shows up atheism as it actually is?

Animavore wrote:Yes. South Park and there failure to mock atheism without resorting to ridiculous strawmen was noted in the OP. Got anything that shows up atheism as it actually is?

Of course not.
There is nothing even remotely ridiculous about not collecting stamps as a hobby.

rainbow wrote:

Animavore wrote:Yes. South Park and there failure to mock atheism without resorting to ridiculous strawmen was noted in the OP. Got anything that shows up atheism as it actually is?

Of course not.
There is nothing even remotely ridiculous about not collecting stamps as a hobby.

exactly!

ETA: well almost (take off "as a hobby")

Paul wrote:

rainbow wrote:

Animavore wrote:Yes. South Park and there failure to mock atheism without resorting to ridiculous strawmen was noted in the OP. Got anything that shows up atheism as it actually is?

Of course not.
There is nothing even remotely ridiculous about not collecting stamps as a hobby.

exactly!

ETA: well almost (take off "as a hobby")

... it isn't quite exact then, is it?

well no, I hit submit prematurely.

Paul wrote:well no, I hit submit prematurely.

Not something people often admit to on a public forum.

rainbow wrote:

Animavore wrote:Yes. South Park and there failure to mock atheism without resorting to ridiculous strawmen was noted in the OP. Got anything that shows up atheism as it actually is?

Of course not.
There is nothing even remotely ridiculous about not collecting stamps as a hobby.

That thing that keeps whizzing past your head, Rainbow.... it's called 'an analogy'.

And has been explained to you before - no one says that atheism is like not collecting stamps as a hobby - the actual wording, which you so routinely snip out the context of, is that 'atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby'.

Did you hear the one about the atheist in the back of an ambulance...broken legs, punctured lungs, fractured skull, chipped front teeth, severed arm....
The paramedic says...which god did you annoy?
..."all of them." says the atheist.

Lion IRC wrote:Did you hear the one about the atheist in the back of an ambulance...broken legs, punctured lungs, fractured skull, chipped front teeth, severed arm....
The paramedic says...which god did you annoy?
..."all of them." says the atheist.

Why would an atheist give that answer?