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Community => Life As An Atheist => Topic started by: Recusant on April 26, 2017, 02:20:20 AM

Title: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Recusant on April 26, 2017, 02:20:20 AM
By "broken" she means "People not being in a relationship with their creator and therefore not being in a good relationship with their families and their communities and not being productive members of society" (source (http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/mayor-taylor-links-poverty-to-lack-of-faith-in-god)). This Christian sentiment was expressed by the mayor when she was asked about what she thought were the deepest causes of poverty in the city. The first thing she "put out there" was that she thinks it's these people who aren't in a good relationship with their creator. This sounds like a sort of corollary of the "prosperity gospel" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology) bunkum--if you're not right with Jesus, you'll be among the poors.

In the story above, the mayor has said that she's been quoted out of context. You can watch the video (see timestamp 1:07:44) and judge for yourself.



One of the atheist responses comes from the South Texas Atheists for Reason (STAR) (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/accordingtomatthew/2017/04/humanist-charity-brilliantly-responds-san-antonio-mayors-anti-atheist-comments/).

Quote"Some people have a misconception that good works have to be tied to religion. But that's obviously false," said Vicki Gettman, executive director of STAR. "We're hoping Mayor Taylor will come out and see the great work her atheist constituents are doing to contribute to the community."

Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Tank on April 26, 2017, 06:44:09 AM
It's this sort of mind numbing stupidity that just leaves me with my jaw on the floor.  :grrr:
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Icarus on April 26, 2017, 06:58:54 AM
Sad that a presumably responsible and presumably intelligent person would utter such mindless drivel.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dave on April 26, 2017, 08:17:09 AM
Quote from: Icarus on April 26, 2017, 06:58:54 AM
Sad that a presumably responsible and presumably intelligent person would utter such mindless drivel.
Perhaps she is "responsible and ...intelligent" only in the view of a whole bunch of other mindless drivellers?
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Recusant on April 26, 2017, 10:21:14 AM
I think that many Christians (at least in the US) share the view that the lives of people who've rejected their god are blighted. Tying that in with poverty doesn't seem a huge stretch, and it's only the secular mainstream media that are making a story out of this--part of their anti-Christian agenda, don'cha know.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: xSilverPhinx on April 26, 2017, 12:33:11 PM
Funny...why is it that it seems there is a correlation between poverty and higher religiosity?
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dave on April 26, 2017, 03:22:11 PM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on April 26, 2017, 12:33:11 PM
Funny...why is it that it seems there is a correlation between poverty and higher religiosity?

I thought that as well.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Davin on April 26, 2017, 03:24:10 PM
Why do most Christians have difficulty understanding context?
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dragonia on April 26, 2017, 03:29:09 PM
I just watched the entire 89 minutes of this. I know....why did I waste 89 minutes of my life? I just put it on while I was getting ready for the day. But really, most of what she says seems intelligent and I cannot argue with most of it. Which really highlights the idea that someone can be otherwise a normal, level-headed person, but religion is like a blind spot.
She was not taken out of context. That's exactly what she said and the only other reasons she gave for root levels of poverty were "lack of Education", which I agree with,  and "teen pregnancy", which I also agree with to a certain extent.
But I think she needs to be shown, as XSP pointed out, that really, atheists in general are not at the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum. Im not saying we're all rich, but I almost guarantee you that the poorest of the San Antonio community are among the most religious.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dave on April 26, 2017, 03:33:09 PM
Quote from: Davin on April 26, 2017, 03:24:10 PM
Why do most Christians have difficulty understanding context?

Because, like any mindless religionista, there is no context but their own! If it does not fit their mindset it must be "evil".
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dave on April 26, 2017, 03:35:13 PM
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSwPJCZD.png&hash=db2582bb78e404d811f42b593cef2dc32b1e8b97)
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Ecurb Noselrub on April 26, 2017, 03:49:32 PM
Here's a Pew study that puts atheists and agnostics a little higher on the scale, outdone only by Jews, Hindus (lots of Indian doctors), Episcopalians and Presbyterians (all of whom value education). 

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/11/how-income-varies-among-u-s-religious-groups/

Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Davin on April 26, 2017, 04:25:08 PM
Quote from: Gloucester on April 26, 2017, 03:33:09 PM
Quote from: Davin on April 26, 2017, 03:24:10 PM
Why do most Christians have difficulty understanding context?

Because, like any mindless religionista, there is no context but their own! If it does not fit their mindset it must be "evil".
Hardly any are mindless, even when it comes to their religion. But mis-using the "out of context" thing is pretty common.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Tank on April 26, 2017, 04:40:47 PM
Quote from: Davin on April 26, 2017, 03:24:10 PM
Why do most Christians have difficulty understanding context?
Yet when it comes to the Bible they scream 'Context context!'
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Dave on April 26, 2017, 04:49:29 PM
Quote from: Davin on April 26, 2017, 04:25:08 PM
Quote from: Gloucester on April 26, 2017, 03:33:09 PM
Quote from: Davin on April 26, 2017, 03:24:10 PM
Why do most Christians have difficulty understanding context?

Because, like any mindless religionista, there is no context but their own! If it does not fit their mindset it must be "evil".
Hardly any are mindless, even when it comes to their religion. But mis-using the "out of context" thing is pretty common.

OK, if not "mindless" then "irrational"?  But depends on how you define mindless, "mindful" has its own context now in "mindfulness". Is there a single word to describe, "Not having taken all the relevant factors into consideration"? Oops, now we have to define "relevant" because it must presume value judgements . . .

I hate philosophy!

And "out of context" has been (ab)used so often as a feeble excuse that one has to expand on the context to explain why a quotation was out of context.
Title: Re: San Antonio Mayor Blithering About "Broken" People
Post by: Ecurb Noselrub on April 27, 2017, 01:54:58 PM
The smartest thing I ever did was finish my education. That's pretty much the antidote for poverty according to the statistics. Unless you are a rock star, a superb athlete, or have some super business idea like Bill Gates, education is your ticket to the middle class.