Misotheists Dehumanizing Christians and Creationists

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen 

Making fun of an institution through satire and parody can be found throughout millennia to illustrate perceived absurdities of belief systems. These are used for various targets, but the most common seem to be political or religious. 

C. Richard Dawkins ridiculing Ray Comfort, image credits:
Flickr / David Shankbone (public domain), modified with FotoSketcher

So why attack individuals instead of ideas? It seems like practically everyone does it. Just ask the uncool kids in school. This is far beyond satire or persuasion. A quote commonly (but probably erroneously) attributed to Socrates is, "When the debate is over, slander becomes the tool of the loser". This child sees a useful principle in that statement.

Although it is common to encounter proponents of atheistic naturalism ridiculing biblical creationists in rallies, books, videos, and so on, it is greatly intensified on social(ist) media. With the option of anonymity, attacks increase with impunity and vitriol. Note that when a professing atheist makes demands on a Christian, there is usually a great deal of sneering and loaded questions.

These tend to sound like:

• Why do you st00pid creatards hate science?
• Prove to me God exists. You can't because he doesn't. (Ironically, previous statements made using the falsehood that atheists "lack belief" are conveniently forgotten, as is the fact that atheism is a religion.)
• Give me evidence that the Genesis Flood happened. You can't because it didn't. In both of these, viciously circular reasoning as well as ad hominem attacks are utilized.
• I won't read that material because it's not from a reputable scientific journal (the genetic fallacy). When attempting to provide answers, atheists and evolutionists generally refuse to read the material or watch videos because they're not from "reputable scientific journals". This usually means material based on atheistic naturalism, and peer-reviewed creation science journals are rejected.
• A creation scientist who has a degree in astronomy has no business discussing geology. Never mind the evidence, and never mind the double standard of pretending that Dawkins and other well-heeled atheists are skilled in theology or other fields in which they are not degreed.
• Creationists don't do science and are not real scientists.
• Your views on creation don't count because you have the wrong political beliefs.

Just a few other things to consider:

• When cornered, anti-creationists tend to ignore what was said or offered, then change the subject and attack the person.
• Constantly attempting to keep us on the defensive. One fellow was asking questions at The Question Evolution Project, and I was giving answers. Suddenly, he said, "But you still can't prove your God exists". Another kept demanding evidence, and I asked him what kind of evidence he wanted. His was that we should produce what we have and he would evaluate it. Doesn't work that way. Besides, to demand empirical evidence for the existence of God is a logical fallacy called the category error.
• Refusal to admit that because they disagree with someone, that does not justify an accusation of lying.
• Many of these people exhibit disdain for the laws of logic, an understanding of basic science, and even of minerals-to-misotheist evolution.
• Evolution is a cornerstone of atheism, so they fight, red in tooth and claw, to keep it going.

These lists can much longer, but that would be excessive.

We have discussed numerous times that we all have the same evidence, but it depends on our worldview-based interpretations of it. Also, evidence aside, a big problem is spiritual: atheists and evolutionists reject the authority of God's written Word, so they suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18-23). Another problem is something I learned about recently from Dr. Todd C. Wood, who was a big part of inspiring this article. A short video presentation by him is at the end.

Tribalism has an "us and them" mentality. After all, we're only ordinary men and women. Atheists have the spiritual problem of hating God (and therefore, God in his people, 2 Tim. 3:12, John 15:19). This intensifies their tribalism into dehumanizing those who do not share their views.

Some time ago, someone named Mr. Gordons posted in an anti-creationist forum, asking if anyone there could say anything nice about a creationist. There was no response. Apparently, that would be acknowledging that creationists have personhood, and atheists prefer to dehumanize us. Indeed, although my Author/Public Figure Page on Facebook is monitored by misotheists, the humorous or public service posts have not been acknowledged. It may be against the rules in the Atheist Handbook®.

Related to dehumanizing is the logical fallacy of poisoning the well; why listen to someone when someone is not a real person because he or she is not "one of us"?

I suggest that you keep this concept of dehumanizing in mind when reading or hearing militant atheists. Christians and creationists must use discernment to decide how much time and intellectual energy to spend on anti-creationists. On one hand, we may be able to help remove stumbling blocks so they will be more receptive to the gospel message and possibly inform others who listen or read our responses. On the other hand, many are hard hearted, intent on wasting our time and justifying their rebellion against God. After all, he's the Creator and he makes the rules — we must learn what he has to say.

EDIT: Within an hour or two after posting this, angry militant atheists swarmed like gadflies and managed, with their boilerplate rhetoric and vituperation, to support the accuracy of this article.