IN THE NEWS (SHROUD OF TURIN)
Brian Dean errancy@infidels.org
Wed, 04 Aug 1999 08:29:52 -0400 (00933787792, 37A83240.4F293978@worldnet.att.net)
> BRIDEAN
> There you go guys, Crea uses "it" instead of "if" (second line). That
> certainly
> discounts him as being an expert on the shroud and it certainly means that
> he
> can't be a real atheist.
>
> POOBAH
> Brian, you've made your point, but I fear your beating it to death now.
>
> Also, you are misrepresenting the argument, which isn't that any spelling
> error negates ones position, but rather there are certain terms that group
> members tend not to misspell; anyone who claimed they once were a Cristian
> or Catolic or Presbaterian or Episcople or Luteran might be viewed with some
> suspicion.
>
> Let me make an analogy. A century ago, advocates for women's right to vote
> called themselves "suffragists." Their detractors, however, often called
> them "suffragettes" sometimes to demean the fact that the advocates were
> often women, and sometimes as an honest ignorant mistake because they
> misunderstood the term. Most advocates, however, considered the second term
> derogatory. If, however, someone claimed that they once were a
> "suffragette," but had a change of heart, then odds are that they never
> were, because no self-respecting suffragist would call themselves such.
>
> (Aside: I think it would be fascinating to study how religious conservatives
> throughout American history have used language & derogatory terms to color
> debate, as it seems to be a favorite technique).
>
> So it is here. While it is no means certain, someone who truly delved into
> atheism and actively called themselves an atheist is unlikely to misspell
> the term, unless there is other evidence of an overall poor speller.
> Obviously (or not, based on your several responses), that's all the further
> the argument goes.
BRIDEAN
Ok, well if you can give me evidence that Christians make fun of atheists
by calling then athiests then I can see your point. Other than that, why can't
"athiest" merely be a typo mistake on the part of that person. Certainly it
one of you guys will forgive the use of "it" instead of "if" then why do you
criticize someone for switching the i and the e around in atheist? Dyslectic
people do that all the time, but I doubt the possibility that he is dyslectic ever
crossed your mind. In other words, you guys criticize Christians for doing
things that you NEVER criticize your own kind for when they do the same
mistakes.