Weekly "Ask an Atheist" Thread

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Whether you're an agnostic atheist here to ask a gnostic one some questions, a theist who's curious about the viewpoints of atheists, someone doubting, or just someone looking for sources, feel free to ask anything here. This is also an ideal place to tag moderators for thoughts regarding the sub or any questions in general.

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[u/Urbenmyth]

I mean, the fact they're highly addictive and destructive habits?

I avoid doing things that are detrimental to myself or others because they're detrimental to myself and others. It's a bit odd to ask what I need beyond that- sort of like asking "why do you brush your teeth, not counting tooth decay?"

[u/RuffneckDaA → u/[deleted]]

That seems to be a contradiction...

We don't know they're destructive or addictive, but religions know they're destructive or addictive?

What would you say is an example of something like that?

[u/Old-Nefariousness556 → u/RuffneckDaA]

I'm not 100% certain this is what they meant, but the answer to your question is that just because the drug user doesn't know what they are buying is addictive doesn't mean the drug dealer doesn't.

The leaders of a religion certainly understand that religion is addictive, even if they would never put it that way, or agree with the framing. But they certainly don't talk about the fact.

Edit: And to be clear, The OPs wording is very weird, and I am not at all certain that I interpreted them right, so I am not defending them. But that is the how I interpreted what they were saying.