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Nov. 23rd, 2006 03:45 pmThe friendly atheist posts about listening to a christian friend of his being particularily stupid about religions, repeatedly. She'd tell him she couldn't understand his non-belief, and she'd shrug off hindu belief systems as "just silly", and he'd sit through it all basically letting her run along knowing that nothing he'd say would change her mind.
The blog post ends with a question to any atheists reading it as to how they would have handled a similar situation, or their atheism in general.
This post is, in some way, an answer.
I am an atheist. Basically after a reductio argument: I see no influence whatsoever of any potential godlike entity on my worldview, and so I choose not to include that particular axiom. It's grown out of a high interest in religious beliefs in general and christian in particular, combined with an inquiring and highly mathematical mind. Not everyone would end up where I did, but I did.
This places me in a position where I am able to have rather well-articulated theological discussions (at least in the realm of christianity - my moslem, jewish, hindu, buddhist or shinto theology is extremely lacking, alas) with believers, something I enjoy every now and then. I know full well that they won't be able to change my mind, and that I most probably won't be able to change their minds; mainly because this is a matter of belief, and not of rational analysis of data.
Nevertheless, I am quite opposed to idiocy. Should I had sat in on the discussion that the Friendly Atheist describes, I would have argued at length that dismissing Allah, Adonai, Vishnu et.c. as being silly while claiming not to understand how anyone could choose not to be christian is insulting to a large majority of human kind while being extremely narrowminded and involving a misunderstanding of the rôle of religion.
Granted. It is a misunderstanding that has been present throughout history, and has laid ground to very many very bloody conflicts in the past. But the existence of religious wars is still in no way an excuse for such a display of intolerance among those I call friends.
If you tell me that you cannot understand how anyone could choose not to be christian even after having Heard The Word, I will at first argue with you, and if this does not help, I will mock you. If you tell me that Believing in the Christian God is the Only Rational Choice, and at the same time that Believing in Vishnu is silly and Believing in Adonai is misguided, I will mock you even more.
It is not your christianity that would trigger such a reaction. It is your idiocy.
The blog post ends with a question to any atheists reading it as to how they would have handled a similar situation, or their atheism in general.
This post is, in some way, an answer.
I am an atheist. Basically after a reductio argument: I see no influence whatsoever of any potential godlike entity on my worldview, and so I choose not to include that particular axiom. It's grown out of a high interest in religious beliefs in general and christian in particular, combined with an inquiring and highly mathematical mind. Not everyone would end up where I did, but I did.
This places me in a position where I am able to have rather well-articulated theological discussions (at least in the realm of christianity - my moslem, jewish, hindu, buddhist or shinto theology is extremely lacking, alas) with believers, something I enjoy every now and then. I know full well that they won't be able to change my mind, and that I most probably won't be able to change their minds; mainly because this is a matter of belief, and not of rational analysis of data.
Nevertheless, I am quite opposed to idiocy. Should I had sat in on the discussion that the Friendly Atheist describes, I would have argued at length that dismissing Allah, Adonai, Vishnu et.c. as being silly while claiming not to understand how anyone could choose not to be christian is insulting to a large majority of human kind while being extremely narrowminded and involving a misunderstanding of the rôle of religion.
Granted. It is a misunderstanding that has been present throughout history, and has laid ground to very many very bloody conflicts in the past. But the existence of religious wars is still in no way an excuse for such a display of intolerance among those I call friends.
If you tell me that you cannot understand how anyone could choose not to be christian even after having Heard The Word, I will at first argue with you, and if this does not help, I will mock you. If you tell me that Believing in the Christian God is the Only Rational Choice, and at the same time that Believing in Vishnu is silly and Believing in Adonai is misguided, I will mock you even more.
It is not your christianity that would trigger such a reaction. It is your idiocy.
