One of the other big lies of our time
Jul 27, 2007 Faith and Works
From the comments at Chicago Boyz:
One of the core myths of atheism, at least as it is practiced on the internet, is that atheism is the pinnacle of all reason. It is not merely a possible or even a true belief, but actually a righteous belief. All other belief is an exercise in self-deception and superstition.
So the epic goes. The noble atheist rises above his petty fellows by sheer force of reason, intellectual honesty, and will for truth, and when he has achieved the lofty height of unbelief, he can look down upon the superstitious masses with a mixture of pity and contempt.
To the educated and intellectually honest Christian, the story is poppycock. The reasoning is nothing like the line of reasoning that any believer will give you. No one will ever say, “Well, I know it’s all hogwash, but it’s comforting hogwash, you know?” The tradeoff is a fantasy – but one that makes sense when you realize atheism is a religion, not a science. The attitude summed up in the quote stems not from actual close-up observation of what religion is, but from a distant self-serving perception of it ought to be. Its roots are not in reason, but in emotional need.
“Dove” — you tell it!
Good Shabbos.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Dove is not a man. (If she is, our marriage is going to be in serious trouble.)
Aside from that, though, thanks.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Being “the man” has nothing to do with your sex! You are welcome, though. And I am going to change the post!
July 28th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
What a sad joke you are, Dove. Have your feelings been hurt by the fact that some people just don’t believe your religious [deleted]?
“The noble atheist rises above his petty fellows by sheer force of reason, intellectual honesty, and will for truth, and when he has achieved the lofty height of unbelief, he can look down upon the superstitious masses with a mixture of pity and contempt”.
You made a very true statement above.
That is exactly what the atheist does,
but he doesn’t need a church or some
white collared [deleted] to pay money
to support. I’d hardly call being intelligent and being allowed to think for myself a religion.
Why don’t you just read and understand
what the bible says and then make up your mind. If you still choose religion you are delusional and should seek help.
July 28th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Aspen, you are making a mistake. Dove and I are referring to intellectual atheists, not people like you. Don’t sweat it.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:53 am
So, you don’t actually what people to draw their own conclusions. You want them to draw the same conclusions you do.
You exalt your own reason and ego to places it has no right to be and assume that in your paltry finite existance you’ve experienced all that may be experienced and may those who differ with you be damned. Tell me, if you would, what makes you qualified to think such a thing? Who are you that we should take your word over another? Something tells me you’ve spent so much time looking in, admiring the shrine you’ve built to yourself, you don’t actually believe it’s possible there just may exist things outside your experience that prove you wrong.
At least religionists admit out the gate that faith is a part of their belief system. Heck, I have more respect for agnostics than I do for athiests. They’re honest enough with themselves to admit there’s a real possibility there could be a God, they just haven’t experienced that yet.
Aspen, you need a god just as much as the rest of us. You just happen to find your’s in a mirror. I hope he lives up to all the faith you’ve put into him.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Kevin, most atheists do admit that they cannot prove there is no god. The problem is that this is irrelevant. Either you have good reason to believe something or you don’t. If you don’t, you don’t believe. It’s as simple as that, despite how you desire to keep on confusing it. All agnostics are still additionally either believers (theists) or non-believers (atheists): there isn’t any other alternative.
And the old, O’Reily-level accusations that atheists are their “own god.” Come on: you’re not THAT goofy and ridiculous are you?
August 31st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
To Kevin D who said:
“Aspen, you need a god just as much as the rest of us. You just happen to find your’s in a mirror. I hope he lives up to all the faith you’ve put into him”.
At least I can see my god, can you see yours? I see the person I want to believe in my mirror and I don’t have to go some phony profiteering church to seek help from some other human who hasn’t got it right either. If you don’t believe in yourself you are doomed
as a person. Having to live in constant fear of an imaginary place like hell is not my idea of living the good life.