The Problem with Atheists
The problem with modern atheism is that its followers do not seem to have a firm grasp on the fact that religion is a part of our modern culture. We have people making outrageous claims and making attempts at refuting religious beliefs, and denying the fact that many religious values and concepts are ingrained in our culture as a people.
Many atheists are so against having a belief in God that they would infringe on the rights of others who do choose to believe in God. Many atheists will persecute any and all people who freely choose to follow a religion and have a belief in God. They will bring up petty, minor, nearly irrelevant issues such as whether or not the word God is used in our Pledge of Allegiance; or that In God We Trust is printed on our money and used as a motto; simply to continue their efforts to persecute and look down upon those that choose to believe in God and follow a religion.
Certainly some people are going to disagree with our feelings on religion and beliefs in God, and they should of course be free to do that without being persecuted for it. Just as you or I, or Richard Dawkins should be free to at the very least state our feelings, our thoughts, and our opinions on the subject. I just feel that a great many atheists are very invasive with their beliefs, and that stems from the more popular atheists in the world. People see Richard Dawkins being extremely arrogant with his opinion everywhere that he goes, increasing his popularity with these extreme atheists, and indeed they are building his ego up as they continue to follow in his footsteps, which is just going to make the issue worse. It's a vicious circle.
Of course there is an issue if and when religious beliefs somehow change our policies and laws, in our free country, in these modern times. I do not agree with that at all, and believe it to be a much greater issue than the word God being in the Pledge of Allegiance, using the example above; or the fact that many of our and much of the worlds holidays take place on dates that are particularly important to various religions throughout history, or are for various figures of Christianity and other religions. Religion is an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans and of humans as a whole, and it should be respected as such.
"The problem with modern atheism is that its followers do not seem to have a firm grasp on the fact that religion is a part of our modern culture."
Gosh, really? What a newsflash. Oh and how does one "follow" "modern" atheism? What exactly is modern about atheism? Religionists have been persecuting and killing atheists for millenia, there is nothing modern about atheism. However, what IS modern is that in many nations they are no longer permitted by society to actually kill atheists outright. Of course, persecution and intolerance of atheists are still fairly normal . . . like your post, for example.
"Many atheists are so against having a belief in God that they would infringe on the rights of others who do choose to believe in God."
Here's something you are probably unaware of. Atheists are picking on your god Yahweh, the Jewish tribal god, specifically. We just lump him in with Thor, Zeus, et al. So you don't need to act all offended in such a personal way.
And as to infringing on others, your arguments are IDENTICAL to those used by smokers. Remember them? They used to smoke everywhere? And when non-smokers finally asked them to stop smoking in spaces we all have to share, well, they made the same sort of backward arguments you are making here. Asking smokers not to smoke in public places is exactly the same as asking religionists to do the same with their religion.
"Religion is an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans and of humans as a whole, and it should be respected as such."
What is common to "religion"? Name one thing that is common to Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Mayan, Norse and Roman "religion". See what nonsense your claim is? Ideas do not merit "respect" unless they deserve it. If they do, then argue in their defence. You are not asking for "respect", you are, like Muslim mullahs, demanding an excemption from criticism.
Your entire article is an exercise in half-baked pseudo-intellectual pretence and bilge. I don't see people like Richard Dawkins, who can actually construct a supported argument, as arrogant. I see "arrogance" being levelled against him by people who are overwhelmed by his ability to actually construct such an argument, and who are frustrated by their own inability rebut a single claim that he makes. It's too bad you took your brain out and pasted it to the upper right corner of this site - perhaps that explains your complete inability to think.
"Religion is an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans and of humans as a whole, and it should be respected as such."
Are there other undeniable parts of our history and culture that you think don't deserve respect? Thanks.
seathanaich:
"What is common to "religion"? Name one thing that is common to Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Mayan, Norse and Roman "religion". See what nonsense your claim is? Ideas do not merit "respect" unless they deserve it. If they do, then argue in their defence. You are not asking for "respect", you are, like Muslim mullahs, demanding an excemption from criticism."
What I was making an attempt to bring into light in my article here is that religion, all religions, every single one of them, began from a basic human virtue of wanting to know more about their surroundings. Certainly this is survival based, knowing more about our surroundings helps our species to continue and thrive.
The idea is that ancient human beings used "religion" as a means to better understand the world around them. They did what they could with the tools that they had available to them at the time. I like to think of it in a similar manner as to how we modern humans use science, we realize that we don't know everything and we continue to make attempts to learn more. Religion, in my opinion, was developed and used in a very similar way.
And for the record, I am not personally religious. I don't believe in any sort of god, nor do I disbelieve in any sort of god. I simply respect religion for what it began as and for what it has became.
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Puzzled in Peoria:
"Are there other undeniable parts of our history and culture that you think don't deserve respect? Thanks."
Of course, I can think of many things that do not necessarily deserve respect. I see what you're getting at, religion hasn't always been good for us and many aspects of religion do not deserve respect. But religion as a whole definitely does.
Thanks for trying to figure out my point, but that wasn't it. :) You said. "Religion is an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans and of humans as a whole, and it should be respected as such."
Respectfully, this doesn't make sense to me. I can think of many things that are a part of our history and culture, that I can't respect, such as racism, war and driving slowly in the left lane of a freeway.
Maybe I'm missing something, but that seems to be exactly what your point was. Let's take a look at what you've said and use that as an example:
Racism, war and driving slowly in the left lane of a freeway - All things that you can't respect and they are all understandable. But are those three issues enough for you to not respect and appreciate humankind as a whole, both the good and the bad? Certainly not.
I look at religion in much the same way. Clearly there are some aspects of religion, what religion has turned into, that do not deserve to be respected. Religion as a whole though, when we think about what religion really is at its core, what it was at its beginning, deserves to be respected.
Hi Charles,
I took your statement, "Religion is an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans and of humans as a whole, and it should be respected as such." to mean that you think that anything (religion, racism, etc.) that is a part of our history and culture should be respected by virtue of the fact that it is an undeniable part of our history. Did I misunderstand your meaning? I said nothing about respecting or not respecting culture and history as a whole, as that was not my point.
Thanks.