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Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 11:17 am
by ant
There is, as has often been noted, something peculiarly evangelistic about what has been termed the new atheist movement ... It is no exaggeration to describe the movement popularized by the likes of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens as a new and particularly zealous form of fundamentalism -- an atheist fundamentalism.
The parallels with religious fundamentalism are obvious and startling: the conviction that they are in sole possession of truth (scientific or otherwise), the troubling lack of tolerance for the views of their critics (Dawkins has compared creationists to Holocaust deniers), the insistence on a literalist reading of scripture (more literalist, in fact, than one finds among most religious fundamentalists), the simplistic reductionism of the religious phenomenon, and, perhaps most bizarrely, their overwhelming sense of siege: the belief that they have been oppressed and marginalized by Western societies and are just not going to take it anymore.
~ Reza Aslan
Quite true.
Anyone else see these same parallels?
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:49 pm
by Dexter
I totally see the parallels
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/extremists
In fairness, that is too kind to the atheist extremists, they also hurt peoples' feelings by writing books and tweeting.
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:59 pm
by ant
Good one, Dexter!
Hey, let's marginalize religious people, sentence them to death, or throw them in dungeons.
No one can blame us for acting like religious zealots because we simply lack belief in deities. Singling out religious people for persecution is nothing personal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USSR_anti- ... 80%9341%29
We aren't killing in the name of atheism. We're killing in the name of rationality!
Let's go have a beer after we're done!
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:15 pm
by Dexter
Oh yeah, I forgot that Stalin's regime was based on nonbelief in deities, not destruction of his enemies. He just really, really lacked belief. You're making a fool of yourself, once again.
In a previous thread about Stalin, you said,
Youre welcome to continue to defend the condemnation and murder of millions of Christians by an atheistic government all you want, however indirectly you are doing it.
So everyone knows that logic, argument and reading comprehension are not your strengths. But keep up the good fight in the name of... well nobody knows.
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:23 pm
by ant
Dexter wrote:Oh yeah, I forgot that Stalin's regime was based on nonbelief in deities, not destruction of his enemies. He just really, really lacked belief. You're making a fool of yourself, once again.
In a previous thread about Stalin, you said,
Youre welcome to continue to defend the condemnation and murder of millions of Christians by an atheistic government all you want, however indirectly you are doing it.
So everyone knows that logic, argument and reading comprehension are not your strengths. But keep up the good fight in the name of... well nobody knows.
Actually, you're missing the point again.
fundamentalism can arise from any belief - even the belief that belief is antithetical to civilization.
in the case of regimes that were very clear they were based on atheism, it became just as deadly as religious fundamentalism has.
You're making a fool of yourself, once again.
I love the way you pop in every now and then to tell me I'm foolish.
I'm not quite sure if you think you have free license here to do that.
If you do, you're full of shit.
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:27 pm
by Dexter
ant wrote:
I love the way you pop in every now and then to tell me I'm foolish.
I'm not quite sure if you think you have free license here to do that.
If you do, you're full of shit.
Yes, I do in fact have free license to do that.
It is both fun and correct at the same time. Everyone here knows that.
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:33 pm
by ant
Dexter wrote:ant wrote:
I love the way you pop in every now and then to tell me I'm foolish.
I'm not quite sure if you think you have free license here to do that.
If you do, you're full of shit.
Yes, I do in fact have free license to do that.
It is both fun and correct at the same time. Everyone here knows that.
everyone?
no, just about 3 people.
and again, you're missing the point.
in terms of practicality, the only usefulness I've seen from evangelical new atheists like yourself is entertainment.
there's certainly nothing that society has benefited from since the strawman new atheists created immediately after 911.
are new atheists even socially functional?
you prove they aren't every time you post here.
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:43 pm
by Dexter
ant wrote:
are new atheists even socially functional?
What does that even mean? Is it socially functional to not believe in fairy tales? It can be, you can be free to do useful things.
Is it socially functional to
believe in fairy tales? As a matter of fact, it might be. If you believe sky daddy wants you to do good things, maybe that will motivate you. Just be sure to edit out the nasty parts of the Bible.
As Sam Harris has said, it would be trivially easy to improve on the Bible if truth didn't matter and you wanted something for people to believe in.
So are you defending religious claims that you know aren't true because they are good for society, or not?
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:52 pm
by ant
What does that even mean?
oh i'm just thinking about what I've read about these little atheist clubs that pop up here and there that have been accused of sexism and racism.
what else have they accomplished besides turning women and minority groups off?
Of course you wouldn't know, Dexter. Remember your idol for the longest time was that notorious sexual predator?
Re: Reza Aslan weighs in on Evangelical Atheism
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 2:06 pm
by Dexter
ant wrote:What does that even mean?
oh i'm just thinking about what I've read about these little atheist clubs that pop up here and there that have been accused of sexism and racism.
what else have they accomplished besides turning women and minority groups off?
Of course you wouldn't know, Dexter. Remember your idol for the longest time was that notorious sexual predator?
Wow, an atheist was accused of sexism? That must mean disbelief has been disproved! You finally did it!