Are atheists inherently angry? Let me define my use of the word atheist: when I use it, I dont mean the casual atheist, one would fall under the banner of Apathetic Agnostic Atheist. No, I mean ones such as us, who actively engage in our atheism and contest any claim made by someone which is unsupported by fact or evidence and is based on pseudoscience, feeling and experience, regardless of origin of the belief. Personally, I dont think so. At least, anger isnt a defining characteristic of atheists and atheism. Yet, simultaneously, it IS a defining characteristic of atheists such as we. Why? Most of us in this vein come to our atheism because of reason, because the facts dont back up the claims made by those who make them. If we value what is true over what makes us happy or feel good, we tend to be outraged when we encounter people who, despite knowing more about the world than the layperson, continue to assert such falsehoods as truth, and proselytize to others. Particularly the unsophisticated, unknowledgeable, or inexperienced (aka. children). What kind of people am I talking about? Well, in the west, I would be talking about people who have gone through seminary college, or are educated in the origins of religion. Basically, any sort of religious authority or expert. But, after watching Greta Christinas speech at Skepticon 4, I learned about so many other reasons, if youre an active atheist and youre not angry, why you really should be, and why active atheism, by necessity, requires one to be angry. Its a bit long, about 50 minutes, but personally, Ive found hearing a lot of the ideas which have been rattling around in my head put together in one place has been beneficial, and given me extra ammunition when conversing with believers. Kind of like when I read Dawkins The God Delusion or Dennetts Breaking the Spell. All of these helped me gain clarity. I hope some of you get something out of this. TMF ---------------------- inb4 someone straw-mans me and infers something Im definitely NOT saying: This is in no way, shape or form and endorsement for anyone to behave abusively toward a person of belief. For the most part, theyre essentially deluded and/or frightened of the concept of an uncaring universe. What I am saying is to educate yourself on as many topics as is possible, and engage with words and intelligence, not violence and coercion. Thats their methodology.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 16:37:56 +0000
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