Despite the fact that I am a self proclaimed atheist and dedicated to the notion that religion in general causes more harm than good in our societies, I rarely make it a point to proclaim these convictions in my day to day dealings with family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, etc. Yes, I do use fb as a soap box of sorts, but my friend list consists of 90% or better of like minded people. My goal is not intentional conversion, but rather reasonable diversion. There are folks who for whatever reasons stay in the closet with regards to their doubts or outright disbelief and these are the people we need to reach. As for those who seem to be helplessly entrenched in their authoritative doctrine and dogma and consistently moan of persecution while actively soliciting for/and finding it where none exists, I spare little patience. In fact, I am recently transitioning towards a mind set of those like Dawkins who assert that religion should not be afforded our blanket respect simply because thats the way it has always been. This is not a courtesy reciprocated in kind by most loving christians. My atheism and the thinly veiled contempt that even those closest to me hold for the idea of it more often than not finds its way into the most unlikely of conversations without the slightest provocation on my part. So, should we continue to be courteous and quiet in our public affairs? Certainly there is a time and place for everything, but when openly (or furtively) having your convictions used as a unsolicited assessment of character in an otherwise innocuous setting, then I believe all bets are off. If someone insists on shoving my atheism down their own throats, I may be apt to offer assistance!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:30:49 +0000