(August 27, 2015 at 1:28 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: "I am hostile to religion because of what it did to Kurt Wise. And if it did that to a Harvard educated geologist, just think what it can do to others less gifted and less well armed."

I'm hostile towards people who do atrocious things in the name of religion or base their bigotry on the pretext of religious believes. I'm not hostile towards religion, since the majority of religious people just go about their business.

And I can only say what I'm always saying. Atheism isn't what I am. It doesn't define me. It's just the absence of belief in any god. My values have nothing to do with atheism but everything with the world as I see it. And that includes not making blanket statements about any group of people but judging them on an individual level.

(August 27, 2015 at 6:08 pm)Pandæmonium Wrote: Qualify you quantification. Evidence your assertions plz. 'Many'= ? And justification for "?" Is what exactly? Your personal interaction online and in RL?

Bear in mind that if your reply is anything other than something people can analyse and inspect for themselves I do not care one iota, and neither will anyone else, and people will rightly be justified in concluded you have an axe to grind.

I agree 100% that being an atheist =/= 'more' intelligence however. I just fundamentally reject your insinuation that 'many' [???] atheists have reached their conclusion simply to indulge in a lifestyle I would infer for your description above that you find somehow questionable or indeed objectionable. This screams of someone having an inherent bias against a position thus making their position on it questionable.

Here's my evidence, what I said can be said about anyone, literally anyone in any social group that they so choose, though maybe in different circumstances, and for the most part remain true (depending on those circumstances)

1. Theism is only belief in a higher power, generally one or more deities.
2. Just being a theist does not make one intellectually flexible at all, in fact I find this to be false for many theists
3. Though almost every person would tell you that if sufficient evidence were presented they would change their mind this I can assure you is most certainly not the case, many people become stupendously stupid when faced with controversial subjects in which they become emotionally charged in, they thus refute all evidence presented to them
4. Christians who hate Islam are illogical, cue philosophy on why hate is an irrational emotion. (or here's another one, I believe Caucasians who hate Africans and judge them because of their skin color are irrational. Insert philosophy on hate here.)
5. I believe strongly that many teenage girls who have a crush on Justin Beiber, have reached this stage in their life as a result that it was a trendy thing to do. (people do have a tendency to follow the crowd)

You see? It can be said about anyone. It is not an inherit problem with atheism but a very real problem with the thinky parts of our human brains. I do have an axe to grind though rest assured, I use it to chop down egos.

The fact that you rendered a defensive response, demanding evidence for something that is so perfectly construed as could be said about anyone shows that you identify many things I presented in the course of my five points as being qualities of atheists. They aren't. They are qualities of being human.

(August 27, 2015 at 6:45 pm)abaris Wrote:

(August 27, 2015 at 1:28 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: "I am hostile to religion because of what it did to Kurt Wise. And if it did that to a Harvard educated geologist, just think what it can do to others less gifted and less well armed."

I'm hostile towards people who do atrocious things in the name of religion or base their bigotry on the pretext of religious believes. I'm not hostile towards religion, since the majority of religious people just go about their business.

And I can only say what I'm always saying. Atheism isn't what I am. It doesn't define me. It's just the absence of belief in any god. My values have nothing to do with atheism but everything with the world as I see it. And that includes not making blanket statements about any group of people but judging them on an individual level.

Thats interesting! I tend to think the opposite ( sorta' )

I think that religion is the main culprit in vilifying, ever so insidiously, the minds of its followers. As to the matter of moderately religious individuals, yes they ( for the most part ) "just go about their business".

And by no means does the quote make blanket statements of individuals/groups. Religion in itself however, rightfully so in my opinion, deserves much criticism. The good parts about religions do no justify them. As the late Christopher Hitchens once said "If you claim it for the what, you have to accept it for the more".

Atheist: "I don't believe in god"

Fundamentalist Atheist: "I don't fucking believe in stupid shit, which includes god"

(August 27, 2015 at 7:11 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: And by no means does the quote make blanket statements of individuals/groups. Religion in itself however, rightfully so in my opinion, deserves much criticism. The good parts about religions do no justify them. As the late Christopher Hitchens once said "If you claim it for the what, you have to accept it for the more".

One of the reasons I never put any stock in the posterboy aheisst. I didn't need them to find my own way to atheism. And I never got interested in what they have to say afterwards. As I said, I am not atheism. Atheism is only the one part of my life that says I don't believe. Everything else is based on life experiences and their evaluation. As is my atheism by the way.

(August 27, 2015 at 7:20 pm)abaris Wrote:

(August 27, 2015 at 7:11 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: And by no means does the quote make blanket statements of individuals/groups. Religion in itself however, rightfully so in my opinion, deserves much criticism. The good parts about religions do no justify them. As the late Christopher Hitchens once said "If you claim it for the what, you have to accept it for the more".

One of the reasons I never put any stock in the posterboy aheisst. I didn't need them to find my own way to atheism. And I never got interested in what they have to say afterwards. As I said, I am not atheism. Atheism is only the one part of my life that says I don't believe. Everything else is based on life experiences and their evaluation. As is my atheism by the way.

If you can spare the time, read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Quite a fun book! If you're in a hurry, I would suggest reading chapter 2/ section 4, as well as  chapter 3/section 4.

(August 27, 2015 at 12:47 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: Hello everyone, Hope you're all having a good day

I've often encountered individuals who parsimoniously claim that atheistic fundamentalism is an actual thing. But what does fundamentalism mean in the first place? According to dictionary.com, and several other lexicons, it is the strict adherence to any basic set of ideas or principles.

Just on that alone, you would get the impression that atheism is anything but fundamentalism. Atheists are intellectually flexible by nature. 

Any atheist would tell you that if sufficient evidence/scientific consensus becomes present, they would change their beliefs in a heartbeat. But I think the key phrase here is  " intellectually flexible by nature " With the emphasis being put on " Intellectually".

Sure, atheists might be willing to change their ideas based on reasoning and scientific/critical thinking, but what about those who harbor excessive hatred to not only religion itself, but to individuals who happen to follow it.

Does that in itself, constitute as fundamentalism?

How could you be a fundamentalist about lack a belief?  There's no dogma to be fundamentalist about.

In fairness I know there are some atheist humanists that have something that looks like dogma, but they're tacking all sorts of stuff beyond the definition of atheism on top. They are atheism plus, plus, plus.  Whereas religious fundamentalists are we hold everything in the scriptures to be true.  Atheists have no scripture.

(August 27, 2015 at 7:31 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: If you can spare the time, read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Quite a fun book! If you're in a hurry, I would suggest reading chapter 2/ section 4, as well as  chapter 3/section 4.

No, I quite like Dawkins for his usual tongue in cheek attitude. He's the one exemption to my general skepticism towards the prominent atheists of our time. Yet his is just another opinion. I know why god is a delusion, so I'm not really interested in his book, if you get my point. I watched many of his lectures, speeches and discussions though.

(August 27, 2015 at 7:36 pm)abaris Wrote:

(August 27, 2015 at 7:31 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: If you can spare the time, read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Quite a fun book! If you're in a hurry, I would suggest reading chapter 2/ section 4, as well as  chapter 3/section 4.

No, I quite like Dawkins for his usual tongue in cheek attitude. He's the one exemption to my general skepticism towards the prominent atheists of our time. Yet his is just another opinion. I know why god is a delusion, so I'm not really interested in his book, if you get my point. I watched many of his lectures, speeches and discussions though.

I think that just "knowing" ( I am using that term loosely) that god is a delusion, doesn't merit not reading the book, because it delves into a plethora of subjects, to which the "God Delusion" happens to be at the center of.

(August 27, 2015 at 7:46 pm)ScepticOrganism Wrote: I think that just "knowing" ( I am using that term loosely) that god is a delusion, doesn't merit not reading the book, because it delves into a plethora of subjects, to which the "God Delusion" happens to be the center of.

I'm sure, he does. But that brings me back to atheism not defining me. My interests lie in other places.