One Agnostic's View of the New Atheists

[Minimalist]

You know what I'd love? If Randy started one thread - one single, glorious thread - where he actually puts forward a point or an argument in his own words, and continued the debate by thinking for himself. I'd like that. That would be nice.

He's catholic.  He is not allowed to think for himself.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, Hitchens is a damned good writer.

Other than that, these guys weren't an influence on my atheism at all, because I lost my faith, at age 14, long before I had ever heard of them.

[TheRocketSurgeon]

That old "no atheists in foxholes" trope? REALLY!?!

That was a reporter, in WW2 in the Pacific, trying to distinguish himself, as they all do. The tone simply resonated with what Christians wanted to hear (Reporter Win!), so the trope stuck. It's possibly the most disrespectful thing you can say, not only to atheists in general (since it suggests we'll suddenly convert if we just get really close to death) but especially to the atheists who have been or are being shot at right now, in service to their country.

In other words, I don't care how that author calls himself. Agnostic, atheist, Satanist, or Christian. He's an asshole. And if he doesn't want his asshole pulled out and fed to him, he'd probably better not say what he wrote to these guys:

http://militaryatheists.org/atheists-in-foxholes/

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By the way, I've been close to death numerous times since giving up Christianity, from crashing a motorcycle at over 140mph on a racetrack, to an emergency landing in a Cessna, to severe illness, to falling off a cliff face over 40' up, to actually being in a cancer ward... and not once did I ever cry out to God.

Not even tempted.

[Minimalist]

YOu were probably far too busy trying not to get killed.  And it isn't as if there is any fucking god to help out anyway.

[KevinM1]

Why are we supposed to care about what an agnostic thinks about new atheists? There's a ton of copypasta but no thesis on display.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Since many of you are British (and most of you are atheists), I thought you might enjoy reading agnostic BBC personality, John Humphrys' assessment of the New Atheists (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens). Speaking of this same anti-theist movement within the atheist community, Atheist Paul Kurtz, founder of the The Center For Inquiry (a secular humanist organization), observed:

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“I consider them atheist fundamentalists,” he says. “They’re anti-religious, and they’re mean-spirited, unfortunately. Now, they’re very good atheists and very dedicated people who do not believe in God. But you have this aggressive and militant phase of atheism, and that does more damage than good.” (Barbara Bradley Hagerty, “A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists”).

In an article posted at StrangeNotions.com, Matt Freyer summarizes Humphrys' assessments of the New Atheists taken from Humphrys' book, In God We Doubt:

1. Believers are mostly naive or stupid. Or, at least, they’re not as clever as atheists.

To which Humphreys responds:

“This is so clearly untrue it’s barely worth bothering with. Richard Dawkins, in his best selling The God Delusion, was reduced to producing a “study” by Mensa that purported to show an inverse relationship between intelligence and belief. He also claimed that only a very few members of the Royal Society believe in a personal god. So what? Somebelievers are undoubtedly stupid (witness the creationists) but I’ve met one or two atheists I wouldn’t trust tochange a light-bulb.”

2. The few clever ones are pathetic because they need a crutch to get them through life.

To which Humphrys responds:

“Don’t we all? Some use booze rather than the Bible. It doesn’t prove anything about either.”

3. They are also pathetic because they can’t accept the finality of death.

To which Humphrys responds:

“Maybe, but it doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Count the number of atheists in the foxholes or the cancer wards.”

4. They have been brainwashed into believing. There is no such thing as a “Christian child”, for instance—just a child whose parents have had her baptised.

To which Humphrys responds:

“True, and many children reject it when they get older. But many others stay with it.”

5. They have been bullied into believing.

To which Humphrys responds:

“This is also true in many cases but you can’t actually bully someone into believing—just into pretending to believe.”

6. If we don’t wipe out religious belief by next Thursday week, civilisation as we know it is doomed.

To which Humphrys responds:

“Of course the mad mullahs are dangerous and extreme Islamism is a threat to be taken seriously. But we’ve survived monotheist religion for 4, 000 years or so, and  I can think of one or two other things that are a greater threat to civilisation.”

7. Trust me: I’m an atheist.

To which Humphrys responds:

“Why?”

He adds:

“I make no apology if I have oversimplified their views with a little list: it’s what they do to believers all the time.”

Taken from:

An Agnostic’s Assessment Of New Atheist Attitudes
By Matt Nelson
http://www.strangenotions.com/an-agnosti...attitudes/

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But what do you think?  Are you capable of thinking for yourself?

[TheRocketSurgeon]

YOu were probably far too busy trying not to get killed.  And it isn't as if there is any fucking god to help out anyway.

Yeah, when you're making an approach to a tiny, rough dirt road between two patches of rubble-filled, hilly fields, with your engine spraying oil all over the windshield and making awful noises, flying the plane by sticking your head partly out the side window, and wondering if you're going to live through the next two minutes of your life, you really don't pause to think, "You know, I really should reassess my position on the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth".

I think I did say "Jesus" a couple of times while I was sliding at 140mph... but that's mostly because my leather had heated up by the friction (2nd degree burns across my butt/thigh and a giant bruise all down my hip/leg) and it hurt like crazy... was just the first curse word that sprang to mind. And the fourth. And I think the seventh.

[Easy Guns]

Don't hold your breath. 

I am physically unable to since The Ascension, so no worries there.

I found that show on Netflix. When I finished I was absolutely hooked.

Then I found out.

[Iroscato]

I am physically unable to since The Ascension, so no worries there.

I found that show on Netflix. When I finished I was absolutely hooked.

Then I found out.

I believe we are barking up different trees. You mortals and your constant need for electronic stimuli...

[Easy Guns]

I found that show on Netflix. When I finished I was absolutely hooked.

Then I found out.

I believe we are barking up different trees. You mortals and your constant need for electronic stimuli...

Actually my stimuli is quite analog at the moment (I.e. Vodka), so that must be why I got confused . The show I'm thinking of is called just 'Ascension'.