(December 2, 2010 at 12:33 am)lilyannerose Wrote: Theists have an emotional identity connection to their belief systems. For a lot of theists a belief system is the foundation upon which they structure their life. You go after that and you are going to get more emotion and passion in the defense of that belief system which prohibits any attempts at rational examination of the belief.
Oh, wow. You took the words right out of my head.
And it's not so much that you tap into that emotional attachment to their belief system; for many theists, you're also attacking their self identity and ego. Most do not seem to have any real sense of self without their religion, which to me explains why they don't understand how atheists can be moral without religious constraints. They don't sin because their God will punish them. Yet on the other hand, theists will often justify a moral wrong such as the death penalty, the murder of an abortion provider, or the blatant torture of other human beings if it serves their purposes, often stated as punishment for sins. It's circular thinking and for a lot of the very religious, that's all they're really capable of, and it's obvious in their arguments.
Most atheists will observe society's rules because we understand on a deeper level how damaging it is to ourselves and others not to violate established social norms and laws. We seem to have an ability to look past ourselves and view the whole picture, then form an opinion to which we can respond with our behavior. Theists appear to view this ability as a threat to their ego integrity, especially when such responses begin to impinge upon their belief systems. It takes time, but I think atheists do have an impact upon social attitudes, just as much as religion does. And that threatens them a whole bunch.
=(: D)
