RE: Jeff Sparrow on the need to save ourselves from the sickishness of the New Atheists
March 18, 2016 at 4:48 pm
(March 18, 2016 at 4:19 pm)abaris Wrote:(March 18, 2016 at 3:52 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote: I feel you. I'm also a known sympathizer. But I find I have plenty in common with some atheists, and any disconnect seems to be as much because of my curmudgeonly unwillingness to go along to get along over the small stuff. But I find plenty to like and plenty of like minded among the godless.
Let me put it this way, atheists often have similar values as I. The point I was trying to make is, atheism, for me, means individuality and the absence of any group. I don't define myself over atheism and I'm as skeptical of persons who do as I am of fervently religious individuals. The tendency to turn everything into an ideology is a strong human trait. And with ideological thinking comes the need to force the own opinions and views on others.
"atheist" is also not a moral code, and atheists as well are STILL the same species as all 7 billion. Not even "atheist" will automatically make someone only do good. Our species ability to be cruel or compassionate in our evolution, not our labels.
"Atheist" merely means off on god claims. It does not mean we value lawlessness, nor does it mean we are incapable of empathy for others. No, that does not preclude us from being cruel, but it also does not mean the individual atheist will be cruel by proxy of the label. We are all still first and foremost individuals.
