Indoctrination - the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.
I've seen at least one person on this forum and I've seen it plenty of times before, claim that atheists are indoctrinated. Usually this is thrown in as an ad hominem because the theist has little else to say and has already lost the argument. I understand that in this context it's means no more than a sticking up your middle finger, but it makes me wonder why they keep throwing this out. The definition is listed above. How does this relate to atheists, atheism or any form of non-theistic thinking?
First, it is a given that there is no such thing as an atheist church. There are atheist organizations, but few atheists actually belong to them. I never have and never will for the specific reason that I don't want a community of people influencing my thinking. I do read lots of books by atheists and also theists. Probably 99% of the people I associate with are theists of one sort or another. I couldn't count the number of times a theist has tried to influence me in some way, large or small, it would be an impossible task. But I can say that the only times I've had an atheist try to influence me is maybe during an argument on a forum like this.
And lets consider the definition more. The word "uncritically" is used, meaning when you are being indoctrinated you aren't supposed to be thinking about this too much, you are just supposed to accept it because it is so. Nothing could be more antithetical to the atheistic way of thinking. Critical thinking is an absolute necessity. It forces you to challenge ideas and beliefs you might have held since you were a child. So how can someone get this so backward?
I expect my experience isn't too far removed from other atheists. So why do theists continue to make this accusation? Is it just that they have so little imagination?
I've seen at least one person on this forum and I've seen it plenty of times before, claim that atheists are indoctrinated. Usually this is thrown in as an ad hominem because the theist has little else to say and has already lost the argument. I understand that in this context it's means no more than a sticking up your middle finger, but it makes me wonder why they keep throwing this out. The definition is listed above. How does this relate to atheists, atheism or any form of non-theistic thinking?
First, it is a given that there is no such thing as an atheist church. There are atheist organizations, but few atheists actually belong to them. I never have and never will for the specific reason that I don't want a community of people influencing my thinking. I do read lots of books by atheists and also theists. Probably 99% of the people I associate with are theists of one sort or another. I couldn't count the number of times a theist has tried to influence me in some way, large or small, it would be an impossible task. But I can say that the only times I've had an atheist try to influence me is maybe during an argument on a forum like this.
And lets consider the definition more. The word "uncritically" is used, meaning when you are being indoctrinated you aren't supposed to be thinking about this too much, you are just supposed to accept it because it is so. Nothing could be more antithetical to the atheistic way of thinking. Critical thinking is an absolute necessity. It forces you to challenge ideas and beliefs you might have held since you were a child. So how can someone get this so backward?
I expect my experience isn't too far removed from other atheists. So why do theists continue to make this accusation? Is it just that they have so little imagination?
Why is it so?
~Julius Sumner Miller
~Julius Sumner Miller
