I think being atheists most of us have the tendency to cut and aggresively attack any religion at all. We must understand and remember that most people are born into a religion with hundred and sometimes thousand of years of traditions and concrete belief.
I can understand attacking fundies who are inposing religions on public education, science education, or limiting the rights of others. But for those religion that tend to be very moderate and have little to no affect on public education and is even willing to accept science over century-long belief is worth respecting. I think it is a very admirable thing if you put yourself in their position who have concrete belief system yet willing to give it up when conflicting with science.
It is not about proving buddhism right or wrong. And buddhism have no interest in proving themselves right. It is not like Christianity. They have no desire to do that. Infact most of them who practices on a deeper philosophical level hold the idea of non-dualism and the fact is that there is no right or wrong or ultimate objective truth. Infact it is all relative and whatever works for them works for them. The first thing Theravada trainee monks were trained in was to hold the idea of "do not believe in anything any master or scripture taught but use their reasoning and if it agree with their reasoning then accept it and live by it". Or Zen/chan practices that simply imply that Zen and Chan is just experience by practitioner and different from one to another. Zen tend to be free of mysticism or magic. Such as koan story of practitioner seeing demons while meditating is nothing more than a metaphor of their fear or desires and sometimes hallucination, not a real mystical demon.
I think as an atheist we need to present ourselves in a more reasonable and admirable manner. The fact is there will always be religion. There are things worth and appropriate to attack and there are some that arent necessary. If we attack any religion just because it is a religion. We are just another group of fundies.
I can understand attacking fundies who are inposing religions on public education, science education, or limiting the rights of others. But for those religion that tend to be very moderate and have little to no affect on public education and is even willing to accept science over century-long belief is worth respecting. I think it is a very admirable thing if you put yourself in their position who have concrete belief system yet willing to give it up when conflicting with science.
It is not about proving buddhism right or wrong. And buddhism have no interest in proving themselves right. It is not like Christianity. They have no desire to do that. Infact most of them who practices on a deeper philosophical level hold the idea of non-dualism and the fact is that there is no right or wrong or ultimate objective truth. Infact it is all relative and whatever works for them works for them. The first thing Theravada trainee monks were trained in was to hold the idea of "do not believe in anything any master or scripture taught but use their reasoning and if it agree with their reasoning then accept it and live by it". Or Zen/chan practices that simply imply that Zen and Chan is just experience by practitioner and different from one to another. Zen tend to be free of mysticism or magic. Such as koan story of practitioner seeing demons while meditating is nothing more than a metaphor of their fear or desires and sometimes hallucination, not a real mystical demon.
I think as an atheist we need to present ourselves in a more reasonable and admirable manner. The fact is there will always be religion. There are things worth and appropriate to attack and there are some that arent necessary. If we attack any religion just because it is a religion. We are just another group of fundies.
