RE: Stop calling atheists 'fundamentalists'
July 23, 2014 at 4:14 pm
(This post was last modified: July 23, 2014 at 4:16 pm by Dystopia.)
(July 23, 2014 at 4:10 pm)Rabb Allah Wrote:(July 23, 2014 at 3:35 pm)Blackout Wrote: That's not a rule, that's just atheism per se, it's like saying the heart beating is a condition to be alive. If there is no belief, you're an atheist, even if you dislike it. The difference is the lack of belief in gods can be questioned every time, I could search for god and start believing, there is no punishment for it in my optic, therefore fundamentalism doesn't exist. Fundamentalism would be if I believed no gods exist and continued to do so despite evidence to prove the supernatural being presented.
I don't consider lack of belief in gods as a rule to atheism, it's not a rule, atheism doesn't have any rules or dogmas, the lack of belief is what constitutes atheism. Not to mention not all atheists lack belief in gods, some atheists believe no gods exist (gnostic atheists), there goes your single rule
Many fallacies here. You did not chose to have your heart beat but you chose to be an atheist. The same way you chose to be a Christian although many are brainwashed into it.
The lack of beliefs in god is not really a rule but I just used that word. It is indeed the main and only principle to be an atheist. People of religious backgrounds have all sorts of principles they must live by.
It is not however an absolute 'principle'. By the way, I don't consider I chose to be an atheist, I was simply forced to become one given the facts. It wasn't a choice, I simply looked at facts and reality, just like I didn't chose that green is green and red is red, I simply looked at the colours and determined they were green and red. The facts forced me to reach the conclusion. You can't be a fundamentalist if you can question the rules and principles/dogmas, world views, whatever you want to call them. I can question my belief position every time I wish too, and I will stop following it if it starts leading to bad results. A fundamentalist follows the whole doctrine without questioning, even if the result is hideous. If the holy book X says 'kill people Y' they will kill people Y, even if it's wrong. And I don't think not believing in gods is a premise, it's the conclusion. However, premises and conclusions can be questioned and dismissed if there is inductive or deductive evidence.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you