...It is the source of all true art and science." Einstein

"My concern is that atheism can easily become the position of not being interested in certain possibilities in principle. I don’t know if our universe is, as JBS Haldane said, “not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we can suppose.” But I am sure that it is stranger than we, as “atheists,” tend to represent while advocating atheism. As “atheists” we give others, and even ourselves, the sense that we are well on our way toward purging the universe of mystery. As advocates of reason, we know that mystery is going to be with us for a very long time. Indeed, there are good reasons to believe that mystery is ineradicable from our circumstance, because however much we know, it seems like there will always be brute facts that we cannot account for but which we must rely upon to explain everything else. This may be a problem for epistemology but it is not a problem for human life and for human solidarity. It does not rob our lives of meaning. And it is not a barrier to human happiness." Sam Harris

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-problem-with-atheism



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 10:11AM by koriwhore.

Perhaps you should take a good look into yourself to see what drives your fanaticism.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 10:16AM by MJ.

and fanatical atheists. The OP is my answer.

"The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who—in their grudge against traditional religion as the "opium of the masses"—cannot hear the music of the spheres.” Albert Einstein

"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal god is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being." Albert Einstein

Fanatical Atheist Fatwah, delivered by Richard Dawkins, at the Reason Rally 2012,

"Mock them! Ridicule them! In public!Don’t fall for the convention that we’re all too polite to talk about religion. Religion is not off the table. Religion is not off limits.

Religion makes specific claims about the universe which need to be substantiated and need to be challenged and, if necessary, need to be ridiculed with contempt."

Einstein would have had nothing but contempt for you if Richard Dawkins is your Dear Leader.

I am not talking about atheists being fanatical, I am saying that you are being fanatical about atheism. There is a difference between the two concepts.

You have only responded with more fanaticism, not why you are fanatical.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 10:57AM by MJ.

<<"Mock them! Ridicule them! In public!Don’t fall for the convention that we’re all too polite to talk about religion. Religion is not off the table. Religion is not off limits.>>

You mock and ridicule mormons and the mormon religion in your other posts. You've answered Dawkin's Fatwa. Dadldadladlaayeee!

BTW, Harris uses the atheist label on his blog as a URL on hos page, so he can not be all that fanatical about not liking the label. http://www.samharris.org/blog/category/atheism

The fact that Einstien did not care for the label, does not mean he was fanatical about it.

No, sorry, not being a fan of something does not explain or justify fanaticism.

So, I ask again, why the fanaticism?

BTW, polls showing trends about how atheism is viewed shows a huge leap the acceptance of atheists as the "new atheist" speak out about atheism without fear.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 11:17AM by MJ.

As an atheist, I see nothing to be fanatical about. After all, it's not a belief, but the absence of such. What's often mistaken for atheist fanaticism is nothing more than vocal indignation about those who presume to force their ideas on others.

Rationalist - One issue here is that quite a number of self-defined atheists do not describe their positions as "an absence of belief", but in fact, either declare a belief that there is no God, or simply state, without any qualification, that "there is no God".

Moreover, many self-identified atheists go beyond "an absence of belief" to the belief that religion is inherently evil or corrupting. From this, they infer that the world would be better off without religion. And from that, they infer an obligation to try to minimize religion's influence, or destroy it altogether.

The point is that those inferences constitute more than a mere "absence of belief".

Inherently evil, corrupt? Well it is! But I don't deny fools from practicing their foolishness. It's their choice.

“those who presume to force their ideas on others.”

It is interesting to see different people’s reactions on this board. It must depend on where you live. Iraq and Isis, Afghanistan and the taliban, some parts of the US and fundamentalists, in your local bible belt, etc. Where I live, it’s not an issue. No one cares, nor do they shove their religion onto you. It just isn’t an issue. I feel bad for those who live in such radical places. In don’t live in any such world. In some places on this earth, no one cares.

yet another thread from a fanatic anti-Atheist.

But if there's a worse identity to pick than Muslim, it's Atheist.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yet another thread from a fanatic anti-Atheist.


He's clearly obsessed with this.

Luckily, I've always been hated for who I am, rather than for being an atheist.

It's good when justice is served.

"So, let me make my somewhat seditious proposal explicit: We should not call ourselves “atheists.” We should not call ourselves “secularists.” We should not call ourselves “humanists,” or “secular humanists,” or “naturalists,” or “skeptics,” or “anti-theists,” or “rationalists,” or “freethinkers,” or “brights.” We should not call ourselves anything. We should go under the radar—for the rest of our lives. And while there, we should be decent, responsible people who destroy bad ideas wherever we find them." Sam Harris

Koriwhore, Sam suggested atheists not call themselves atheists, secularists, humanists, etc.

What do you suggest atheists call themselves?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 08:49PM by thingsithink.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens, wise wise men.
Let's start there.
The old wise man, the first man, Homo Sapiens Idaltu, is within each of us.
Once one of us achieves his full potential, to become a truly sapient, wise, let me know. I say Malala qualifies. She's Muslim. Are you with her or against her?
I am not wise. I am nothing and I'm ok with being nothing, a nobody.
I'm okay with being like Banksy, completely unknown, but that's not the world in which we live, now is it?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2015 06:16PM by koriwhore.

koriwhore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Homo Sapiens Dapiens, wise wise men.
> Let's start there.
> The old wise man, the first man, Homo Sapiens
> Idaltu, is within each of us.
> Once one of us achieves his full potential, to
> become a truly sapient, wise, let me know.
> I am not wise. I am nothing and I'm ok with being
> nothing, a nobody.
> I'm okay with being like Banksy, completely
> unknown, but that's not the world in which we
> live, now is it?

I agree, and I don't know any fellow atheists who are even trying to purge mystery. Just myth.