| Are You a Devout Atheist? (Religious Atheism) |
| Written by Kory D | ||
| Wednesday, 27 October 2010 16:43 | ||
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Devout and atheist in the same sentence? I know what you’re thinking. They are a contradiction in terms, right? Well, they are supposed to be. Unfortunately, atheists I have had the privilege to talk to chose their path not because they believe in something in particular, but because they don't want to have anything with religion. At some point they looked at - what some might think – the obvious discrepancies between science fact and religious mythology, the suffering that fighting over whose faith was the true one caused over the course of human history and decided that it was all stupid all the time. So, in that sense they are still following the tenants of their ways, which is supposed to be pure and unadulterated reason. Religious Atheism The problem with their ways does not rear its ugly head until you ask them why they don’t believe in God, for instance. Then they say something like 'there is no proof.' I have even been given that answer by a person with two master’s degrees and Ph.D. in science. Really, that’s your answer? I am no scientist, but it is my understanding that one of the cornerstones of science is that the lack of evidence is not evidence to the contrary. Maybe, just maybe, you can say that about something that you have studied to death, but came up short repeatedly when it came to the supporting evidence. At some point you do have to say: ‘After extensive research, we have found no proof, so we are forced to conclude that [insert field of research here] does not exist. But, even then the possibility is there that you just lacked some piece of knowledge or technology to give you the answer. That is why no real scientist will ever deal in absolutes. So, finding evidence for something you refuse to look for is going to be that much more difficult. In other words, atheism – at least the way it is being practiced today (religious atheism)– is more about winning a tickling contest than about reason. Therefore, the followers of atheism aren’t any better than their religious counterparts through the centuries, hence the coinage "devout atheism."
Comments (295)
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If you really want to determine who is more reasonable, may I suggest you take a trip to Texas and have a chat with the folks who want to replace the science curriculum with creationism, or chat with the nice people from the West Boro Baptist Church how they view homosexuals, or take a little trip to the middle-east and have a discussion with muslim women on how that sharia law thing is working out.
And as for the tickling contest, to see who is more devout in their beliefs, I believe that was answered on September 11, 2001