“In order to make sense of the world, humans fill in the gaps of knowledge with belief and faith.”
So true. And when others don’t fall in line with that faith and those beliefs, problems develop.
“Atheism is truly a void and empty sort of thinking.”
This type of comment stems from romanticized thinking, a form of sentiment in which the act of viewing the world in terms of objective reality is non-existent. To classify atheism as cold and empty is to bolster the viewpoint that religion has the market cornered on humanity. Just because atheism is a platform for seeking truth, it doesn’t render the atheist any less human.
“Anyone who demands scientific evidence of the unscientific makes a nonsensical demand.”
Science doesn’t always have to play a role in the doctrine of atheism. Likewise, to move about the day under the presupposition that a god exists, then to suggest a request for acknowledgement makes perfect sense. (Weren’t there, like, great towers of flames that materialized in the sky back in the day?)
“I am very happy to be labeled ignorant if it means that I am being true to my God. I would rather associate with the ignorant than the arrogant.”
Blind devotion is a kind of romanticism. This particular kind arises from guru-speak, that in which the art of rhetorical persuasion has confined a mind to a mode of following, as opposed to leading, all of which is bound by passion.
“Atheists are one of the most widely-despised groups in the United States.”
Herein lay the contradiction of religionists and the principle of loving thine enemies.
“Maybe they are trapped in a belief system like Islam, or Mormonism, or a lifestyle like homosexuality, or alcoholism…”
Pairing alternate belief systems with the category of alternate lifestyles and disease fosters social stratification in unspeakable ways.
“God knows the Supreme Court will screw things up, but he can deal with that. If they rule for perversion, we’ll need revival to save America.”
When religionists talk of saving America, they are blind to the genocide inflicted upon the natives who lived in harmony with the land for millennia. America was built on the slaughter of innocents.
“When you read the Bible, and you find some part of it outrageous and offensive, that’s proof that it’s probably true, that it’s probably from God.”
And when you read Russell, Nietzsche or Hitchens and find some part of it outrageous and offensive, that’s proof that it’s probably true, and that it’s probably not from God.
“They don’t like to cite it but the truth is, secular-atheistic regimes killed over 100,000,000 people in the 20th century.”
I love to cite it. Either way, proof of the existence of the supernatural fails to materialize.
“What these online provocateurs fail to note is – we place our faith in unseen things all the time.”
Faith in things like electricity is found in habit and producible phenomena. This doesn’t mean that ancient religious texts which ask the reader to have faith in invisible deities are applicable to modern society.
“Let’s go at it in attempting to prove God is possible or not possible.”
Since God is never around to speak for himself, this is what the argument is always reduced to. Actually, the more one speaks of God in the third person, the less credible he/she/it becomes. In fact, in these terms, God becomes a very postmodern concept. The more that people have to develop ideas on the possibility of God’s existence, the more God becomes mere play for interpretation. The more the interpretation involved, the more postmodern notions of God become.
“But this New Atheism has at its center a view that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.”
Because of the manipulative nature of religion, that’s the way it has to be.
“Any psychologist will say, that lashing out like this [New Atheism] is of an expression of a need to assert superiority or equality; which stems from a feeling of inferiority. Atheists who don’t want to better themselves, who would rather use their reason to justify a life dedicated to comfort, to prove that they don’t have to better themselves morally, understand that they’re not living a complete life, because those damn self-improving theists think they’re so much better than us because they’re developing moral toughness and a brighter quality of humanity.”
Any other psychologist might disagree. As psychology is taught and understood in terms of scientific study, the definition of a “complete life” would need clarification. Besides, who could possibly resist a life with us atheists down here in the gutter?
“In sum, this is the hope of atheism: unless science can stuff us into metal tubes on a cold, barren planet, we’re doomed.”
Since Michelangelo’s lofty depictions of people floating half-naked on cloud puffs high in the sky, atheism has naturally garnered “cold, barren” symbolism for representation. It’s a natural part of black and white thinking which aligns perfectly with the religionist mindset, that if you’re not with us, then you’re against us.
“For God to be imaginary, he must be shown to exist in the synapses within the Thalamus and Neocortex.”
Hands down, this is the single greatest argument for God I have ever heard.
