Anyway, the point of this post is news of a nascent unity movement among American atheists as reported today in the Los Angeles Times. It's an interesting article with gems such as this:
Although the comparison sounds melodramatic, atheist activists believe the climate to be so perilous that they're considering something drastic: unity.The article also references Julia Sweeney's atheist monologue, "Letting Go of God," which I wrote about last month in a post titled "BLASPHEMY!!"
Atheists aren't by nature of one mind. There's a godless organization for every wrinkle of nonbelief — the prayer-never-hurt-anyone, live-and-let-live atheists; the prove-the-God-fearing-world-wrong, keep-America-secular atheists; and the contrarian I-don't-believe-in-God-but-don't-call-me-an-atheist atheists.
Fear, however, is a great motivator, and politically active atheists know that they need an advocate in government to be heard. Unfortunately, as one activist noted, most politicians are as eager to align with the godless ranks as they are to lobby for pedophiles. Hence the need for an image makeover.
Actually, I'm surprised that there are actually so few atheists. I mean, at least these guys are being honest that they don't believe in God at all. Many more people acknowledge God, yet live as though they don't. Hm ... go figure.
4 comments:
It's kind of humorous if you think about it - "hey, let's not believe in something together."
Yes, since actions speak louder than words, it is hard to believe a lot of people when they say they do believe in God when many things they do are completely contrary to living as if God exists. I often mistake people for being atheists for this very reason.
I'm not sure I would describe myself as an atheist, but I'm definitely not a Christian. I don't understand organized religion or why people are involved in it. I don't find the Bible or Quran to be anything more than fiction, and I know you disagree with me. I think eveyone has the right to believe what they want and to argue about it is futile.
HI TS!
The end of your post is probably the most relevant to us as professing Christians. The Catholic Church calls people who talk the faith but don't live it as "practical atheists," which is FAR worse, since we know better.
thanks guys for the comments. i really do like reading your thoughts on my thoughts. (i also like reading others' thoughts about my thoughts on your thoughts, etc.) i really like what you said about not beleiving in something together, tt! funny stuff, organized atheism is.
one more thing i was thinking about was that most ardent atheists i've met have a chip on their shoulder. i guess the mellowed-out atheists aren't really advertising their non-belief.
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