Strident Atheist Atheists

Continuing the discussion from Elaine Ecklund: Do Science and Faith Need Each Other?:

I realize this was originally a typo, but I think we should try to define just what the Strident Atheist Atheist position would be. :slight_smile:

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Seems like it could be more than merely a position, but also a persona and approach.

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Maybe someone who is atheistic towards strident atheists??

What does it mean “to be atheistic”?

You know I am joking, right? :slight_smile:

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It’s an atheist who dares to be as vocal about their worldview as theists are.

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Yes, I think that’s right. Or, more specifically, he may believe that strident atheists exist, but if so, he does not believe that they are gods. We have parallels for this in other religious terms – I used to meet people who would insist that Jesus really did live and that he was a wise teacher, but who would chuckle at the simplicity of those who would claim that he was a god or the son of a god. Likewise, the strident atheist atheist may believe that strident atheists exist, and may believe that they are wise teachers, but he would chuckle at the simplicity of those who, upon discovering that strident atheists were wise teachers, went further and assumed that they were gods.

By the way, it is generally a good idea, upon encountering a wise teacher, to assume that this person is not a god. If that person demonstrates the ability to extinguish the sun or some such thing, however, this assumption may be revisited, as may be appropriate under the circumstances.

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How about as athiest’s who dream of world domination and a future “utopia” without belief in God?

Was that intended as satire, right down to the misspelling of “atheist”? If so, you should have ended with “Mwah ha ha ha!”

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Only half joking…

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Which half?

A utopia will never exist. The vast, vast majority of atheists support religious freedom and celebrate the right to believe in any god you wish.

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The utopia one…
The world domination would be more in terms of ideology, philosophy etc…

Never said they didn’t…

What does that have to do with atheists thinking that the world would be a better place if more and more people believed as they did?
Christians definitely believe that the world would be a better place if more people believed in Christ and followed Him.

Just about everyone thinks that way, don’t they? It’s a nearly universal human bias.

It’s a fool’s errand to try and generalize about atheists, but being a fool I would suggest that most atheists think the world would be a better place if people followed facts and used reason and logic. We also tend to think that the world would be a better place if we used empathy and our own sense of inner morality to build governments and societies. Thankfully, there are many, many Christians and other theists who also share those values.

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No… I would assume this is true only of people who are more vocal and positive about their beliefs… They must have a destination to a better place (even if it’s on earth) in mind and the faith that their system of belief leads to said better place.

There are a lot of people in the world who see their faith as a matter of identity and don’t really believe all that much in a heaven or any future utopia brought about by following their beliefs.

We are trying to figure out “strident” atheists here… perhaps a strident atheist would feel that theists and Christian’s are rational inspite of their faith and perhaps would be more intellectually honest people if they became atheists.

I would say that an unreasonable atheist is one who thinks believers are intellectually dishonest. Is this close to being a strident atheist?

When theists express their beliefs I don’t question their intellect or their honesty. I believe that people can believe in God while being intellectually honest.

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Perhaps… I dont know. (I am not aware of any standard definitions for a strident athiest).
The crux of the matter is how two people can believe the opposite with both being entirely rational and logical. One party has to be either less rational, logical or atleast less informed.
If someone strongly believes in athiesm as True, then that person would have to view other opinions as less rational or atleast less informed.

And I believe the same about atheists. (Mainly because I used to be one for a very short period of my life and my brother is still an athiest.).

I thin there’s a difference between intellectual honesty and rationality.

It isn’t accurate to say that people believe in atheism. Atheism is the lack of a belief. For atheists, they usually lack a belief because they have yet to find a rational and logical argument for believing in God. Is believing through faith irrational? Perhaps, but that would probably be a big huge discussion all on its own. I would say that believing through faith is a very human thing to do and I wouldn’t ever think that someone is being intellectually dishonest for saying they believe in God through faith.

I disagree…
That’s just not the way human beings work.
It would be more accurate to say atheists claim it’s a lack of belief.