Monday, July 7, 2008
"I used to be an Atheist."
I've heard it a lot, as I'm sure many other Atheists have, the phrase - "I used to be an Atheist." You hear it from older, "wiser" people usually when they are trying to convert you. You also hear it anytime there is a video, article, or speaker that claims they can scientifically prove the existence of god. It supposedly adds more weight to the strength of their claim, because they too used to "be an Atheist" just like you! If you have heard enough conversion stories then you know that it actually makes them less credible. It shows one of a few things. The most common possibility is that they are just lying, the second is they were atheist because it was the cool, defiant thing to do, or last that they were atheist because they were ignorant or unaware of religion, not because they recognized it for the quackery that it is. So if you haven't already noticed this phrase, look out for it, logical fallacies and general religious silliness are bound to follow. Anyone that is a true Atheist will more likely than not remain one forever. Of course part of being open minded is to be, well, open minded, so it is possible that an atheist would be converted if there really were a god. The only problem is that every time you hear someone say they used to be an Atheist they never have a good logical reason for the change of heart.
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I agree. I get that all the time, like you said, from older people who assume that I'm just some 25-year-old kid who is just flying off the handle and will eventually wise up. Of course, most of the people who say they "used to be an atheist too" probably didn't/don't know the meaning of the word. A lot of times they were just "ignoring God's word", and they usually don't understand a thing about atheism, including it's definition.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you wrote, but be careful not to commit a No True Scotsman fallacy. Actually, reading the God Delusion right now, and comments on other websites, I see this type of thinking a lot - that atheists have more thought out positions than theists. I do think that's currently the case for most atheists, but I don't think it will necessarily hold in the future. Because we live in a predominantly religious society, most people are raised as religious, and only reach their atheism through self reflection and study. These are the people that you expect to stay atheists for the rest of their lives, and could also be labeled freethinkers. However, not all people are raised as religious. I guess that's the third category of people you listed. To them, atheism is the default, but it's not necessarily a well thought out position. Granted, to an outsider, certain religious beliefs can range from the silly (Adam & Eve, Noah's Ark) to the barbarous (the ritualized cannibalism of Communion, Old Testament genocides). But, when so many people in the society around them are religious, and if they're not really all that knowledgeable of the religion to begin with, those people could be easily swayed. If atheism continues to grow in this country, I think that could be an increasing problem in coming years - atheists by default being converted to religion. Really, the goal's to have a society of people who think critically, but to be honest, most people are so gullible that I don't see that happening for a very long time, if ever.
ReplyDeleteSTA - That's true. I read your blogpost Atheism 101: Am I an Atheist or Agnostic? and will refer people to it to help them understand what an atheist is. It's a good post, and I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteFatboy - I agree. I like to think of it as the people that would consider an atheist tattoo. If you've considered it, you probably understand the definition and have thought about why you are an atheist. In Sta's post he hits it dead on. The real question isn't are you an atheist, but why are you an atheist. Most of my life I have been an atheist, but it wasn't until within the last few years that I've been an atheist for good logical reasons.
The goal isn't to convert everyone to atheists, but like you said, to convert them to true atheist, freethinkers. If all religion was magically erased, it wouldn't be too long until new ones started popping up. How can you create a society of rational thinkers?
I'm an atheist and I wish I wasn't.
ReplyDeleteBefore that, I was agnostic. Sometimes it is better to be in denial.
That's cool that you are an atheist. It means that you have seen past the delusion of religion. Why do you wish you weren't one though?
ReplyDelete