I think I need to show this to my mother.

[jsbowden]

This is twice in as many days, but once again, I'm going to repost something brought to me by someone on my flist. You kids can thank theweaselking for this one.

Welcome to the world of being an atheist in modern America.

This pretty much sums up my adolescence and teenaged years. I didn't fully abondon the false front completely until about 23 or so.

And here's the second half to the above.

Comments

[paoconnell.livejournal.com]

Interesting blog posts.

Personally, I'm agnostic, as I consider atheism to be a religion in its own right, which posits a belief (non-existence of [deity]), that in itself can't be proved or disproved because of a lack of evidence, just like belief in (existence of [deity]).

By declaring both beliefs as undecidable, I'm ignoring the whole issue as not worth examining, much to their adherents' displeasure.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

Atheism isn't belief, it's lack of belief in that for which there is no evidence. I've heard the strong vs. weak atheist arguments, but I'm not terribly concerned with them, really. I don't believe aliens cross the cosmos to anally probe rednecks in swamps either, but no one accuses me of having some religion for that one.

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

I can totally sympathize with the point of view expressed in the articles you linked - I had much the same sensation while trudging through twelve years of Catholic school.

However, in my view claiming that there couldn't possibly be a God is just as wrongheaded as claiming that there definitely posilutely is one. Both are (at this point in time) unprovable assertions; both are the proverbial extraordinary claim lacking extraordinary evidence; to me, both exhibit the same narrowminded arrogance, only towards opposite extremes.

That said, if you gave me a zealous theist and an equally zealous atheist, and told me I had to pick one as my roommate... I'd almost certainly go with the atheist.

[prince-corwin.livejournal.com]

Mr. Dictionary agrees with you, Leigh. But we knew that.

Not only that, but if the author had any purpose in that piece besides venting or antagonizing people, he's almost certainly failed to achieve it. Yes, I've met Christians like that, in person and on-line. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at flaying them, when I can be bothered. Had a good ol' time of it, too, for a while.

But by painting the picture that each and every religious person out there is like that, he loses whatever sympathy points he may have gotten.