The Trouble with Atheism

[Khandro]

Are atheists neo-Jacobins ?
http://documentaryhea...trouble-with-atheism/

[LazyGun]

Whats a neo-Jacobin?

[jomifl]

Trouble? what trouble?

[atalanta]

The trouble with religionists who want to attack atheists is that atheists do not have a structure holding up their non-beliefs the same way that religionists have a structure for their beliefs. Each atheist is a free-thinker, and has come to non-belief by thinking things out for him/herself, with a few goes at dipping into the writings of religion as well as the writings of atheists. Atheists do not gather together to worship a non-god, or to decide how to form an anti-god squad to attack various gods or beliefs. What the religionists simply do not get is that free-thinking is not organised like religion, it is not subject to catechisms, rules, fatwahs, commandments or any other attempts by the heirarchy to control the masses. What religionists really hate about atheists is that they are not susceptible to being controlled by threats ( hell ) or promises ( heaven) - neither of which can ever be proved. And atheists have discovered that great gaping hole in religious logic for themselves. Religonists fear that if the faithful hear too much about the results of thinking for themselves, soon they'll start doing the same thing, and religious control and power will slip through the fingers of those rabbis, imams, archbishops, imams, and all the rest of the "friends of god"

[jomifl]

Well put atalanta.
Khandro, I'm sure that you know that the Jacobins were a left wing political movement, so nothing at all to do with atheism. :-)

[Khandro]

nothing at all to do with atheism! are you sure?

[jomifl]

Well, working on the principal that I cannot prove a negative, perhaps you would care to prove a positive?

[LazyGun]

@ Khandro - I would really appreciate a clarification - what do you mean by the term neo- Jacobin?

[Khandro]

@LazyGun, The term 'Neo-Jacobin' I have just coined , and I think is very apt, if you want to understand my meaning why not devote 45 minutes of your life to looking at the link I have provided above. @jomifl (hi!) 'Trouble? what trouble?' Well, I think your 'Belief' in the validity of atheism has little foundation in reality; neither the Soviet experiment in creating an atheist state fortified by the cult of personality, nor the Nazis' ersatz religion based on racial supremacicsm should be encouraging to you and the rest of AB's resident militant atheists. Go figure! PS. @atalanta "free thinking" - do me a favour!

[jno]

atheism shows "arrogance and intolerance"?

That cannot possibly be true!

[annadomino]

Thank goodness I am an apaetheist, and I cant be arsed either way.

[starone]

Very well put atalanta. You have explained it in a nutshell. Wish I could have done so well.

[sandyRoe]

"Atheists do not gather together to worship a non god,..."
Atalanta, what else is R&S here in AB if it not an atheistic on-line church?

[jno]

well, they don't actually take up a collection, sandyRoe. They're expecting the AB edifice to be supported by advertising, and if that isn't real faith, what is?

[LazyGun]

@Khandro - its all very impressive and all coining a phrase, but I would appreciate an explanation from you, rather than having to watch 45 minutes of rod liddell.

What do you mean by the term neo- jacobin?

[sandyRoe]

Were the original ones the people who tore down both monarchy and church in France?
I can understand a neo-Jacobin trying to destroy what remains of the church in the UK. But to attack the monarchy is going too far.

[LazyGun]

Since Khandro has claimed the origination of the term, and seems quite excited by it, before engaging in discussion and debate i would appreciate a definition from the author.

[Tim800]

atalanta, probably the best thing I've read on this site for a very long time.
Succinct and brilliant.