3.23.2007

Is There Such a Thing As Atheist Extremism?

Atheist Badge: The design of the A-le...
Atheist Badge: The design of the A-letter originates from the outcampaign.org - "Scarlet A" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Long before the mainstream news media decided that atheism was worth examining and begin to report on a so-called "new atheism," atheist bloggers were discussing issues of strategy and tone. This discussion has intensified, becoming one of the hot topics within around the growing atheist blogosphere and beyond. How aggressive should atheists be in opposing religion? If we become too aggressive, don't we run the risk of becoming too much like the religious fundamentalists we oppose? In this post, I will examine the possibility of "atheist extremism" and how we might recognize it if it were to appear.

I am going to start with the premise that is is at least possible for atheists to become too assertive/aggressive/militant/extreme in their views and/or behavior. If you disagree with this at the outset, I ask only that you try to suspend judgment until the end of the post. What might atheism extremism look like, and what are we to call such an atheist?

3.19.2007

I Believe That Living in Reality is Preferable to Living in Fantasy

swamp
swamp (Photo credit: vjack)

I am an atheist who dismisses the concept of gods as incomprehensible and lacking in evidence. I also believe that the natural world is all that exists and find great joy, beauty, and meaning in this world. This post continues the What I Believe series by examining my belief that living in reality (i.e., the natural world) is preferable to living in fantasy or delusion. While I suspect that this statement of belief will not be controversial to most readers, that does not mean that it should be accepted uncritically.

Reality is Both Natural and Objective

I previously stated that "reality" refers to to the natural world and only to the natural world. Gods and other supernatural entities are not part of the natural world by definition, and this excludes them from reality itself.

3.07.2007

Christian Homeschooling is About Indoctrination

Just so there is no doubt that homeschooling is about indoctrination for many Christian parents, I refer you to this report on Christian Newswire. The article reveals that one of the core motives for Christian parents who homeschool their children is the modification of their attitudes toward abortion. Disgusted yet? You will be.

The title of the article, "Considering Homeschooling: Christians Can Help Stop Abortion," leaves little to the imagination about what is going on here. Just in case it still strikes you as somewhat ambiguous, the tagline should clear things up even more: "Home education is a deterrent to abortion and a way to boost pro-life activism." Pretty clear, isn't it?

How silly I was to think that homeschooling was about education, even among Christian parents who might not appreciate some aspects of secular public education. It is not. Instead, it is about the indoctrination of one's children into the Christian worldview. According to Charles Lowers, Director of Considering Homeschooling, Christian parents are urged "to see home education as a powerful tool to deter abortions in their own families, and as an excellent means to raise up leaders with a strong life ethic."

3.02.2007

Christians Are Not Being Persecuted in the United States

persecution of christians

I have often wondered whether it would be possible for Christians to sustain their religion without the imaginary threat of persecution. I suspect not, but that really is not the point of this post. Instead, I want to draw your attention to a great letter to the editor I found in the Evansville Courier & Press (update: link no longer active). It argues that American Christians are not persecuted in the arena of school prayer, as they are so fond of claiming.