12.28.2008

Welcome to New Readers of Atheist Revolution

writing

Readership is growing here at Atheist Revolution, reflecting increasing interest in atheism, skepticism, secularism, freethought, and related subjects. I'd like to take a moment to welcome the new readers and to share some information that may help you enjoy your time here. I don't know about you, but I rarely bother to read the "About" or "FAQ" sections that so many bloggers obsessively include in our headers unless I have questions. So I'd like to offer you a condensed version of the highlights:

  • This blog is written by an atheist and is directed at a primarily atheist audience, as well as others wanting to learn more about atheism, skepticism, secularism, and freethought. There are many excellent pro-religion blogs out there; this is not one of them.
  • If you have questions about why I post what I post, check out the About page. It gives you some information about me, about this blog, and explains that I do write about topics besides atheism from time-to-time.
  • Comments from readers are encouraged, appreciated, and considered an important part of this blog. I use the IntenseDebate commenting system because I believe it does the best job of facilitating discussion among readers. I cannot respond directly to every comment, but I am reading them (and so are other readers).
  • This is not a news site. If you are new to blogs, this means that you should not be surprised to find that you are getting my opinion. Don't expect objective reporting because you will not find it here.

How To Make Atheists Believe In God

Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921Image via Wikipedia

My question for you is a simple one: how did you get here? I don't mean why were you born or anything quite so profound; I mean how did you get to this post? I have to imagine that some religious believers, probably Christians, found their way here because their Internet search was fairly close to the title of this post. That is, they were searching for tips on how to force atheists to believe in their god(s). Kind of pathetic, isn't it? How insecure must one be to scour the Internet searching for ways to force others to conform to one's god-belief? Since you are here, we might as well get on with it.

Let me say at the outset that this is not a challenge, a demand for evidence, a call for miracles, or anything of the sort. I pose no grand test for religious believers to meet, nor do I intend this as a trap for the dimwitted. There is a very simple way that most atheists can be persuaded to believe in something you might be happy to call "god," and I will reveal it in this post. If those who call themselves religious ever want to defeat the big bad atheism once and for all, this is how to do it. Just realize that it will come at a bit of a price.

To persuade an atheist to believe in something you can call "god," all one has to do is define "god" so broadly that it cannot possibly be doubted. An opinion piece in The Toronto Star by Rabbi Dow Marmur provides an example of how this works.

Readers of books for or against religion, not least at this time of the year, may bear it in mind. Though exponents of dogmas and norms of every faith and denomination may be flawed, and though affirming God doesn't necessarily solve the vexing question about the persistence of evil in the world, or the mysteries of life and death, no amount of scientific advances can eradicate the fundamental human awareness of a power that's beyond us and which tradition has often identified as God.

And so you see that by defining "god" merely as something beyond us, only the solipsist can doubt it. I told you it was simple.

But surely, the religious believer will argue, a god defined this broadly is rendered meaningless. I do not disagree. In fact, I suggest that we're already there with respect to the Christian god. But remember, this all-inclusive sort of "god" was the god of Einstein, Sagan, Darwin, and countless others who both religious and atheist communities claim as their own. And just think of the appeal! The religious could claim every prominent scientist as one of their own if they would merely expand their definition of god so much that it became completely meaningless.

As for the price I mentioned above, I trust you've figured that out by now. The "god" so vague as to defy disbelief might not be a very satisfying one. If you expect others to believe in a different sort of god, you are better off not trying to force them to do so but providing a clear definition of a logically coherent being, and evidence sufficient to support its existence.

12.27.2008

Atheist Rappers

This proud metalhead has never minded a little rap. I'm not up on most of the new stuff, but I still enjoy the rap of the late 80s and early 90s at times. And yes, I am talking about the gangsta stuff everybody loves to hate. What can I say, it is something of a guilty pleasure.

One thing I've never had any desire for, however, has been atheist rap. In fact, I didn't know such a thing existed until roughly a year ago. And having heard some, I'm quite confident that I haven't been missing anything. I don't have any urge to hear atheist metal either, although I do so love the Satanic stuff for its shock value when played around Christians.

After I'd been at this blog for a while, I felt the need to familiarize myself with the Rational Response Squad. They came to my attention first for the blasphemy challenge and then for their slaughter of Ray Comfort on TV. I no longer follow them, but there was a time when one could not read anything on their site without being bombarded with references and ads for someone calling himself Greydon Square. He is a rapper who raps about atheism.

12.24.2008

The Psychology of Christmas Wars

A reader by the name of Frozen Summers left a comment on a recent post that really got me thinking:

As a former Evangelical and Campus Crusade for Christ worker I remember when I too saw anything that was even remotely not pro-jesus as an attack. This included all the Santa stuff and secular carols, as well as the blatant commercialism, and the obvious stuff like the displays by ffrf.

I wish I knew enough psychology to explain why, but I think its partly due to the whole persecution complex that the Bible fosters....

Why haven't I been wrestling with this excellent question here? What is it that drives someone to perceive the absence of pro-Jesus material in December as an attack of some sort? Time to put on the psychologist hat and struggle with this one a bit.

In order to make any sense out of this one, I think we must examine three components: (1) the importance of religion to personal identity, (2) threatened egotism, and (3) Christian privilege.

12.17.2008

How Christians Have Secularized Christmas

Christmas tree
Christmas tree (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Once various Christian extremist groups realized that their made-up "war on Christmas" would be a massively successful fundraiser, it was obvious that we would be treated to hearing about battles in this war each and every year. While it is still not clear how (or if) atheists should participate in this "war," I do believe that Christians are largely managing to secularize Christmas all on their own with minimal involvement on our part.

For decades, the preferred strategy of groups seeking to preserve the separation of church and state involved asking governments to remove Christmas decorations from government buildings. This approach always had reason firmly on its side because it stressed the inappropriateness of religious symbols in government buildings. Advocates of this position sought to preserve freedom of expression and freedom of religion in homes and religious institutions while recognizing the perils of allowing religion to encroach upon government.

The problem with such an approach, as would soon become clear, was that some Christians were determined to get their symbols in government buildings. They argued convincingly that certain symbols had become sufficiently secularized over time that they could no longer properly be considered religious symbols. The prime example of this was the Christmas tree. Persons with a modicum of education recognized that the tradition of the Christmas tree predated Christianity and was a pagan symbol co-opted by early Christians. Others pointed to the number of atheists who erected Christmas trees every year. It became exceedingly difficult to argue that these trees, renamed "holiday trees," held any religious significance. They were permitted in government buildings.

12.08.2008

75 Years After Prohibition Repealed

We recently saw the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States. We know that Prohibition was an attempt by well-meaning Christians to legislate their version of morality, imposing it on their neighbors without regard to whether they shared their beliefs. We also know that it did little good and was not to be tolerated by the people on whom it had been imposed. What have we learned from this experience? Not a hell of a lot it seems.

I live in a "dry county" in Mississippi. Many small business owners periodically try to get this on the ballot so it can be overturned. Imagine running a restaurant and not being able to serve alcohol. Imagine owning a gas station/convenience store in a town with a university and not being able to sell beer. As for those of us who do not own such businesses, we would benefit from the increased tax revenue these businesses would generate if they were permitted to sell alcohol. It would be a boon to the local economy.