An atheist does not believe in god, gods or other claims of supernatural phenomena. You can’t outsmart what doesn’t exist. Believers in those things are people who have been misled but that alone doesn’t make them stupid.
What is this quote in context? Why do you believe this is what atheists believe enough to reiterate it. I don’t think I’ve outsmarted anyone. I think some people believe in different things, nobody can be certain of anything other than holy words were written by men and not gods. How would you reconcile your belief that you have outsmarted non-believers. This is not deep.
You might not think you think that, but if you engage as many reddit sceptics do then you certainly act it. Mere belief and faith alone is not what makes organized religion a regressive agent in the west today, and yet I am still horrified to witness people be talked down to by self titled atheists, their beliefs mocked and belittled, their values treated as backwards even where they may be more progressive than the self proclaimed atheist’s.
Most importantly, this strand of “atheism” warrants dismissal because it is not actual non belief, it is just negating it, anti-belief. There is none of the work to deconstruct the values ascribed by the mythology, to understand them, and to reach new conclusions in the process of leaving faith, only the effort to call everyone else an idiot like the grown-up version of the brat that delights in ruining santa for younger kids. You haven’t left the faith you claim to, you’ve just stopped doing the rituals of it and given yourself an air of intellectual superiority for supposedly beating religion by not believing the mythology as literal history.
That’s a lot of words for saying some people and groups of people that also identify as a non believer can be really arrogant pricks. my response is, I agree, and this is true of basically ANY and most groups of peoples. It would be a simple task to ‘what about’ your generalization here by pointing out the many cruel, dismissive and disrespectful things thiests say and truly believe about others and their metaphysical doom.
A lot of atheists do not appreciate being a target of proselytizing and having what they feel is nonsense projected at them and their families. They don’t appreciate dogmas impacting laws, and history has shown the atrocities religious fervor can lead to when mobilized at a state level. People fear and often direct blame and scorn at the wrong people this again is true of most large groups. You maybe feel a target by those who have generalized you and your beliefs? Why perpetuate the cycle with more stereotypes that non believers will inherently act in a way?
We can’t know everyone’s experiences, none of us know where others are coming from, so remaining respectful and tactful is important when discussing things like religion and politics. We must keep in mind a lot of what we read online is written by children who are finding themselves and their beliefs. They may be inherently immature, may want to get a rise out of you or just don’t know how to be tactful in discussion. Some of us never learn from these types of interactions. Some of us learn to try.
“It’s not that you don’t believe in God, it’s that you think you’ve outsmarted them, and by extension everyone who does believe in them.”
An atheist does not believe in god, gods or other claims of supernatural phenomena. You can’t outsmart what doesn’t exist. Believers in those things are people who have been misled but that alone doesn’t make them stupid.
Smart enough to quote a dictionary but not enough to actually answer the substance of the criticism.
What substance? I’m sorry for how you feel about other people knowing what words mean.
deleted by creator
What is this quote in context? Why do you believe this is what atheists believe enough to reiterate it. I don’t think I’ve outsmarted anyone. I think some people believe in different things, nobody can be certain of anything other than holy words were written by men and not gods. How would you reconcile your belief that you have outsmarted non-believers. This is not deep.
You might not think you think that, but if you engage as many reddit sceptics do then you certainly act it. Mere belief and faith alone is not what makes organized religion a regressive agent in the west today, and yet I am still horrified to witness people be talked down to by self titled atheists, their beliefs mocked and belittled, their values treated as backwards even where they may be more progressive than the self proclaimed atheist’s.
Most importantly, this strand of “atheism” warrants dismissal because it is not actual non belief, it is just negating it, anti-belief. There is none of the work to deconstruct the values ascribed by the mythology, to understand them, and to reach new conclusions in the process of leaving faith, only the effort to call everyone else an idiot like the grown-up version of the brat that delights in ruining santa for younger kids. You haven’t left the faith you claim to, you’ve just stopped doing the rituals of it and given yourself an air of intellectual superiority for supposedly beating religion by not believing the mythology as literal history.
That’s a lot of words for saying some people and groups of people that also identify as a non believer can be really arrogant pricks. my response is, I agree, and this is true of basically ANY and most groups of peoples. It would be a simple task to ‘what about’ your generalization here by pointing out the many cruel, dismissive and disrespectful things thiests say and truly believe about others and their metaphysical doom.
A lot of atheists do not appreciate being a target of proselytizing and having what they feel is nonsense projected at them and their families. They don’t appreciate dogmas impacting laws, and history has shown the atrocities religious fervor can lead to when mobilized at a state level. People fear and often direct blame and scorn at the wrong people this again is true of most large groups. You maybe feel a target by those who have generalized you and your beliefs? Why perpetuate the cycle with more stereotypes that non believers will inherently act in a way?
We can’t know everyone’s experiences, none of us know where others are coming from, so remaining respectful and tactful is important when discussing things like religion and politics. We must keep in mind a lot of what we read online is written by children who are finding themselves and their beliefs. They may be inherently immature, may want to get a rise out of you or just don’t know how to be tactful in discussion. Some of us never learn from these types of interactions. Some of us learn to try.