An isolated atheist speaks his views on religion, politics, and the world around him.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
In what you cannot tolerate, see your self.
How is it that people who identify as atheists manage to be so critical of others for having beliefs? And how is it that certain atheists who stand up as pillars of Reason day after day treat masses of “religious” people the world over as some kind of…
Your argument is that ‘God’ is something different to every person, and yet every believer says they believe in the same ‘God.’ It would seem that the theists would have to agree on what their god actually is before they try standing up to attempt and justify its alleged existence.
Your argument that belief is intrinsically entwined with one’s perception of oneself is very interesting, but flawed. While it is true that many theists do define parts of themselves through their belief, it is not necessarily true that belief must be a part of who they are, nor that attacking the belief system is attacking the believers within that system.
Imagine for a moment that you’re standing in front of a rickety bridge. You’ve never crossed, nor have seen anyone cross this bridge before. You believe that this bridge will hold your weight and that you can safely cross it. Would you feel threatened and/or hurt if someone came along and demonstrated to you that the bridge cannot hold your weight and that it is not safe to cross? Of course not, the belief that the bridge was stable was not a part of your identity. The difference between theological belief and practical belief (in the matter of the hypothetical bridge) is that theological belief requires a vested personal, monetary, and emotional investment, and like all investments, it’s a risk, so understandably, when shown that your choice of investment is not just risky, but doomed to fail, one would understandably be upset. However, this does not justify the blind adherence to faith that so many theists cling to in the faith of contradictory evidence, which you have stood up for and accused us of wrongfully attacking.
In short, belief is an investment of trust; if one invests too much in a failing product, they mustn’t be upset when others point out their foolishness.
