“Religion” Responding to 6666’s objection to the definition of Atheism, “There is no middle ground”

Back up!
There is no middle ground.
Please don't group atheists based on your definition. We are not as black and white as you seem to imply. I think you may need to talk to quite a few more atheists to get a better feel for us than you obviously have.

Being an atheist nearly all my 39 years, I don't fit that close-minded view at all.

Submitted by ang6666

Reply to ang6666
You are indeed an atheist defending against a perceived encroachment on your territory. You seem also to be a religious atheist rather than a secular atheist. That’s good. It suggests you ask questions and seek answers. A secular anything tends to have adopted a mindset, but does not take it too seriously and certainly does not let it interfere with his life; it is in a sense a heathen mindset, i.e. what is is. It’s bad in the sense that people who are religious anything have an agenda and tend to dismiss those who do not share that agenda as uninformed, misinformed, deliberately dense, and forever lost to any rational discussion.

I am flattered that you found my article interesting enough to read far enough to be insulted by it. I did not intend, however, to judge heathens, pagans, or atheists. In fact, I did not intend to talk about actual people who identify themselves as heathen, pagan or atheist at all. The main point of my article was that we are all heathens, pagans and atheists differing only in the degree each of these religions is represented in the mix.

Another point I attempted to make was that even though religion is a rational response to the irrational (emotions [instincts]), religion is itself totally irrational (emotional [instinctive]). A rational response to our environment is the new boy on the block as opposed to our irrational (emotional [instinctive, intuitive] responses, and it is only one of the many survival devices used in our determination to stay alive. The key point here is “our determination to stay alive.”

I am an evolutionist. I believe that long before we became rational, our survival skills (the instincts developed in our successful attempts to continue living) were becoming an intrinsic part of us. Much as embryonic stem cells become different organs when the appropriate stimulus is applied, so too do our survival skills (emotion [instincts]) develop when the appropriate stimulus is applied.

I chose to lump these emotions (instincts) into three basic categories because three seems so important to many religious groups. I assume it is so important to them because family is represented as three numerologically. I chose the names (heathen, pagan, and atheist) because religious groups use these terms to disparage those who do not share their perspective. I also used these three terms to represent the religious equivalent of our three basic survival techniques, the techniques of the hunted, the hunter and the herd (from the perspective of the hunted) or from the perspective of the hunter (the prey, the predator and the pack), to give structure to what I hope will be a thoughtful and scientific evaluation of religious groups.

The final point I attempted to make is that the defense of ones religious perspective is not a rational response, though reason may be one of our survival tools used in its defense. It is irrational. It is emotional. It is instinctive. It is a fight for our very survival. We should not, therefore, take our religious differences too lightly. We must understand that the religious disagreement we have with our neighbor is far more than a disagreement, and we must take great care not to corner those with whom we disagree. This is a serious mistake I believe religious fundamentalists are making today.

Although atheism can be as irrational as any other religion, I believe God has a special affection for those who do not believe in Him. Like any father He encourages His progeny to step forth on their own. An atheist does not need God. He has family, friends, community and confidence. I suspect that God would have it no other way.