Atheist Arrogance
I have often been accused of being arrogant and closed minded because I am openly atheist. It really annoys me because (and I know I am biased) I feel it is so far from the truth and very often the person who is saying this is describing themselves.
I am called closed minded because I am not 'open' to the idea of a GOD.
Now this is just stupid word play and essentially they are saying I am closed minded because I refuse to put my rationality and reason to one side and accept a concept simply on faith or tradition. Where else in life would someone actually think this is an OK thing to expect of you? Nowhere!! If your boss refused you a good pay rise and you asked why and he simply said "you just need to accept it as so", you would flip and demand a proper answer that treated you with respect.
I regularly am pointing out to people that I am not an atheist simply because I got bored with church or religion and was too lazy to go to Mass on Sunday. I researched, studied, questioned and THOUGHT about it and after a few years or soul searching (pun intendid) I realised that it makes no sense. The arguments are full of childish "yeah well in that case then...." type arguments that are there simply to plug holes in an increasingly weaker and weaker stance.
The irony is that these people often are the closed minded ones and will refuse to read about atheism or even entertain the point of view that God may be a myth. Even in the face of contrary evidence.
The arrogant tag is equally galling. I am arrogant because I do not go with the crowd, because I used my own mind and decided it was wrong.
Whereas they believe that a being that has the power to create a universe in 7 days, is superhuman, omnipident and omniscient, is listening to THEIR prayer for a good pay rise.
Now that to me is arrogance.
I am called closed minded because I am not 'open' to the idea of a GOD.
Now this is just stupid word play and essentially they are saying I am closed minded because I refuse to put my rationality and reason to one side and accept a concept simply on faith or tradition. Where else in life would someone actually think this is an OK thing to expect of you? Nowhere!! If your boss refused you a good pay rise and you asked why and he simply said "you just need to accept it as so", you would flip and demand a proper answer that treated you with respect.
I regularly am pointing out to people that I am not an atheist simply because I got bored with church or religion and was too lazy to go to Mass on Sunday. I researched, studied, questioned and THOUGHT about it and after a few years or soul searching (pun intendid) I realised that it makes no sense. The arguments are full of childish "yeah well in that case then...." type arguments that are there simply to plug holes in an increasingly weaker and weaker stance.
The irony is that these people often are the closed minded ones and will refuse to read about atheism or even entertain the point of view that God may be a myth. Even in the face of contrary evidence.
The arrogant tag is equally galling. I am arrogant because I do not go with the crowd, because I used my own mind and decided it was wrong.
Whereas they believe that a being that has the power to create a universe in 7 days, is superhuman, omnipident and omniscient, is listening to THEIR prayer for a good pay rise.
Now that to me is arrogance.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frink on -
I read a related post on a blog, except it was with the restriction of homosexual-related books and how they were defaced with all sorts of words in public libraries. I've had someone at the local barnes and noble tell me they "don't sell that kind of material here" (atheist books). I knew that was a lie and asked to speak with the manager ;)
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Permalink Reply by Dinah on -
and i know that my high school banned harry potter from the library just because they said it's magic, i mean JK Rowling is talented, hello?
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Permalink Reply by Drew on -
What I've found most incredibly offensive is a Christian book store in my hometown. They carry legitimate books on other religions (most of them Judaica, Islamic, or Buddhist) and also books on atheism. But they are on the rack with the title card "False Prophecies" and each book includes a pamphlet denouncing the religion or lack thereof that is recommended to be read prior to the source material.
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Permalink Reply by Morgan Matthew on -
haha "Dudes!" nice one doone.
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Permalink Reply by Drew on
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Hehe, awesome. I start most conversations with "Dudes!" too. But more to the point, who wants to argue with a T-Rex? Not only could he destroy me, but he is my elder by untold eons and deserves respect.
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Permalink Reply by Jaco on -
MMM, but arn`t christians stereotyping in saying atheists are arrogant, and doesn`t it require a certain level of arrogance to make such a stereotypical assumption?
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Permalink Reply by Pam on -
I think many people confuse "arrogance" with "intelligence". Just because you say things that go over my head doesn't make you arrogant. It makes me ignorant, but I'll call you out on it anyway to protect myself.
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Permalink Reply by Frink on
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They expect you to dumb it down for them. If they don't understand what you're saying, they feel dumb and automatically assign blame to you for making them feel that way. It's quite stupid, actually.
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Permalink Reply by Liam on -
I disagree. I don't feel ignorant if something goes over my head. It just means I don't fully understand. This could just be because I haven't read the same books as the other person or had the same experiences. I don't expect to understand everything in life!!
If the person who is talking to me wants me to understand or is genuinly interested in my opinion they will help me understand, by explaining it differently or in a frame of reference I can connect with. If the don't do that, well then I think they ARE arrogant.
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