Eight years later
From Not My God
Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in history. For many, the events of September Eleventh strengthened their belief in god– for some, in an angry, vengeful god, and for others, a kind, loving god. Others, still, wouldn’t retain their faith in the aftermath of the tragedy. Some of you may be among them.
It is probable that Richard Dawkins wrote the God Delusion and started the New Atheist movement in direct response to the attacks. Would New Atheism have come about if it hadn’t been for the last straw, this one fell swoop that illustrated in the most gruesome way how dangerous religion is?
For certain, many claimed and still do that the terrorists were not acting because of religion. Critics said it was for reasons having to do with the economy or occupation. However, the terrorists themselves believed that they were acting in the name if Islam, and that is what really mattered.
I was an atheist before the attacks and remain so. It wasn’t until afterward did I arrive to the conclusion that, yes, religion is dangerous… that, yes, September Eleventh gave us cruel evidence of that reality. For at least a few years after the tragedy, I was still making excuses. It’s not about Islam, I kept telling myself. Terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.
Finally, I had to call a spade a spade.
How many of you became atheists, or started to lose faith, as a direct result of the September Eleventh attacks? If we count the God Delusion and the resulting New Atheism as indirect results, we can count many, many more.
Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in history. For many, the events of September Eleventh strengthened their belief in god– for some, in an angry, vengeful god, and for others, a kind, loving god. Others, still, wouldn’t retain their faith in the aftermath of the tragedy. Some of you may be among them.
It is probable that Richard Dawkins wrote the God Delusion and started the New Atheist movement in direct response to the attacks. Would New Atheism have come about if it hadn’t been for the last straw, this one fell swoop that illustrated in the most gruesome way how dangerous religion is?
For certain, many claimed and still do that the terrorists were not acting because of religion. Critics said it was for reasons having to do with the economy or occupation. However, the terrorists themselves believed that they were acting in the name if Islam, and that is what really mattered.
I was an atheist before the attacks and remain so. It wasn’t until afterward did I arrive to the conclusion that, yes, religion is dangerous… that, yes, September Eleventh gave us cruel evidence of that reality. For at least a few years after the tragedy, I was still making excuses. It’s not about Islam, I kept telling myself. Terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.
Finally, I had to call a spade a spade.
How many of you became atheists, or started to lose faith, as a direct result of the September Eleventh attacks? If we count the God Delusion and the resulting New Atheism as indirect results, we can count many, many more.
-
Comment by Gaytor on September 10, 2009 at 11:20am -
My beliefs didn't change, but my attitude did. It actually was due to two things. William Donahue and a Jewish Rabbi mentioned that all three religions were based on Abraham. I never knew that or cared to know it until that moment. I pulled my head out of the sand and said, "Wait... What?"
The second push was the religious right. They pushed me into despising them where I had previously ignored them. The Love God and Country or leave it emails had me removing and blocking family members from my email. That onslaught drove me to answer their questions and assault them back. Often in front of their friends as they would send group emails. Don't pick a fight that you don't want to fight.
-
Comment by Doug Reardon on September 10, 2009 at 11:36am -
I was an atheist long before the terrorists who did it were born. The only thing that it changed for me was that now instead of just worrying what christian fundamentalist were capable of, I had moslem fundamentalist to worry about too.
-
Comment by Sarah Trachtenberg on September 10, 2009 at 11:40am
-
I worried about Muslim fundamentalism... just not as much of a "my back yard" sense... I knew about things like female genital mutilation and a whole other plethora of scary problems, but didn't "want" to think that these things were intrinsically related to Islam itself, if you see what I mean.
-
Comment by Dave G on September 10, 2009 at 6:11pm -
I was already an atheist on Sept 11, but the events of that day, and the days afterward, pushed me from being a quiet atheists (I'll leave them alone if they leave me alone) into a more active, open one, as I realized that they were never going to leave people alone.
-
-
Hi Dave G,
Yes, I think that's what new atheism came from. From that we started saying, I'm not going to be quiet. As for me, I want to be noisy! Thanks for commenting:)
Comment
What's new today
Forum
Why do atheists ask for so much proof to believe in God?
Started by Mercedes in Welcome to Think Atheist. Last reply by Matt Giwer 2 minutes ago. 305 Replies 0 Likes
Blog Posts
How Jesus' Views on Marriage Proves Yahweh's Laws are NOT Absolute OR Jesus is Mistaken
Posted by Cathy Cooper on May 17, 2013 at 10:00am 3 Comments 0 Likes
Events
-
Frederick Beer Week
May 11, 2013 at 12pm to May 18, 2013 at 6pm – Stillpoint Farm, MD
0 Comments 0 Likes
Services we love
Check out our new mobile/tablet version of Think Atheist! www.ThinkAtheist.com/m
© 2013 Created by Morgan Matthew.
You need to be a member of Think Atheist to add comments!
Join Think Atheist