Griff wrote:
This approach to the subject is experimental, and it should not be considered a perfectly accurate reflection of my views. I am hoping that this will assist us in gaining insights on the matter. It has a bit of a bite to it.
Remorselessly kow-towing and praying to a god that behaves in such a way is evidence of a sick and demented individual. If you worship such a god, you need to turn yourself in for psychiatric evaluation right now. There is something seriously wrong with you, and innocent people could come to harm. I do not consider this an acceptable or harmless belief. I consider it a sign of deeper, more disturbing issues. Get help. Maybe this sounds like an unusual view to take, but I think that it would help to understand my point of view: I already consider belief in an afterlife an ideation of a deep, psychological rejection of mortality, and I see theism as a sign of a dysfunctional psychological dependency upon authoritative figures. I hold religiosity in extremely harsh criticism, and I don't consider it a natural or healthy condition. Although being religious doesn't necessarily mean that one is mentally disturbed, I don't consider it in the least beneficial.
If I sound unkind, consider the possibility that I'm a little sick of the arrogance of religious people. Those who pointedly abstain from religion are more psychologically healthy, less prone to irrational violence, more educable, less prone to divorce, more honest, more giving, and braver in combat than those who are religious. What do you Christians keep saying about atheists, though? Unsurprisingly, you speak in exact contradiction of the truth. The point is this: in spite of being the most dissed and loathed group in this country, we have shown ourselves to be highly exemplary citizens, which is a radical departure from most popularly disliked minorities. I argue that this doesn't show a benefit in being an atheist, per se. What I think it shows is that religion is the first refuge of the sociopathic, the mentally unsound, the cowardly, the selfish, the slothful, and the vain. I consider religion a magnet for some of the most immoral and repulsive people in society, and I consider belief in Hell an extremely disturbing ideation of dangerous antisocial impulses.
Do you have the relevant statistics for your claims on the alleged superior psychological health, lack of violence, educability, stability of long term relationships, honesty, charity and courage in combat of those abstaining from religion? A number of your other points are deserving of respect, but I expect generalisations to be backed up. Generalisations, particularly in the forms of demonisation, scapegaoating, and slander have been responsible for much misery over the centuries, as I suspect you may agree. And yes, Christians of a range of denonimations have been far from innocent in this respect. This does not excuse it in atheists.
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You are like children playing in the market-place saying, "We piped for you and you would not dance, we wailed a dirge for you and you would not weep."
20 Apr 2007, 12:39 am
