One of my Facebook friends, someone I only know through the Internet, just invited me to join the new "Atheists >> Theists" group. I'm sure she meant well, but this is exactly the wrong way to go about trying to spread the word about the Enlightenment.
The group has just 24 members, so it's hardly catching on. Not like the just-created Science Debates 2008 Facebook group, which had 1,334 members last time I checked. But still, it's disappointed to see so many people self-identify with such a self-righteous idea.
Of course, most atheists believe their lack of faith is superior to faith. But that doesn't mean that everyone who's an atheist is superior (and judging by the double greater-than sign, significantly so) to all theists.
We all know wonderful people who believe in one or more gods. Most of my family can be so described. Not only would I never openly state, or even implicitly suggest, that my atheism makes me superior to any of them, but I honestly don't believe that it does.
You don't win friends and influence people by announcing that you're better than them.
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I don't think it's really about spreading the word, it's just how a lot of us feel. And when it comes to the origins of life, the universe, and so forth, I would say you are superior to them by virtue of accepting evidence rather than blind faith.
I completely agree. This is just as bad as theists claiming higher morals than atheists and leads to people talking at each other rather than to each other.
I'm a staunch atheist and always sceptical of any proposition unless backed by sound evidence or reasoning. My wife is a devout theist who tends to believe in anything that can't be proved and rarely worries about the evidence. She's my intellectual equal and I've never considered myself better than her. It's our approach to critical thinking that differs.
I find the atheist>>theist group as offensive as a group called theist>>atheist. I love to spread the atheist message, however, I don't consider any part of that message to be that I'm superior to somebody else because I don't believe in supernatural beings. It's sad to see other atheists do and it reminds me of the crap I read daily on Uncommon Descent re: materialism.
That's not Facebook Atheism, it's Facebook Atheists. While I do consider atheism superior to theism, I don't necessarily assume a self described atheist to be superior to a self described theist. There are too many dimensions on the humanity scale and I don't grant the atheism-theism dimension that much weight. So Martin Gardner doesn't get a perfect score, but he beats the vast majority of atheists of my acquaintance (and he beats this atheist handily.) I'd probably rather have a beer with Feynman, though. To Gardner's credit.
(Addendum for DiGz: I would assume an atheist joining the "atheists >> theists" facebook group to be superior to an Uncommon Descent poster asserting that materialism=evil, barring significant evidence of hypocrisy or other such behavior on the part of the atheist.)
A cynic would take the data at face-value and say that these types of atheists (though perhaps not others) have no intention of convincing others, but are only concerned with preening self-righteously in front of an audience.
That is "much greater than" and not the stream extraction operator of C++, right? (Or the right-shift operator either, for that matter.)
The creator of that Facebook group, Shalini Sehkar is the fundamentalist atheist self-proclaimed anti-appeaser author of the Scientia Natura blog (http://scientianatura.blogspot.com).
As an 'appeaser atheist' myself, I wince when I read that blog. I doubt she'll be converting anyone to theism soon.
She is not going to win over anyone with this posts on her blog ---
Creationists are not only deluded dumbfucks who want to see the death of modern science and drag the world back into the Dark Ages (where scientists could conveniently be burnt at the stake). They are also cunning liars who are all out to fleece their flock in the name of an imaginary god.
"You don't win friends and influence people by announcing that you're better than them." - unless you're starting a religion. Then it works really well....
I don't think it's really about spreading the word, it's just how a lot of us feel. And when it comes to the origins of life, the universe, and so forth, I would say you are superior to them by virtue of accepting evidence rather than blind faith.
Theist != rejection of evolution, rejection of big bang, and rejection of empirical evidence about the nature and processes of our Universe.
Theist == rejection of scientific method and standards of rationality
Rejection of science and rationality == rejection of the necessary supports of evolution and the Big Bang
As "agnostic" said above - it's just folks being self-righteous and anyone who feels the need to announce they are better than others obviously is not.
"You don't win friends and influence people by announcing that you're better than them." - unless you're starting a religion. Then it works really well....
I am coming late to the discussion, but I want to pitch in anyway...
--- "Theist == rejection of scientific method and standards of rationality
Rejection of science and rationality == rejection of the necessary supports of evolution and the Big Bang"
I am Christian (ECLA Lutheran) and a Biologist. I believe in Evolution as whole-heartedly as I believe in God... I think Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics and a Christian monk, likewise embraced Science and the Scientific method as staunchly as he embraced God.