I can never understand why this is so. Every time I tell someone I'm an atheist, they immediately proceed to "enlightening" me on why my "religion" and views are wrong. Well, it isn't a religion and as such doesn't have a doctrine. You can't assume anything about an atheist's beliefs (outside of disbelieving in a deity). So don't go providing me with "scientifc" evidence as to why the Big Bang Theory is completely invalid when you're not even sure whether I believe in that or not. And I can celebrate any holiday I want for any reason I want. I don't need someone telling me I can't give/receive gifts on Christmas or even watch Christmas specials simply because I'm an atheist. Too bad, I can and will do it.
No need to put down religious people though. Essentially, they have great ideals.
I handle this differently.
First off there really is no conversation for me. I don't even go the scientific route. There is no acknowledgment. I treat it the same way as Greek mythology or fairy tale stories. This accomplishes two things:
1. It puts them on the defensive...where they should be
2. It allows me to address the situation on my terms if I chose to.
If someone came up to me and asked why I don't believe in unicorns, I don't see what good could come from a conversation like that. There are other things I'd rather be doing. I don't care if someone else likes unicorns or how much it gives their life meaning. It's nonsense.
I also don't like the fact that religious people get to ask all the questions. I always turn it back on them. They're the ones making the claim, they should support it. They should be on the defensive. The critic has no responsibility to prove that god or unicorns don't exist unless they come right out and say "god and unicorns don't exist." I don't say that. I just say that I don't believe in a God or gods or unicorns. That simple.
See, the problem is this: we're surrounded by religion in one for or another. It's in our language, our customs, and if you look for it, you'll find it. It's also respected and practiced by most people, so it seems, being in the minority, on the other side, that there's this monolithic monster that needs to be overcome and it can't ever be.
I think that's the wrong way to look at it. I used to get quite stressed about religion, but not anymore. Once you start viewing religion historically, in context, and you stop being concerned about drawing comparisons, it's much easier to deal with. Doesn't mean you have to deny the fact that the people around you believe weird things, but it helps to put those beliefs in context.
If you treat religion as any other belief, what happens? If it's no different than Greek mythology, what happens? If it's no different than beliefs in the supernatural, such as ghosts, vampires, and witches, what happens? What approach do we take with those other things?
We dismiss them, right? We might still like the person that has those beliefs, but we don't take them seriously, and we should be comfortable to say so if asked. Doesn't mean you have to attack people, but if I meet someone who is trying to convince me that I need to take what basically amounts to a herbal tea to get the toxins out of my body, am I going to sit down with him or her and explain the fundamentals of biology?
Am I going to walk down the street to the psychic fair and start going around proving that they're fakes? Am I going to argue for hours and hours in a university debate with some guy that believes he can talk to the dead?
If I am going to do that I better damn well be getting paid for it or earning some type of income from it, directly or indirectly. I'm not saying that discussing these issues with people is ALWAYS pointless, but it is MOSTLY pointless.
Imagine someone coming up to you at lunch, a co-worker, and sitting down with you. He starts to tell you that he has a diamond the size of a refrigerator buried in his backyard. Once you get over your initial shock and you realize he's not joking, what do you say? He tells you about how difficult it is to excavate diamonds, how unusual this is, but that he belongs to a group that studies them. He feels it's best to leave the diamond there for now because he makes decent money and it would be hard to find someone qualified enough to break down the diamond while still maintaining its value. He also has some emotional attachment to the diamond because it's belonged to his family for hundreds of years. His grandparents are buried next to the diamond, and he has parties on top of it.
You might ask for evidence, you might call him crazy, but does it really matter what you do? It's a ridiculous example, but we're surrounded by far more silly belief systems. We may not believe them ourselves, but we don't offer much resistance.
By resistance, I don't mean arguing. Resistance, real resistance, is
much more subtle than that. Dismissing something is far more powerful than arguing about it. When you argue, the perception is that you respect the opposite position enough to attack it. I don't think there's anything worth attacking. It's not worthy my time because it means nothing to me.
Now, that's my current perspective. It might change. I'm different than other atheists (and don't mistake that for saying I think I am better, I am just different). They still find value in attacking and arguing and having bus campaigns. I support them, but that's not how I want to spend my time. I'll read the books, support the organizations, share articles and interviews that I find interesting, etc., but that's it.
Going back to the original poster and your post. I don't see anything wrong with what he did. Like I said if it was a "Praise God for my Big Penis" thread people would be ALL over it and most people would see nothing wrong with it. But at the same time I think it's less about combat and more about having more important things to think about in life. I also don't think people should be "respected" solely on them being religious. I dont think their should be an assumption that they are morally sound because they are religious. If you look at it how I outlined it above then I look at them as a person minus their beliefs and quite frankly they can be anything. They can be the nicest person in the world, a true gem of humanity, they can be a terrorist, they can be a priest who molests little boys, they can be the best doctor or lawyer you have and they can be your best friend (like my best friend who is very religious).
