Atheism vs. Spirituality: Zero Tolerance

Writing this as an agnostic who’s pretty fed up with a certain mindset I see popping up among some of our atheist and agnostic circles (specifically one group over on Meta) which basically claims we shouldn't show "any intellectual tolerance toward believers."

Personally, I find that whole vibe totally repellant. I get where they're coming from when they're tearing into hardline religious fundamentalists, but why does everything have to be viewed through such a negative lens? Why can't we admit that faith has actually inspired people to create, explore the world, produce timeless art, and even drive scientific breakthroughs?
I mean, look at Gregor Mendel—the guy was a humble priest and the literal father of modern genetics. He's just one in a long line of people we should probably feel embarrassed by, apparently, just because they dared to flirt with the idea of something beyond this world.

Honestly, the whole "militant atheism is the only way" thing? It gives me the creeps.

Which group are you referring to?

Atheists and agnostics in America.

Anthony Taylor393 said:Writing this as an agnostic who’s pretty fed up with a certain mindset I see popping up among some of our atheist and agnostic circles (specifically one group over on Meta) which basically claims we shouldn't show "any intellectual tolerance toward believers."

Personally, I find that whole vibe totally repellant. I get where they're coming from when they're tearing into hardline religious fundamentalists, but why does everything have to be viewed through such a negative lens? Why can't we admit that faith has actually inspired people to create, explore the world, produce timeless art, and even drive scientific breakthroughs?
I mean, look at Gregor Mendel—the guy was a humble priest and the literal father of modern genetics. He's just one in a long line of people we should probably feel embarrassed by, apparently, just because they dared to flirt with the idea of something beyond this world.

Honestly, the whole "militant atheism is the only way" thing? It gives me the creeps.

It’s because that mindset is basically a massive self-contradiction. I mean, if you look closely, that kind of attitude isn't actually atheism—it's just religious zealotry flipped on its head. It's essentially a fake posture by default. Anyone who really gets it, or even just feels it in their gut, has to find that lack of harmony unsettling—or at least they're aware of how messy it is, even if they choose to ignore it.

Anthony Taylor393 said:Writing this as an agnostic who’s pretty fed up with a certain mindset I see popping up among some of our atheist and agnostic circles (specifically one group over on Meta) which basically claims we shouldn't show "any intellectual tolerance toward believers."

Personally, I find that whole vibe totally repellant. I get where they're coming from when they're tearing into hardline religious fundamentalists, but why does everything have to be viewed through such a negative lens? Why can't we admit that faith has actually inspired people to create, explore the world, produce timeless art, and even drive scientific breakthroughs?
I mean, look at Gregor Mendel—the guy was a humble priest and the literal father of modern genetics. He's just one in a long line of people we should probably feel embarrassed by, apparently, just because they dared to flirt with the idea of something beyond this world.

Honestly, the whole "militant atheism is the only way" thing? It gives me the creeps.

Because that’s all they ever see. To those people, there’s way more darkness than light; the positive stuff is just a tiny, negligible footnote to them. It makes total sense that they want the whole thing wiped off the map—they genuinely believe the world would be a better place without any of it. And naturally, they act on that, though usually in their own little ways. Most of the time, that just means sitting hunched over a computer, crushing a bag of spicy chips, and picking fights with believers on internet forums. 😁

Spirituality is often, sadly, just a rebranding of religion. You’ve got people claiming they practice "rational contemplation" without believing in any nonsense or unproven theories, which is fine in some cases, but half the time it’s just a personalized religion. It's the same shit, just in a different package.

At the end of the day, what someone chooses to believe—or doesn't—is strictly their own business, and honestly, nobody should be in the position of forcing their perspective on anyone else.
It’s just a shame when people try to label a simple difference in how we perceive the truth as hate speech or intolerance... it really is quite disappointing.

Anthony Taylor393 said:Atheists and agnostics in America.

I assume they’re referring to this specific subset of atheists:
The most radical ones are considered antitheists—people who actually believe religion is one of the most destructive forces in society. According to some researchers, though, this represents the smallest group of atheists, even if they do happen to hold the highest levels of anger toward religion and certain types of dogmatism.

Source: http://science.com/article/not-all...#ixzz3i4f4hi89

Dennis Bennett28 said:At the end of the day, what someone chooses to believe—or doesn't—is strictly their own business, and honestly, nobody should be in the position of forcing their perspective on anyone else.
It’s just a shame when people try to label a simple difference in how we perceive the truth as hate speech or intolerance... it really is quite disappointing.

There are a million different topics out there where everyone’s got an opinion, and honestly, people should feel free to debate them and tear them apart if they want. I really think religion has been treated like this massive, untouchable taboo for way too long.

darkraven said:There are a million different topics out there where everyone’s got an opinion, and honestly, people should feel free to debate them and tear them apart if they want. I really think religion has been treated like this massive, untouchable taboo for way too long.

I say let people talk—I'm all for it. 👍
It really just comes down to the fact that everyone has their own unique way of approaching spirituality (or lack thereof)—it's a spectrum, after all—and then you occasionally run into those "know-it-alls" who get themselves all worked up over nothing.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:I assume they’re referring to this specific subset of atheists:
The most radical ones are considered antitheists—people who actually believe religion is one of the most destructive forces in society. According to some researchers, though, this represents the smallest group of atheists, even if they do happen to hold the highest levels of anger toward religion and certain types of dogmatism.

Source: http://science.com/article/not-all...#ixzz3i4f4hi89

The term they used is actually apatheists. They have applied the wrong label here.

Gerald Hill said:The term they used is actually apatheists. They have applied the wrong label here.

Are we talking about those people with withered, dried-out souls here?

Souls really need the right kind of nutrition.
I mean, we're talking food without an expiration date—the living bread.
If you've got a taste for it, go for it. If not, well, find whatever satisfies you.
Your soul is basically just a reflection of what you feed it.
Some people's spirits have been stale for ages, while others are just barely keeping theirs on life support with nothing but junk food.

Adam Ross6 said:Are we talking about those people with withered, dried-out souls here?

Souls really need the right kind of nutrition.
I mean, we're talking food without an expiration date—the living bread.
If you've got a taste for it, go for it. If not, well, find whatever satisfies you.
Your soul is basically just a reflection of what you feed it.
Some people's spirits have been stale for ages, while others are just barely keeping theirs on life support with nothing but junk food.

Junk food... when consumed en masse, it's definitely not good for the soul.

Honestly, I haven’t run into a single militant atheist who actually lacks any sense of tolerance toward religion.

David Vaughn75 said:Honestly, I haven’t run into a single militant atheist who actually lacks any sense of tolerance toward religion.

The whole "militant atheist" thing really died out alongside Communism—it's just a relic now. In my experience, the absolute worst thing believers have to deal with from atheists is just some crude, tasteless joking about their faith. Nothing more, nothing less.

Something along those lines:

Honestly, those types drive me nuts—all that atheist stuff and reading those kinds of books... such narrow-minded views.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:The whole "militant atheist" thing really died out alongside Communism—it's just a relic now. In my experience, the absolute worst thing believers have to deal with from atheists is just some crude, tasteless joking about their faith. Nothing more, nothing less.

Something along those lines:

It’s wild—they take perfectly reasonable, standard arguments and just spin them as if it's some deep-seated hatred toward Christianity.

David Vaughn75 said:It’s wild—they take perfectly reasonable, standard arguments and just spin them as if it's some deep-seated hatred toward Christianity.

Honestly, this image sums up the whole ridiculous situation better than I ever could:
http://s867.photobucket.com/user/sve...94adb.jpg.html

wearyowl29 said:Junk food... when consumed en masse, it's definitely not good for the soul.

I don't think you even grasp what junk food actually is. It’s just a creative—read: fake—imitation of the real thing.
Basically, it’s total garbage.
It's a bold way to ignore the truth.

That "junk food" you're talking about? It’s just a concept of food, not actual nourishment.

Total spin doctoring.

Just plain old lies.

Pure poison.

Adam Ross6 said:I don't think you even grasp what junk food actually is. It’s just a creative—read: fake—imitation of the real thing.
Basically, it’s total garbage.
It's a bold way to ignore the truth.

That "junk food" you're talking about? It’s just a concept of food, not actual nourishment.

Total spin doctoring.

Just plain old lies.

Pure poison.

And how exactly would you know what constitutes junk food? Is that based on some intense laboratory study of religious doctrines?

When something is used on a massive scale, it leaves a mark. We are unique individuals; none of us needs a translator or an interpreter to tell us what's what.

"And death will be something profoundly human..."
Those who spend their entire lives running away from it, desperately clinging to life, have already died without even realizing it.🎉👏

From what I’ve gathered through my own little observations—and I say this quite calmly—it seems like some folks put such an absolute, blind faith in "common sense" and "science"... it's almost funny... they trust these concepts so much that they don't actually bother to use their own logic, nor do they truly grasp the science itself. They just sort of accept that science exists as a thing, you know? Like a given, without ever looking under the hood...

Just about a month ago, I found myself in a discussion with two people who were, well, let's just say they weren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the box... Not to get too carried away here—but despite having zero clue about the subject matter, and despite the fact that they don't follow any actual data—whereas I've spent countless hours buried in books trying to wrap my head around how everything connects—from politics and history to religion and economics... it felt like my perspective didn't carry a single ounce of weight simply because I have religious beliefs. Meanwhile, their arguments—which honestly had absolutely no foundation at all—were treated as gospel just because they aren't religious... 🙏