There Are No "New Atheists"

Pundits refer to authors Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and others as the new atheists. Mostly, they are known for aggressive writing and commercially successful books.

Many times here those who comment have said I do not respect their beliefs, that I make light of those beliefs and insult what they call community values. I can understand that if one has spent his/her life practicing the faith to have that lifetime preoccupation ridiculed if would seem hurtful.

What I write about has been written about for many thousands of years. Perhaps it is accurate to say that over those thousands of years it was talk of a god or gods was really offensive to large numbers of people.

I'm unable to spell or pronounce the litany of ancient writers, Greek and Roman, who scoffed at a belief in gods and supernatural notions.  The link lists and quotes a couple dozen Greeks and a dozen or so Romans. I make my usual disclaimer here that the writing quoting these ancients has been recopied over the eons of time so we can't know it accuracy.

While I have been told countless times there is something wrong with me because I can no longer believe in gods I cannot see not super natural events, ancient writers believed passionately there was something wrong with those who believed in such things. Since the first recorded history there have been people who thought they sensed an unseen and invisible being and those who did not sense it and thought there was something wrong with those who did.

From the ancient writing we know of, those authors seem just like today's "new atheists." They scoffed at invisible gods and had little use for those who claimed to know them.

Those ancient skeptics serve the "new atheists" well. They provided wisdom that we can all learn from. If gods did not exist in ancient times why would they exist today?

Comments

  1. little helperOctober 1, 2019 at 4:52 PM

    On the other hand, "If God existed in ancient times why would He not exist today?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ardy BOctober 2, 2019 at 5:50 AM

    To add to the word-salad surrounding the discussion of religious belief I read the term "nontheism" is getting more traction. Presumably because the "new atheists" like Hitchens and Dawkins have added a more militant tone to their atheism becoming "anti-theists". Who better to face off against those Christian Warriors. One notion I personally find offensive is that atheism is synonymous with immorality. Historically it's hard to find a subset of humankind that have spun the moral compass more than theists. What kind of god would intentionally create pain-in-the-ass creatures for the hell of it anyway? "Atheism is often seen as strident and mean-spirited, whereas nontheism is a kinder, gentler, more loving and tolerant denial of God that may still embrace the trappings of Christianity.", https://www.gotquestions.org/nontheism.html .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jon LindgrenOctober 2, 2019 at 7:09 AM

      Ardy B Great post. I think I'll start using the terms "nontheism" and "nontheist". You correctly sense the wide variety of terms used, I have used them all, secularist, skeptic, atheist, etc. Humanists are all atheists but they use humanism. Once I asked PZ Meyers about which term is best. He said he uses atheist just because is pisses people off but otherwise he has no preference.

      Delete
    2. little helperOctober 2, 2019 at 8:15 AM

      Was Meyers' Catholic host,(bread) consecrated?

      Delete
    3. little helperOctober 2, 2019 at 8:46 AM

      re. host; When Meyers stabbed it with a nail.

      Delete

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