Why is militant atheism so arrogant?

Well, judging by P. Z. Myer's response, we're not going to get anywhere by asking militant atheists to be kind. Apparently "[i]t's silly to demand that we respectfully engage the clownish buffoons of religion", because "the goofiness of religion is a wonderful target for humor". After all, "their bliss-ninny belief system is an unsalvageable stew of raw sewage spiced with smug ignorance."

Why the invective? It's because "[w]e know that millions of good people cherish their delusions. We don't care; that a lie makes people feel good doesn't make it a truth."

There it is in black & white. They don't care!

I just don't get it. How can these militant atheists insist that they are morally superior, and behave in such an obviously relationship-denying, trust-destroying, character-damaging manner?

To have a harmonious community - be it a family, a local suburb, a city, nation, or world - we need people who behave in a way that builds personal trust and relationships. That is, we need people who genuinely care about each other. These militant atheists don't care. Correction: the only thing they seem to care about is rudely and violently imposing their beliefs on anyone who remotely disagrees with them. So I don't trust them to have healthy relationships or build healthy communities.

This concern of mine is not, I submit, a purely Christian one. I think it can be shared by anyone who's not as bombastic as the new atheists - including non-bombastic, open-minded atheists. The media response to the Global Atheists Convention is a case in point.

Thoughts, anyone?

Comments

Roger Gallagher said…

Hi Kamal,

I think two factors are at work in the militant atheist's comments:
1) One of the notable features of their comments was their belief that atheists are inherently intellectually superior to those who believe in God.
2) Last night on the ABC radio programme Sunday Nights, one of the panellists made the comment that religious organisations can start believing that they're in the business of doing good, so all they do must be good, and how dare you suggest otherwise! It appears that the militant atheists have fallen into the same mental trap. Religion is inherently evil, and those who follow it are obviously morons, so it doesn't matter how we treat them, because we're the good guys.

22 March 2010 at 23:28

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