Dogmatic is dogmatic, whether the dogmatism is coming from an atheist, a theist, a liberal democrat or a right wing republican.
Those who say they know what is right for others fall into this category.
Life is difficult enough trying to figure it out for oneself, but those who can tell others that their path is wrong are nearly always lacking real contentment in their own path.
My own personal wish is not to change the mind of other people nor deter them from their path. My preference is for them to accept that their path is based on a belief system (not pure absolute fact) due to the nature of the human mind and come to a level of acceptance of different points of view and different human experiences.
The way we are wired requires leaps of faith every single day, if not every single second that we believe without knowledge that the next moment will not be our last. If people came out of denial and accepted this fact, there would be much less conflict in the world, as people could then focus on their own beliefs and not on the beliefs of others which are none of their business.
If a guy like longshot wants to get drunk and read from atheist websites, that is his right. However, when he then begins to attack others as "irrational" something is lacking in the sense of being "reasonable."
The atheists rest on this concept of "rational" versus "irrational" when life itself is not fully capable of "rational" thought as humans are not computers. We are as much emotional and feeling as we are intellectual. Having a balance between the two and having the wisdom to know when to exercise which part of our psyche is part of a maturation process.
I don't believe the active atheists on this board are representative of those who are at peace with their atheism.
Rather this group seems to have an "issue" with theism. There is quite a difference between an atheist who is angry at theism and an atheist who has no concern with theism.
When this is pointed out to them they become even more hostile and defensive of their belief system and their behaviors (yes, atheism is a belief system).
The same is true of those who hate liberals or hate conservatives. No one knows what the right course of action is with 100% certainty going forward, yet some people act as if they do know.
The lack of grayness in these black and white thinkers demonstrates in my opinion a genuine lack of active gray matter.
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Yeah, well Mav, you know that you cannot debate this issue rationally with GG.
I think GG is so carried away with his anti-religion campaign as to be questionably sane .....
Sort of like you with GWB
Both of you are bright guys. Both of you have level headed observations and opinions that you express here on ET. But not regarding your pet issues.
So while you and GG differ in your opinions here, the two of you really should have a lot of empathy for one another.
You both exhibit the exact same behavior. Just on different topics.
âThe definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.â
~ Albert Einstein
Will you, Mav, convince any of the "liberals" here to admire GWB?
Will GG convince any practicing Christians here to turn to atheism?
How's the weather in Chicago today? I heard it was pretty nice and had warmed up to about 40 degrees. It was 83 here today. I washed my car. Said no prayers, and voted for no one.
A fine Sunday afternoon. Hope yours was as well!!!
And don't take the insanity comment as an insult. It applies to us all equally. If ART or myself think we can get YOU to see what is so clear to us, then we are guilty of the same behavior. And equally "insane". Part of being an ET "netizen" I suppose. Welcome to the on-line Cuckoo's Nest.
Peace,
RS
