John Faithful Hamer has a bone to pick with the latest incarnation of the Atheist Movement.
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Jerry Falwell actually said something smart once. When asked what the difference was between an Evangelical and a Fundamentalist, Falwell said: “a Fundamentalist is just an Evangelical who is angry about something.” In terms of doctrine, there’s no real difference between your average Evangelical Christian and your average Fundamentalist Christian. Likewise, in substantive terms, the difference between “atheism” (i.e., “old atheism”) and “new atheism” is this: nothing. The difference is more a difference of style. New atheists (or, as they often prefer to be called, “evangelical anti-theists”) are angry about something. Old-school atheists are about as worked up about people who believe in God as they are about people who believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
In The Future of an Illusion (1927), Freud maintained that giving up on God and embracing atheism was really all about shedding youthful illusions and growing up. Though deeply insulting and profoundly condescending (to religious people like me), I must confess that Freud’s characterization of atheism used to ring true to me. It ably describes the somber atheism of Nietzsche and Marx. Atheists used to sound like grown-ups, like those partypooper grown-ups who come downstairs at midnight, turn on the lights, and tell everyone it’s time to turn off the music, clean up, go home, and get a good night’s sleep; these days, atheists sound like shrill teenagers, like those know-it-all preachy vegan teenagers who want the whole family to switch to soy.
—John Faithful Hamer, From Here (2015)
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Photo: Flickr/thinboyfatter
@wellokythen: Though admittedly political in nature, this letter is nevertheless germane to our discussion: it’s Lincoln’s famous “Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity”: July 31, 1846 To the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District. FELLOW CITIZENS: A charge having got into circulation in some of the neighborhoods of this District, in substance that I am an open scoffer at Christianity, I have by the advice of some friends concluded to notice the subject in this form. That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I… Read more »
Actually, it’s fine with me if Hamer says the more recent forms of atheism seem too unlike the more traditional forms. Everyone has different tastes, I suppose. I can use older sources, if the newfangled ones seem too new.
I don’t need to quote Dawkins or Hitchens in order to express some great anti-theist concepts, if the reader prefers older or more traditional, canonical sources. There are plenty of anti-religious statements by:
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Tom Paine
Abraham Lincoln
Susan B. Anthony
Mark Twain
Theodore Roosevelt
just to name a few
Are those traditional enough for the sensitively religious?
@wellokythen: It is, of course, impossible to know what was really in the hearts and heads of historical figures. Even so, I find your list decidedly strange. For instance, what evidence do you have that leads you to include Abraham Lincoln on this list? A simple Google search paints a significantly more complicated picture. A perusal of his private letters and diaries does little to clarify matters, by the way; all to the contrary in fact. Be that as it may, I think we can both agree that the great mind who penned these memorable lines is no Dawkins (much… Read more »
So atheists should not treat Christians in the same manner that many/most christians openly preach how atheists should be treated? I thought the whole “do unto others” was a basic tenet of christian faiths.
P.S. Marx and Nietzsche were “somber” atheists? If someone like Marx suggests that organized religion should be completely destroyed, I’d be hard pressed to call that somber. If the Communist Manifesto is simply a polite, non-angry statement to you, then it’s hard to imagine anything newer than that could ever get your attention.
I was thinking the same thing. A theist wants me to sound more like Karl Marx and less like Bill Maher, because Bill Maher is more obnoxious? Next thing you know, he’ll be pining for the good old humble atheism of Josef Stalin. Those were the days, huh?
Anger is simply a feeling, like any other. It is not inherently right or wrong. Anger may be a perfectly understandable response, even a valid one. Or it may be an over-reaction without much valid basis. I respectfully request we consider the possibility that atheists, even ones who seem obnoxious, may have some valid grievances. Perhaps some of their critiques of religion might be accurate, even if you do not share their feelings. For example: Currently, seven U.S. states have laws banning atheists from holding public office. That seems like a real-life practical political issue for an atheist to raise.… Read more »
Just to make sure we’re having a rational, evidence-based conversation here, can you please provide an example or two of a “new atheist” point of view? Then, as a good prompt for further discussion, can you please provide a recommendation for how atheists should conduct themselves that might sound less angry and more mature? As an atheist myself, I am the first to agree that there are many forms of doubt (atheism, anti-theism, agnosticism, etc.) that come across as angry and immature. Just like everyone else, atheists are imperfect human beings who have emotional sides. There are narrow-minded, judgmental, even… Read more »