Are atheists really fundamentalists?

If you had to come up with a subject for a debate, one that would persuade more than a thousand people to leave their firesides on a wet winter evening to sit in a draughty sports hall, what would you plump for? It would have to be something pretty charged, you would imagine. Or at least salacious. About Katie Price, perhaps, or Tiger Woods.

But no. The motion that had them standing in the aisles and dangling from the rafters at Wellington College was: "Is atheism the new fundamentalism?" True, this was an Intelligence Squared debate, and there was a good line-up: Lord Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford, and Charles Moore of The Daily Telegraph for the motion, Professors A C Grayling and Richard Dawkins against. But still. Atheism? When did this become such a crowd-puller?

The answer seems to be: "After September 11." At one point, indeed, Dawkins said that the next atheist slogan he would like to see on the side of a bus is: "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings." He got a cheer for that, as he did for most things, the atheists in the audience outnumbering the believers by a wide margin. That didn't surprise me. What did was their lack of courtesy. There was even the odd jeer when the Christians were speaking. I had assumed that part of the point of being an atheist was that you were tolerant of the views of others.

In fact, while it was a gripping debate, I was struck by how little empathy there was between these two groups of wise and worldly men. The professor of philosophy seemed to have no idea how insulting he was being to the bishop when he compared his belief

Ariane Sherine and Professor Richard Dawkins pose in front of a London bus featuring an atheist advertisement with the slogan 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life'

Yep, that's sure a fundamentalist slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life"

To: Schnucki I had assumed that part of the point of being an atheist was that you were tolerant of the views of others. Wrong, the whole point to being an atheist is hating the God you insist doesn’t exist. 2 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 9:49:58 AM by freedomfiter2

I never read that "tolerance" was a creed in the Atheist Bible--oh wait, because there is no Atheist Bible. And atheists (and agnostics) don't "hate God," they simply don't believe in the Christian/Jewish/Islamic belief system. Some atheists may hate what they see as stupid/dangerous/ignorant belief systems, others just-don't-believe-what-you-believe. By the way, do you know that early Christians, before they took control of the state in the Roman Empire, were called "atheists" because they didn't believe in the official gods? Fun facts to know and tell.

Atheism is the belief that there is no grand deity. You cannot PROVE a negative (That’s that logic type stuff that Dawkins loves so much). Hence, athiests cannot prove their beliefs. To adoopt their beliefs, one must have....faith. And thus we arrive at religion. 3 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 9:51:00 AM by domenad

Typical silly nonsense wordplay by thumper atheist haters. You can't "prove" that there is no Thor, no Jupiter, no Hathor, no Lord Brahma, no Apotamkin, etc. but I'll bet you don't believe that these deities exist--you are an "atheist" with regard to Thor, etc. Do you have "faith" that these deities don't exist, or do you simply find that the evidence and claims for their existence unpersuasive? And does a movement with a slogan "There's probably no God" sound like it is invested in "proof" of its (un)beliefs?

I've been wondering the same thing. If so, then it explains why atheists are so tolerated by theists. by danielmryan

Newsflash for danielmryan--you "theists" do NOT tolerate us unbelievers or heretics--if you could, you would, use Bruno's Iron Gag, the "heretic's fork," the stake, the sword, the the Judas Cradle, etc.--the fact is that Western Civilization evolved, over many, many centuries, to the point where you no longer have that power. Where the primitive Islam rules, theists are not so tolerant.

My definition of atheism: people who get worked up over nothing. 11 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 9:59:37 AM by Blind Eye Jone

If your statement is original it's quite good. Of course most atheists aren't worked up at all and are simply not interested in religion.

The atheists I know are intollerant (sic), borish (sic), bullying fundamentalists.
Oh....And they are the strongest defenders of compulsory attendance, compulsory tax-funded, atheistic, Marxist-driven government K12 schooling. 12 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:01:15 AM by wintertime

Most of the atheists I know are right-wing, conservative/libertarians who don't care what you believe as long as it doesn't involve promoting statism. (Of course there are plenty of Commie atheists, but they are not in my circle of associates.) And I know plenty of mainstream Christian theists who are "the strongest defenders of compulsory attendance, compulsory tax-funded, atheistic, Marxist-driven government K12 schooling."

I ain’t gotta Prove Nuttin, just hope atheist have Asbestos Underware (sic)! 17 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:19:56 AM by bravotu

Of the 144,000, what's your number?

The vast majority of ‘atheists’ have no clue and less consistency since they invariably go for the Christian God without mentioning or even considering other religions/deities including he vast majority of ‘atheists’ have no clue and less consistency since they invariably go for the Christian God without mentioning or even considering other religions/deities including Buddha, Vishnu and especially Allah. One would THINK that post 9/11 Allah would be highest on the list for atheists to disdain especially given the attendant level of violence from Islamists but ‘atheists’ here would rather carry on their childish campaign against their Christian neighbors. 18 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:21:25 AM by relictele , Vishnu and especially Allah.

One would THINK that post 9/11 Allah would be highest on the list for atheists to disdain especially given the attendant level of violence from Islamists but ‘atheists’ here would rather carry on their childish campaign against their Christian neighbors. 18 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 10:21:25 AM by relictele

Buddhism is a pretty "atheistic" religion; I don't think that there is an actual god in it, so it's not something atheists are going to have issues with. Vishnu is obscure for Americans. RE American and also European atheists and Islam; there is a hypocrisy that I see: Islamic fundys are (it is argued) violent and bad, and somehow that makes Christian fundys actually or potentially evil and bad. I see this in some of the left oriented science blogs, such as Panda's Thumb. From time to time I will (not under my FR name) point the hypocrisy out on those blogs.

To: IronKros I will Laugh like Hell when Your Big Toe Busts Hell Wide Open , My FRiend! 40 posted on Sunday, December 06, 2009 9:28:34 PM by bravotu

Another fine example of theist tolerance and love.

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