I’m excited to see that Christians like Mike O and Michael K are participating. I have so many questions I want to ask you. I haven’t found any Christians I can ask about their thoughts and opinions about atheism. They glance to either side as if looking for something to clobber me with. They seem to think that either I’m going to try to convert them, or that they’re obligated to attempt the same with me.

I’m only trying to understand why, unlike Mike and Michael, many Christians seem so threatened when confronted with an intelligent, sane person who doesn’t share their belief. I wonder if that apparent fear/threat is what feeds the absurd stereotypes listed in Sam Harris’s “10 Myths” article, as well as the out and out hatred I’ve experienced and heard of.

I don’t want to change someone’s beliefs to resemble mine; I want to influence their behavior for the better. Believe as you will, but don’t shun, slander, fire, beat or kill atheists. All I can do is first to make certain my own behavior is exemplary, and then stridently confront and oppose those behaviors every time I encounter them. But to do that skillfully, respectfully and therefore effectively I need to understand what is at the root of their fear and loathing. Is it too individual or idiosyncratic to make any general observations, or can anyone here see patterns, traits, or categories that can shed light on this?

Mike O, I want to clarify one detail in your wonderful juxtaposing of your point of view and that of an atheist. You said,

“What I do is try to get people to look around them and see God’s hand in life. You try to get people to look around and question God’s hand in life. I don’t mean anything by that other than that it is an interesting similarity in technique. Looking at the evidence, I say there’s no way there could be no God. You say there’s no way there is.”

Actually, We don’t say, “Looking at the evidence, there’s no way there is a God.” We say, “There’s no evidence.”
No one can find evidence that there is no God. We just don’t find any evidence that there is. This can seem like a razor’s edge distinction, but it is essential if you want to understand the more thoughtful atheists you encounter.

When I have no evidence of something, I don’t believe, and I don’t disbelieve. When I do have evidence of something, I still don’t believe; I have more confidence in its likelihood. Believing or disbelieving is something that never occurs in my head, evidence or not.

And what I’m learning, coming from the other side of the argument, is that atheists, like Christians, have done their homework.

Thanks for that. And that’s a benefit to discussing this stuff. The dangers are that discussion like this will be seen by the religious person or attempted by the atheist as a conversion message. Or that it is all mixed up with stridency and so we don’t get to the benefit of this mutual respect.

I think the red-meat rhetoric sells books. The trick is to sell enough books without selling out your own message.

And what I’m learning, coming from the other side of the argument, is that atheists, like Christians, have done their homework. I have unfairly classified atheists as people who just haven’t asked the hard questions yet. “If you would just look around you and think about it, you would see the hand of God.” But, news flash to me … many of you have looked around. And you don’t see the hand of God. I can’t explain how that can be. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. And while I see no way I would ever “de-convert”, I respect atheists more than I did, that’s for sure!

Thanks, Mike. Maybe I’m only “almost an atheist” but I still appreciate this!

I think that by and large they are attempts to get people who don’t
believe but don’t think about this stuff much to take an active step
and consider what they believe.

It’s interesting that we Christians hope to do the same … to get people who don’t
believe but don’t think about this stuff much to take an active step
and consider what they believe. What I do is try to get people to look around them and see God’s hand in life. You try to get people to look around and question God’s hand in life. I don’t mean anything by that other than that it is an interesting similarity in technique. Looking at the evidence, I say there’s no way there could be no God. You say there’s no way there is. Interesting, is all. Same evidence, vastly different conclusions.

Maybe my point is that Christians aren’t this unthinking pack of lemmings just following the guy ahead of us into god-knows what. Sure, some of us are. Some atheists are, too. But many of us Christians have done the critical thinking and evaluation of our beliefs and found them to be sound.

And what I’m learning, coming from the other side of the argument, is that atheists, like Christians, have done their homework. I have unfairly classified atheists as people who just haven’t asked the hard questions yet. “If you would just look around you and think about it, you would see the hand of God.” But, news flash to me … many of you have looked around. And you don’t see the hand of God. I can’t explain how that can be. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. And while I see no way I would ever “de-convert”, I respect atheists more than I did, that’s for sure!

Devika said …

Think about all the people with substance dependence/exhibit extreme promiscuity/etc. who later find Jesus/Allah/etc. That fervor traditionally associated with religion can be found across behaviors.

This may be a different thought than you had in mind, but I’ve noticed that when people come to some sort of faith, they tend to be the same kind of person they were, but their framework changes. Intense people are still intense people. Passive people are still passive people, etc. Perhaps mean people are still mean people and nice people are still nice people.