1. Rational Atheism

Comment #64868 by UberStan on August 22, 2007 at 6:06 am

It's a litle disheartening to see such negative reactions to mild criticism. This instant polarization - lumping an article or author as either for or against - does not seem helpful to me. Having read a fair bit of Shermer's stuff, I must point out that he always only ever falls on the side of rationality, which seems to be a point widely missed by the audience here.

He raises a vital question: do we try to convince others that they have a choice about what they believe in, or do we continually insist that they are wrong in their beliefs? What's the rational answer to that question?

Dawkins is completely justifed in suggesting that religion is afforded way too much respect, but that isn't a reason to apply disrespect as a way of reversing the influence of religion.

It seems that people are confusing the end with the means by which we get there. The right to ridicule is where we are going, not where we should be starting from. Sure, it's liberating to scorch those who treat scripture as evidence, but only for you. For your opponent it's just more evidence of the "intolerance" of atheists.