Marie Foster <mfos@ieway.com> wrote:
> Too bad. Too bad about the atheists. They have their own
> delusions. Perhaps this is my way of pushing their buttons.
> I accept that they are on the same path as I am. They deny
> me the same courtesy.
Not I -- you are welcome to enjoy your "spirituality" anyway you see fit --
so long as freethought remains.
It is when people begin to restrict freethought (and the associated freedom
of speech) that I get upset...
> My *god* meme as you put it is very useful to me in framing my
> view of the world. It is part of who my *I* meme is. Many
> atheists I have met feel that they have the exculsive right
> to call themselves rational. Perhaps they are more deluded
> than I. I do not know. But I do not like it if I say that
> I am a theist and am trashed for saying it.
As with all positions, you must make the word (god, theism) YOUR word -- do
you know how long "atheist" has been a bad word in our society? Centuries.
Heck, millennium's! Like "feminism", we must learn to associate good things
with the labels we choose for ourselves, regardless of the dogmatic and
stereotypical images around us. Letting Christians define our word would
be like letting martians define "human".
I am an atheist -- which means I believe in no god, I hold reason and truth
as values above all others, and am adamant about freethought -- the right
of each of us to think as we please.
> This is a church? That was the reason I became interested. Now, a
> church for atheists seems to me to be very full of laughter. Do you
> think so.
I think the irony is part of what makes it successful -- check out The
North Texas Church of Freethought -- "a fellowship of unbelievers"
http://church.freethought.org/
> So, lets vote. I for one remember someone saying that "no
> theists need apply for sainthood." Can theists be members of
> this congregation?
YES! All they have to do is demonstrate that they do not hold any dogmatic
position -- that their beliefs are reasonable, even if not rational; and
that they will change their views if need be.
> Your choice. If you vote no then I am outa here. I do not have the
> time left in my life to waste.
Please don't leave -- I for one enjoy talking to people who have distinctly
different operating axioms.
I think that diversity is always preferable to monotony, that immunity due
to exposure is better than ignorance, and that the fastest way to
accomplish our goals here at virus is to talk to people just like you, and
learn what will work and what won't.
Any exercise in memetics NEEDS to be tested against the counter-memes. If
we're not willing to tolerate a few theists, we might as well give up now
-- for we will NEVER take over the world if we close ourselves off!
(this is the same kind of issue Jesus faced -- he was being persecuted for
his beliefs, but rather than clam up, he choose to die -- for he knew that
a life of silence, just letting his Kingdom go by, is no life at all...)
ERiC