@Peter Dembowy - So, this is where we differ, Peter. Whenever someone says that they will pray for someone, an atheist will write a comment to digress and proclaim how "wrong" anyone who isn't an atheist or agnostic might be (or, as your comment shows, how "ridiculously childish and dangerous" faith might be). And, of course, someone will inevitably compare one's faith in God to the handful of dimwits who believe in a "flat earth."
Let me ask you: Do you REALLY think that I am simply given to a desire for fairy tales to be real in order to believe in God? You think that I lack logic? That's quite an assumption that you make.
You brought up a strange comparison with those silly "flat earth" people. Yet, I worked for NASA at Langley Research Center. I now work in biotech in the Silicon Valley. During grad school, I worked in research. After finishing my post-grad, I worked in science, engineering and academia. Why does this matter? It is simply to illustrate that I am not easily given to "fairy tales," "insanity" or "zero evidence" belief.
The atheists who rant about how "dangerous" religious people might be often forget that the most dangerous individuals in history were men like Josef Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. -- all atheists. Hitler loathed both Judaism AND Christianity (guided largely by his father's radical atheist views) and his cabinet of violent eugenics-believing henchmen were largely comprised of atheists. In fact, Hitler vowed to destroy any influence of Christian churches -- what he called "the evil that is gnawing our vitals."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/20/hitler-hated-judaism-he-loathed-christianity-too/
I totally understand why you're an atheist. After all, I was agnostic. My journey from agnosticism to faith didn't happen overnight either. It was also surprisingly logical in its progression -- similar to how C. S. Lewis arrived to faith (with the help of J.R.R. Tolkien) after a life of atheism. But this post isn't really about me or my own journey.
Now, I don't think that anyone should adhere to a belief that isn't sincere or one that is compulsory (such as is found in certain violent Gilead-like theocracies in the Middle East). Yes, some people do bad things in the name of their religion. However, there are people who are ardent atheists who do bad things too.
Ted "the Unabomber" Kaczynski killed quite a few people. His infamous "manifesto" showed that his "guiding light" was a form of atheism that not only hated what he called "blind faith" but also capitalism and industry. He was effectively an atheist and socialist who had no regret for killing human beings because he dismissed the idea of a "soul" or "spirit."
However, I think that you're doing a disservice by feeling a "right" to mock, ridicule or vilify those of us who embrace a faith or believe in God. You can "claim that right" all you want. However, it doesn't make your claim good, proper or "right." It only makes you look smug, pompous and radical. Often, individuals who claim this "right" become enraged when someone calls them out OR they feel that they are doing society a favor for spitting on religious beliefs.
I suspect that you probably wouldn't so quickly dismiss people who embrace a faith in God if you actually sat down with them. When I was at NASA, I met plenty of accomplished scientists and engineers who believed in God. At Stanford, I sometimes attend a discussion group with other professors, researchers, administrators and others who embraced faith. We often invited atheists into our group because we don't mind being challenged. The difference is that most of these atheists don't "claim that right" to mock anyone else's most sacred views.
@Peter Dembowy - So, this is where we differ, Peter. Whenever someone says that they will pray for someone, an atheist will write a comment to digress and proclaim how "wrong" anyone who isn't an atheist or agnostic might be (or, as your comment shows, how "ridiculously childish and dangerous" faith might be). And, of course, someone will inevitably compare one's faith in God to the handful of dimwits who believe in a "flat earth."
Let me ask you: Do you REALLY think that I am simply given to a desire for fairy tales to be real in order to believe in God? You think that I lack logic? That's quite an assumption that you make.
You brought up a strange comparison with those silly "flat earth" people. Yet, I worked for NASA at Langley Research Center. I now work in biotech in the Silicon Valley. During grad school, I worked in research. After finishing my post-grad, I worked in science, engineering and academia. Why does this matter? It is simply to illustrate that I am not easily given to "fairy tales," "insanity" or "zero evidence" belief.
The atheists who rant about how "dangerous" religious people might be often forget that the most dangerous individuals in history were men like Josef Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. -- all atheists. Hitler loathed both Judaism AND Christianity (guided largely by his father's radical atheist views) and his cabinet of violent eugenics-believing henchmen were largely comprised of atheists. In fact, Hitler vowed to destroy any influence of Christian churches -- what he called "the evil that is gnawing our vitals."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/20/hitler-hated-judaism-he-loathed-christianity-too/
I totally understand why you're an atheist. After all, I was agnostic. My journey from agnosticism to faith didn't happen overnight either. It was also surprisingly logical in its progression -- similar to how C. S. Lewis arrived to faith (with the help of J.R.R. Tolkien) after a life of atheism. But this post isn't really about me or my own journey.
Now, I don't think that anyone should adhere to a belief that isn't sincere or one that is compulsory (such as is found in certain violent Gilead-like theocracies in the Middle East). Yes, some people do bad things in the name of their religion. However, there are people who are ardent atheists who do bad things too.
Ted "the Unabomber" Kaczynski killed quite a few people. His infamous "manifesto" showed that his "guiding light" was a form of atheism that not only hated what he called "blind faith" but also capitalism and industry. He was effectively an atheist and socialist who had no regret for killing human beings because he dismissed the idea of a "soul" or "spirit."
However, I think that you're doing a disservice by feeling a "right" to mock, ridicule or vilify those of us who embrace a faith or believe in God. You can "claim that right" all you want. However, it doesn't make your claim good, proper or "right." It only makes you look smug, pompous and radical. Often, individuals who claim this "right" become enraged when someone calls them out OR they feel that they are doing society a favor for spitting on religious beliefs.
I suspect that you probably wouldn't so quickly dismiss people who embrace a faith in God if you actually sat down with them. When I was at NASA, I met plenty of accomplished scientists and engineers who believed in God. At Stanford, I sometimes attend a discussion group with other professors, researchers, administrators and others who embraced faith. We often invited atheists into our group because we don't mind being challenged. The difference is that most of these atheists don't "claim that right" to mock anyone else's most sacred views.