Atheists who embrace the "Think for yourself" meme. Isn't this rather contradictory?

[PRmerger]

Peter Hitchens was also an atheist before converting. He tells his story in “The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith”.
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Awesome! There is nothing that moves me more than a great conversion story. And there’s nothing greater than a conversion story of an atheist to a Catholic.

(Understood: Peter Hitchens is not a Catholic).

 

[PRmerger]

Whenever someone tells me I spelled something wrong I point out that English is not standardized like French for instance and there is no standardized spelling in English.

I don’t think the above is correct.

I don’t follow the rules with spelling I’m a grammar anarchist.

Really?

Will you permit your child to do the same? When he gets a poor grade in grammar will you tell the teacher that she ought not correct his way of presenting his written thoughts?

 

[Nita]

Awesome! There is nothing that moves me more than a great conversion story. And there’s nothing greater than a conversion story of an atheist to a Catholic.

(Understood: Peter Hitchens is not a Catholic).

Converted to Christianity (Church of England), but not to Catholicism.

 

[Crusaderbear]

It always gets me when people say they are expessing their individuality and thinking for themselves, but dress, talk, act exactly like everyone else in their little pack of sheeple…

As a species, humans are not loners, a real independant thinker would probably be an outcast!,

 

[adamhovey1988]

I don’t think the above is correct.

Really?

Will you permit your child to do the same? When he gets a poor grade in grammar will you tell the teacher that she ought not correct his way of presenting his written thoughts?

For one it was tongue in cheek second of all I am correct there is no standardized spelling in English we don’t have anything comprable to the académie française. This is why British spelling is different than Australian spelling why Australian spelling is different than Canadian spelling and why Canadian spelling is different than American spelling.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I don’t think the above is correct.

Really?

Will you permit your child to do the same? When he gets a poor grade in grammar will you tell the teacher that she ought not correct his way of presenting his written thoughts?

I’m on your side I don’t know why you’re getting so angry at me. Since I speak several languages I have to know the basic grammar and rules of said languages

 

[PRmerger]

For one it was tongue in cheek second of all I am correct there is no standardized spelling in English we don’t have anything comprable to the académie française. This is why British spelling is different than Australian spelling why Australian spelling is different than Canadian spelling and why Canadian spelling is different than American spelling.

Fair enough. I did not see that you were being tongue in cheek.

 

[PRmerger]

I’m on your side I don’t know why you’re getting so angry at me. Since I speak several languages I have to know the basic grammar and rules of said languages

Who’s getting angry?

Anger is indicated here through using all caps or through the angry icon:

I was simply following the natural progression of your assertion that you choose not to follow the rules of grammar.

Now, it turns out, that you were simply joking.

 

[ShanPO]

So I have seen this on Facebook, with a whole lot o’ atheists (and other folks) who are clicking “like!” for the meme, not to mention a bunch of folks who have “shared” it:

https://alwaysquestionauthority.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/1470158_778881662137263_540379826_n.jpg

Now, does anyone else not see the bit of irony here?

I wonder what the response of an atheist would be if you responded with something like:

“I have thought for myself, why do you think I’m Catholic?”

 

[Kay_Cee]

If I’m thinking for myself, I’m doing what Hitchens said to do, so I’m not thinking for myself.

Therefore thinking for myself is not thinking for myself.

Got it!

 

[simpleas]

You don’t think for yourself for lots of things, simpleas.

To wit: you followed what the crowd does with spelling, syntax and grammar as you posted your response.

True there are things I have been shown/taught that most of us do, but there are also the personal things I do, that I have thought about for myself, that others do not do. And there are things I do not do that others do because…I thought for myself

 

[PRmerger]

I wonder what the response of an atheist would be if you responded with something like:

“I have thought for myself, why do you think I’m Catholic?”

That’s an excellent question.

I would predict that the response is, “Then why do you blindly follow what your pope dictates?”

Of course, that just demonstrates a greatly impoverished understanding of Catholicism.

Anyone with even a basic knowledge of Catholicism knows that blind faith is rejected by the Church.

Love the Lord with ALL YOUR MIND, right?

 

[PRmerger]

If I’m thinking for myself, I’m doing what Hitchens said to do, so I’m not thinking for myself.

Therefore thinking for myself is not thinking for myself.

Got it!

SOL!

(My own acronym: Snicker Out Loud. SOL. I thought for myself on that one and didn’t blindly follow the LOL crowd.)

 

[edwest2]

Whenever someone tells me I spelled something wrong I point out that English is not standardized like French for instance and there is no standardized spelling in English. I don’t follow the rules with spelling I’m a grammar anarchist.

There was an article in Time magazine that said people in Quebec believe they speak “purer” French than people in France. An example used was “le chewing gum.”

Ed

 

[PRmerger]

True there are things I have been shown/taught that most of us do, but there are also the personal things I do, that I have thought about for myself, that others do not do. And there are things I do not do that others do because…I thought for myself

Egg-zactly.

That’s the Catholic way of doing things.

And it’s actually the atheist way of doing things too.

There just is this glaring double standard that when Believers do it they’re being imbecilic robots. But when atheists do it, they’re just being smart.

 

[godisgood77]

Well, of course he won’t (or wouldn’t, God rest his soul).

Because he was oblivious to the glaring double standard.

“You should follow the normative ideals, except when it comes to religion. Then when you do that you’re an imbecilic, mindless automaton”.

What a double standard, eh?

Sorry to nitpick… but so I’m clear. He doesn’t say the things you imply (pilots flying planes with no regard for physics, kids eating candy saying that it’s healthy, etc), because he is oblivious to the double standard? By the way, I don’t think those are normative ideals… those are easily proven scientific facts.

There is a difference and a distinction should be made between easily proven scientific facts and an the interior life. Don’t you agree on that point?

To reinforce that point… Let’s reference a quote from the late, great Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Speaking on emulating the religious devotion of others…“Religious devotion which is abstractedly extravagant, may in particular persons be becoming and beautiful, an only fall under blame when it is found in others who imitate them. When formalized in to meditations or exercises, it is a repulsive as love-letters in a police report.”

He is saying here that we should not just simply copy others; that would be inauthentic and ‘repulsive’. Instead, we should think, pray and act for ourselves.

 

[PRmerger]

Sorry to nitpick… but so I’m clear. He doesn’t say the things you imply (pilots flying planes with no regard for physics, kids eating candy saying that it’s healthy, etc), because he is oblivious to the double standard?

Yes. That’s correct.

By the way, I don’t think those are normative ideals… those are easily proven scientific facts.

And this means, what, exactly, as it applies to this discussion?

There is a difference and a distinction should be made between easily proven scientific facts and an the interior life. Don’t you agree on that point?

Who’s talking about an interior life here?

We are talking about facts: scientific, religious, logical, reasonable, theological, philosophical, common sensical, mathematical, grammatical, etc etc etc

 

[PRmerger]

To reinforce that point… Let’s reference a quote from the late, great Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Speaking on emulating the religious devotion of others…“Religious devotion which is abstractedly extravagant, may in particular persons be becoming and beautiful, an only fall under blame when it is found in others who imitate them. When formalized in to meditations or exercises, it is a repulsive as love-letters in a police report.”

He is saying here that we should not just simply copy others; that would be inauthentic and ‘repulsive’. Instead, we should think, pray and act for ourselves.

Amen!

 

[Nyx]

“We atheists evaluate an idea or opinion and decide if it’s true or not. You Believers, however, when you follow your religion, are simply NOT thinking for yourself”.

However, it turns out that Believers are using the exact same paradigm as atheists.

The argument (as far as I know, obviously I don’t know all Atheists) was not so much about religion vs atheism, it was more about religion being “chosen” after you’ve evaluated ideas for and against a specific religion and studied other religions/philosophies as well or simply as an acceptance of the faith of your family or community.

As during the past but even today (through at least in some places- Western world for example this seems to be changing pretty quickly) statistically speaking most people followed the religion in which they were brought up, yes, it leaded to the argument that many Christians (or Muslims, Jewish) would be Buddhists (for example) if they would have been born in a Buddhist family. Which is most probably true in some cases and wrong in others. Also fails to take into account that beliefs (and I am not talking only about religion) and behaviors learned during childhood can be difficult to change and even if you did change to a rational level they might continue to influence you but this is another debate…

 

[PRmerger]

The argument (as far as I know, obviously I don’t know all Atheists) was not so much about religion vs atheism, it was more about religion being “chosen” after you’ve evaluated ideas for and against a specific religion and studied other religions/philosophies as well or simply as an acceptance of the faith of your family or community.

Then the atheist should know that what he is proposing is a Catholic doctrine.

And I find that concept of the atheist professing Catholic teaching also amusing.