Is New Atheism the New Thing?

[YosefYosep]

I remember when I was an atheist I sort of enjoyed people like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, but I’ve noticed that ever since I left atheism to follow Christ, that the whole New Atheism movement just seems like one big smear. A lot of its advocates and speakers can be terribly rude towards religion, claiming that religion must be abolished for the good of mankind. New Atheism has become very unattractive to me over the pat years. Has anybody else noticed this?

 

[codefro]

I remember when I was an atheist I sort of enjoyed people like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, but I’ve noticed that ever since I left atheism to follow Christ, that the whole New Atheism movement just seems like one big smear. A lot of its advocates and speakers can be terribly rude towards religion, claiming that religion must be abolished for the good of mankind. New Atheism has become very unattractive to me over the pat years. Has anybody else noticed this?

I think anyone of any religion has noticed.

 

[BA11]

First of all, congrats on your conversion. Always love to hear about non-believers seeing the light of christianity.

Second, I agree. It’s kinda funny actually, I work in medicine and thus have a lot of atheist/agnostic friends and associates and almost all of them think guys like Dawkins are hateful hacks who should just leave religion alone. The majority of atheists arent “militant”, they are simply indifferent and happy to accept your beliefs. These new age atheists wrap their entire existence up into mocking and debunking religion, specifically christianity. Part of me thinks they are just trying really hard to convince themselves.

Personally, I find it kind of a sick pursuit. What kind of person goes around telling little old ladies that they have been lied to and nothing happens when they die?

 

[Ophelia23]

A friend of my husband who is atheist asked me last weekend, “Do you think Atheism is a religion?”, And my initial response was no, by definition, it not religion. It is a-theistic; that is to say there is no God. But, I also argued that for some Atheists it has become a religion of sorts. Some Atheists feel the need to preach their message as loudly as they are able, and have devoted their lives to “enlightening” others about the harms and damages of religion. I would argue that this group of Atheists are the opposite end of the spectrum to the Westboro church–just as equally closed minded, equally hateful, equally misguided.

But that’s just my opinion.

 

[Blue_Goose]

It is the new old thing. Atheism has always existed and for most of my life people hid their atheism because it was a shameful thing. Today, people have no shame and they flaunt it.

I was agnostic for many years. I pretended to myself that I was not certain if God existed, even though I knew better. I did not want to be held accountable for my sins. I was playing a mind game with myself and at the same time putting my soul in extreme danger. I thank God that I came to my senses and repented.

Those that subscribe to the new popular, chic, atheism are in denial and if they do not emerge from the fog will surely suffer the consequences.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

There is nothing new in the “new atheism”. Same old dreary song with banal lyrics!
Only the naive and uneducated fall for this drivel.

 

[atheistgirl]

But that’s just my opinion.

I agree with you.

I want to run a mile from these people who claim to speak for atheists and atheism and who show scant regard and less respect for people of faith.

Nobody speaks for me, except me.

My atheism is a single position on a single question.

It says nothing else about me.

I would never ever want to convince a person of faith they were somehow in error for believing in a Deity.

I’m fully aware they could be right, and I’m wrong

(but I doubt it )

I’ll answer a question if asked, or express my opinion, but I’ll never ever tell somebody they shouldn’t believe in their God.

I actually find people like Dawkins and Harris very difficult to listen to.

They almost sound like they’ve been bitten by a dog with rabies

I admit, I did like Hitchens.

I like contrarians, and he did have those boyish good looks and that twinkle in his eye

Sarah x

 

[Melek]

I used to label myself a liberal because of my support for leveling the playing field regarding socioeconomic classes and reforming healthcare. However, the liberal movement is now filled with atheists such as Bill Maher who do nothing but spew hatred towards Christians and Muslims. It makes me sick to my stomach how these abortion-supporting sleaze bags get away with the things they’re saying on live television.

 

[stephe1987]

New Atheism, like Satanism, is about destroying the Church and destroying the faith. It’s not about bettering oneself or finding answers, just tearing others down. A very sad way of life. These people make these claims about religion not ruling their lives and yet they discuss religion more than religious people do. Religious people are happy to go about their daily lives while the New Atheists dedicate themselves to destroying people’s faith and destroying the Church.

 

[atheistgirl]

**Religious people are happy to go about their daily lives **while the New Atheists dedicate themselves to destroying people’s faith and destroying the Church.

I have to say all the atheists I know are happy to get about their daily lives and don’t give religion or people of faith a second thought.

It’s irrelevant to them.

Most of the people I deal with in business, and my employees are people of faith, and I would safely guess the Christian faith.

How many know I’m an atheist, I have no idea.

It’s simply never talked about, nor should it be, in a business environment.

It’s also true that I have to pass street preachers who tell me I’m going to burn in hell for not believing in their God and others make it their mission in life to convert people like me.

So not *all *religious people are happy to go about their daily lives troubling nobody.

I’ve just remembered discussion of atheism is a banned topic, so I’m bowing out now

Sarah x

 

[georget]

No, that stuff doesn’t bother me, when I was a youngster searching for the truth, certain scholars could shake me up a bit, but once my faith was sealed what they have to say is of no consequence in my life. Nah, the new atheist’s don’t bother me except Christopher Hitchins, his boyish good looks, that twinkle in his eye, it really bugged me.

 

[robwar]

I remember when I was an atheist I sort of enjoyed people like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, but I’ve noticed that ever since I left atheism to follow Christ, that the whole New Atheism movement just seems like one big smear. A lot of its advocates and speakers can be terribly rude towards religion, claiming that religion must be abolished for the good of mankind. New Atheism has become very unattractive to me over the pat years. Has anybody else noticed this?

You have been enlighten so now you realize that there is nothing new in the new atheism.
Nietzsche was an atheist and is famous for saying “God is dead” but really it is Nietzsche who is dead, not God.

 

[Jacinto1977sd]

I heard a catholic speaker say that people are/become atheists for a few reasons-

-intellecutal pride

-ignorance

-sin=especially sexual sin

p.s. I played around with calling myself an atheist/agnostic for 2 years, then after that I became catholic

A book called-50 reasons people give for believing in God by atheist-Guy P. Harrisoin was the tipping point for me to say-I’m really not an atheist/agnostic…

I mean, in my heart I was never really an atheist or agnostic… I was just investigating/studying…

 

[robwar]

You are wrong here. This is not the goal or feelings of an Atheist. They are trying to better themselves, and help others to do the same. And they are open to “find answers”–that is the main desire of many atheists…that they don’t profess to have all the answers as many religions do and often tell their followers not to look any further or read anything that would contradict or give any new or different information.

It’s not that they want to “destroy”…it’s that they feel they are finding “truth”…and when one feels they are more enlightened than others, there is a feeling for most people that they want to share this information with others and help them.

In the same way that you might want to “evangelize” because you think this will lead to another person’s “salvation”…an atheist, too, may feel the same passionate–and sometimes even desperate–urge to show a religious person “the truth” in an effort to help them see more clearly, and save them from the wrong things they are believing.

lets just call black is black and trying to give credit to people out to destroy religion is being way too generous. Your points are relativism at its best.

 

[edwest2]

The devil loves repackaging. Every generation gets the repackaged version. Just add some new words and some new labels and poof! Just like marketing research shows that adding the word New to a package attracts potential buyers.

There are different types of atheists.

1. Those who rail against God, religion and beliefs in general (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris).
2. Those who’ve decided ‘I’m an individual’ when they are actually radical individualists. This can be shaded by nihilism, who-cares-ism, or shut up and leave me alone-ism. Indifference may sometimes occur.
3. Those who have misperceived, don’t want to hear or reject any claims of the supernatural as automatic fiction.
4. Those who are sincerely looking for truth but the challenge will always be: by what standard is anything worthwhile, true or worth acting upon? Good? Bad? Functional? Not functional? Suits me?

No, new atheism is just old atheism, and people can freely choose to disbelieve. However we encourage them to believe.

God bless,
Ed

 

[marymary1975]

You are wrong here. This is not the goal or feelings of an Atheist. They are trying to better themselves, and help others to do the same. And they are open to “find answers”–that is the main desire of many atheists…that they don’t profess to have all the answers as many religions do and often tell their followers not to look any further or read anything that would contradict or give any new or different information.

It’s not that they want to “destroy”…it’s that they feel they are finding “truth”…and when one feels they are more enlightened than others, there is a feeling for most people that they want to share this information with others and help them.

In the same way that you might want to “evangelize” because you think this will lead to another person’s “salvation”…an atheist, too, may feel the same passionate–and sometimes even desperate–urge to show a religious person “the truth” in an effort to help them see more clearly, and save them from the wrong things they are believing.

Well I have to say from all the atheists I personally know (I am friendly with a good amount especially some that are scientists) only one fits your description and all but that one person are convinced that they hold the absolute truth of everything and that only them and only them are right. They are not open to find answers because they think they already have the answers to everything.

Again, from all the atheist I know I can only mention two who I can say that that the minute they hear someone is catholic they don’t start attacking them fiercely. While I can see your analogy my main problem is that all the atheist I know preach respect to their belief but they don’t want to respect others beliefs so I think they are being quite hypocrital. In Christians case is clear that their belief is evangelization, however atheist belief is supposedly the opposite, that people should be left alone in their belief but when it comes to people who disagree with them then they are wrong.

 

[snarflemike]

The New Atheism is just the Old Atheism without any of the intellectual underpinnings. I think the New Atheism “arguments” would embarrass an Old Atheist. The question of God’s existence is fundamental to every human being, but the New Atheists seem to be oblivious to the thousands of years of thought given to the subject. “But then who made God?” I mean, really. Only somebody who has not a clue what “God” means could ask such a question.

They also come across as remarkably angry and intolerant.

 

[Jaysuitical]

The New Atheism strikes me more as a virulent response to religious ideologies, which they see as a direct result of the practice of religion, in which political activism can be dictated by a direct and fundamentalist style of reading of law. It is an anti-religious ideology which is not as dogmatic as the older forms of communism but which finds the old militant animus of 19th century Socialism congenial. It strikes me as angry protest, which has been well-received by many more because of the glib religiosity which was assumed in the past decade by American rulers as a general cover for projects having precious little to do with faithful citizenship and a great deal to do with ideologies fueled by unrestrained, ungoverned religious passions.

 

[Regular_Atheist]

If New Atheism is what the kind of people who worship Richard Dawkins exhibit, then it’s mostly teens and young adults who aren’t really able to justify their strong atheism too much.

Eh, I try to be polite when talking to you guys. I know I’ve said some offensive stuff on here, that I normally end up back-tracking on and regretting, but I’m certainly not one of those kind of atheists that we’re discussing now. At least, I hope I’m not.

I’m honestly not entirely sure what ‘New Atheism’ is, though. It seems poorly defined. If it just an extreme anti-religious stance, to the point at which you believe religion shouldn’t be practised, then I’m certainly not a ‘New Atheist’.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

We shouldn’t mix up atheism with anti-religious people. A person who doesn’t believe in God doesn’t necessarily want to get rid of religion. However many atheists are anti-religion. They would rather have the State be in complete control of people. They are very dangeous to religion. Here is a list of anti-religious people.

Friedrich Nietzsche - Der Antichrist, general anti-Christian statements in many other works. Nietzsche believed Christianity, and specifically Christian morality, to be the product of a transvaluation of values amongst the Jewish lower classes who bucked at Roman rule, and ascribed its other-worldly nature as the product of ressentiment, or the desire to devalue the things of this world out of spite. Famous for popularizing the phrase, “God is dead.”

Karl Marx - The founder of Communism, who wrote, “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people”.

Vladimir Lenin - Like most Marxists, he believed all religions to be “the organs of bourgeois reaction, used for the protection of the exploitation and the stupefaction of the working class”

Nikita Khrushchev - Soviet leader, initiated a campaign against religion, including the USSR anti-religious campaign from 1958-1964

David Hume - the Scottish agnostic philosopher, known for his skepticism, who wrote that human reason is wholly inadequate to make any assumptions about the divine, whether through a priori reasoning or observation of nature.

Ayn Rand, novelist and philosophical author, founder of the Objectivist school of individualism, famous for writing Atlas Shrugged and The Virtue of Selfishness.

Bertrand Russell - British logician and analytic philosopher who believed authentic philosophy could only be done on the atheistic foundation of “unyielding despair” and in 1948 famously debated the Jesuit priest and philosophical historian Fr. Frederick Copleston on the existence of God.

Marquis de Sade - French aristocrat and writer of philosophy-laden and often violent pornography. Once remarked that “God is the sole reason that I cannot forgive mankind” and that religion was a “cradle of despotism.”
n people:

Christopher Hitchens - outspoken and uncompromising antitheist, journalist and literary critic, author of the book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. He was one of the “four horsemen” of New Atheism.

Bill Maher - presenter and producer of the movie Religulous, comedian, political commentator, former host of Politically Incorrect and current host of Real Time with Bill Maher.

Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist and ethologist who is one of the “four horsemen” of New Atheism. He wrote The God Delusion criticizing belief in God(s) in 2006.

Michel Onfray - French anarchist and hedonist philosopher, who authored the Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Steven Pinker - cognitive scientist who believes religion incites violence

Tommy Lapid - outspoken Israeli media figure, journalist, and former leader of the liberal-secularist party Shinui. He was known for his public denunciation of Jewish rabbis, religious terrorism. and religion in general, as well as for his provocative remarks on what he deemed “superstition”.

Ricky Gervais - comedian, promoter of science over religion, mocks the use of the bible as scientific fact