| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Bear" |
| Date: |
02 Dec 2005 09:01:16 AM |
| Object: |
Significance of Atheism: Making Atheism Matter |
"The mere fact that a person doesn't happen to believe in any gods isn't
very meaningful. Thus, if atheism is going to have intellectual or moral
significance, it must be for other reasons.
"George Smith has labeled such a program a "habit of reasonableness."
Unreflective and unthinking atheism is no more rational than unthinking
theism - and it is without question that atheists are capable of being as
unreasonable and irrational as the most bizarre theist.
"Because of this, being a skeptical atheist requires more work and effort
than simply being an atheist - it requires consciously and consistently
striving to reject intellectual laziness and exercising our reasoning
abilities.
"What this means is that we must not focus simply on what we think; instead,
we should focus on how we think. This is the issue of freethought, the
ability to come to independent conclusions on issues without relying on
things like authority, tradition, or emotion to make decisions for us.
Critical thinking skills must be learned and practiced. This means not just
being "reasonable" in one area like religion or politics - skepticism must
be practiced across all areas of life, especially those where we have an
emotional or personal investment in what we believe." (Austin Cline;
Significance of Atheism: Making Atheism Matter)
--
Bear
There but for circumstances go I.
Being an atheist isn't a choice or act of will - like theism; it's a
consequence of what one knows and how one reasons.
.
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