If you've read the About Us page, you've had a hint on what we'll be writing about here. If you haven't yet, click on the tab above and give it a read.
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Yes, we're going to be talking about Darwinism and evolution, but this is not going to be a blog about evolution. We'll be talking about science, but it's not going to be a science blog. We'll also be talking about religion (and I firmly place atheism in the religion category), but it's not going to be a religion blog. We'll be discussing cultures, philosophies and traditions, modern and historical.
Mostly, though, this blog is going to be a challenge of what I've come to call proselytizing atheists.
Over the last few years, I've noted a substantial increase in aggressive atheists - or should I say, anti-theist - who are on the attack. At the same time, they are actively trying to convert people to their anti-religious belief. They are increasingly, unapologetically, insulting, mocking and offensive. Even the moderates among them are becoming more acidic.
While the anti-theism is supposedly aimed at all religious beliefs (all of which are dismissed as superstition ignorance), they especially target Christianity and Catholicism. These are their special enemies.
As these virulent attacks became increasingly common and vicious, I began to notice something strange. Whether I was reading comments on a blog post, letters to the editor, or articles and opinion pieces, they had a lot in common. Too much in common. It was like they were quoting from some script. In some ways, it reminded me of Bible thumpers quoting scripture, but I knew nothing about this anti-Bible they were all quoting and paraphrasing.
In the background of this, my daughter was doing her research on evolution, genetics, anatomy, linguistics and more. I was doing my research on the environment and climate. Of course, I was still studying history, archaeology, anthropology, politics and religion. Since I was a child, I have been exploring human history, but my interest was not one of who was famous, what great battles were fought, or when certain things happened. I wanted to know what ordinary people did. What they ate, what they wore, what their home life was like, and so on.
In a world increasingly specialized, I have made a habit of stepping back and looking at the broader picture. What I noted was everything seemed to be woven together; politics, religion, science, culture, tradition, history, geography, climate, economics and more, all made up the threads of a great tapestry. Nothing stood in isolation.
So when the anti-theists began quoting their scripts about the horrors of religion, I knew there was something wrong with their claims. When they made claims about how their own belief system was morally superior, I knew this was inaccurate. I could also see, however, that they weren't lying. They were repeating things they truly believed, with a fundamentalism and dogmatism as strong as any religion they were opposing.
Recently I watched a two part show from Richard Dawkins called The Root of All Evil? There I found the source of so much anti-theist scripture I was seeing quoted.
I began to realize I was looking at a new, fundamentalist religion of the anti-religious. Darwin had been elevated to a sort of messiah. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens had become prophets (along with a few others). "Science" (at least their interpretation of what science is) became their culture. Darwinian Evolution had become the foundation of their religion.
It was watching Dawkins in "Root" that finally put us over into making this satellite blog. Never before have I see so much aromatic bovine feces in one place. I think I spent most of the time watching with my mouth hanging open in shock at the ignorance and idiocy displayed. Dawkins made the most outrageous statements and twisted things so badly, I could hardly believe anyone would take anything he said seriously.
I was actually surprised to find out the two episodes came out in 2006, as I've seen so many people quoting Dawkins' words as gospel from this show recently, I thought it had to be newer.
For this reason, a lot of what we're going to be writing about here is going to be directly about Dawkins and the show. Partly, it's because we actually own a copy so it's easy for me to go back and forth. Partly because there was so much wrong in there, it would take a novel to point out the individual erroneous claims, misconceptions and just plain ignorance in there. Way too much to use my other blogs to talk about.
A large part of it, however, is because so many people today are quoting Dawkins (and Hitchens) like mindless drones. What he says already fits their atheistic world view, so they don't even bother to question the accuracy or examine the information themselves.
Worse is that Dawkins' teachings, with the authority of "science" and "rationality" behind him, have given people permission to let loose their prejudices, bigotry and hatred for those who hold different beliefs they don't approve of. They blithely ignore the horrors perpetrated by those who follow their beliefs while blaming things on religion that rightly belongs elsewhere. They are re-writing history to suit their notions.
Atheism, riding on Darwinian Evolution and claiming superiority though "science" and "rationality," has increasingly become a belief system of open hatred aimed at pretty much everyone else, but especially towards Christians.
These new, proselytizing atheists have put themselves on an interesting pedestal. Since they claim their own beliefs are based on "rational thinking", "evidence" and "science," this frees them to claim anyone who disagrees with them is, by default, irrational, unscientific or superstitious. Therefore, no one who disagrees with them is worth listening to and, instead, can be mocked and ridiculed. They claim moral superiority, which allows them to attribute all immorality to those who don't believe as they do.
Atheists have given themselves a variety of ways to always be correct. For starters, they reserve for themselves the right to define their opponents beliefs however they see fit. They have given themselves the right to historical revision. They even reserve the right to determine when evidence - hard, testable evidence - is acceptable or not. There are other ways, but they will be discussed in detail elsewhere.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this new breed of atheism is their open hatred, bigotry and prejudice, coupled with mockery, insult and offensiveness. They can mock people's beliefs by using terms like sky god, invisible man in the sky, bearded white guy in the sky, and more. They can insult people's intelligence, slander entire groups and make the most outrageous statements that they would never accept where they made by their opponents, but in their minds, it's perfectly justified. It's only hate if the other guy says it. They're not bigoted if it's "the truth" (of course, they get to define what "truth" is). And if they say something that's offensive... well, too bad. Because to this new breed of atheist, offending those who hold different views is not only acceptable, the fact that they are offended at all is just more proof of how right the atheists are. They should just accept that they're wrong, the atheists are right, and STFU.
Well, I won't. I refuse to ignore prejudice and hatred, no matter how convinced the perpetrators are that they are right. If they say something that's false, I will call them on it. If they spout hate, I will call them on it. If they misrepresent the beliefs of others, I will call them on it.
I will not be bullied. I will not be intimidated.
While I have focused mainly on atheists here, I will just as openly call non-atheists on their fallacies as well, but the primary focus will largely be on refuting anti-theist lies and bigotry.
That is what this blog will be about.
