The Goal of Atheism and the Benefits of Religion
I was asked this morning about our vision for the future. What do we hope to accomplish by advocating atheism? Do we want to get rid of religion entirely? Would the world be a better place without it? Here is my off the cuff answer...
A philosopher with a Ph.D. emailed me this question:
We're tired of being maligned and considered to be less trustworthy than prostitutes and child molesters, for start.
We're tired of scientific ignorance, and the destruction and killing in the name of God, too.
There are plenty of negative reasons for asserting ourselves and our arguments, and that alone is justification for our arguments.
But we also have a positive goal. We believe we're right. Being correct is a worthy goal, even if we think that delusional beliefs lead to terrible puplic policies and agendas.
Our vision for the future? It would depend on the particular skeptic I suppose. I mainly think about MY particular future. So I want less antagonism toward me as an atheist. Since I don't believe religion will ever pass from the scene, given what Paul Kurtz calls The Transcendental Temptation, if all we can do is to lessen the effects of religious beliefs then that's a worthy goal, probably the only goal possible.
Is religion beneficial? It is beneficial for delusional people in the same way that a prozac drug is beneficial for depressed people. As long as there are depressed people we'll need prozac, a new kind of "opium for the masses." But a healthier person doesn't need prozac or religion. I want to make people healthier, you see. When that time comes, if it does at all, we won't need religion.
A philosopher with a Ph.D. emailed me this question:
What is the goal and purpose of these atheists? What purpose do they want to accomplish? What kind of existential purpose are atheists offering people who would replace their purpose-filled faith with atheism? I'm curious what you think. I'm not being impish.Where do I start? ;-)
We're tired of being maligned and considered to be less trustworthy than prostitutes and child molesters, for start.
We're tired of scientific ignorance, and the destruction and killing in the name of God, too.
There are plenty of negative reasons for asserting ourselves and our arguments, and that alone is justification for our arguments.
But we also have a positive goal. We believe we're right. Being correct is a worthy goal, even if we think that delusional beliefs lead to terrible puplic policies and agendas.
Our vision for the future? It would depend on the particular skeptic I suppose. I mainly think about MY particular future. So I want less antagonism toward me as an atheist. Since I don't believe religion will ever pass from the scene, given what Paul Kurtz calls The Transcendental Temptation, if all we can do is to lessen the effects of religious beliefs then that's a worthy goal, probably the only goal possible.
Is religion beneficial? It is beneficial for delusional people in the same way that a prozac drug is beneficial for depressed people. As long as there are depressed people we'll need prozac, a new kind of "opium for the masses." But a healthier person doesn't need prozac or religion. I want to make people healthier, you see. When that time comes, if it does at all, we won't need religion.