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[NervousXtian]

Wow, never heard of this elevator gate thing.. and now I wish I hadn't. Why is everyone so awful these days.

Sorry someone hit on you and asked you out. There's nothing wrong with that.

So I get people thinking that's stupid to complain about.. but everyone took it straight to 11 it seems.

Also, Dawkins is an idiot, always has been.

To me atheism is just that, a lack of belief in a greater power. Nothing more, nothing less.

The idea of an atheism conference to me is absurd.

 

[Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!]

So he should do something about it. He's not afraid of speaking his mind so he should be loud and clear with these people if he doesn't want to be associated with them. If Eminem can do it I'm sure he can as well.

He has been pretty publicly anti Trump. He slammed his travel ban too which is mildly surprising

 

[Azoor]

Where do i said such a thing ?

It should be allowed and it's not racist to criticize Islam, like Judaism, Christianity or whatever, however, saying that Islam is the root of terrorism it's not "simply" a criticism, like saying that judaism is the root of usury, or like saying that coptic christians, for religious reason, are not loyal enough to the egyptian nation.

There is a lot of people who reject and criticize Islam and i don't consider them racist or bigoted. However, one critic of Islam should be especially careful in our current political climate, when laws are made specifically tailored to target and limit the rights of muslim worldwide.

Your wording seemed like that, you used a slippery slope argument that criticism of Islam might turn it into institutional racism against Muslims.

 

[NastyBook]

"New Atheism" was always about smug jackasses who thought they were immortal geniuses using their lack of faith as a hammer to hit any vulnerable target to feed their superiority complex.

Succulently succinct, sir.

 

[Chmpocalypse]

Wow, never heard of this elevator gate thing.. and now I wish I hadn't. Why is everyone so awful these days.

Sorry someone hit on you and asked you out. There's nothing wrong with that.

So I get people thinking that's stupid to complain about.. but everyone took it straight to 11 it seems.

Also, Dawkins is an idiot, always has been.

To me atheism is just that, a lack of belief in a greater power. Nothing more, nothing less.

The idea of an atheism conference to me is absurd.

Um, there's a lot wrong with cornering a stranger in an elevator at 4am to pressure her into a date. What the fuck would make you think that's okay?

 

[HStallion]

He has been pretty publicly anti Trump. He slammed his travel ban too which is mildly surprising

I think he needs to be incredibly loud and clear though. Eminem left no doubts about what he was saying and who he was saying to and capped it off pretty succinctly at the end of his cypher. Dawkins needs to pull no punches and directly call out the alt right fucks and other sleazeballs that are attaching themselves to him like barnacles.

 

[ZackieChan]

This general trend has caused me to largely abandon the "atheist" identity.

If pressed, I describe myself as "not religious". I think I prefer being vague about it these days.

This is where I am, but not because of these "New Atheists," rather because I just don't care. Not worth fighting people who are religious, I just go about my life.
Lucky to live in a place (Thailand) where people don't seem to bug me at all about religion.

 

[Golden_Pigeon]

I dont want to click on a link to the fucking blaze. What did he say?

It's just a stupid and braindead comment on religion and world politics.
Hinduist fundamentalism is actually in power in India, spawned from a terrorist organization. Orthodox fundamentalism is actually responsible for a genocide in Bosnia 20 years ago. Christians Militias are bombing and doing ethnic cleansing in Uganda, CAR and certains part of India. Buddhist genocidal maniacs are responsible of genocide in Myanmar, etc etc...

Identity (religious, racial or ideological) is the best weapon to put a group together to attack another group. The tenets of the religion used to do so play a very secondary role.

Could comments be used to drive hate towards people? Sure... But what's the alternative? Perhaps being more nuanced to try to prevent misinterpretations? Maybe.

Actually being an intellectual and use tools like sociology, history and politics to explain how a group like ISIS just don't "spawn out" of the Quran ?

For me, having friends from all creeds, it's so obvious that interpretation is the key factor, that i can't even understand how somebody can say "ISLAM" or "CHRISTIANITY" and associate them with a particular behavior.

 

[Audioboxer]

I think he needs to be incredibly loud and clear though. Eminem left no doubts about what he was saying and who he was saying to and capped it off pretty succinctly at the end of his cypher. Dawkins needs to pull no punches and directly call out the alt right fucks and other sleazeballs that are attaching themselves to him like barnacles.

The guy is 76 and had a stroke not long ago, he's not doing a rap like Eminem, lmao.

Dawkins anti-religious stances and pro-science beliefs have existed well before millennials got hip on the internet with new political lingo. Heck, well before half of this forum was probably born. No one cared when Dawkins, Hitchens and others went ham on Christianity/Catholicism. It's just since they've been criticising another religion which I won't mention some trip over themselves to get offended. Ironically, a religion they have criticised forever, it just didn't have any attention paid to their criticism years ago as no one cared then.

He calls out Brexit and Trump often on social media.

 

[boiled goose]

Wow, never heard of this elevator gate thing.. and now I wish I hadn't. Why is everyone so awful these days.

Sorry someone hit on you and asked you out. There's nothing wrong with that.

So I get people thinking that's stupid to complain about.. but everyone took it straight to 11 it seems.

Also, Dawkins is an idiot, always has been.

To me atheism is just that, a lack of belief in a greater power. Nothing more, nothing less.

The idea of an atheism conference to me is absurd.

An atheism conference is only a thing because the majority if the world believes in made up deities.

Tell the atheists murdered and the women subjugated because of religion that it's absurd.

Promoting critical thinking, secular values, and belief based on evidence is not absurd. It's a human rights issue

 

[Haly]

At least NDT just posts really dumb "hot takes" on twitter.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

No problem with Atheists

The internet atheists/rational crowd is the worse. Not saying they are alt right but they having amazing amount of overlap with the alt right.

The common denominator is 4chan. You only ever hear the loudest (most obnoxious) voices of course. There's no shortage of Atheists who are extremely progressive in general but if your username is "SuperAtheist9000" then you are probably in a position where your Atheism is the most important issue in your life and you want to make sure everybody knows that.

 

[HStallion]

The guy is 76 and had a stroke not long ago, he's not doing a rap like Eminem, lmao.

Dawkins anti-religious stances and pro-science beliefs have existed well before millennials got hip on the internet with new political lingo. Heck, well before half of this forum was probably born. No one cared when Dawkins, Hitchens and others went ham on Christianity/Catholicism. It's just since they've been criticising another religion which I won't mention some trip over themselves to get offended. Ironically, a religion they have criticised forever, it just didn't have any attention paid to their criticism years ago as no one cared then.

He calls out Brexit and Trump often on social media.

Is this a serious comment? I'm not asking for a rap battle. I'm saying if he is so put out by the shit lords now flocking to him he should spell it out bold and clear for them and to leave no doubt. Him calling out Brexit and Trump on social media obviously isn't having much of an effect.

 

[BajiBoxer]

No problem with Atheists

The internet atheists/rational crowd is the worse. Not saying they are alt right but they having amazing amount of overlap with the alt right.

How about "Edgelord Atheists" as a descriptive turn.

 

[Azoor]

How about "Edgelord Atheists" as a descriptive turn.

Edgelords in general.

 

[Audioboxer]

Is this a serious comment? I'm not asking for a rap battle. I'm saying if he is so put out by the shit lords now flocking to him he should spell it out bold and clear for them add to leave no doubt. Him calling out Brexit and Trump on social media obviously isn't having much of an effect.

So that people can feel good about themselves? Having a world-renowned belief system about the world, atheism, and being a popular face of that due to your works is what it is. Bad people are going to like you because you espouse what they think are good ideas about religion.

My point is at 76 I doubt Dawkins cares that much about pleasing people morally panicking online because trolls like atheism/him. Not to the point of making it the rest of his living years trying to please people shouting at him "Dawkins please send 15 tweets a day condemning people I don't like who follow you!".

I'm pretty certain Dawkins cares more about being a role model to people in countries like this http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=245713590&postcount=40 Just because there are some shitty atheist movements in some countries shouldn't wipe out how many people in the world look up to those who are the faces of non-belief for inspiration and hope.

 

[Madouu]

What you don't understand and you will never fully understand (because it is not something you will ever experience first hand) is that all these comments are fuel for very real racist action that hurts actual people, like me, who have suffered and will keep suffering from it. Among the public, some choose to handwave it away, some others just don't have any empathy towards others and I guess that's one the symptoms of the kind of societies we live in these days.

I don't see much value in debates that take place in some fictional world where everything follows rational rules and all conditions seem to be clear and known to everyone.Those are interesting debates if we are maybe talking about a perfect world we would like to strive to live in and how to get there but it often ends there. In real life, these often turn conversations into particularly pedantic debates (see Dawkins drunk/rape analogy).

The problem is not about being "right" about religions and "wrong" about social issues, the problem is that the same flawed core logic is applied in both cases and in many more, that of a metaphysical, rational, perfect world where everything is known applied to a very much imperfect, irrational and full of unknowns world. To be quite honest, a lot of the people in these circles show scaringly high levels of lack of empathy that would make me question their judgement about almost any topic.

 

[HStallion]

So that people can feel good about themselves? Having a world-renowned belief system about the world, atheism, and being a popular face of that due to your works is what it is. Bad people are going to like you because you espouse what they think are good ideas about religion.

My point is at 76 I doubt Dawkins cares that much about pleasing people morally panicking online because trolls like atheism/him. Not to the point of making it the rest of his living years trying to please people shouting at him "Dawkins please send 15 tweets a day condemning people I don't like who follow you!".

I'm pretty certain Dawkins cares more about being a role model to people in countries like this http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=245713590&postcount=40

My original post was to someone who said they met Dawkins and how he himself didn't care for the Alt right idiots jumping on his bandwagon and I stated he needs to be very loud and clear to these people if he really doesn't want to be associated with them. But sure it's just about making people feel good or whatever you're talking about.

 

[ClosingADoor]

I never got these people who are trying to push atheism. It's pretty simple: you don't believe in a god. So... what is there to talk about here exactly?

People who try to group together around atheism are just creating their own little religion to follow. It's really strange to see.

 

[Audioboxer]

I never got these people who are trying to push atheism. It's pretty simple: you don't believe in a god. So... what is there to talk about here exactly?

People who try to group together around atheism are just creating their own little religion to follow. It's really strange to see.

Would you say that to people in Malaysia or other countries where it's strength in numbers? Even in the West, while we have shed most of our dogmatism in Governmental legislation, people from Conservative families still try and escape some pretty oppressive situations. One way of doing that is trying to seek out people who think like them.

I think by nature of growing up and living in the West, or in families that didn't seriously indoctrinate/discipline and rule by religion, doesn't give some an experience of what it can be like growing up in a Conservative environment and wanting away from it. Maybe you won't be sold/beaten/killed/arrested in most places in the West, but many can still face family/friends ostracization, or some forms of physical punishment if you're in a religious school/family.

I get bad people hijacking or existing within "movements", but bad people should be taken individually as bad people. Saying you're an atheist in America still puts you in a minority http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/01/10-facts-about-atheists/ It can still be quite challenging in the land of the free to navigate family/friends with a lack of belief in God.

 

[John Dunbar]

I never got these people who are trying to push atheism. It's pretty simple: you don't believe in a god. So... what is there to talk about here exactly?

People who try to group together around atheism are just creating their own little religion to follow. It's really strange to see.

if you live in a country where religious people are trying to push their beliefs into legislation then the answer should be obvious to you.

 

[boiled goose]

I never got these people who are trying to push atheism. It's pretty simple: you don't believe in a god. So... what is there to talk about here exactly?

People who try to group together around atheism are just creating their own little religion to follow. It's really strange to see.

Again. Other people around you believe in god and are trying to murder you, subjugate you, or pass laws that harm you and society based on made up nonsense.

You talk about that.

It's not its own little religion. At all. It's community. Like any other group based on shared identity or hobby

 

[ClosingADoor]

Would you say that to people in Malaysia or other countries where it's strength in numbers? Even in the West, while we have shed most of our dogmatism in Governmental legislation, people from Conservative families still try and escape some pretty oppressive situations. One way of doing that is trying to seek out people who think like them.

I think by nature of growing up and living in the West, or in families that didn't seriously indoctrinate/discipline and rule by religion, doesn't give some an experience of what it can be like growing up in a Conservative environment and wanting away from it. Maybe you won't be sold/beaten/killed/arrested in most places in the West, but many can still face family/friends ostracization, or some forms of physical punishment if you're in a religious school/family.

I get bad people hijacking or existing within "movements", but bad people should be taken individually as bad people.

if you live in a country where religious people are trying to push their beliefs into legislation then the answer should be obvious to you.

Again. Other people around you believe in god and are trying to murder you, subjugate you, or pass laws that harm you and society based on made up nonsense.

You talk about that.

It's not its own little religion. At all. It's community. Like any other group based on shared identity or hobby

You guys are talking about support groups and fighting against oppression. I am talking about people like Dawkins who try to push their latest book on their followers. Who then worship him online, which is... kind of like a religion.

 

[boiled goose]

It's just a stupid and braindead comment on religion and world politics.
Hinduist fundamentalism is actually in power in India, spawned from a terrorist organization. Orthodox fundamentalism is actually responsible for a genocide in Bosnia 20 years ago. Christians Militias are bombing and doing ethnic cleansing in Uganda, CAR and certains part of India. Buddhist genocidal maniacs are responsible of genocide in Myanmar, etc etc...

Identity (religious, racial or ideological) is the best weapon to put a group together to attack another group. The tenets of the religion used to do so play a very secondary role.



Actually being an intellectual and use tools like sociology, history and politics to explain how a group like ISIS just don't "spawn out" of the Quran ?

For me, having friends from all creeds, it's so obvious that interpretation is the key factor, that i can't even understand how somebody can say "ISLAM" or "CHRISTIANITY" and associate them with a particular behavior.

If you're point is his statement lacks nuance. Sure.

I agree with your main point that the problem is largely fundamentalism, which is more prominent in certain parts of the world and certain religions.

But I honestly don't find the statement that outrageous.

 

[Duffk1ng]

Dawkins is pretty much the reason I don't refer to myself as an Atheist, lest people think I might be anything like him

 

[blu]

He spread it pretty evenly, and felt that all (supernatural) belief systems should be treated with contempt.

He's not wrong.

Atheism is a (supernatural-related) belief system, though. It's just the opposite of Theism.

 

[John Dunbar]

You guys are talking about support groups and fighting against oppression. I am talking about people like Dawkins who try to push their latest book on their followers. Who then worship him online, which is... kind of like a religion.

post an example of someone worshiping him.

any famous person has fans. not sure why the fanbase of a famous atheist is instantly "like a religion" to some people.

 

[Audioboxer]

You guys are talking about support groups and fighting against oppression. I am talking about people like Dawkins who try to push their latest book on their followers. Who then worship him online, which is... kind of like a religion.

Who do you think is an idol to the people who are fighting against oppression? Books like God is not Great, or The God Delusion get translated into many languages and have worldwide fame because they might help people facing oppression. If people in some places of the world don't have their Government blocking their internet access, who has hundreds of hours of debates on YouTube to try and help them with their feelings/thoughts?

When you live in a country where you're free to browse libraries, seek multiple speakers/educators and so on you're spoiled for choice. That's what freedom tastes like. Some people in some areas of the world end up relying on the household figures of non-belief because the largest and most popular often penetrate around the world the easiest. Whether it is books, YouTube or whatever. Heck some people in super Conservative religious families in the West still need to rely on sneaking YouTube videos as their parents/guardians/boarding schools ban all sorts of books/DVDs/etc.

 

[Azoor]

If you're point is his statement lacks nuance. Sure.

I agree with your main point that the problem is largely fundamentalism, which is more prominent in certain parts of the world and certain religions.

But I honestly don't find the statement that outrageous.

I to an extent agree with Dawkins on this, not all religions are the same, some are factually more violent than others.

 

[airmangataosenai]

The Amazing Atheist strayed so far past his original mission atatement he ended up changing his name.

 

[Dongs Macabre]

.

 

[Chmpocalypse]

You guys are talking about support groups and fighting against oppression. I am talking about people like Dawkins who try to push their latest book on their followers. Who then worship him online, which is... kind of like a religion.

Being a fan of him is not akin to worship. You're just trying to argue atheism is a belief system or religion. It's not. It's the complete lack of either.

 

[Polioliolio]

The fuck?

Being atheist doesn't make you an asshole. Being intelligent doesn't make you smug.

Richard Dawkins is a treasure. Try reading some of his work instead of having reactions to internet meme generalizations of him.
The condemnations of him in here remind me of Hillary criticisms.

People don't like those who are intelligent and show it.

Anyone remember that thread where a bunch of losers came out of nowhere to tear down Neil Degrasse Tyson because of something he tweeted?

How about when Bill Nye 'always rubbed [someone] the wrong way'?

*Groan*

 

[blu]

Lacking something is not really the opposite of having something. Some people might say so, but I definitely wouldn't

The position that there are no deities is just as much a belief system as the position that there are. Either sides has no data.

 

[mario_O]

Atheism is a (supernatural-related) belief system, though. It's just the opposite of Theism.

Yeah right, and not believing in astrology is also a belief system, a religion.

 

[Bedameister]

He really isn't though. Anyone who says Dawkins is alt right knows nothing about his politics.

The poster did not claim anything like that at all. He just said Dawkins is a PoS.

Which is true. Dawkins is a piece of shit.

 

[dead souls]

Dawkins is pretty much the reason I don't refer to myself as an Atheist, lest people think I might be anything like him

I'm right there with you. Dawkins is garbage.

 

[blu]

Yeah right, and not believing in astrology is also a belief system, a religion.

You may want to check the definition of Atheism again.

 

[Nivash]

The position that there are no deities is just as much a belief system as the position that there are. Either sides has no data.

The position of the atheists is that we don't believe in deities and doubt that they exist, we're (typically) not stupid enough to claim that there absolutely aren't any, because that's unprovable.

Atheism isn't a belief system. It has zero impact on our day to day lives. The only time it's even a factor is when we run into the people who absolutely insist that there are deities. If there weren't any such people we wouldn't even consider ourselves atheist, because the concept would be unnecessary.

You may want to check the definition of Atheism again.

I think you should. It's not capitalised, for one.

 

[Oemenia]

Attention seekers need more attention now that they are a joke and the real pseudo-intellectuals.

 

[SamVimes]

You may want to check the definition of Atheism again.

Atheism is lack of belief in god, take your own advice.

 

[Dongs Macabre]

.

 

[ClosingADoor]

post an example of someone worshiping him.

any famous person has fans. not sure why the fanbase of a famous atheist is instantly "like a religion" to some people.

I think we have all seen the people trying to be edgy with their atheism as if they are better. Those kind of things I find pretty troubling, since it ridicules people who do choose to follow a religion. Of course that is separate from the discussion about oppression and such. But that is also not what the article in the OP is about. That is about people why use their atheism as some kind of way to show they are superior.

Who do you think is an idol to the people who are fighting against oppression? Books like God is not Great, or The God Delusion get translated into many languages and have worldwide fame because they might help people facing oppression. If people in some places of the world don't have their Government blocking their internet access, who has hundreds of hours of debates on YouTube to try and help them with their feelings/thoughts?

When you live in a country where you're free to browse libraries, seek multiple speakers/educators and so on you're spoiled for choice. That's what freedom tastes like. Some people in some areas of the world end up relying on the household figures of non-belief because the largest and most popular often penetrate around the world the easiest. Whether it is books, YouTube or whatever. Heck some people in super Conservative religious families in the West still need to rely on sneaking YouTube videos as their parents/guardians/boarding schools ban all sorts of books/DVDs/etc.

That is all very well, but doesn't excuse his followers in the West for acting like assholes. Or Dawkins himself. I rather have them act a bit different and not above it all, like not following a religion is somehow making you better. And that is always the impression I get when coming across his stuff.

The focus should be on discussing the flaws with a lot of religions and the terrible things that leads to - and how that should change -, not that religion in itself is bad. Because at that moment you are just doing the same thing as he religious fundamentalists saying you are a bad person for not following their religion.

Being a fan of him is not akin to worship. You're just trying to argue atheism is a belief system or religion. It's not. It's the complete lack of either.

No, I am trying to say that I see the behavior of some atheists showing resemblance to religious people who try to push their story as the true one. And Dawkins pops up in that a lot. I should have been a bit more nuanced in my original posts about it through.

 

[Parch]

Dawkins is pretty much the reason I don't refer to myself as an Atheist, lest people think I might be anything like him

He doesn't represent anybody. He might have some fans like any author, but he is the leader of nobody.

I never even heard of him before GAF. Been an atheist for 40 years before knowing about his antics so he certainly isn't some sort of atheist representative no matter how much some groups want to believe he is.

 

[Audioboxer]

The Amazing Atheist strayed so far past his original mission atatement he ended up changing his name.

That guy is just a straight up dick. There are a lot of assholes who call themselves atheists, and by extension state that makes them part of the "sceptic community".

It's not necessarily the fault of the people who actually write compelling and sincere books, or have massive archives of genuine debate videos from the 90s/00s on YouTube that these people like them. Of course, if you don't believe in God it's maybe someway in part thanks to the loudest and most well-renowned in the field of non-belief.

Unless you were brought up by parents who weren't religious and didn't get indoctrinated, but many of us, even in the West, were brought up by religious parents. We inherited their religious belief system.

I think we have all seen the people trying to be edgy with their atheism as if they are better. Those kind of things I find pretty troubling, since it ridicules people who do choose to follow a religion. Of course, that is separate from the discussion about oppression and such. But that is also not what the article in the OP is about. That is about people why use their atheism as some kind of way to show they are superior.


That is all very well, but doesn't excuse his followers in the West for acting like assholes. Or Dawkins himself. I rather have them act a bit different and not above it all, like not following a religion is somehow making you better. And that is always the impression I get when coming across his stuff.

The focus should be on discussing the flaws with a lot of religions and the terrible things that leads to - and how that should change -, not that religion in itself is bad. Because at that moment you are just doing the same thing as he religious fundamentalists saying you are a bad person for not following their religion.

Yeah, sure, Dawkins is very far on the side of "fuck religion, no respect", but that is sometimes what is the most effective for people needing that the most. Undoing indoctrination is not easy, if said person has that as the goal they wish to achieve. Feeling visceral anger at your parents/God/tutor can sometimes come from reading/listening to the most scathing comments on your religion/religion in general.

I'd personally much rather have people handle that inner anger through books or videos by the likes of Dawkins, that in manifesting as actual physical actions against their parents/friends/tutors. Let's not beat around the bush here, people feeling oppressed/trapped/confused can have their upsets manifest pretty strongly. Often verbally via argumentation, but if people feel scared/threatened/worried/etc it can sometimes get physical. Indoctrination can do serious mental damage to people, especially if they are in situations they don't want to be in.

Letting people have some release via mouthpieces that speak eloquently in their visceral dismantling of religion is far more useful than some in privileged positions think. "Dawkins is mean!" might be what you say, but to someone in a situation with far more angst/upset than yourself they might think "Dawkins is freeing my pain and anger".

 

[AnAnole]

Imagine if the dude who dared ask a woman out was attractive.

 

[Dhruv_hanom]

It's just a stupid and braindead comment on religion and world politics.
Hinduist fundamentalism is actually in power in India, spawned from a terrorist organization. Orthodox fundamentalism is actually responsible for a genocide in Bosnia 20 years ago. Christians Militias are bombing and doing ethnic cleansing in Uganda, CAR and certains part of India. Buddhist genocidal maniacs are responsible of genocide in Myanmar, etc etc...

Identity (religious, racial or ideological) is the best weapon to put a group together to attack another group. The tenets of the religion used to do so play a very secondary role.



Actually being an intellectual and use tools like sociology, history and politics to explain how a group like ISIS just don't "spawn out" of the Quran ?

For me, having friends from all creeds, it's so obvious that interpretation is the key factor, that i can't even understand how somebody can say "ISLAM" or "CHRISTIANITY" and associate them with a particular behavior.

Wow! that's news to me. The current ruling party spawned from a terrorist organization?
So, what's the name of the organization and what acts of terror did they commit?

 

[Fhtagn]

The fuck?

Being atheist doesn't make you an asshole. Being intelligent doesn't make you smug.

Richard Dawkins is a treasure. Try reading some of his work instead of having reactions to internet meme generalizations of him.
The condemnations of him in here remind me of Hillary criticisms.

People don't like those who are intelligent and show it.

Anyone remember that thread where a bunch of losers came out of nowhere to tear down Neil Degrasse Tyson because of something he tweeted?

How about when Bill Nye 'always rubbed [someone] the wrong way'?

*Groan*

Christ, why are other atheists so damn defensive about this crew?

I’m an atheist. Have been for decades. I hate these New Atheists. It’s a cheap trick dodge to pretend people in this thread are talking about lowercase a atheists in general.

No, we are talking about the rather loud rise of a New Atheist movement, which has been characterized in no small part by smug loudmouths who seem to think they know better than everyone else.

And while I have no opinions of Dawkins’ books, he’d do well to stop putting his foot in his mouth in public. He’s got a long track record of saying things that range from embarrassing to outright terrible.

Fwiw, yes, NDT is also often a cringe factory when he weighs in on anything outside his direct area of expertise. I'm not lumping him directly in with the New Atheists but if there's one common thread here it's severe Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[blu]

The position of the atheists is that they we don't believe in deities and doubt that they exist, we're (typically) not stupid enough to claim that there absolutely aren't any, because that's unprovable.

And yet, that's the most strict definition of Atheism, and the reason Atheists and Theist clash. The unprovable aspect of supernatural is recognized by Agnosticism.

Atheism isn't a belief system. It has zero impact on our day to day lives. The only time it's even a factor is when we run into the people who absolutely insist on that there are deities. If there weren't any such people we wouldn't even consider ourselves atheist, because the concept would be unnecessary.

I thought people were making good money from Atheism? ; )

I think you should. It's not capitalised, for one.

Neither is Theism. I like capitalizing abstract nouns, subjects to a discussion - makes it easier on the reader.

 

[entremet]

Dan Dennett always slips by. Poor guy lol. I guess since he looks like Santa Claus and is rather congenital, he's forgotten.