If atheists and doubters had two columns to check… And at the top of one column it said “God doesn’t exist” and the other said “God exists,” Tom Waits would be a big check in the latter.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts | 1 Comment »This week as I was doing my devotions (I like to read a couple of chapters a day), I ran across a passage that really seemed to apply to my time spent with atheists. It’s the story of Paul and King Agrippa.
Here’s the setup … Paul, a former Pharisee himself, is being persecuted by the jews who want to have him killed. Starting in Acts 21:27 and going through chapter 26 (I’ll spare you the details!), you find a series of events where the jews are trying to kill him. He is eventually brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30), and things escalate to the point where he finally appeals to Caesar (Acts 25:11) and is brought before King Agrippa.
Beginning in Acts chapter 26, you find a detailed account of what Paul said to the King (See below - I didn’t want it to get in the way, so I posted it at the end if you wish to read it). And when Paul finished speaking, Agrippa said this:
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
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By Siamang
Awhile back I had a post where I said that as an artist I would refuse to work freelance on a project that I felt crossed a moral boundary for me. So I hardly can complain when two different Christian-owned print-shops refused to print a (non-confrontational) poster for an atheist group.
The poster was a selection of proposed symbols for atheism, for an atheist group to vote on. (This image isn’t the poster… I’m making a joke if you can recognize these images.)
Here’s Sastra writing on Pharyngula:
Ironic note on the poster of Atheist Symbols for the Atheist Alliance International convention: I went to have it made today, at a local shop which specializes in posters, worked happily with the designer — and then several hours later got a call to come back and pick my stuff up, no poster. They are Christians and cannot do it. Went to another place, same thing. It was simply a poster with symbols to vote on — but it was for atheists. And they are Christians. One person helpfully explained that they turned down the KKK too. So sorry. But they’re Christians.
I wanted to highlight this story, not to make a post that is standard bread-and-butter faire on atheist blogs, the “Christians behaving badly” post. But to illustrate what I’d call a positive attitude from Sastra… here’s what he has to say about the whole affair:
I live in a small city in Wisconsin, and though it’s religious it’s usually polite, and therefore usually rather private on people’s religion. The few Christians who have personally spoken to me of my being an atheist (I am “out”) were quick to reassure me that that’s fine, because tolerance, diversity, acceptance, equality and freedom of religion are all concepts which fall directly out of the teachings of Jesus. Though I recognize that as b.s., it’s still a positive approach. It’s nice.
Sheboygan county, everyone’s nice. They smile and apologize even when they throw you out.
I suspect I have gotten too used to debate forums, where even those who disagree with you are eventually forced to respect the fact that you see rational merit in your beliefs, true or false, and there’s a lot of overlap between your positions. And vice versa, when I disagree with Christians or other theists. I’ve grown to respect even some of the poor arguments, which are often quite complex underneath, or which might at least “have the heart in the right place.”
When you attempt to persuade someone to a different viewpoint, you’re forced to assume a common ground of equality, rationality, of good will, of basic similarity. “Here’s why you should want to change your mind.” You can’t just shrug and dismiss the other side with “well, I’m an atheist. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Please.”
I think that’s one of the reasons it is so important for positive arguments for atheism to be made to the general public. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong for the right reasons. We’re not The Other, to be lumped in with bigots and criminals and the Ku Klux Klan. We’re not nutcases on the fringe, denying the obvious out of perversity. We’re you’re neighbors, and we’ve usually thought about religion and morality quite a lot.
In fact, we often take religion more seriously than some of you do. We care about whether it’s true more than whether it’s useful. And that’s giving real respect to it.
-Siamang