tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post3491398143655570730..comments2024-03-26T14:20:38.103-04:00Comments on The Thought Criminal: Atheist Children Often Don't Remain Atheists Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-12328184415524095112015-08-20T10:23:53.628-04:002015-08-20T10:23:53.628-04:00"A lot of the atheism I see seems to be more ..."A lot of the atheism I see seems to be more likely the product of emotional damage, which could account for a lot of the anger and hatred among them. Most of the rest of it seems to be based in the conceit and arrogance of people whose atheism is part of their acculturation into the common culture of university educated folk, an aspect of membership in what they believe is the elite they have joined. I suspect a lot of the nastiness I've seen in atheists isn't kept out of the home and can't imagine a lot of them being very attractive role models for their children. Atheism is an especially arid landscape, emotionally as well as intellectually, one that, apparently, doesn't impress many of those who have the greatest and most direct experience of it. They bail in rather impressive numbers for something that is supposed to be the great hope for the future." <br /><br />Every discussion of religion/atheism at Salon includes several comments about miserable childhoods spent among some brand of fundamentalist/intolerant Christians, or some swipe at how miserable church was for someone's childhood. It's not a scientific representative sampling, but it is telling.<br /><br />And of a piece with on-line atheist passions to destroy religion (esp. or only Christianity; no one ever wants to eliminate Judaism, for some reason, or Hinduism): it's a personal thing. Granted the culture is largely relgious (v. atheist, anyway) and having grown up among very conservative Southern Baptists, I can understand the desire to reject that dominance as fiercely as possible. But again, that's a very personal thing, and such personal quests don't usually translate into following, either among peers or generationally.<br /><br />One of the ironic outcomes of insisting on individualism (esp. v. the "mind control" of churches) is that individuals make their own decisions about how to live their lives, and children don't all follow in their parents' footsteps.<br /><br />And everything I've ever seen of atheism is negation and opposition: it seeks to negate religious belief, and identifies itself in its opposition to all religious believers. But how many of us want to live that way? It's as I say overtime someone tells me churches should oppose fundies and evangelicals and the general picture of religious belief that prevails in the political press. But, I point out, that's not why people go to church, or profess a belief in Christ (or attend synagogue or mosque, I could add). They don't do it to be against something, but to be for something.<br /><br />"Against" is the default setting of the internet, because it gives you something to complain about, something to write about. "For" is the setting of life; and more and more, I'm convinced the internet is not really interested in life; it's just interested in being opinionated. And most opinions are expressed as being "against."Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.com