If we could do this, if we could really do this, in a way that is genuine, and unforced, if we could show people that religion has hijacked their deepest needs and that there are better ways to fill those needs, I really think that could be the opening move to winning this thing. I think that could be what finally gets people to pull their fingers out of their ears, stop screaming “can’t hear you, you can’t make me think!” and maybe, just maybe learn something.
Oh, absolutely. I’d only been an atheist for about a month when you posted Explaining vs. Explaining Away, and I can’t tell you what a relief it was to feel that yes, it was going to be alright.
I was quoting “Bad scientist! No poems for you, gnomekiller!” for days after that =)
My religious friends didn’t find it as funny though, if I recall. I worry that maybe there’s still an activation energy left to deal with—that the comfort of joy in the merely real doesn’t start to become attractive until you’ve already confronted, to some extent, the fact of atheism.
If we could do this, if we could really do this, in a way that is genuine, and unforced, if we could show people that religion has hijacked their deepest needs and that there are better ways to fill those needs, I really think that could be the opening move to winning this thing. I think that could be what finally gets people to pull their fingers out of their ears, stop screaming “can’t hear you, you can’t make me think!” and maybe, just maybe learn something.
I can’t think of 100 posts of mine which fit that description, can you? Why yes, this is one of my not-so-hidden agendas.
Oh, absolutely. I’d only been an atheist for about a month when you posted Explaining vs. Explaining Away, and I can’t tell you what a relief it was to feel that yes, it was going to be alright.
I was quoting “Bad scientist! No poems for you, gnomekiller!” for days after that =)
My religious friends didn’t find it as funny though, if I recall. I worry that maybe there’s still an activation energy left to deal with—that the comfort of joy in the merely real doesn’t start to become attractive until you’ve already confronted, to some extent, the fact of atheism.