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← Atheists should be allowed to argue their case

Mark Jones's Avatar Jump to comment 2 by Mark Jones

Comment #359145 by Vaal

Yes, I was going to highlight that paragraph - it is a good quote.


It seems quite clear that in the eyes of many, including some atheists, the only acceptable way to be an atheist is to shut up about it and not disturb believers’ complacent presumption of their unassailable metaphysical and moral position, their conviction that anyone who could oppose governance by their religious principles must surely be beyond the pale, if not actually evil.

I think that this *is* the position the atheist has found himself in the past, er, thousands of years, and Baggini demonstrates the point with his atheist-but article. But I feel that there is a gradual change of culture, and it is becoming *more* acceptable to voice criticism of faith, even if the vocal non-believer still automatically gets cast as 'strident'. But the more the atheist message is broadcast the more it will be accepted as 'respectable' and within the Pale, and for this we have a lot to thank anyone writing and speaking from an atheist standpoint.

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:55:00 UTC | #342890