Defending the Truth

Atheism is often a knee-jerk reaction to fundamentalism. The old throwing the baby out with the bathwater (or throwing the baby out and keeping the bathwater) syndrome.

Many atheists I've encountered were exposed to fundamentalist religion. As I'm found of saying, Campus Crusade for Christ damn near made an atheist out of me.

But as with many things, if you've got two apparenlty diametricaly opposed sides shouting at one another (which is often the case between fundamentalists and the more militant atheists) you can damn near bet your paycheck that the actual truth is somewhere in the middle.

In any case, I've had both make heroic attempts to evangalize me, which I've found quaint, yet hysterical.

Humans have 5 fingers, one head, and 2 legs and feet. There are two genders with specific body parts that we relate to sexuality. We can "say" that homosexuality is "normal". But "why" would we say that? I don't see any justification to support that. I don't see any "why" that would include homosexuality under the umbrella of "normal" but excludes other sexual deviant orientations. Calling the gay union a "marriage" would be akin to calling the sun the moon just because it's in the sky too.

This is my last post on this as it relates to homosexuality, since it is off topic here.

I don't think homosexuality is off-topic, per se, as the author of the article basis much of his argument upon fanatics' hatred or supposed hatred of homosexuals.

Still, he seems to be a bit black-and-white in his thinking himself. As I've posisted before on these boards, religious fundamentalists and those who protest the most loudly about them often mirror one another in that regard.

I am sorry you find other peoples beliefs quaint??? How condescending of you.

It was pretty condescending indeed.

I actually grew up with a pretty liberal Lutheran Church in the city. When I started questioning Christianity, I wasn't exposed to fundamentalism at all, except for maybe the snippets I might have heard on the television, or in more rare occasions, from my father's side of my extended family. My transition to atheism was purely out of my own intuition. And every single atheist I've ever met shares the same. To suggest that it's out of some immature rebellion or reaction from fundamentalism is absurd.

In fact, really the only people who I've met who rationalized their belief as a reaction to the extremes of others' were those calling themselves 'agnostics'. But even most of them find their decision to agnosticism to be calculated.

Yes. But they have defects. Just like a homosexuals sexual urge. Or my kidneys. Because humans are supposed to piss. I don't.

Aren't you happy nobody ever suggested marriage is just for people who "piss"?

ahhhh..haaaaaa...haaaaaaa...haaaaaaaaa

No, what I find "quaint" is the notion that I have to be saved from what I belive in.

As far as the actual beliefs themselves, I can see value in both atheism and fundamentalism.