Why Religious Believers Are So Desperate for the Atheist Seal of Approval | Belief | AlterNet

Hmmmmmmmmmm. I didn't know this. I guess in NYC, most of the people with whom I associated were at least agnostics, if not atheists. Now that I live in the Bible Belt, I'm surrounded by fundamentalist Christians (not to mention the New Agers and and others pursuing "spiritual paths". One old geezer down this mountain road seemed appalled that I didn't believe in his god. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. I can only say that I didn't want to go around in silly theological circles with him. Hell (ha) -- if he wants to believe that he and Jesus converse on a perpetual basis, it's obvious that there's no point in even attempting to bust his delusions with a rational approach he'd reject. He needs his Jesus and his angels; needs to believe that there's something beyond the absurdity of being a human being with a life cycle less than a tortoise's. Hey folks -- let's all bless the tortoise and deem the creature duly blessed. The Western gods are not so generous with human beings.

So -- here's the article, which commences:

If you hang around the online atheist world long enough, you'll notice an interesting pattern. Many religious and spiritual believers who engage with atheists seem very intent on getting atheists' approval for their beliefs.

Typically, these believers acknowledge that many religions are profoundly troubling. They share atheists' revulsion against religious hatreds and sectarian wars. They share our repugnance with religious fraud, the charlatans who abuse people's trust to swindle them out of money and sex and more. They share our disgust with willful religious ignorance, the flat denials of overwhelming scientific evidence that contradicts people's beliefs. They can totally see why many atheists are so incredulous, even outraged, about the world of religion.

But they think their religion is an exception. They think their religion is harmless, a kinder, gentler faith. They think their religion is philosophically consistent, supported by reason and evidence -- or at least, not flatly contradicted by it.

And they want atheists to agree. . . . .

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Why Religious Believers Are So Desperate for the Atheist Seal of Approval | Belief | AlterNet