Atheists are the only ones who bother so much about atheism. A non-hobby. No one has ever bothered so much about non-stamp-collecting. Why is this so?
The answer is that religion is very much a part of this world even though it isn’t real. If there were multitudes of people believing that unicorns were real, and they want us to give money to their organizations, that buildings be erected to honor them, plenty of people would rise up to try to debunk unicorns too.
Besides, it’s great fun to try to dissuade people of ideas that are deep-seated in their minds. It’s like performing magic. The idea is to change people’s notions of reality.
Another reason is self-edification. Having been living in illusion for so long, many of the switches in our life are still stuck in the off position due to previous erroneous beliefs. It takes time for the switches to click to the on again.
Besides, using the analogy of magic again, it’s fun to finally discover the tricks the conjuror used to pull the wool over our eyes.
Ahab
July 23, 2011 at 10:42 am
Hey, you redesigned your blog! It looks good.
It IS interesting that atheists focus so much on atheism and the errors of religion. Part of it, I think, is out of anger — many atheists who deconverted from a religious tradition are angry that they were deceived and compelled to sacrifice so much for a falsehood. In response, they call out religion for the harm it has caused them. Another part is that many feel obliged to warn others about the lies of religion, and perhaps to reach out to those doubting their faith.
Temaskian
July 23, 2011 at 11:05 am
Thanks!
Or maybe it’s the case that atheists are just grouchy.
You might have watched the video with Stephen Fry and a few others discussing Pascal’s wager. What if it turned out that heaven only admitted atheists? Atheists would still be unhappy to have got it wrong, while lovely angels handed them cream cakes, only to be told to sod off.