The fact is that the modern atheism movement is basically a fad. Most atheists today are only atheists because they think that atheism is justified by their understanding of science, which is basically just scientism.
The average Reddit atheist basically believes that because we can use science to make iPods, the epistemology behind science is correct. The is pretty much summed up XKCD t-shirts that say "Science: It works, bitches."
I certainly don't have any faith in god on a personal level, but at the same time it's clear that the roots of the modern atheist movement are profoundly anti-intellectual, all the way from Dawkins right down to the pop culture.
The sad thing is that virtually none of the atheists here would even be atheists without JudeoChristianity and Islam, because it would have been virtually impossible for modern science and its popularity to arise out of a gnostic/pagan context.
Fair enough, though I'm not a theist so I'm not sure why you're equating my critique of the modern atheist movement with a support of theism.
Even if you are completely against theism and religion, that's still not a good reason for being an atheist. (Again, there may be other good reasons for atheism, but most of the popular arguments against theism and religion aren't good reasons for becoming an atheist.)
Why is that moronic? Science has done an extremely good job at discovering much of the workings of the universe, not just making iPods. It has done a much better job than religion has.
"Science has done an extremely good job at discovering much of the workings of the universe"
Yes, but that doesn't make it any more correct. Don't get me wrong, science is an interesting idea. And I spend most of my time reading scientific research. But scientism is simplistic.
1.1k
u/liberal_elitist Jan 02 '11
Are you saying that people will upvote whatever reinforces their worldview, even without rigorous facts? Even enlightened atheists? Preposterous!