"Interacting with 'Angry Atheists'"
28 Mar '14 06:35"Interacting with 'Angry Atheists'"
"One interesting, spiritual/sociological phenomenon I have witnessed over the years is that different groups often respond with herd-like predictably when witnessed to. Mormons tend to be very nice no matter how assertive one becomes in exposing the follies of Mormonism. Jehovah's Witnesses inevitably see any interchange with orthodox believers as intellectual combat. They seldom keep their composure when seriously challenged (see my side of a lengthy, email conversation with a Jehovah's Witness). Conservative Evangelicals can find true dialog with radical emergents almost impossible. The emergents will steadfastly misrepresent Evangelical views and will temporarily misrepresent their own -- all in a seeming attempt to feel momentarily victorious (see my article on emergent culture. This article has links to two other articles of mine on the emerging church movement).
The new atheists are not called "angry atheists" without reason. I have found that they do not engage in serious dialog. Instead, they tend to go for one's emotional jugular. They will blaspheme Christ and insult Christians in the most demeaning manner possible. Below is a list of the kind of tactics one can expect from them:
• Name calling and mockery – Like schoolchildren on the playground they seem to think calling names is a smart and mature thing to do. The name-calling is usually coupled with mindless mockery designed only to inflame Christians. This defect in mature thought reveals much about the inner condition that leads to the state in which one is "certain" there is no God. "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1 NASB)
• Hatred for biblical concepts – They hate the concept of hell, for example, and believe their hatred of it is the last word on the subject. This is also true of their dislike of biblical, moral standards.
• Poorly researched criticisms of the Bible – Rather than read the Bible to understand its message, they go to websites that desperately grasp at straws in an effort to discredit Scripture. These criticisms are inevitably very weak and easy to refute.
• Guilt by association – If anyone such as the KKK uses a Bible quote or falsely claims to be a Christian, atheists will saddle all Christians with the evil of such people. They also use the crusades as supposed evidence that all Christians are bad. Ironically, when Christians respond that by their reasoning Stalin and Mao's atheism makes all atheists guilty of atrocities, they cry that we are using red herrings.
• Ignorant critiques of creationism – I have yet to interact with one atheist who has read creationist literature but they all seem to "know" that creationists are completely wrong. Consequently, their criticisms often reveal an ignorance of creationist and intelligent design arguments which causes them to just beat a straw man of their own making.
• Fallacy clusters – This phenomenon is usually found in connection with some combination of the above. Most atheist arguments use circular reasoning ["why should I believe in the nonexistent?"], straw man arguments ["faith means believing with no reason"], ad hominems ["Christians are all stupid"] and beg the question ["since the Bible is just a fairy tale book..."]. Other fallacies abound, but these four are the most common and they are often used in clusters.
I find it worth noting that the angry atheists seem to only be angry with Christianity's God and Christianity's saving message. They almost never attack other religions or cults. This unavoidably causes me to question just what spirit is inspiring their hatred. Now just what spirit might hate God and the gospel message to such a degree? For more information on the debate over God's existence see the following: The existence of God; Existence of God; The Case for the Existence of God; Research resources on atheism" http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2770-interacting-with-angry-atheists
Comments?
"One interesting, spiritual/sociological phenomenon I have witnessed over the years is that different groups often respond with herd-like predictably when witnessed to. Mormons tend to be very nice no matter how assertive one becomes in exposing the follies of Mormonism. Jehovah's Witnesses inevitably see any interchange with orthodox believers as intellectual combat. They seldom keep their composure when seriously challenged (see my side of a lengthy, email conversation with a Jehovah's Witness). Conservative Evangelicals can find true dialog with radical emergents almost impossible. The emergents will steadfastly misrepresent Evangelical views and will temporarily misrepresent their own -- all in a seeming attempt to feel momentarily victorious (see my article on emergent culture. This article has links to two other articles of mine on the emerging church movement).
The new atheists are not called "angry atheists" without reason. I have found that they do not engage in serious dialog. Instead, they tend to go for one's emotional jugular. They will blaspheme Christ and insult Christians in the most demeaning manner possible. Below is a list of the kind of tactics one can expect from them:
• Name calling and mockery – Like schoolchildren on the playground they seem to think calling names is a smart and mature thing to do. The name-calling is usually coupled with mindless mockery designed only to inflame Christians. This defect in mature thought reveals much about the inner condition that leads to the state in which one is "certain" there is no God. "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1 NASB)
• Hatred for biblical concepts – They hate the concept of hell, for example, and believe their hatred of it is the last word on the subject. This is also true of their dislike of biblical, moral standards.
• Poorly researched criticisms of the Bible – Rather than read the Bible to understand its message, they go to websites that desperately grasp at straws in an effort to discredit Scripture. These criticisms are inevitably very weak and easy to refute.
• Guilt by association – If anyone such as the KKK uses a Bible quote or falsely claims to be a Christian, atheists will saddle all Christians with the evil of such people. They also use the crusades as supposed evidence that all Christians are bad. Ironically, when Christians respond that by their reasoning Stalin and Mao's atheism makes all atheists guilty of atrocities, they cry that we are using red herrings.
• Ignorant critiques of creationism – I have yet to interact with one atheist who has read creationist literature but they all seem to "know" that creationists are completely wrong. Consequently, their criticisms often reveal an ignorance of creationist and intelligent design arguments which causes them to just beat a straw man of their own making.
• Fallacy clusters – This phenomenon is usually found in connection with some combination of the above. Most atheist arguments use circular reasoning ["why should I believe in the nonexistent?"], straw man arguments ["faith means believing with no reason"], ad hominems ["Christians are all stupid"] and beg the question ["since the Bible is just a fairy tale book..."]. Other fallacies abound, but these four are the most common and they are often used in clusters.
I find it worth noting that the angry atheists seem to only be angry with Christianity's God and Christianity's saving message. They almost never attack other religions or cults. This unavoidably causes me to question just what spirit is inspiring their hatred. Now just what spirit might hate God and the gospel message to such a degree? For more information on the debate over God's existence see the following: The existence of God; Existence of God; The Case for the Existence of God; Research resources on atheism" http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2770-interacting-with-angry-atheists
Comments?
Back to Top