Can atheists avoid the pitfalls of fundamentalism that have caused chaos in the...

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...bigger religions and the world? Signs of fundamentalism:
1. literal-minded with a narrow focus (here it is mostly on Christian fundamentalists)
2. intolerant of different views
Can the atheists avoid this? or are they like their religious rivals?
Tymcail: " that isn't being narrow minded, it's being rational." sigh.
? I agree that this could describe all people.
John T, that is a very interesting point. Thanks
 
Despite your desire to lump atheists together as if atheism is a religion, the truth is that atheism quite literally, and quite specifically, only means that we lack a belief in god(s). There is nothing else that all of us have in common.
 
"Can the atheists avoid this? or are they like their religious rivals?"

Yes. To the second part.
 
Atheism inhabits the ethereal gaps outside of religions and religious views.
There is no such thing as fundamental atheism.
 
atheism isn't a religion...
a-theism like a-sexual
a-theistic means not-theistic
they do not believe in theism
theism is the belief in at least 1 diety ( a god)
an atheist is not religious by definition and they are not narrow minded. They simply seek observable evidence before they are willing to accept anything as true or even relevant. that isn't being narrow minded, it's being rational. Now an atheist who says "I know for a fact that there is NO god" IS narrow minded because there is no way (at least with modern knowledge) to know that for sure. However, i have never heard an atheist say this.
I'm an atheist by Definition and YES i am intolerant of religion. Primarily because of the intolerance and violence that it has stood for for countless centuries, the wars and bigotry that it has inspired and the ignorance that it breeds. Now I would never kill or harm people for practicing religion because above all i believe in freedom. However, i would do all in my power to educate and free people from the blinding power of theism.

To quote George Carlin about religion, "It's all bull**** and it's bad for ya"
 
Can you avoid the pitfalls of not using the dictionary? Atheism is only a lack of belief in god(s).
 
1.Some Atheists are narrow focused too. Never met a literal-minded Christian.
2.How can you be tolerant of different views when your saying Christians have narrow focus and are literal minded.
The only pitfalls I've seen are with Muslims. And if you don't want to be a religious rival don't call other religions narrow focused and literal minded.
 
Sounds like your describing people in general... All people have signs of fundamentalism, and Atheists are no exception.

Everyone has a filter in their conscious and subconscious mind... accepting information that conforms with their beliefs, and blocking that which contradicts their beliefs... this holds true for all people: Atheists, Christians, Buddhists, etc etc etc...

Can PEOPLE avoid the pitfalls of fundamentalism?

"Minds are like parachutes... They only work when they're opened."
 
Hmm.. A Good, challenging question for my intellectual brawn! Mwahahahaha!

Eh.. Ahem! Well i'll put it like this, It has to do with your archetypals and it has to do with your personality.

For example I think i still speak in safe frames of reference when i say that most atheists are the children of religious people. That tells us that these people have grown up in the saturated family milieu of religion with whatever that implicates.


We know that even when you have cast down religion there is a transitory period which we call religious mold.

Some people hardly get away from that because it has saturated their personalities so that they must reinvent themselves from scratch in order to change their behaviors.

In that frame of reference my answer to your question is that for most people it can't be avoided. Perhaps if their children grew up in a more pristine(religion-wise) milieu we might have the first generation thinking away from the pits.

On the other hand this will prove whether fundamentalism stems from religion or whether it is a genuine human trait.

I see hope in the tunnel though. At least concerning the future. Now for the time being i bet there are a few folks out there who got the willpower to resist such an urge... Though it's definitely not Richard Dawkins mate...
 
I've known a few atheists who I considered to be agressively "evangelistic." I don't think that's healthy. Others are simply openly scornful of religionists who haven't "gotten it" yet. Many are just sick of the name-calling spewed forth from the religionists upon anyone who doesn't agree with them. We're all entitled to our opinions and we're all entitled to reach our own conclusions. I think, really, that there are many different "kinds" of atheists.
Suzanne
 
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