Since I've come out of the proverbial atheist closet, it seems my encounters with the churched have increased in both intensity and vitriol towards me. Of course, this means I tend to see more logical fallacies directed at me. The first is inevitably the straw man fallacy, followed by the no true Scotsman fallacy, then followed up by poisoning the well fallacy.
or something similar is how most of these straw men are built. I find this hilarious, since nowhere have I expressed values or beliefs that coalesce with the progressives of today. Even more entertaining is the proposition that I am an "Obama-lover;" admitting my lack of belief to myself did not mean that I lost my scruples. I still think the progressive agenda is largely misguided, since progress for its own sake makes no sense, not to mention that it begs the question, "Progress towards what?" While admittedly, I do agree with the progressives on many things, e.g. the rights of gays, drug legalization, I disagree vehemently with the progressives on matters such as guns and fiscal policy. Without taking too wide a deviation into politics, suffice it to say that social policy is almost never overturned once introduced into American society, so I see little merit in fighting those battles; in contrast, fiscal policy is a never-ending war--one that progressives lose fairly consistently (meaning their fiscal policy always results in chaos, collapse, or catastrophe when implemented).
After establishing my non-progressive bona fides and my identity as a former Christian, I'm told that I was never a Christian. I grew up in the church, gave when I could, sang in the choir, sought God, and prayed regularly. "That's the problem," they tell me, "you spent too much time going through the motions, and not enough time communing with Jesus." To that I say "hogwash;" if one does not pursue the requirements of Christianity, how can one call one's self "Christian?" As far as the esoteric aspects of being Christian are concerned, I would spend hours praying and trying to feel Jesus, trying to communicate with God. Perhaps I was merely going through the motions, but then I believe that's all any Christians are doing; it's a grand masquerade whereby all of the "saved" wear these façades of faith. It's The Emperor Has No Clothes, only it's the entire congregation pretending to be clothed in absolute faith, and no one can risk exposing that none of the others really has faith at all, lest their own pretenses be exposed. That's not to say that many aren't sincere in their desire to believe, it's just that most of Christianity is a giant dick-measuring contest, substituting pretenses of "faith" for penises. I learned the lingo, I lived the li(f)e, and I aspired towards the "faith of a mustard seed" (perhaps that's why the author of the Gospels set the bar so low, because human intelligence contravenes blind faith), so to assert that I was not sincere in my former religion is to be intellectually dishonest. I always wanted to serve God and live like Jesus; in fact, I was outright jealous of those people for whom faith came so easily. I lamented that I had no (sorry) "coming to Jesus" story of my own, no poignant anecdote to share with others why I believed. Suffice it to say, I indeed may not have been a "true" Christian, but then neither were any of the others, nor are any so-called "Christians" of today; in this case, I believe there are no true Scotsmen.
Yes, that's it. You've nailed it. You've caught me. I believe I am smarter than an entity that I do not believe exists (non-sequitur much?). Don't get me wrong, most of the time I feel like a fairly bright guy, but intelligence has little to do with my release of my religious beliefs, at least not the way Christians assert it. Christians assert or insinuate that my disbelief in religion is due to a "haughty hubris" that believe I am smarter than God, and by making this accusation they can dismiss my argument (ergo the well-poisoning...also another straw man). While I do believe that those of higher intelligence tend to be more likely to be or become non-religious, it has nothing to do with believing one's self to be "smarter than God," it has to do with the fact that smarter people tend to be more curious, and curious people ask questions that transcend the ability of the Bible and church leaders to answer; in other words, it's not "I am sooo smart, and smart people don't believe in God, therefore I cannot believe in God," but that the inherent curiosity of those with above-average intelligence leads them down roads which draw them away from religious belief. It's not that there aren't brilliant religious people, just that brilliance among the non-believing is more common.
"Well, since you're an anti-God, America-hating liberal..."
or something similar is how most of these straw men are built. I find this hilarious, since nowhere have I expressed values or beliefs that coalesce with the progressives of today. Even more entertaining is the proposition that I am an "Obama-lover;" admitting my lack of belief to myself did not mean that I lost my scruples. I still think the progressive agenda is largely misguided, since progress for its own sake makes no sense, not to mention that it begs the question, "Progress towards what?" While admittedly, I do agree with the progressives on many things, e.g. the rights of gays, drug legalization, I disagree vehemently with the progressives on matters such as guns and fiscal policy. Without taking too wide a deviation into politics, suffice it to say that social policy is almost never overturned once introduced into American society, so I see little merit in fighting those battles; in contrast, fiscal policy is a never-ending war--one that progressives lose fairly consistently (meaning their fiscal policy always results in chaos, collapse, or catastrophe when implemented).
"You were never a true Christian"
After establishing my non-progressive bona fides and my identity as a former Christian, I'm told that I was never a Christian. I grew up in the church, gave when I could, sang in the choir, sought God, and prayed regularly. "That's the problem," they tell me, "you spent too much time going through the motions, and not enough time communing with Jesus." To that I say "hogwash;" if one does not pursue the requirements of Christianity, how can one call one's self "Christian?" As far as the esoteric aspects of being Christian are concerned, I would spend hours praying and trying to feel Jesus, trying to communicate with God. Perhaps I was merely going through the motions, but then I believe that's all any Christians are doing; it's a grand masquerade whereby all of the "saved" wear these façades of faith. It's The Emperor Has No Clothes, only it's the entire congregation pretending to be clothed in absolute faith, and no one can risk exposing that none of the others really has faith at all, lest their own pretenses be exposed. That's not to say that many aren't sincere in their desire to believe, it's just that most of Christianity is a giant dick-measuring contest, substituting pretenses of "faith" for penises. I learned the lingo, I lived the li(f)e, and I aspired towards the "faith of a mustard seed" (perhaps that's why the author of the Gospels set the bar so low, because human intelligence contravenes blind faith), so to assert that I was not sincere in my former religion is to be intellectually dishonest. I always wanted to serve God and live like Jesus; in fact, I was outright jealous of those people for whom faith came so easily. I lamented that I had no (sorry) "coming to Jesus" story of my own, no poignant anecdote to share with others why I believed. Suffice it to say, I indeed may not have been a "true" Christian, but then neither were any of the others, nor are any so-called "Christians" of today; in this case, I believe there are no true Scotsmen.
"You think you are smarter than God."
Yes, that's it. You've nailed it. You've caught me. I believe I am smarter than an entity that I do not believe exists (non-sequitur much?). Don't get me wrong, most of the time I feel like a fairly bright guy, but intelligence has little to do with my release of my religious beliefs, at least not the way Christians assert it. Christians assert or insinuate that my disbelief in religion is due to a "haughty hubris" that believe I am smarter than God, and by making this accusation they can dismiss my argument (ergo the well-poisoning...also another straw man). While I do believe that those of higher intelligence tend to be more likely to be or become non-religious, it has nothing to do with believing one's self to be "smarter than God," it has to do with the fact that smarter people tend to be more curious, and curious people ask questions that transcend the ability of the Bible and church leaders to answer; in other words, it's not "I am sooo smart, and smart people don't believe in God, therefore I cannot believe in God," but that the inherent curiosity of those with above-average intelligence leads them down roads which draw them away from religious belief. It's not that there aren't brilliant religious people, just that brilliance among the non-believing is more common.
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