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Does atheism promote snobbery?

sandandfoam

sandandfoam

Veteran Member
E.g. - I don't believe in God because I have used my sharp mind/I am brave enough to confront my mortality etc. etc
VERSUS
They believe in God because they're not very good at thinking/don't have the courage to face their mortality etc. etc?
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
Yes, that kind of biased, over-simplistic atheism does promote "snobbery" (elitism). And it is sadly commonplace.

But then theism has it's snobs, too. And so, I suppose, does agnosticism. It's not the ideological proposition that inspires the snobbery, it's the biased over-simplification of these for the sake of one's ego, that causes it.

Atheists tend to wrongly view skeptical reasoning as somehow "better than" other methods of reasoning that we humans might use, while theists tend to view wishful or magical thinking as more righteous before God. Yet each form of reasoning has it's place, and viability.
 
ayani

ayani

member
a lot depends on how one conveys and shares what one believes.

one can share their claim to absolute truth without being shrill or ungracious. one can share their personal experiences and reasons for believing in one thing at the expense of all others without being bully-ish or elite.

attitude means alot.

Wandered Off said:
Particularly those with exclusive truth claims, chosen people claims, or you-have-to-have-the-Holy-Spirit-to-understand claims...
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McBell

McBell

Resident Sourpuss
J Bryson said:
No. However, stating "this is how things are" while disregarding alternate and contrary opinions as the result of delusion or foolishness is a major aspect of snobbery.
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Not to mention all those who claim "this is how things are" even though they have been shown proof that they are flat out wrong.

For examples please see any one of the many evolution/creation "debates" here on Religious Foru.... hells bells anywhere.
 
Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Well-Known Member
J Bryson said:
No. However, stating "this is how things are" while disregarding alternate and contrary opinions as the result of delusion or foolishness is a major aspect of snobbery.
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If someone has a "alternate and contrary opinion" that is a result of delusion or/and foolishness then I am going to disregard it. That is not going to make me a sob, my reaction, to such a scenario, is what is going to turn me out as a sob.
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
J Bryson said:
No. However, stating "this is how things are" while disregarding alternate and contrary opinions as the result of delusion or foolishness is a major aspect of snobbery.
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What if those other opinions are the result of delusion or foolishness? What if your opinion is factually and logically sound? Does stating this necessarily make you a snob?
 
J Bryson

J Bryson

Well-Known Member
Jeremiah said:
If someone has a "alternate and contrary opinion" that is a result of delusion or/and foolishness then I am going to disregard it. That is not going to make me a sob, my reaction, to such a scenario, is what is going to turn me out as a sob.
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Well, we're talking more about snobs than S.O.B.s, though I admit that the two categories overlap quite strongly.

Using the atheist as an example, it's the difference between the person who walks by a church on Sunday thinking "Those deluded fools" and the one who thinks "I disagree, but that's a pretty building/nice music/an interesting garden out front." Or, for that matter, the one who doesn't think about it at all.
 
Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Well-Known Member
J Bryson said:
Well, we're talking more about snobs than S.O.B.s, though I admit that the two categories overlap quite strongly.

Using the atheist as an example, it's the difference between the person who walks by a church on Sunday thinking "Those deluded fools" and the one who thinks "I disagree, but that's a pretty building/nice music/an interesting garden out front." Or, for that matter, the one who doesn't think about it at all.
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There is nothing wrong with rejecting an idea because it is foolish or delusional when it is foolish or delusional.

Consider this thread.

http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...96-barack-hussein-obama-final-antichrist.html
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
J Bryson said:
Using the atheist as an example, it's the difference between the person who walks by a church on Sunday thinking "Those deluded fools" and the one who thinks "I disagree, but that's a pretty building/nice music/an interesting garden out front." Or, for that matter, the one who doesn't think about it at all.
Click to expand...

What if it isn't an either/or? What if you exclude the word "fools?"
 
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