Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The "Angry" Atheist

I don't consider myself an "Angry" Atheist.

Sure there are a lot of things about the religious that irritate me and even piss me off: the mind blowing hypocrisy, the smugness, the assumption that they are always right, the sense of privilege and entitlement. I could go on. (and don't get me started on what they do to science...)

Generally speaking I don't see myself as angry.
As the name of this blog indicates I have feel more a sense of freedom because of my atheism than anything.  The worries other have, the pressures, the guilt. I have none of those.

But that doesn't mean there are not good reasons to be mad.

First things first.
A lot of times people hear "Angry Atheist" and assume that their anger must be directed towards God or Gods.  And to be fair, this is sometimes true.
A true Atheist is not angry at God any more than you can be angry at the tooth fairy.  Why? Because neither are real and we know it.

When we do get angry our anger is directed at situations and sometimes, regrettably, at people who have decided that their world view is the only way things can be.

To this end blogger Greta Christina has a new book out called "Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless".  I have not read it yet, but I read her blog on a regular basis so I am expecting this to be good.  Look forward to a review or at least an overview here.

Later today more on how I discovered I was an Atheist.


3 comments:

  1. "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Because the player, God, doesn't exist.

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  2. I'm angry at "the religious" as well. For the same reasons. If we define atheism as those who don't believe what "religious" people in established religions, particularly in the Western World, then I am definitely an atheist. If we define an atheist as someone who is a slave to the bible, and believe it to the the textbook for punishing nonbelievers, I am also an atheist.

    Thanks for the blog, Tim

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for replying too Jim!
      And to be honest I don't think I have ever seen you angry ever. Irritated maybe, but never angry.

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