loubelle,
by the way could you suggest some reading material, so that I can brush up on evolution & get involved. I do however find your posts extremely interesting, I have to admit I even speak about your ideas/beliefs/stand to others....
wow. that's a strange thought for me, but thanks.
reading on evolution. yes indeed. start online and read the essays at talk origins: http://talkorigins.org/origins/faqs.html
and then pick up The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, and The Panda's Thumb by Stephen J. Gould. also, Ernst Mayr's What Evolution Is, is a good one too from what i hear.
hmike,
Tetrapod, if you don't mind, just out of curiosity, what is your motivation in standing up for the position you take?
thanks. i always like this question.
honestly, like everyone else and their own beliefs, i stand up for it because i believe it's right.
but why do i make the extra fuss about it?
i go the extra mile because of the under-representation of atheists in our society, culture and world. we are some of the most depised people according to surveys. and i am most concerned about the problems in the world. i see a track record of religion not really doing a very good job of solving problems, and actually creating even more problems via ignorance and arrogance. whereas science has a very good track record for solving problems, and enlightening and ennobling human beings in a way that religion never did, and never could. i see atheism/non-theism as inextricably linked to science, not only philosophically, but ultimately technically too.
i want to make a difference. i think that if humans can shed magical thinking processes, then we can become much better as a species, and actually survive. and i think education about atheism and naturalism as ennobling worldviews, is the best way to do this. unfortunately this almost always involves debating theists who would, obviously, rather make the world "better" with god standing behind them. but i see their time as over, and even having pushed us into a rock and a hard place as a species, what with terrorism and fundamentalism. it's time to discard it, and move on. and this is why i debate, and stand up for my position. i want to help humanity, and i believe that a natural worldview is the first step in our becoming truly human and sapient.
as far as JWD is concerned, i'm here because i need to heal from the witnoids , like everyone else. but also, i want to help lurkers who may be considering swapping jehovah for jesus or some other just add water deity. if i can help even one lurker appreciate the intrinsic value of a completely natural worldview, then i would consider my existence as meaningful. i see the pain caused by religion, not just in the witnoids , but in all forms of magical thinking. i know it can be avoided. it seems like a waste to not try and help.
TS
