The Fundamentalist Mindset, the Anti-Theist

I've been pondering "internet atheism". I know what atheism is (a disbelief in God) but internet atheists is... well, they are something a little bit--ok, a lot--more than that. They don't just disbelieve in God, they want everyone else to disbelieve in God too. They belittle, mock, and harass anyone who claims a belief in God. If I described the general tone of their writings it would be "hateful".

This did not seem quite right to me. There are plenty of pleasant atheists in the world, and I felt that these internet atheists were doing them a real disservice. What was the deal? Why were they being so hateful when the average long-time atheist seemed to do just fine?

Then I heard it. The perfect word for these hateful, arrogant yahoos I keep bumping into online: Anti-Theists.

See, it seems to me the average atheist is not out to prove themselves to anyone. They believe what they believe and don't hold it against anyone for believing different. They might disapprove of a belief in God, but they won't go around calling people stupid for it.

However, while Anti-theists claim a disbelief in God, they act and talk like people who hate God. They are bitter and angry, not just at religious people, but at God in general. It's like they decided to be atheists just to spite God or someone close to them (who believes). It's not a genuine disbelief, they're just angry and lashing out the best way they know how.

Another interesting thing about the average Anti-theist is that they embrace the fundamental legalistic view of Christianity. In their minds, there is only one kind of Christianity, and that's the fundamental conservative independent [insert denomination] church. People who don't adhere to this specific kind of Christianity aren't REAL Christians and are just deceiving themselves.

Really, if you got an Anti-theist and a Fundamental Independent Baptist together  (for instance), the only difference you could find in their theology (within the confines of Christianity) is that one hates God while the other loves him. They are just astonishingly similar, to the point that you start wondering if the Anti-theist was raised by legalistic Christian parents.

The problem with these Anti-theists is they're going around claiming Christianity can only be what they define it as, and everyone who says otherwise is obviously wrong. They even use the same arguments that legalistic Christians use to dismiss objections to their belief. ("You're just picking and choosing what you want from the Bible!" "I take the Bible literally, which makes me right and you wrong.") This is problematic because if a group is loud enough and says something often enough, people begin to believe it.

Honestly, when I think about how Anti-theists are treating Christians, I feel deeply sympathetic to the plight of the average Muslim. They're suffering because of that same mentality (all Islam is bad because of the terrorist activities of a few). Any attempts to defend themselves are drowned out by "You're not a REAL Muslim unless you're like [XYZ terrorist group], so why should I listen to YOU?" On a intellectual level that's gotta be a frustrating mentality to deal with, but on a day-to-day level it's also terrifying (because when your country as a whole starts thinking you're evil, persecution is sure to follow).

For the record, legalism is just another side to Bible illiteracy. It's what happens when people ignore history and deny 2 thousand years worth of Christian teaching in favor of their own fearful narrow-minded view of the Bible. They aren't interested in what the Bible actually says, they simply use it to justify their preconceived notions of holiness and righteousness.
 
The other thing I feel compelled to talk about is how Anti-theists harp on the "evils" of religion. All wars and strife is linked back to religion, while the many advances in science, math, education, and medicine that were endorsed or discovered by religious people are completely ignored. This view that religion is evil is so historically inaccurate and naive that it boggles my mind.

Besides that, it shows a huge flaw in the Anti-theistic view point: They believe man is intrinsically good and religion is what corrupts man, turning them evil. Without religion, without a belief in God, mankind would be good and kind and there would be no wars or racism or bigotry.

I'm highly skeptical of the belief in the [moral] goodness of man. I am told that man is just an advanced animal. Animals, the last time I looked, were not particularly "good" to their own kind much less other creatures. In moral terms, they rape, murder, and [physically/sexually] harass each other on a regular basis... and it's all considered natural. If humans are indeed animals, then our base instinct will be like that of animals. We'll do what we have to, to survive. If that means we rape, murder, and harass other humans than so be it.

So when you take religion out of the human equation you won't get peace. It's not religion that's the problem, it's the natural state of man. We are violent and cruel, because that's what it takes to survive in a world with limited resources. We will continue to be violent and cruel because it works.There's no reason to evolve out of a behavior that has served us so very well.

I'm not saying all religions are good or even equal. I'm just saying it's false to claim they're all evil and that without religion we'd all be better off. That's just not true.

Another thing that puzzles me about Anti-theists is how they focus so exclusively on Christianity. There argument seems to be "If the Christian God does not exist, then no God exists!". They completely neglect the fact rejecting one religion does not somehow disprove the concept of God in general.


I mean, God is a pretty big concept. Lots of different religions have a different take on what "God" means and how that affects humanity. Before you can go around claiming God doesn't exist, you have to at least ATTEMPT to disprove other non-Christian arguments for God.

This is why I wonder if some of these Anti-theists were raised in Christian homes. Christians typically believe that there is only one God, the Christian God. That's it. So if you reject Christianity, you reject God. The Anti-theist might take this a step further and think that rejecting Christianity disproves God altogether.


I disagree with atheism, but I don't have a problem with Atheists (generally speaking). But these Anti-theists walking around calling themselves atheists are giving real Atheists a bad name. Not only are their arguments laughably bad; they're spiteful and disruptive. They make Atheists look like a bunch of angsty bitter people who don't know how to enjoy life. I'm pretty sure that's not the impression the average Atheist wants to be giving.