The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

[Robert_S]

Here's the thing I've been saying for a while. Human social dynamics seem to be based on "club together to fall apart." Schisms are inevitable within cultures and religions. These are always political and always been about struggling to maintain ones individuality within the group mechanic that one sought to be part of.

Actually, I think it's more a case of certain members seeking to maintain and/or improve their status within the group. Some people just have an inbuilt need to climb any greasy pole in front of them.

Oh, really... I'll stock up on lube, you point me to where these people are!

Whatever happened to you wanting to become a Skepchick? You got unenamoured pretty fast.

Partly I considered it might seem a bit rude to go there and say I wanted to join there and co-opt their name for some mission I have here. Then I thought it might just be a against my overall principles to co-opt any name name for some mission I have anywhere.

I still have no huge problem with Skepchicks as such. They don't bother me and do not register much on my personal radar except when someone either has a valid criticism or is just engaging in some butthurt whining.

[charlou]

Nice article here: http://www.skepticblogs.com/musingsfrom ... t-married/

Yes, one of the very few. Thanks for linking it, bella.

[rasetsu]

I think I've got a new logo for them!

[Pappa]

Finally! An atheism for those of us who want a movement but lack all that lack of belief nonsense! Though perhaps I should establish myself through branding and call it Double Plus Good Atheism.

[colubridae]

I'm a programmer. I'm all for Atheism++

cabal or cobol?

[Coito ergo sum]

I love it when ultra-orthodox religious Atheists argue about church doctrine. Martin Luther is laughing his ass off right now.

I think this sort of discussion is very healthy. Sadly when Christians used to discuss the ins and outs of what they believed or didn't and started insisting they were right and the other guy wrong they started burning each other.

Oh, I'm sure you guys will get around to burning someone pretty soon. Perhaps the whole of London, or maybe just the Vatican.

Now now, we don't want to burn the Vatican, just turn it into a museum.

You want to know what happens when atheists become a large majority and take control of all the reigns of power in a society, and what sort of harsh retribution they'll impose upon theists? Go visit Scandinavia nowadays.

Scandinavians are not majority atheists.

But, your point is correct that atheists, so far, are far less violent than theists. We don't burn down mosques, churches or destroy buddha statues --- theists do that to other theists.

[Seth]

I love it when ultra-orthodox religious Atheists argue about church doctrine. Martin Luther is laughing his ass off right now.

I think this sort of discussion is very healthy. Sadly when Christians used to discuss the ins and outs of what they believed or didn't and started insisting they were right and the other guy wrong they started burning each other.

Oh, I'm sure you guys will get around to burning someone pretty soon. Perhaps the whole of London, or maybe just the Vatican.

Now now, we don't want to burn the Vatican, just turn it into a museum.

You want to know what happens when atheists become a large majority and take control of all the reigns of power in a society, and what sort of harsh retribution they'll impose upon theists? Go visit Scandinavia nowadays.

Scandinavians are not majority atheists.

But, your point is correct that atheists, so far, are far less violent than theists. We don't burn down mosques, churches or destroy buddha statues --- theists do that to other theists.

Actually, Atheists are far more violent and deadly than theists these days, you torture and kill people by the millions...about a hundred million in the last century to be more precise. And it goes on today in atheist regimes like China and Venezuela. So don't feel too self-righteous.

[Coito ergo sum]

I think this sort of discussion is very healthy. Sadly when Christians used to discuss the ins and outs of what they believed or didn't and started insisting they were right and the other guy wrong they started burning each other.

Oh, I'm sure you guys will get around to burning someone pretty soon. Perhaps the whole of London, or maybe just the Vatican.

Now now, we don't want to burn the Vatican, just turn it into a museum.

You want to know what happens when atheists become a large majority and take control of all the reigns of power in a society, and what sort of harsh retribution they'll impose upon theists? Go visit Scandinavia nowadays.

Scandinavians are not majority atheists.

But, your point is correct that atheists, so far, are far less violent than theists. We don't burn down mosques, churches or destroy buddha statues --- theists do that to other theists.

Actually, Atheists are far more violent and deadly than theists these days, you torture and kill people by the millions...about a hundred million in the last century to be more precise. And it goes on today in atheist regimes like China and Venezuela. So don't feel too self-righteous.

I'm not self-righteous at all. I leave that to the theists. They have self-righteous indignation down to a "t."

You need to be a little more precise in your accusations. You think "I" torture and kill people by the millions? No. Never have. Or, you think "Atheists" with a capital-A torture millions? Well, I'm not a capital A Atheist. I'm just a small-a atheist. And, Hugo Chavez is a Roman Catholic.

[Robert_S]

Atheists are a fun lot as long as there's a Pub nearby, maybe a Lounge as well. It's when too many of us get On A Mission at one time that all hell breaks loose and we kill off the ideologically incorrect, commit genocides, and .... create threads a mile long about the nature of free will and the role of emergence in the creation of consciousness.

[rachelbean]

Good thing around here there's always a pub nearby

[Audley Strange]

Oh we're all very smug in hindsight, I mean we'd all like to go back in time and stop Atheism Plus before it seized control of the Whitehouse and initiated "The Cleansing", but it's not like there were any signifiers or historical precedents.

[Ayaan]

Looks to me like we will all be able to say we remember when atheism began morphing into a religion here in the US. Meanwhile, atheists in other countries are looking at us and going WTF?!

[Rum]

I don't think it will happen. It simply doesn't hang together well enough as any kind of coherent platform Ayaan.

[Ayaan]

They've only been at it for a few days. Give them time. They seem pretty damn determined to turn this into a movement. Although, most of the comments I've seen from atheists outside the FTB orbit have been along the lines of WTF?!

[Robert_S]

They've only been at it for a few days. Give them time. They seem pretty damn determined to turn this into a movement. Although, most of the comments I've seen from atheists outside the FTB orbit have been along the lines of WTF?!

How much of the conference scene does the FtB/Skepchick crowd make up? Apart from PZ and Rebecca, I'm not aware of any big name speakers.