"Atheism is the View of the Feeble and Gullible."

"Atheism is the View of the Feeble and Gullible." That remarkable statement was actually made by a fundamentalist Christian. It’s difficult for most people to fathom that kind of convoluted logic knowing what we know about what makes one an atheist. But there it was, in black and white.

Free Thinkers value evidence. We are slow to accept concepts proffered as fact without it. I don’t know any atheists who blindly accept as genuine fortune tellers, ghosts, poltergeist, mind readers, or any of the vast assortments of fictional beasts that are alleged to haunt the woods and oceans and lakes. That’s not to say we wouldn’t if presented with enough proof to make the reality of their existence evident, it’s just that there has never been any satisfactory proof, and lots of evidence to the contrary.

Similarly, while we are interested in radical new scientific theories, most of us are skeptical and don’t jump on board until we gather more information, see the data peer reviewed and vetted, and are provided with corroborating evidence that gives the theory credence. Even then, we do not apply “absolute” acceptance. Thus, by definition, atheists are the exact antithesis of gullible (I won’t even broach the feeble charge).

Every few years a self appointed Christian shaman predicts the End times, the Rapture, and thousands of devout sheep baa their praise, give away their belongings, quit their jobs, and await the Second Coming, only to have it pass uneventfully. They pray for rain, gas prices to fall, peace to come to the earth, Aunt Jane to be cured from her brain dead condition, and yet when it doesn’t happen they still believe in prayer. They wave their hands and praise the Lord watching fake healers cure their fake co-conspirators. They believe Satan planted fossils to confuse us; that demons exist and can possess people; that angels fly around; that dead things come to life, etc. etc., all with as much evidence as exists for the Loch Ness Monster. This they consider discriminating.

Of course, if you tell a Christian you have a talking mouse in your pocket … THEN they’d demand evidence, proof. Ya can’t put anything over on them, after all there were no talking mice in the Bible, only talking snakes and talking donkeys.

So how can a theist make the patently absurd claim that “atheism is the view of the feeble and the gullible”? To fundamentalists the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God. It’s not a debatable matter; it’s a matter of faith. To them the Bible is both historically and scientifically accurate, for how could God deceive or make errors, or permit errors to be made in his name? Ignore the pesky overwhelming scientific proofs that contradict the Bible, faith is faith and that’s that; man’s knowledge is subservient to “God’s Word”. If this is the mindset of the unschooled, unthinking religiously fanatical then it is apparent to them that atheists, who accept theories in opposition to God’s Word, have been fooled. Never mind that our acceptance of scientific facts are based on detailed analysis and familiarity with a preponderance of physical evidence founded on natural principles; corroborated, tested and repeatable data that disproves ancient fable; we have been deceived, bamboozled.

Now some of them will say we are lead astray by science and the secular world. The most impaired adherents will credit Satan with our “deception”. But in either case we atheists have clearly shown our gullibly by accepting viable reality, evidence and proofs resulting from many years of scientific examination, discoveries, and technological advancements; while simultaneously rejecting the “obvious Truth” of unsubstantiated myth.

This reverse / perverse logic is what passes for critical thinking among the wackiest fundamentalist apologists. This is why his statement about atheists being feeble and gullible makes sense only to him and his similarly impaired brethren.

But then the fundie surprised me and offered this unexpected admission: “Christianity isn’t the thinking man’s religion.” For once I could agree with a fundie.