I used to really hate /r/atheism because it's rabid and angry. Dan McComas' wife 5days put it in perspective for me, though: if you're 16 and in the midwest, a place like /r/atheism is a godsend. The problem is that the people who enjoy it are all 16-year-old midwesterners with strict parents. The people who criticise it aren't. Rebecca Watson, on the other hand, is someone who I wouldn't piss on if she were on fire.
That 15 girl should come post her thoughts about Sagan's book here, I don't think she'd find any references to sex. Aside: I received this from my father in law for my daughter for Christmas: http://i.imgur.com/dN8z1.jpg You may notice that it's written by Callista Gingrich. The main character is an Elephant named Ellis that is learning what makes America great. Indoctrination for my 1 year old... no thanks, I'll pass. He's a great guy but man is he a devout GOP'er.
I am a fundamentally faithless individual. Thing is, I recognize that "faith" isn't a detriment. It provides solace and strength to many billions of people. It is neither good nor bad; "faith" is that thing that makes us stick together when we shouldn't. One might argue that "faith" is at the core of being human. So when I say that "I am a fundamentally faithless individual" it is not a brag. There have been many times in my life when having "faith" would have been greatly beneficial. There have been many times in my life when some sort of "faith" would have made my life much easier. But there it is - I have none. Part of the problem with the modern atheist movement is that they aren't "faithless." They're anti-faith. They're swapping one dogma for another without really considering what we draw from religion and what we should keep. Most of their arguments are sound, are justified and make a lot of sense... but those three qualities rarely apply to the human psyche. So I interact with the faithful and tell them if they want to pray for me I'll be flattered, but that I can't do the same for them because I just don't have the plumbing. I dated a girl who was militantly anti-dairy because she used to work in a pizzeria and then discovered she was lactose intolerant. She wasn't regretful; she was pissed off at everything and everyone from the cow to the milkman. It wasn't attractive. Some people are allergic to dairy products. Some are allergic to faith. How you handle that allergy says a lot about who you are.
Just re-read this. From your response it occurs to me for the first time that "faith" is potentially something that has been biologically selected for. It is something that can be beneficial. Could it be that faith is a product of evolution? It's something we've cultivated in order to protect ourselves and the pack. that thing that makes us stick together when we shouldn't
I agree wholeheartedly. These ostensibly atheist books get published every year that are an expose of how shitty religion is, and then they use that as an argument for atheism, which is fairly akin to the opposite end of the spectrum where Creationists say we don't know everything about evolution therefore a Creator made the universe. I appreciate a good book about the faults of religion, if only from a historical perspective, because faults in choice A isn't an argument for choice B in a complex world. I am a professed atheist, and if I were to write a text on the subject, it wouldn't focus on any religion in any disparaging way. Rather, it would be a philosophical text about how to reconcile morality and ethics in a world where none exist a priori (but then I would remember that Sartre and Russell already did that and were way smarter than me). Atheism shouldn't be about soapboxing. It is, like you say, the absence of faith. I was a pissed of atheist kid, but that comes from a place of frustration at what I saw as stupidity or willful ignorance by my peers. These people just need to recognize that happiness is internal, and their lives wouldn't be any better if every church went out of business tomorrow. Education and life experience are what pissed off kids need, but that only comes with time; hence, not much middle-aged angst.
My wife is in graphic design/illustration. She's been verboten from illustrating children's books as she tends to illustrate everything as creepy or will make political propaganda :D
As for spirituality, I once took a year long bible study course because I thought to myself, "I need to know what all the fuss is about". I played the devils advocate for 12 months and the others in the class loved it. They were very accepting and courteous and appreciated having their beliefs challenged. At the end of the course the Pastor that led it asked me what I thought of Christ? My response was that after studying the bible and the new testament in general, I had concluded that "there are many paths to God (or enlightenment)", not just Christ. She really surprised me with her response, she said "I don't disagree with you, the key is to pick one of the paths". -I think she is right. It's like Mr. Miyagi said, "Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, get squish just like grape". Choose a path.
I actually really enjoyed listening to the discussions between the guy who auctioned off going to church for a year on ebay and the buying church. It was interesting listening to both sides understand each other better. I'll have to dig that one up at some point.
An FYI, I went to Catholic school too. I spent years in theology classes and left feeling like I knew next to nothing about christianity. I hated theology class and barely passed all of them. I learned a lot by voluntarily partaking in that bible study. What I learned was that the christians (or any religious person) that I liked were the ones that admitted that they didn't know squat but liked the teachings of Christ. The ones that are scary are the ones that have it all figured out and know unequivocally that they are saved and you are damned. Those people (from any religion) are to be feared.
My religion classes in high school were mixed. I really enjoyed class on scripture and social justice while I didn't particularly like sacrament. It more had to do with the teachers than the material in all honesty.
http://www.reddit.com/domain/skepchick.org/ She's a holier-than-thou "my opinions are facts, your opinions are sacrilege" busybody who's all about elevating herself to a position of authority at the expense of facts, reasoned discourse or logic. There's a breed of "skeptic" that firmly holds that "skepticism" is "destroying anything that isn't the status quo." it is made up of people like Rebecca Watson. These are the people who would have burned Joan d'Arc, who would have excommunicated Galileo, and who would have cheered on The Inquisition. They are not "skeptics" in the vein of Michael Shermer, they are "skeptics" in the vein of Bjorn Lomborg.
I hear you with regards to r/atheism being valuable outlet for atheist teenagers in conservative areas. The problem is that if it's to be a safe place for teenagers, it has to be a safe place for all atheist teenagers. I am curious where all the anger comes from though. When I was sixteen, I had a pretty ugly fight with my mother in regards to my reading books on alternative religions. I was furious and hurt, but I don't think I was ever rabid and angry at religion; more angry at my parents. Maybe it's a displacement issue.
My parents weren't even part of it. My mom is a superstitious animist and my father is a devout atheist. If he weren't I'd probably be some grand dragon or other in the Masons by now; his dad is like a 17th degree something or other.
They didn't get how "women's rights" didn't get very far until they started talking about "equal rights." Yeah, suffrage was the big thing, but suffrage didn't morph anywhere near equality until they started talking about equality. And yeah, they've still got a long ways to go but they're getting there a lot faster by talking about "equal rights in the workplace" rather than "women's rights in the workplace."