X-Message-Number: 33293
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:23:42 -0700
Subject: Re: again, religiosity and target groups
From: MARK PLUS <>

David Stodolsky writes:


>Atheism is defined as "a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods". 
Therefore, it doesn't provide any "cultural, social and ritualistic aspects of 
building an activist community."

Since when did atheism mean "a lack of belief"? Atheists have
traditionally disputed theistic beliefs about the nature and contents
of reality, often including criticisms of the practical consequence of
these beliefs. The Enlightenment-era atheist Denis Diderot in his
Encyclopedie defines atheism as "the opinion of those which deny the
existence of God. To be charged with the odious title of atheism, it
is necessary to have the concept of God, and reject it."

In other words, atheists resemble vegans. Vegans don't just "lack
belief in eating meat," perhaps because they've never had any meat
available for consumption in their lives. The vegan firebrands go
further to attack the dominant culture which has based itself on
exploiting animals, while arguing for the advantages (medical,
environmental, social, ethical, etc.) of their alternative world view
and lifestyle. I guess vegans could say that "Carnivory poisons
everything."



--
Mark Plus
Life is short: Freeze hard!

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