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Speaking only for myself, my hope is that atheism becoming more vocal may help stop what you did in sending them to Christian schools, for instance, and , instead, teaching them that they are not worthless "dirty rags" with inherited sins but, instead, worthwhile people who possess the ability to accomplish what they desire by their own efforts. Giving them a chance to start AT the starting line, not behind it.
Possibly, your kids won't discuss it because they didn't fall for it and just are trying to maintain a noncontroversial relationship with you
All my grown children thanked me profusely for having the privilege to attend Catholic Prep schools. They had a solid education and no proselytization. They have a strong sense of who they are and where they come from. They understand the history of their ancestors.
A large percent of the student body was not even Catholic. The parents send these non-Catholic kids to the school for the education. And the non-Catholic kids are as popular if not more popular than Catholic kids. The schools have changed a lot and they do not fit the stereotype you are promoting.
My son went to Georgetown Prep and the networking alone is worth the price of admission.
The issue is that the older level III atheists were much more cerebral and understood the concept of religion as it relates to the evolution of MANKIND. Newbie atheists fail to grasp that simple concept.
And perhaps "newbies" have other traits that are valuable.
Name one attribute that the old season atheists did not have.
Let's put it this way.
Years ago when I was a principal, we had a head custodian who had been at the school for...well, way more than a decade, and way longer than I had been there. Nothing he did was ever really questioned by anyone. Finally he retired, and one of the candidates who came in reacted negatively to my statement that "Fred (the name is changed to protect the guilty) kept thing tip top here". As we toured the building, the new guy pointed out one deficiency after another that old Fred hadn't done very well with. And it was a good case of a new broom sweeping clean...literally in the case of a new head custodian.
And I'm reminded also about the dissension between Booker T Washington (the old guard in civil rights) and WEB DuBois (the newbie...at the time). And essentially it was a new perspective on an old issue.
We have talked here well before you -- a newbie to the forum -- came along about the "new atheism". It's not that there's anything new about the definition of atheism. But a person with an atheism background in the 1950s isn't going to look at atheism in the same way as someone coming up in the 2010s. Society, and particularly communication, has been revolutionized, and newbies are unlikely to be as restrained on the issue as someone out of the past.
Years ago when I was a principal, we had a head custodian who had been at the school for...well, way more than a decade, and way longer than I had been there. Nothing he did was ever really questioned by anyone. Finally he retired, and one of the candidates who came in reacted negatively to my statement that "Fred (the name is changed to protect the guilty) kept thing tip top here". As we toured the building, the new guy pointed out one deficiency after another that old Fred hadn't done very well with. And it was a good case of a new broom sweeping clean...literally in the case of a new head custodian.
And I'm reminded also about the dissension between Booker T Washington (the old guard in civil rights) and WEB DuBois (the newbie...at the time). And essentially it was a new perspective on an old issue.
We have talked here well before you -- a newbie to the forum -- came along about the "new atheism". It's not that there's anything new about the definition of atheism. But a person with an atheism background in the 1950s isn't going to look at atheism in the same way as someone coming up in the 2010s. Society, and particularly communication, has been revolutionized, and newbies are unlikely to be as restrained on the issue as someone out of the past.
I agree, the new atheist is aggressive and see religion as the biggest enemy of humanity. The old seasoned atheists of the past looked at the issue of atheism in a more academic manner.
The issue with new atheism is that it can become tribal once all members are permanently installed in the echo chamber. NEW atheism is also in danger of overlooking what has worked in the past.
I agree, the new atheist is aggressive and see religion as the biggest enemy of humanity. The old seasoned atheists of the past looked at the issue of atheism in a more academic manner.
The issue with new atheism is that it can become tribal once all members are permanently installed in the echo chamber. NEW atheism is also in danger of overlooking what has worked in the past.
I'm not so sure that atheists all see religion as the "biggest enemy of humanity". Just one that could be solved with different thinking.
What aspect of society today isn't tribal to some extent. That's sort of irrelevant. But I'm not sure there is an echo chamber since we still live our lives in a predominantly christian environment.
What's worked in the past? What in atheism really worked in the past.
What's worked in the past? What in atheism really worked in the past.
Sometimes you get wrapped up in cliches.
Advancement is a series of successes and failures. It is a bit like the stock market and sometimes there is a major crash. The state of the world todays is the best we ever had in world history and it keeps getting better. However, there is always the chance of a crash by trying some crazy or even reviving what never worked in the past.
With few exceptions atheists never ran nations and the idea of an atheist world may not necessarily work. Religion as we mostly know today is based on a deity, but there is plenty of religion based on secular nonsense.
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