A better response
28 10 07 21:37 by vagrant
I was thinking lately about how to respond when someone ask "What church do you go to?" due to a conversation with a co-worker. On those rare occasions (fortunately) I have been asked, I usually just say "None, I am atheist" and leave it at that. Which of course is usually followed by something like anonymous notes popping up saying that someone will be praying for me, etc.
Anyway, it got me thinking that a better response is probably ""I don't believe in the supernatural." When you say you are an atheist, you often get the concerned look and scurrying away type behavior because, well, you just said you are one of those evil atheists. In the mind of believers, this often gets you immediately dismissed. But "I don't believe in the supernatural" immediately throws the "weird" mantle back on the asker. For the responder, it is delightfully dismissive and it places the asker in the position of defending an irrational position if they try to object. Win, win, as I see it.
Admittedly this ties to my position that skepticism|critical thinking|rational thinking|etc. is the critical position with atheism simply being a logical outgrowth. Being presented with an atheist, many faithful will just grab tighter to faith, but pointing out that they are holding to supernatural belief might start a crack in the bulwark of bullshit.
Anyway, it got me thinking that a better response is probably ""I don't believe in the supernatural." When you say you are an atheist, you often get the concerned look and scurrying away type behavior because, well, you just said you are one of those evil atheists. In the mind of believers, this often gets you immediately dismissed. But "I don't believe in the supernatural" immediately throws the "weird" mantle back on the asker. For the responder, it is delightfully dismissive and it places the asker in the position of defending an irrational position if they try to object. Win, win, as I see it.
Admittedly this ties to my position that skepticism|critical thinking|rational thinking|etc. is the critical position with atheism simply being a logical outgrowth. Being presented with an atheist, many faithful will just grab tighter to faith, but pointing out that they are holding to supernatural belief might start a crack in the bulwark of bullshit.