There's a movement within atheism that's known as "New Atheism." People who are into New Atheism are usually the easily offended type. If you disagree with them, there's a good chance they'll insult you. Especially on the internet.
I once came across an atheist on YouTube. Someone with a username containing the word "atheist." Does his psychiatrist know about that? He should. That would explain a lot. Psychiatrists should ask that during a patient's first session. [Psychiatrist:] "Do you have a YouTube account?" [Patient:] "Yes" [Psychiatrist:] "Does your username contain the word atheist?" [Patient:] "Uh... Yeah." [Psychiatrist:] "OK--get out of my office. There's nothing I can do for you. There's no cure or treatment for Internet Atheist Disorder."
Anyways, I had a little exchange with a YouTube atheist. Actually, it was more like a consultation. He gave me a lot of advice. He recommended therapy. And he said I have anger issues due to my jealousy of Richard Dawkins, I'm insecure about my religion, and I need thicker skin to survive on YouTube.
After that, I considered taking his advice and seeing a therapist. But then I realized that I don't need one. I have atheists on YouTube. They are my therapists. What's the point of actually paying someone? If I need a psychoanalysis, all I need to do is go to the internet and call Richard Dawkins an asshole. That'll get me a free psychoanalysis. Maybe that's what the guy was suggesting. Internet therapy.
One thing I've learned about atheists on the internet is that they love to respond. That's part of the disorder. It's one the main criteria in the DSM. If an atheist doesn't respond to someone's comment about atheism, that's a good sign. It means his psychiatrist deserves a raise.
Richard Dawkins's psychiatrist definitely doesn't deserve a raise. That guy should have his license revoked.
After all, Dawkins recently said he wants evolution to be taught to five year olds.
I think this is phase one of Richard Dawkins's plan. Phase two is teaching evolution to infants. He's going to put out a lullaby album with an evolution theme. And of course, phase three will focus on fetuses. He'll put out a Richard Dawkins pregnancy test. It'll contain the test itself, as well as a textbook on evolutionary biology. As soon as you get a positive result, you can start teaching your kid evolution, right then and there. I see that happening pretty soon.
But right now, Richard will settle for five year olds. He wants them to be taught evolution. He considers evolution that important when it comes to education.
Now, I'm not saying I agree or disagree with him. But I don't care what he has to say. He's an evolutionary biologist, and he's promoting evolution as a feature part of our educational system. I mean, if I'm deciding whether to buy a sedan or an SUV, do you think I'm to ask a Jeep dealer for his opinion?
I'll bet a lot of people don't think evolution is important for five year olds to learn about. Plenty of astronomers, psychologists, musicians, historians, physicists, and chemists might not take Dawkins's side. What does he think of that? Is he even aware that those people exist? Or does he think the world's made up of evolutionary biologists and religious fundamentalists?
Dawkins also said, "Evolution is a truly satisfying and complete explanation of existence, and I suspect that this is something a child can appreciate from an early age."
More Jeep dealer propaganda.
Maybe he should've said, "Evolution is a truly satisfying and complete explanation of existence for evolutionary biologists." Although even that might not be true. Even some evolutionary biologists might not go so far as to agree with something like that.
And of course, Dawkins is trying to convince us that young children will appreciate evolution the way he does. I don't know. If I were organizing a birthday party for a bunch of five year olds, I don't think I'd hire Richard Dawkins to drop by and discuss evolution by natural selection. I'm no so sure kids would go for Uncle Richard and his explanation of common descent. I think they'd prefer seeing that Yo Gabba Gabba guy dance like a lunatic.
Dawkins also said that evolution is more interesting, poetic, and fun than "any of the hundreds of creation myths from around the world." Even a Jeep dealer wouldn't go so far as to say something like that. "Not only are Jeep Cherokees bigger than Honda Civics, they get better gas mileage." That's a Richard Dawkins sales pitch.
Dawkins also doesn't seem too keen on the idea of teaching fantasy to little kids. He said, "Magical transformations are anti-evolution and anti-science. Complex things such as horses, coaches, and princes cannot spring spontaneously into existence from nothing."
I'm guessing he isn't too into Disney movies. They're off limits. Maybe we should give them an R rating. "Rated R for magical transformations and excessive fantasy."
Apparently, you're either anti-science or anti-fantasy. According to Uncle Richard. Uncle Albert, on the other hand, seems to have a much different opinion. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." He also once told a woman to read her child fairytales. After she asked him how she could help her child become a scientist.
Richard Dawkins is like the head of a New Atheist al-Qaeda group. I'm not too happy with him right now. But he's quite a character. I'll give him that one.
He's not my favorite atheist, though. My favorite is comedian Ricky Gervais. He like to bring up atheism a lot. He closed the 2011 Golden Globes by saying, "I'd like to thank God... for making me an atheist."
Wow, Ricky! You're an atheist? That's incredible! Tell me more. And try to be as self-congratulating as possible. You know what? You should walk around with an "I'm an Atheist" sash while we bow to you during your daily parade. Held outside of the Vatican. We should also give you some medal for bravery. After all, you're an open atheist in a country where the near majority of people are religious. The near majority, Ricky! You're willing to risk everything in order to let everyone know how right you are. Kudos to you, mate!
Ricky is unbelievable. He's waltzing around showing off his atheism like a Jewish woman with a $10,000 purse. (By the way--I'm allowed to say something like that. I'm Jewish. Am I Jewish? I'm Jewish. Right? Right. I'm Jewish. I think I'm Jewish. I amJewish. I'm Jewish. So I'm allowed to say that.)
Ricky doesn't need to bother with stand up comedy. He's hilarious as himself. Maybe I'll go see him at the World Atheist Convention. It's an annual event.
I'm not sure why they have an atheist convention every year. Is there that much new in the world of atheism?
"I have to go to the 2012 Atheist Convention, because the 2011 one wasn't enough. I need to know what God hasn't been up to over the last year."
Do they make advances in atheism? "We've advanced atheist technology. Now we can not believe in God by remote control."
What do people do at an atheist convention? I don't even know.
It would be kind of weird to present an argument in favor of atheism at an atheist convention. Everyone's already sold. Everyone's already a devout atheist. Maybe they emphasize how they don't believe in God. They ask each other. "Do you believe in God?" "No." "Do you believe in God?" "No."
The keynote speaker Richard Dawkins goes up there and says, "You know what? We don't believe in God. ... OK. Now what? Let's prank call a Church." Maybe he calls the Pope. After all, this is serious. The World Atheist Convention.
Do they sing? Maybe they sing songs. Definitely not Kumbaya. Maybe they sing Bono songs.
Or maybe they just sit an empty room and don't do anything. That's also a possibility. No God, no activity.
I think they talk about why they dislike religion. And they discuss science. Atheists like to associate atheism with science.
"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world." Richard Dawkins
Should I bother finding an Einstein quote presenting a different view? How about an Isaac Newton quote?
"Richard Dawkins is wrong." Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was a Christian. But I guess according to Richard Dawkins, he would've been a much more accomplished scientist if not for his religious beliefs. Not to mention the fact that the average atheist has contributed more to the world than Newton did. I'm just glad that natural selection weeded him out. Score one win for Nature.
I don't know. To me, atheism isn't in activity. Can they at least add some other element to atheist conventions? How about the World Atheist and Pac-Man convention? "We play Pac-Man, we talk about Pac-Man strategy, and we get ino atheism a little bit. And then we give 10% of our income to Richard Dawkins."
I think Dawkins is trying to convince people that that's the purpose of atheism. Everything has a purpose, a goal. Atheism's goal is to make Richard Dawkins rich. He's Richie Rich Dawkins. "The less you believe, the more I make."
Do New Atheists get offended when you insult Richard Dawkins? Not all of them. Some detest him. I'll bet some say, "Richard Dawkins is just mainstream atheism. He's like the Dane Cook of atheists. I'm into the real stuff. " And as for those who aren't into the New Atheist movement, many probably consider Dawkins an al-Qatheist.