I'm just wondering...

I wonder...

If a "friend" post his belief on Facebook that says,
1.) Gay people are sinners and they should die.
2.) Western women are whores
3.) Those who don't believe that God exists are low-life scum that should be ridiculed in public.
4.) Gay people should be shot on sight.
5.) That atheism is a mental disease and atheists are insane.
6.) That women are just a man's property. They don't have rights.

Uhhh... Should I just ignore it and let them believe what they want so I won't be an asshole? Is this what they mean of "tolerance?"

Hayz! Remember: Ignoring issues does not make them go away.

Facing Islam

I have read something about a comment on atheism and Islam. Someone was asking if why some atheists seem to be silent on Islamic issues. What? I don't think so... everyday I see a lot of anti-Islamic quotes and photos in my Facebook wall from different atheists/humanist organization that I have liked so far. But OK, let us concentrate here in the Philippines.

According to the post, attacking Islam is a test of a real atheist. What? It will be quite unfair to judge someone's atheism just because he doesn't engage with Islam. Remember that an atheist is not duty bound to debate or argue about religion. Some atheists prefer a normal, quiet life, yet still they are atheist because they don't believe in the existence of god or gods. 

OK, so let's make the list shorter. Now, why those Filipino atheists who are active in debates seems to ignore Islam?

Here in Manila, if you want to engage a debate with some Muslim, then go to Rizal Park every Sunday evening. Join me in stirring up the hornet's nest of the Balik-Islam and confront their religious belief, their Holy Book and their god. For some atheist, what I'm doing is considered suicide. Nah! Muslims can be civil in a discussion. Try it sometimes.

But be careful, there are fanatics out there.

Now, going back... why do some Filipino atheists seem to ignore Islam? There are a few reasons.

1. Some find debating a Muslim a futile cause. Have a life! You just can't win on a person who already closed his head and have thrown away the keys.

2. You didn't become an atheist just to get hurt. Sorry, but bad publicity and stereotyping have made its toll. Some atheists have already imagined a Muslim as a fanatic bomb-hiding, knife back-stabbing bunch of fanatic loonies. You don't want to debate with such characters, do you? 

Frankly, I won't advise debating them alone. Yes, there are those Muslims that are well educated and will talk to you in an educated manner, but there are those who are not and might hurt you physically ( I have my share of experience). 

3. The majority of atheists living in Luzon has no idea about Islam. You don't see Muslim often here in Manila (unless you're going to buy some pirated DVD in Quiapo or some Chinese bootlegs in Greenhills). They seem to be quite ignorant on the issues surrounding Islam; like the Qur'an, Allah and Muhammad. They are more familiar with Christians.

4. Tribal Issues: Filipinos are quite tribal. Folks here in Manila seem to ignore issues far away in Mindanao. Therefore, they don't talk about it. That is also true here in Philippine atheism. That is why some don't care about the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

It's not about flies and vinegar.

I have pissed off a lot of people. Yeah, I know...
These guys think that I am asking atheists to respect the believers why I ask for less mockery in favor of a more critical approach when arguing against religion and god belief. Maybe they think I'm being too soft, or more accommodating with believers.

No, this is not about accommodation and respect. 

One thing I've noticed when a debate becomes more into puns and less intellectual is that it just goes nowhere. The issue will soon be muddled and off track. Both parties become irritated and divert the topic to mere mud throwing and mindless tantrums. Sooner or later the whole topic becomes nothing by a troll's paradise... just another garbage posted on Facebook.

Sorry, but some people are asking for something more than jumbled letters and senseless words. They are asking for an intellectual discourse.

You see, as an atheist, I have this thirst for knowledge... new knowledge... something that I was deprived of when I was still a Christian and I am expecting to find new ideas from debates and arguments that I read in social forums. That's how it goes. As a freethinker, I crave for new philosophies, new horizon, new things to explore... so other than books or a YouTube video, I also look for it in arguments between two colliding forces: Reason vs. Faith.

But what happen if instead of knowledge, what you read are baseless accusations against each other? Words design not to seek any synthesis of ideas, but just to laugh at or ridicule an opponent? What is there to learn?

What instead of clashing philosophies, you'll just see angry, emotional rants and ways to get even with the enemies? What does this do to achieve enlightenment?

You Don’t Demand Respect.

Respect. The word is so used up, its real meaning is diminishing. Theists and unfortunately, some atheists have expressed concern about being disrespectful to religion every time it's been criticized. The theists demand that we should respect their religious belief  while some atheists say that we must respect other people’s religious belief.

So before we start, let us go to the basics. What is respect?

They say that respect is a due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. Simply put, it is a positive feeling of submission and… wait a minute... submission? Yes, submission to a specific action, a conduct that you regard in highest esteem.  You praise it, honor it. That is respect.

Now that you know what is respect, we ask, “When we criticize god belief and religion, are we being disrespectful?” Most theists and some atheists might answer yes.

To question the authority of the divine is considered as disrespectful. Most religions have expressed their deep hatred with doubt and rational inquiry to the point that no one has the right to question the truth and revelations of faith. Now, for some reason, this kind of thinking became so established in our mind that we often think that when we carp religious belief we are automatically disrespectful. Unfortunately, even some atheists have this kind of mind-set.

Is it also possible that religion is hiding behind this so-called “respect?”

As long as the theists shout “respect” atheists are prevented to scrutinize their religious belief, you are prevented to criticize their claims, their holy books, their ethics and their pseudoscience. It also prevents an atheist to speak out and point errors in religious belief.  Worst, it prevents people to act when religion is trying to break the wall of separation of church and state or if the church is trying to influence education, especially science.

And how about these atheists that are shouting for religious respect? Obviously, they don’t know the difference between tolerating and respect. To tolerate religion is to give them the blind eye. They already see the issues, they already see the erroneous claims, but by claiming “peace” what they really do is to turn their heads and ignore just for the sake that they won’t have any enemies.

Respect is not demanded, it is earned. To call for respect to religion, religion must first open itself to scrutiny, then can they earn the “R” word.

Is it a burden?

I'm just thinking, why it seems some theists are afraid of the "burden of proof?" If you are really sure that your God exists, then why throw the burden to the atheist's side of the camp? If God exists then it would be a very easy job for a believer to defend its existence. You don't need to be afraid of the burden. In fact it won't even be a burden for you to prove the existence of God, right?

But for some unknown reason, I see that some theists are avoiding to shoulder the burden of proof? Why? Are they in doubt of their own God's existence? Are they having trouble defending the validity of their faith? Do they unconsciously becoming skeptical of their position to the point that they have stopped believing that they can easily defend their God belief?