A crisis of faithlessnessness

After a few chaotic posts briefly after the inception of the boards I have been in hiatus. I haven't listened to RD for a long time. I have deleted all atheist/skeptic/critical thinking material from my ipod. I found it increasingly tiresome for some reason. Every time I hear or see the names Dawkins, Hitchens and their like I now tune out, turn off, close tab.

Don't be overly concerned (not that I imagine anyone would be). I have not found God or such nonsense. It is other nonsense that I have been pursuing. I have always preferred the continental over the analytic philosophers. Russell bores me: Camus, Sartre, Nietzsche on the other hand get me thinking.

I think it is the righteousness of it all that gets to me. The addiction to always being 'right', to me, stinks of dogmatism. Those who were once believers seem to pursue their atheism with the same vigour they once devoted to their god. Like their belief, it seems to need constant attention, daily ablutions and devotions.

I tire of the pursuit of 'truth', but cannot live the happy lie.

Does anyone else get tired of the vigil?

A piece of advice: take a break, listen to music for a month. After a good period of distraction, you may feel re-energized enough to grind through it again. This topic isn't exactly joyous, and it does exert an emotional toll. I too feel stressed by it, and after a while, it just gets real annoying and frustrating. The occasional break may help you.

I think it's easy to get burned out on too much of anything at once, whether it's religion, politics, sports, or some other hobby. I agree with LonghWynn that if you feel burned out from too much freethought, just take a break. You don't have to feel obligated to listen or read every freethought material and just go with whatever you feel like doing.

I understand where you are coming from. Dogmatism and fundamentalism need not only be on the theist/deist side, and we need to remember this. Some accuse Dawkins, Harris etc.. of being the atheist fundamentalists, and on some levels I think that mud does stick. I can buy a Jesus stickpin from the church down the road, or an atheist stickpin from Dawkins. Both are propoganda.

The question we need to ask ourselves, is what will be our approach? Who cares what others do, we are only responsible for ourselves. For me I want to be a truth seeker, and that frees me up from having to "be right". Charles Birch makes the distinction between "truth posessors" and "truth seekers". Which do you want to be?

I would say my major issue with the sceptical community in it's current mode is its overly smug self assurance. It just seems vulgar. I am a fan of science: I believe it is the best way we have for gaining knowledge about the world which we experience. And while I can understand some of the motivations of someone like Dawkins, I don't much like his style.

I never had much time for religion, even as a teen back in the eighties. I spent a lot of that time regurgitating the same sort of arguments that you hear today - which is why I guess that I am a bit surprised that Dawkins' spiel isn't a little more sophisticated. I have a double major in history and studies in religion - I wanted to know more about some of the forces that shaped our world. Sure, Dawkins is a scientist but it doesn't take to much reading to gain a more nuanced understanding of the world's beliefs. Then there is that Pharyngula guy, whatever his name is. He was so proud of himself for taking the consecrated host from a church - I am not sure what his point was supposed to be or what he actually achieved other than irritating people. I mean sure, the Catholics have some major issues that need to be dealt with, but a hatred of science isn't one of them. I wonder how Ken Miller felt about the stunt? It just seems like the action of an obnoxious child.

Fight pseudo-science, combat irrationality, encourage thought and critical evaluation and all that stuff. But sheesh! Have a bit of class.