Thursday, January 2, 2014

2013 - Year In Review


During 2013 I grew a lot as an atheist. I am a much better atheist now than I was a year ago. And by that I mean that my knowledge of science, philosophy, history and religion has grown tremendously in the past year. I am a much better debater than I was a year ago. I have familiarized myself with more arguments for god and religion, and I have learned a great deal more about how to counter-argue many of them. I have also been interacting with more Christians on a personal level through my local debate club and this gives me the chance to experience those who are opposed to me without the obstacle of a computer screen between us.

I am a lot more mature as an atheist than I was a year ago. I've found a way to calm my militantism and to express myself more civilly. I look back at some of my early posts from 2009 and 2010 and I think how immature and unsophisticated I was back then, and how I would have failed miserably in a real serious debate. This I feel, all contributes into making me a better atheist.

As far as my atheism is concerned, my goal is to increase the numbers of atheists. There are many ways one can do this. One is to be open about my atheism online and in person, and encourage others to do the same. The other is to organize with other atheists online and in person to positively represent our worldview and to fight against discrimination and oppression. I personally tend to focus a lot on counter-apologetics. I want to help arm other atheists with the tools to defend their atheism when it is under attack, and to aide them in launching offensive attacks on other theistic worldviews. This is one area that is perhaps one of the most important resources that every atheist must have because in a country like the US where 74% of the people still believe in god, the moment your atheism becomes public, it is likely going to be challenged by someone who is a theist.

2014 & Beyond: Time for a New Enlightenment

I am looking towards a brighter future for atheism and for society in general, I really am. The US is becoming less religious and atheists are winning the war of the worldviews. In twenty or thirty years we might look back at this time as the beginning of a cultural paradigm shift away from the traditional Judeo-Christian centrism of centuries past, into a progressive, forward thinking new enlightenment, where critical thinking, evidence and logic are the main epistemological staples, and the old dogmatic ways of thinking become extinct forever.

Cheers to a New Enlightenment and a happy New Year!


No comments:

Post a Comment

Share

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...