{"id":2221,"date":"2012-03-21T18:18:25","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T22:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=2221"},"modified":"2012-12-11T16:08:28","modified_gmt":"2012-12-11T21:08:28","slug":"must-we-fight-about-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/03\/must-we-fight-about-fighting.html","title":{"rendered":"Must we fight about fighting?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today is the LAST day to vote in the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog<\/a>. \u00a0More details here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After reading my post about being visible as an atheist<\/a> (and what comes next), Brian Green from The Moral Minefield<\/a> was dismayed. \u00a0He wrote (in two<\/a> comments<\/a>, which I\u2019ve condensed):<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is for everyone to be atheists.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I thought your goal was to find the truth. Statements like this make me wonder if I should question your sincerity. Because it sounds like you are finished; already done\u2026<\/p>\n

Of course one can still act while short of 100% certainty. And I do think you are sincere. But I have to say, I am Catholic and even I don\u2019t say that I think everyone should become Catholic. That all should be atheists is a very oddly totalizing statement, indicating certainty without doubt, to me. And denying even multiple paths to the truth (whatever that may be). I think we have learned by now that diversity is a strength, not a liability\u2026<\/p>\n

I suppose my real concern is a theory-practice one again, as usual. As you gain practical commitment to atheist causes, the bond strengthens. Theory follows practice. Habit deepens. When you become president of the American Atheists, your freedom of thought will become highly constricted just due to practical concerns, even if on an unconscious level. The stronger your overt physical commitment, the more tightly are you mentally chained to that commitment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a problem that\u2019s come up before, especially in reference to the \u2018My Burden of Proof<\/a>\u2018 tab above, which serves as an about page and will hopefully be updated by the end of the week. A previous iteration<\/a> of the page ended with the line \u201cI\u2019m in this argument to win, and I don\u2019t want to shirk any challenge.\u201d I ended up revising after I found out a number of Christian readers were turned off by that line (one reader raked me over the coals for it<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I suspect this is mostly a cultural\/personality issue. \u00a0Especially after four years in a philosophical debating group<\/a>, I just don\u2019t think of \u201cI plan to convert you\u201d (whether to Catholicism, Atheism, Marxism, or a math major) as an inappropriately aggressive statement. \u00a0It\u2019s how we say hello, and how we say we care. \u00a0If we didn\u2019t like you, we\u2019d just try to contain you, instead of correcting your error. \u00a0But if you think the stakes are high, and you\u2019re pretty sure you\u2019re not wrong, trying to persuade others is just common courtesy.<\/p>\n

And as to how sure you need to be, I\u2019d refer everyone back to\u00a0my faith and probability<\/a> post. \u00a0Most decisions don\u2019t require a \u201cbet your life\u201d level of certainty. \u00a0And when you\u2019re making a choice, the way you commit to your most probable choice should look exactly like the way you\u00a0would<\/em> commit if you were rock-solid certain. \u00a0Whether you\u2019re just over the tipping point or as certain as you are of the Pythagorean theorem, you\u2019re still fully committed until new evidence emerges. \u00a0The only difference is how strong the new evidence has to be.<\/p>\n

Tactically, though I guess I could stand to soften my tone for a general audience. \u00a0Just as I wouldn\u2019t (sadly) expect to use Roberts Rules of Order in everyday life or rely on some traditional slang (though I think I\u2019ve managed to get you all in the loop on \u2018metaphysical backsliding<\/a>\u2018). \u00a0But perhaps I can\u2019t use the pugilistic metaphors that come so naturally without frightening people off.<\/p>\n

Are there any suggestions about how to frame this differently, so people stick around for the arguments? \u00a0Or is it the very idea that philosophies and ethical systems\u00a0should\u00a0aggressively confront each other and attempt to triumph over each other that people find inappropriate?<\/p>\n

I seek out conversation and hard questions on this blog, but I don\u2019t see dialogue as an end in itself. \u00a0Every conversation is always directed towards conversion. \u00a0Searching for truth is good, but if you\u2019re not coming up with any truths to share, or identifying any falsehoods to purge, you may want to\u00a0reevaluate\u00a0your methodology.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll address the other problem Brian raised, about compromising your reasoning by making an ideology part of your identity in tomorrow\u2019s post.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is the LAST day to vote in the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog. \u00a0More details here. After reading my post about being visible as an atheist (and what comes next), Brian Green from The Moral Minefield was dismayed. \u00a0He wrote (in two comments, which I\u2019ve condensed): \u201cMy goal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","category-debatetactics"],"yoast_head":"\nMust we fight about fighting?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today is the LAST day to vote in the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog. \u00a0More details here. 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