Does My Atheism Make Me Closed-Minded?

On a number of occasions throughout my adult life in which I have discussed my views with theists, I have been accused of being closed-minded. Typically, the conversation starts out amicably enough, but at some point the theist realizes that my defense of my rejection of theism is impervious to his apologetic tactics. That is when frustration kicks in and personal attacks begin to well up. Usually the believer tells me that I hate his god or that I just don’t want to give up some sin or another. In some instances, the theist announces that I’m simply closed-minded and therefore unwilling to “see the light” as it were. 

In one exchange I had with a theist a couple years ago, I explained that my atheism was really a natural consequence of choosing to be honest on questions pertaining to theism in particular as well as philosophy in general. After all, I realize that I have no direct awareness of any gods, and I have found without exception that efforts to support the inference that there is (or “must be”) a god, are terminally deficient. I am of the view that choosing to believe something that one does not think is true (assuming that’s really possible) is not an application of honesty. Pretending to know something when one does not is certainly not an expression of an honest orientation to facts.

What Does AI Have to Say About TAG?

As readers here probably already know, AI is all the craze these days, and it’s not going away. I know next to nothing about AI myself, but my little experience with it is more than sufficient to give me some idea of its potential uses, some beneficial, others perhaps not so beneficial. But recently I got to wondering what AI can tell us about TAG, the transcendental argument for the existence of a god. Sometimes asking apologists to present this elusive argument has resulted in mixed and sometimes unsatisfying results. So why not ask AI? 

So I pulled up Chat GPT and plugged in my query. 

If you were convinced there was a god, would that be good news?

In today’s entry we turn to Michael Brown’s final question from his article 7 honest questions for atheists. As the title of his article suggests, Brown poses seven questions for atheists to consider, presumably in a good-faith effort to understand non-believers better. Naturally, different people who do not believe in a deity are going to answer Brown’s questions differently, and readers are invited to share their own reactions to his questions in the comments section below. The answers that I present here on my blog are my own and are not intended to speak on behalf of anyone other than myself. 

My answers to Brown’s previous questions can be accessed here:

1. Why are you an atheist? 

2. Can an atheist have purpose? 

3. Are you sure there’s no god? 

4. Can science answer the remaining mysteries of the universe? 

5. Have you ever questioned your atheism? 

6. Are you completely materialistic in your mindset?

In his seventh question, Brown wants to know how we as atheists would evaluate the prospect that the Christian god were real, whether we would welcome that or not.

Are you completely materialistic in your mindset?

We now turn our attention to the sixth question in Michael Brown’s 7 honest questions for atheists, which is aimed at getting the atheist to identify his worldview in positive terms more than the previous questions.

My answers to Brown’s previous questions can be accessed here:

1. Why are you an atheist? 

2. Can an atheist have purpose? 

3. Are you sure there’s no god? 

4. Can science answer the remaining mysteries of the universe? 

5. Have you ever questioned your atheism?

Have you ever questioned your atheism?

In this entry I continue my interaction with Michael Brown’s 7 honest questions for atheists. This post is my answer to Brown’s fifth question. My answers to Brown’s previous questions can be accessed here:

1. Why are you an atheist? 

2. Can an atheist have purpose? 

3. Are you sure there’s no god? 

4. Can science answer the remaining mysteries of the universe?

In his fifth question, Brown queries atheists on their personal experiences, asking whether or not they’ve had any which challenge their atheism. The subliminal assumption seems to be that atheism is a worldview like a religion, and that certain experiences that one might have may conflict with the fundamental tenets of atheism. But atheism is not a worldview, and as such atheism has no tenets to speak of. Theism is not fundamental, and thus neither is atheism as an antithesis to theism. One can be an atheist and, like theists, still get the issue of metaphysical primacy wrong. (In fact, many atheists do!) 

Can science answer the remaining mysteries of the universe?

In this entry, I will address the fourth question which Michael Brown asks I his article 7 honest questions for atheists. Previous entries in this series can be found here:

1. Why are you an atheist? 

2. Can an atheist have purpose? 

3. Are you sure there’s no god?

Keep in mind, Brown states that he does not ask the questions he poses here

to win a debate. Or to be antagonistic. Or to buttress my own beliefs by exposing alleged weaknesses in your position. On the contrary, I ask these questions so I can better understand your mindset as an atheist.

He states that he asks these questions “in that spirit of genuinely wanting to understand the atheist mindset better.” Taking what Brown states at face value, I applaud him for inviting atheists to speak for themselves, for what we typically see from Christians is referencing the Old and New Testaments and other unsympathetic sources to get their understanding of “the atheist mindset.”

Of course, what may be overlooked in all this is that “atheism” does not denote a “mindset” that is common to all self-professing atheists. Atheism only indicates what one does not believe; it does not by itself signal a set of positive convictions. Just as there are religious views across a very broad spectrum, there is a wide assortment of views which may be found among various individual atheists.

Are you sure there's no god?

In today’s entry, I address the third question from Michael Brown’s 7 honest questions for atheists.

Earlier installments in this series can be found here:

1. Why are you an atheist? 

2. Can an atheist have purpose?

Brown’s third question has to do with certainty, and whether or not an atheist can be certain that there is no god. I will address this from my own standpoint – I do not presume to speak for all atheists. Readers are invited to share their own thoughts in the comments, either in reply to Brown’s question or in response to my own efforts to address it.