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Originally Posted by ShaniFaye
Im beginning to see that Atheists are as closed and narrow minded as believers are some times accused of. I'm so glad the atheists I know in real life dont behave like y'all do and just respect an "interest" in things other than their "beliefs", because some of you do a real good job at not making yourselves desirable as companions
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Then I'll come back to this thread.
Atheism is simply a label that describes people that are not one thing: a theist. While the reasoning behind taking this position on existence varies, it hardly means that you must no longer respect theists. This is where Dawkins and I seem to separate. I could not disrespect my family and friends because they happen to be theists. I can think someone is misguided or has a different perception of our world without attacking them outright and challenging them at every turn. While I obviously have the ability to argue to no end about a million different things, theism being one of them, I find that doing so is only appropriate under very specific and controlled circumstances, the most important of circumstances being mutual respect (as you can see in my discussion with Filtherton in the other atheism thread). Once that respect dissolves, so also dissolves any meaning or possibility of a peaceful and mutually acceptable outcome.
One of the most important lessons that the TFP can teach is that with mutual respect comes positive growth. It's something to bear in mind whether you're talking about Lost in Entertainment, the FCC in Politics, or Atheism in General Discussion.