Believers' Arrogance

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 21 May 2024 " I Often Wonder, How A Person's Monomaniac Belief In Two Abstract Concepts Like God And Religion Can Make Him So Zealous As Well As Zealot As To Cast Aspersions On Those People Who Don't Believe In God And Religion. It's All the more Strange When You Realize That These Staunch Believers Can Even Abuse and Kill Those Who're Godless and Faithless. In Short, Religious Belief Gives Birth to Enmity and Permanent Bitterness. Belief In God and Religion Also Concocts Silly Theories to Run Down Atheists and Apostates." Peter William Atkins, famous British chemist who famously said, “It is not possible to be intellectually honest and believe in gods." The aforementioned famous quote struck me to see a hardcore Muslim gentleman's near-vitriolic and ad hominem attack on a venerable octogenarian on the issue of apostasy. He's quoting and citing silly psychological findings to buttress his ramshackle arguments and dilapidated theories. See how much time these unwavering zealots waste on defending their weak and shallow ideas. They should know that psychology, esp. behavioural psychology is still an evolving discipline. All psychological theories are open to getting scrutinized. Sigmund Freud's over-emphasis on sex was criticised by his student and friend C G Jung. Likewise, Paul C Vitz's Theory of Defective Father has innumerable loopholes. This is one of the most persistent and toxic arguments wielded by (some of) the religious community to diminish, discount and marginalize atheism and atheists. It’s an argument that starts by assuming that the religious position toward god is true, consequently making the atheist's position and stance wrong. Now, since atheism is de-facto wrong, what reason could there be for the atheist to be so wrong? By framing the question this way, it discounts any argument that the atheist arrived at non-belief through rational thought. It’s not asking “does god exist?” But it is asking “what’s wrong with someone that does not believe in god?” It is an inherently arrogant position. Remember, Dr. Vitz’s teaching and research is focused on the integration of Christian theology, especially Catholic anthropology, with psychology. It's obvious that his Catholic Christian background and upbringing will influence all his theories. It's worthwhile to mention that he was an atheist until his late 30s. Now, he's a devout believer who postulates and propounds his subjective viewpoints through the prism of Catholic Christianity. The gentleman, who's assiduously quoting Vitz to bolster his point on the forum of NAI is himself a pathologically obstinate Muslim who naively thinks, along with his trusted cohorts and acolytes, that Islam is the only true faith that has always existed as Allah's Deen and didn't emerge in the 7th-century! Thanks for enlightening the benighted mankind with your profound theological expertise. Alhamdulillah. I often pity these ideologically fixed and unmoved people who miserably lack flexibility in their views and approaches to truth. It's inherently absent in their books and brains that they could also be wrong at times. Lastly, this 'certifiable imbecile' didn't pick up a random quote to prove his point. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/believers-arrogance/d/132355 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism