So, how does someone improperly disbelieve in something?
Here's the thing. An atheist is someone who simply doesn't believe in some kind of otherworldly, supernatural entity. That's it. If you don't believe in a single all-powerful god, many gods, minor deities, ancestor worship, anthropomorphised anything, ghosts, fairies, doppelgangers, or honest politicians then congratulations! You're an atheist.
You might be thinking "Well, that seems simple enough!". It's true. Being an atheist is amazingly simple. Don't believe in God... Yet, the overwhelming majority of atheists make it incredibly difficult on themselves. People new to atheism, especially, fall into this trap. I find this to be especially true in social media. Somehow, people become convinced that to be an atheist they must believe certain things, take up certain philosophies, advocate for the approved issues, and prescribe to whatever the current trendy thing in atheism happens to be. In short, to be a "good" atheist you must become one of the mob. It should be no surprise that virtually all atheists who frequent social media are politically left of Lenin.
Those who come to atheism after rejecting religion are especially susceptible to the mob mentality of atheism. They are unsure of how not having an imaginary friend will affect their lives and personal relationships. So, they often seek guidance and find the mob eager to help them transition from one religion to another. Make no mistake! Atheist forums and social media platforms are as rhetoric laced and dogmatic as any religion. Modern atheism is also just as nonsensical as any religion, but I'll explore some examples of that in future posts. Seeking guidance on how to live your life on an atheist forum is literally no different than seeking guidance in religion. One or two people will offer their "sage" advice while the congregation shouts "AMEN!" and thus, the lesson endeth.
However, people are creatures of habit. Abandoning an environment in which you're told how to think and act leaves a void that many people cannot function without. Having been told how to be a good Christian all their lives, they seek guidance on how to be something else. The mob knows this and they are happy to fill that void so you will know what's expected of you. They don't do it so you'll reject their beliefs. They want to convert you just as surely as the Bible thumpers who knock on your door to tell about their personal savior.
Although I have no hard evidence for it, I firmly believe that people who seek out the advice of others are not actually looking for approval and acceptance. I suspect they are, in fact, trying to avoid the personal responsibility of making their own decisions. Mobs are good at helping people avoid personal responsibility.
The point today is that just because you have rejected the supernatural as an explanation for everything does not mean that everything else you believe in is wrong. Granted, for some people God explains everything, but I'd like to believe that formerly religious folks who have valid reasons for the things they believe in other than it's scriptural context. It seems only natural that in the process of scrutinizing the Almighty Invisible Dude that they would also investigate things they came to believe because of scriptural lessons they have been told to believe in. No one goes from fundamentalism to atheism without thinking about what they've come to believe about a LOT of issues. Therefore a rejection of one particular belief does not necessarily require the rejection of others.
Example: Just because you quit the Catholic Church does not mean that you must immediately believe that abortion is a good moral choice. There are as many reasons to believe that abortion on demand is bad for society as there are reasons to support it. God and the Pope need not factor into a well reasoned argument against abortion on demand.
This seems to confuse the atheist mob. When you encounter the mob on atheist forums or facebook groups there is a serious lack of understanding about what exactly is going on. The mob wants you to believe what they believe, express yourself how the mob expresses itself, and re-educate you so you can become indistinguishable from anyone else in the mob. Like any church congregation, the mob wants you to believe what they believe, act how they act, and think how they think. It is very difficult for most atheists to distinguish between the religions of gods and the religion of social media atheists.
If your belief that God does not exist causes you to trade one mob rule for another, then you're probably not doing it right...
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