You should know something about me: I am a fighter. I get it from my dad. He was a fighter, and he taught his son well. What I mean is, I'm not afraid of challenges, I enjoy competition, and even the blood, sweat, and pain that goes with it. Returning to martial arts training just encourages me to be even more like this.
I enjoy a good fight, especially on the battlefield of ideas. So, there will be times when I do something like pick a fight with PZ Myers. Not because I think I'm "all that," but because I don't believe in any sacred cows - even sexy bearded ones like PZ, and especially not in the atheist community - which means anyone's ideas and arguments are fair game. I don't care who you are.
As I have said, I tend to turn the axe of radical criticism inward. I can (and do) swing the axe at all the other trees in the forest of ideas, but if my own tree can't stand up to critique, then I am failing as a rational thinker. That's why I am as critical of those with whom I agree as I am of those with whom I don't - if not more so.
So I took a few jabs at PZ, and after that I challenged John Loftus in an entry I titled, Atheism is the Beginning of Skepticism. I questioned John's claim that "atheism is a full blown skepticism." I stated my position, which is based on the view Antony Flew held before he became senile a deist; namely, that the rational position when seeking truth is to presuppose atheism until evidence of a god is found. I wrapped up my thoughts on the matter in a follow-up article titled, Atheism is the End of Skepticism, in which I argue that, not only is Flew correct that one should suspend judgment on god(s) - i.e., remain atheistic - until one has reason to believe, but a skeptical mindset should lead an objective thinker to an atheistic worldview (or keep a thinker there, given that objectivity implies Flew's presumption of atheism).
Then along comes popular YouTube atheist Thunderf00t with a video called "Christians say the Dumbest Things" in which he criticizes the shepherd metaphor in Psalm 23. I had a few things to say about that, which I expressed in an article titled Sheep. The focus of that entry was more about how a lot of atheists will side with Thunderf00t simply because he's Thunderf00t, and not because they actually examined what Thunderf00t is saying. A commenter on Reddit told me that my entry "basically just had a lot of fluff and then a dubious warning that atheists shouldn't just blindly follow popular atheists." But then Thunderf00t posts this video:
Here we see Thunderf00t getting his panties in a twist because a bunch of people didn't agree with him about the shepherd metaphor in Psalm 23. He claims atheists shouldn't "divide the house" by criticizing other atheists (especially Thunderf00t). In this video, Thunderf00t says, "when you're having an effect, maybe that's not the smartest time to divide your efforts." Here Thunderf00t is referring directly to those who criticized his "Christians say the Dumbest Things" video. Thunderf00t, having what appears to be delusions of grandeur, chastises those of us who dared to critique his arguments. He thinks he's "having an effect" and we should just shut up and let him speak.
The worst part about this video is that Thunderf00t criticizes freethinkers and skeptics for being freethinkers and skeptics. How dare anyone criticize or disagree with Thunderf00t? Attacking a man as important and influencial as the great and mighty Thunderf00t is causing the house to be divided! You should just be silent and follow along - you know, like sheep. Truth is, rational thinkers are supposed to think critically about any argument they hear, not just the ones that come from people who aren't in the same "house."
I really don't care whether Thunderf00t asks for money. In fact, I'm not bothered if Thunderf00t says something I don't agree with. What bothered me was Thunderfoot's "house divided" argument in which he chastised those who dared to disagree with him publicly. Sorry, but I didn't stop using logic when I became an atheist. If you make a poor argument, I'm going to call you on it. That's what a skeptic does. The "house" will fall when we stop being skeptical.
Atheism is not the end of skepticism. I say this as a play on the title of my article, Atheism is the End of Skepticism. In that article, "end" referred to "outcome" or "result." In today's entry, I'm using "end" to mean "termination" or "conclusion," as in the end of the road. Critical thinking and skeptical inquiry shouldn't stop when one becomes an atheist, nor should an atheist cease to employ reason when critiquing other atheists. There are no sacred cows. Whether you're Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, PZ Myers, John Loftus or the almighty Thunderf00t, one thing remains the same: no one is above reproach.
Dead-Logic.com
[Postscript: PZ Myers ridiculed those who disagreed with him, and Thunderf00t rebuked those who disagreed with him. John Loftus, on the other hand, displayed a tremendous amount of character - at least toward me. I have critiqued John twice on this blog, and the first time I did so, John posted a link to my article on his blog. When I critiqued John more recently, he took the time to visit my blog and post a reasoned response. Thank you John Loftus for being so gracious.]
