Today's Atheist Meme of the Day. Pass this on; or don't; or edit it as you see fit; or make up your own. Enjoy!
When atheists argue against beliefs that aren't yours, that doesn't mean we're arguing against straw men. There are thousands of kinds of religious belief, and sometimes atheists argue against particular ones rather than religion in general -- even if they're not yours. Besides, we may have argued against your beliefs elsewhere. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.
To which I always add, "And if you refuse to tell me with any precision what your personal belief actually is, you don't have the right to complain that I'm misrepresenting it."
Posted by: Jack Rawlinson | July 29, 2010 at 03:47 AM
Too bloody right, Jack. I am getting particularly sick of that one.
Posted by: Nurse Ingrid | July 29, 2010 at 02:06 PM
Yes, thank you! I've seen this said so many times as an argument against atheists who are trying to debunk a particular aspect of more fundamentalist religions (e.g. creationism), as if an atheist addressing beliefs that aren't your own is playing some underhanded trick.
Posted by: Ian | July 29, 2010 at 08:51 PM