When I saw this graphic on an Internet atheism community, I wasn’t sure why I saved it for Frank’s Cottage. Then I looked up the definition of “dogma”.
According to Wikipedia, dogma is “a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology or belief system, and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system’s paradigm, or the ideology itself.”
Hmm. Where does this apply? The more I thought about it, the more I realized: where DOESN’T it apply?
Every person on this planet follows some kind of “principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.”
Evidence?
- Business tycoons like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are died-in-the-wool capitalists. They believe in and follow capitalist dogma and won’t have anything to do with any other economic system.
- Remember communism? Some of its most famous practitioners — China’s Mao Tse Tung and Russia’s Vladimir Lenin — believed in and followed communist dogma their entire lives. They refused to have anything to do with democracy.
What about atheists? Based on my many, many interactions with them, most appear to follow dogma laid down by atheist authors Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) and Richard Dawkins.
These three routinely advance the position that there is absolutely nothing good about “religion” (I agree, and here’s why: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-i9) and that believing in a supreme creator is primitive superstition and harmful to humanity.
In the atheist Internet communities I often visit, these viewpoints are treated as dogma. In these communities, I never see posts that contradict these positions.
So, dogma applies to all of us. That leaves the question: which dogma do YOU follow? In your heart of hearts, do you believe that it’s all about having a comfortable, happy life now and never mind what comes after? Do you believe that when you die, all that you are will become nothing more than rancid worm food?
Do the dogmas I just mentioned leave you feeling cold and, perhaps, even a bit hopeless? Are you ready to re-examine them, despite the pressures of your friends, loved ones and our culture as a whole?
Then consider the claims of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. Consider His astonishing, challenging wisdom. His miracles. His death – which wipes out ALL the wrongs committed by people who follow Him – and resurrection.
Talk to knowledgeable people about Him. If you don’t know any, then email me at fdking@hotmail.com and I’ll do my best to help. No matter what our culture insists, figuring out what dogma YOU follow is important stuff.
Frank's Cottage 
The claims of Christianity have no supportive evidence to back them.
Yes, such claim can be very persuasive arguments that some may agree with,
But this is simply an argument. This is not evidence.
And when counter-arguments can produce evidence that Christian claims are not only fallacious but can also cause harm, then such arguments need to be discarded for what they truly are: fabrications based upon falsehood.
Thank you for so starkly illustrating an important part of atheist dogma: no matter how insignificant it might be, never, EVER concede a single point to any person of faith. Such a blindly dogmatic worldview saddens me deeply. 😦
The claims of Atheism have no supportive evidence to back them.
Yes, such claim can make very persuasive arguments that some may agree with, but this is simply an argument. This is not evidence.
And when counter-arguments can produce evidence that Atheistic claims are not only fallacious but can also cause harm, then such arguments need to be discarded for what they truly are: fabrications based upon falsehood.