Anti-theism @ MindSay 
anti-theism, i think is more radical than atheism. one can be an atheist and that's the end of it: you just don't believe in god. but if you're an anti-theist, you can believe in that god, but still hate that god (sort of the position that Satan took)
i believe that the existence/non-existence of god is not an issue at all. the question of suffering to me is the most important: if god is good and he is capable of doing anything, then how come the world is in such a terrible state? I have just recently come upon this idea of anti-theism and so am trying to understand more about it.
anti-theism i think is also compatible with buddhism, in that the question of suffering remains paramount. one can believe in a god but still hate that god to the depths of one's being, i think that's what anti-theism is about. when i entered high school, i identified myself as an atheist, but somehow in my later years, when i entered college, i started to read about buddhism and was fascinated by the similarities i found.
buddhism is one of the most compassionate and rational belief systems i know for it actually encourages people to doubt, doubt everything, doubt the traditions, doubt even the teachings of the masters, it teaches you to find out things for yourself and not simply to float around listening and believing mindlessly. unlike the great monotheistic religions where there is only one huge solid chunk of truth to be swallowed whole. but most importantly it teaches you to be aware of suffering.
my roommate, a very devout protestant who holds weekly bible readings, and i once had this intense conversation regarding belief in christ. he said that human beings are fallen and that the only way that we can connect with God once more is to have faith in Christ, for he serves as that bridge between God and man. Our First Parents sinned, and so Jesus Christ sacrificed himself that we may be saved, and that for us to be worthy of that salvation, all that we had to do is to believe in him. my objection against believing in Christ is that it is too simplistic. And also, if it was my sin which I inherited from my first parents, why can't I be responsible and atone for that Sin myself? Why did Christ suddenly show up and took it upon himself to save us all. Isn't it a little bit too presumptuous and self-righteous? Why did he not consult me first whether i want for him to carry my burden or not? And so now that he has done this (without prior consultation and approval), we are expected to be grateful and to believe in him?
I notice that when an atheist enters a Christian chat room or if an atheist saw a Christian enter an atheist’s forum, all hell breaks loose and feathers fly. I never really see arguments against the theistic belief, just insult thrown to each other. Well, it is quite entertaining sometimes, yet it’s really counter-productive. Even here in Manila, most of those who profess to be atheists are enjoying themselves affronting Christians about their god belief. I don’t see this as a debate; I see it as plain rudeness.
I conclude there are those who call themselves as “atheist” are not really atheists. These people thought that atheism is a privilege to insult God and the God-fearing Christians. Atheism is not that low. But I can’t even label these gooks as anti-theists. Hmmmm…is there really a difference between the two?
Just like the word non-theistic, anti-theistic also doesn’t necessary mean atheistic. A Non-Theist is a person who doesn’t believe in the theistic definition of a god.
Sounds complicated? Well…not exactly. You see men defines god differently, and so not all definition of a god is under a theistic sense. A theistic god or classical theism as it is also know, believe in a god as a being, very anthropomorphic and has all the omni-powers in the universe. This god is supposed to have a say to all human morality.
Non-theistic god beliefs are those who use the word “god” as a metaphor. Maybe they just can’t think of a better word? I sometimes wonder how you can believe in a god without all those omni things clinging on it. What’s the satisfaction on worshipping something like…let say the Universe or Nature? Maybe these gods are not really into worshipping. I don’t know.
Well back to anti-theism. Most dimwits call atheists as god haters (thanks to these numbskulls who say an atheist is a god hater). How can you hate something that doesn’t exist? Hmmm…maybe we should expand this a little. The best thing to say is “Some atheists are anti-theists but not all anti-theists are atheists.”
Atheism is different from anti-theism. Anti-theists rail against the idea of a certain god or gods. An anti-theist doesn’t disagree with all gods. He/She may criticize the idea of calling a certain god “A God”. You see, most anti-theists have read different “sacred books” (like the Bible for example) and compares them with other sacred literature. Some may find the god or gods written on some of these holy books as an offensive fiend not fit to be worshipped compare to other gods in other religious belief. For them, it’s just a waste of resources or even lives to offer to such a brute as describe by some holy books. For example, some anti-theist may say that the Judeo-Christian god is a cruel, vindictive, often jealous deity not fit of worship compare to a more passionate, loving Bhrama or Krishna.
But anti-theism is not plane hate. There are reasons for the extreme dislike on a certain god-hypothesis. Here in the Philippines, most atheists that I met have some degree of anti-theism in them in connection with the Christian or Islamic deity. But that doesn’t mean they believe in god and hate him (POOF! the idea that “there are no real atheist”). It’s not god, who they don’t like, but the idea and the organization that promotes the idea.
Now what does we can consider as plane hate? In most chat room that I entered, I notice some “non-believers” enter certain Christian chat rooms just to insult and make fun of the Christian belief. Frankly I don’t agree with this because it gives atheism a bad rap.
Anti-theism is really much like a protest. Like those rallies you see in Liwasang Bonifacio and Mendiola. Observe those rallies and you will notice that even if they’re trying to slur the government, well, they never forget to throw in the issues. You’ll never see a rally where they just hold a streamer that says “Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has a big nose!” or that a certain government official is bald.
Entering Christian chat rooms or forums just to fling rudeness are not a work of respected atheists, or anti-theists. Pejorative will never answer issues nor will it be a good way to open discussions. We are there to expose the delusion, and not to become delusional ourselves.
Pinoy Atheist
