http://www.focusmagazine.org/Articles/bornatheists.htm
from above link:
"Born Atheists?
Doy Moyer
William Edelen, a former professor of religious studies and anthropology, wrote a commentary article in a Palm Springs, California newspaper under the title, "We’re all born atheists and brainwashed to believe." In the article, he argues that if we were really "born again," then we would all return to atheism because "that is the way we were born the first time around." He says that every baby born into this world has no belief in "god, goddesses, Jesus, Buddha, Lao-Tzu, Shiva or anything else until such time as we brainwash, indoctrinate, threaten or coerce them into some adult belief system, the same one usually that we were brainwashed into as children." He continues:
"Through acculturation, we become something other than what we were at birth. That is the definition of atheism. The only reason that you are a Christian is because you were born in America."
He continues throughout the article in a similar vein, charging that "religious belief systems are only an accident of birth." He thinks that the "Christian myth" will soon die out, and concludes: "The resurrection of a free human spirit from this dying monolith will turn out to be one of the most significant events in the history of civilization. Like the Phoenix, the spiritually free will rise alive from the ashes."
Mr. Edelen has a few problems with his own "belief system." Setting aside his misconception about being "born again" (i.e., not a return to what we were but an entrance into an entirely new life), I challenge his concept of atheism.
Atheism is not so passive as Mr. Edelen tries to make it sound. Atheism is not having no belief at all; atheism is an active belief that there is no God. Babies are not atheists; they are just ignorant. They have no beliefs in anything whatsoever because they have not developed the capacity to think and reason. If Mr. Edelen’s article says much at all, it’s consequence is that a return to atheism is a return to ignorance, since that’s what babies really are. I don’t think he would want to accept that conclusion. But it’s only logical.
From what he says, atheism is becoming something other than what we were at birth through acculturation. Huh? Again, what we are at birth is ignorant. Now I wonder if
Mr. Edelen teaches anyone that there is no God. If so, is he also guilty of the acculturation, brainwashing, indoctrination, or coercion with which he charges everyone else who believes in something?
He argues that the "only reason" anyone is a Christian is because of this acculturation. Children come to believe in whatever their parents teach them. But if Mr. Edelen is correct in the idea that there is no God, then would he not have to admit that there was a time when someone, somewhere first believed in God without being taught it by parents? If so, what was the "only reason" that this person became a theist? And I doubt he or she was born in America.
It’s also very poor scholarship to suggest that the "only reason" anyone is a Christian is due to being "born in America." That’s not a very scientific statement. Now I would agree that many people are what they are religiously because they have been "born" into a family with this religion. But to suggest that this is true of everyone? I don’t think I’d have to travel very far to find someone who can disprove that. I
wonder if he would appreciate the statement that the "only reason" he or anyone else is an atheist is because they have been indoctrinated by atheists who tell them that smart people are atheists.
There is a subtle suggestion that Christians have no real minds of their own; they have blind faith and no evidence to back up their beliefs. That’s another article, though. It’s interesting that he accepts things that supposedly happened 150,000 years ago, even though there are no documents, eyewitnesses, or anything else to back it all up, but then calls something a "myth" that has plenty of historical evidences, including eyewitnesses and early documents. What was that proverb about the legs of the lame? By the way, I wonder if he would call macroevolutionary theory a myth? Think there’s any "brainwashing" going on there?
Mr. Edelen would probably not admit it, but atheists also have a religious belief system. It’s called secular humanism. Atheists deny it’s a religion, but then watch them turn around and defend it with ardor and zeal, trying to "evangelize" people into believing that there is no God. That’s what his article is doing. He’ll avoid religious-sounding terms (e.g., "think" instead of "believe"), but this is just playing around with words to avoid the undeniable consequences. The god of atheism is just materialistic instead of spiritual.
In the end, Mr. Edelen’s article is an attempt to coerce people into believing there is no God; after all, only brainwashed people believe in God. I guess we just don’t get it, do we? Shouldn’t we have figured out by now that only intelligent people are atheists while everyone else is brainwashed and enslaved? I guess he’s enlightened.
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse ... Professing to be wise, they became fools"
I don't agree with all this but it does relate to our chat, babies are ignorant in believing or not believing. Meanwhile where can you go in the world where they have no belief in a divine power of some sort? Where do these people reside? Even tribal peoples untouched by civilisation have a belief system...where did it come from...who indoctrinated them?
