Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Definition: Evag (e - vaag') n.
I've been flirting around the notion of giving evag a formal defintion for a while now, and since there is not too much noteworthy in the news this very second - (Mumia Abu Jamal gave a heart touching eulogy for Octavia Butler, and some dumbasses in America are still twitching every time their masters mention gays attacking marriage) - I thought I'd try to lay down some framework. Any comments helping to refine the notion are, like, totally welcome.
My first point would be that not every theist be an evag. Although, strictcly speaking, as an atheist I should be opposed to all notions of a diety, in practice I'm not such a hard-liner. For a fairly large percentage of theists, their sytem of belief is a source of insight and inner strength. Their faith does not make them inaccessible to reason, and often they are involved in some of the 'good works' that too many of the secular society seems to never get around to. The type of folks who look at the world and want to make the same criticisms I want to make, who want to make the same changes to society that I'd like to make. We may disagree about what empowers us to make these criticisms and make these changes, but we quickly choose to put aside any arguements regarding dogma until we have saved the world.
Enough, I will not define an evag by who they are not.
Evags are fundamentalists. I hate, pity, and oppose all fundamentalists. There have been times in human history where it was 'us or them', 'win or die' time. Perhaps for some groups that time is still ongoing - in America that time is more or less over. With freedom of speech and the press, we now have the opportunity to resolve differences in a much more reasonable manner. Fundamentalists are intolerant of this. They want to believe that the world is black and white, that I am wrong and they are right.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Fundamentalism as: 1. a Protestant movement characterized by a belief in the literal truth of the Bible. 2. a movement or point of view characterized by a rigid adherence to fundamental or basic principles.
I know there are Islamic Fundamentalists out there too, and I don't like those wankers either, but I'm going to focus on the christian ones, since there are mainly the ones I'm going to encounter and one needs to focus on the problems in one's own country, not in countries on the other side of the globe. At least in this instance.
A second characteristic of the evag is their misogyny. Most evags like to pretend they put women up on a pedestal, but when you look past the b.s. it is all about control and security. <>
Finally, when I think about evags I think political ignorance. If I could find a more offensive word to describe how little they understand about how history has played out in the last few hundred years (without entering a new vulgarometer level) I would. Evags have been none to utter, 'but, the President of the United States (except for that secular hedonist liberal Clinton) would never lie to the American people!. They are also prone to take their views from religious leaders who spoon feed them their political information. They have absolutely no structures in their lives that help to protect them from propaganda and slanted reporting. Since they never trust anyone who does not preface their reporting with a personal story of how Jesus has changed their lives, they insure that the views of dissedents and third parties never enter into their 'beautiful minds.'
work in progress, what else do I need to add?
My first point would be that not every theist be an evag. Although, strictcly speaking, as an atheist I should be opposed to all notions of a diety, in practice I'm not such a hard-liner. For a fairly large percentage of theists, their sytem of belief is a source of insight and inner strength. Their faith does not make them inaccessible to reason, and often they are involved in some of the 'good works' that too many of the secular society seems to never get around to. The type of folks who look at the world and want to make the same criticisms I want to make, who want to make the same changes to society that I'd like to make. We may disagree about what empowers us to make these criticisms and make these changes, but we quickly choose to put aside any arguements regarding dogma until we have saved the world.
Enough, I will not define an evag by who they are not.
Evags are fundamentalists. I hate, pity, and oppose all fundamentalists. There have been times in human history where it was 'us or them', 'win or die' time. Perhaps for some groups that time is still ongoing - in America that time is more or less over. With freedom of speech and the press, we now have the opportunity to resolve differences in a much more reasonable manner. Fundamentalists are intolerant of this. They want to believe that the world is black and white, that I am wrong and they are right.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Fundamentalism as: 1. a Protestant movement characterized by a belief in the literal truth of the Bible. 2. a movement or point of view characterized by a rigid adherence to fundamental or basic principles.
I know there are Islamic Fundamentalists out there too, and I don't like those wankers either, but I'm going to focus on the christian ones, since there are mainly the ones I'm going to encounter and one needs to focus on the problems in one's own country, not in countries on the other side of the globe. At least in this instance.
A second characteristic of the evag is their misogyny. Most evags like to pretend they put women up on a pedestal, but when you look past the b.s. it is all about control and security. <
Finally, when I think about evags I think political ignorance. If I could find a more offensive word to describe how little they understand about how history has played out in the last few hundred years (without entering a new vulgarometer level) I would. Evags have been none to utter, 'but, the President of the United States (except for that secular hedonist liberal Clinton) would never lie to the American people!. They are also prone to take their views from religious leaders who spoon feed them their political information. They have absolutely no structures in their lives that help to protect them from propaganda and slanted reporting. Since they never trust anyone who does not preface their reporting with a personal story of how Jesus has changed their lives, they insure that the views of dissedents and third parties never enter into their 'beautiful minds.'
work in progress, what else do I need to add?
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I'm gonna have to use that in a sentence ten or twelve times today. I'll help spread the word. So to speak.
even as small as west, texas is we have our share of nut cases..well, nut cases besides me..i rank number one in their eyes..my library has to get what ever books i want as i check out more books than anyone in the town...and i get her to buy all the bush bashing books, every liberal book ever printed, and every book on paganism, anti-religion etc...she is a catholic...a real catholic..a true believer...goes to church 2 times a week, has communion, the whole 9 yards...and every time i order the lastest book on the templars, or goddess's..she gets a twitch in her left eye....i live for that twitch..my joys are few...but then dealing with a town full of catholic czech's..i get my joy where i can..
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