The seeds of Intolerance.

"Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." ~ Thomas Paine

If you met me, you would not count me a militant.  I do not enjoy confrontation and I endeavor to listen actively to other people's opinions.  Yet, of late, I have been vexed by a growing impatience with theists.  I think it has been creeping up on me for some time but it hasn't always been that way.  As a scientist (by profession as well as by temperment) I value openmindedness.  It is the lifeblood of my career!  As soon as one closes one's mind to a slate of ideas, one narrows one's options for discovering new things about the way the universe works.  True, one must set some ideas aside as improbable if weight of evidence suggests it, but a good scientist never throws anything away completely.  We are idea hoarders by necessity-they are our building blocks.  In fact, we collect ideas like gems, tucking them away for later use, if the right niche comes along.  We are like puzzle players, turning the pieces this way and that until we find out where they fit.  If they don't fit here, maybe they will fit somewhere else.... so we save them for later.  Good scientists don't let their emotions attach them or detach them from any one piece (or bunch of pieces).  Ideas are GOOD things, right? Or at least neutral?

So, it is with great displeasure that I admit that I have begun to dislike an idea- fundamentalism.  Or, perhaps more honestly, I dislike the intolerance that seems part-and-parcel of fundamentalism.  For some reason that I can not fathom, fundamentalists seem to feel vulnerable to "diluting" the power of their beliefs by exposure to other ideas, yet, they profess that their ideas are truth.  How can this be?  If an idea is true, then it is true and can NOT be diluted.  Ah! but perhap I have been blind again!  Perhaps they fear being hoodwinked and their concern is not that the truth is being diluted but that they, as fallible humans, might be led astray by peddlers of impure ideas.  Ok, so are these the only two options?  Surely there must be other explanations why fundamentalists are intolerant of other belief systems?  How can I find out?  Hmm...

OK, so maybe I can point the microscope toward myself to find out... Some believer friends of mine have called me intolerant of theists, fair enough...  So, what are possible reasons for me being intolerant  1) I can't stand being wrong or changing my mind, 2) I hate know-it-alls (except me, of course) and feel the need to "bring them down a peg", 3) I feel that my principles are correct and I would like to spread the good news, 4) are there any more?  Dear readers let me know if you think I've missed some.

Explorations of the proposed reasons why we (fundamentalists and Atheists) might be intolerant:

1) "I can't stand being wrong or changing my mind":  Well, I suspect this is probably true of most people who invest alot of their time and efforts in something, however, I would put to you, good reader, that scientists base their whole professional contributions on proofs and testing the potential fallability of those proofs.  In fact, it is unusual NOT to be found wrong in some way, shape or form in the doing of science.  It's just the way it all works!  Ours is a cooperative effort to ferret out robust answers to nature's mysteries.  While it is a bit painful to admit to holding on to a theory that gets proven wrong, we all know that this is how progress is made and some of our more gracious members have been known to thank their rivals for elegant counter-proofs. I don't think that is a common practice amongst religious fundamentalists-I wish it were. Now, I can't say that I like being wrong or having to change my ideas, but I do it often as part of my work and I'm not too bad at it.  I challenge my fundamentalist collegues to practice it more often.

2) "I hate know-it-alls (except me, of course... thats a joke...) and feel the need to 'bring them down a peg' ":  Don't we all feel that irritation factor with know-it-alls?  I know my Mom felt it with me, reminding me that "I always had to have the last word"!  Its true that I am like that.  I hate to leave an arguement on the table unresolved, especially if that argument had alot of magical thinking involved in it.  I would LOVE to say that I don't fall prey to this one, but I do.  The presumption of unerring certainty drives me right out of my otherwise moderately rational mind and into full competition mode.  So, given that I admit to this one, is this a viable explanation for why both atheists and fundamentalists are intolerant of others?  Perhaps!  Perhaps each side should ratchet down the "I know the Truth" business.  Perhaps a little bit of moderation in this could help us all.

3) "I feel that my principles are correct and I would like to spread the good news": Ok, I'll admit it, I swiped the "Good News" idea, but I'm trying to make a point here.  In what way am I able to share what I think I understand if I can only exchange ideas with people who already agree with me?  Likewise, how can fundamentalists hope to share their good news with me, if they want me and my kind gone? Surely, there is value in understanding each other.  I'd love to have that goodwill conversation, but fear that posturing (on both sides) will ixnay the whole business.  In this, I am agreeing with Thomas Paine, "Moderation in temper is always a virtue" while also agreeing that "moderation in principle is always a vice".  Let us find truth together through temperance AND reasoned debate.