Two kinds of atheist

There are two kinds of Christian, and there are also two kinds of atheist. The first is the person who is not religious simply because they can’t be bothered. This lazy kind of atheism is not to be admired, but it is to be preferred to irrational theism.

The second kind of atheist is the person who has carefully considered all the issues and seen the patent contradictions, inconsistencies and immorality of religion – and accordingly rejected it.

Within this latter bracket there are many other types, as Richard Dawkins has detailed, but in particular there are two: those who remain quiet and those who speak up. If you care about the world at all, then realize right now that what Christopher Hitchens said is true: there is no “over there” and “over here”. Fascist theocratic states such as Iran are a threat to us all (and even if they were not, we should still be concerned). The time for sitting on the fence is over. Stand up, be counted, and fight for humanism. If you don’t, you are effectively part of the problem.