As an atheist I bristled at "I'm like the atheist spokesman" (you can't speak for the a-theist, a-political or a-anything position - that's the point) but since I didn't disagree with his points I'll forgive him this time.
I disagree: I really like the expression "atheist spokesman," because it's a figurative expression
(simile) which doesn't
literally mean that he's the
atheist spokesman (as if there is such an actual position), but instead, it merely gets across his very outspoken nature on the issue, so that he holds a great level of representation, perhaps, with regard to what atheists may find common against theism, given so many other people are much more quiet about the matter. So of course it's ridiculous to actually be a
spokesman for a group of people so unorganized and individualistic, but that's why he said
like the atheist spokesman, which makes a huge difference in overall meaning, so that he's just making a comparison in order to make a point.
I like how he specifically attacks fundy hypocrisy and illogical creationist pseudo-science rather than christianity as a whole. I know there are atheists who dismiss all spirituality as foolish but I'm not one of them and I resent assumptions that all atheists are antitheist. He didn't buy into that one. He just rationally answered the irrational arguments.
While true, I wouldn't necessarily say he's soft on Christianity, or any other religion for that matter. The guy seems to have a very low opinion of religion, and theism, in general. The lyrics do say,
"Belief in gods, we can fix that;
irrational thoughts we get dispatched." To me, this sounds pretty anti-theistic. And yeah, spirituality is much more harmless than actual theism, given it doesn't really lead to organized belief, but merely personal opinion/feelings. Theism largely comes with many "self-evident truths" type notions which faith just masks, so that there's much more reason for us intellects to want to oppose that crap. So perhaps you have a point on spirituality. He clearly does seem to focus exactly on the arguments put forward against non-belief, and/or
for theism.
I like that he used rap to do it. I think this would be a new theme for rap audiences (disclaimer - I'm not a rap fan so I'm probably ignorant of its common themes).
Indeed. Many people seem to enjoy the notion of incorporating the theistic debate to the rap genre, and I do think it could very well be a new theme on the rise. Overall, I agree with you and definitely enjoy the fact that he skillfully used rapping to express his views on the issue.
I didn't like "agnostics people been playin the fence" but I'm just about ready to give up on that argument. He's using the old atheist-agnostic-theist continuum that takes agnostic to mean undecided. This is incorrect.
Or at least, it
was incorrect. The trouble with language as a living thing is that once incorrect usage becomes so common that the incorrect meaning is commonly understood, it's not incorrect anymore. Dammit. True agnosticism now needs a new name so I can call myself an
agnostic atheist without being misunderstood.
Indeed. Agnosticism is an epistemic position which has nothing to do with belief/judgment. Thus, most atheists are actually agnostics, and most agnostics are actually atheists, which means most irreligious people are actually
agnostic atheists. But there still seems to be a difference between actual
50/50 agnostics (or "on the fence," undecided people who suspend belief), as they are called, and those of us who actually
take a stance on the issue, holding that perhaps it seems less likely, or implausible, that there's actually a God, or any deities, for that matter.
The only way I can really distinguish between these types of stances is to call one "50/50 agnosticism," and the other "De Facto Atheism," according to Richard Dawkin's system. But it really would be nice to actually get some official terms for these positions.
. Guess I just don't enjoy rap music.