Oops! Accommodationism rears its ugly head

Oh dear - it seems that we have confused and upset some folks with this early effort. We have been accused of "accommodationism" - a kow-towing to the religious status quo; an equivalisation of our position of principled atheism with the position of simple theistic "faith". Perhaps some more explanation is in order.

There isn't a god. Jesus wasn't his son. He didn't rise from the dead - those are things that we can be pretty sure about. Yes, you can never be precisely 100% sure about anything, but most atheists feel they are on pretty solid ground there. So we're not relaxing that position any.

Nor are we seeking to open the sort of "debate" between the "two sides" (as if there were only two!) in the spirit of enquiry into the fundamental nature of existence. There are plenty of resources for that, and where we impinge on that arena, we are more than happy to let the big guys slug it out.

No - on this site we are atheists, and we're happy with that. I keep returning to the Windows vs Linux analogy - we are not wanting to install a theistic mental operating system. Many of us have tried that in the past, and it so totally hasn't worked. For reasons as to why that should be the case, you can check out some of the many excellent atheist web resources (let's plug DEBUNKING CHRISTIANITY and COMMON SENSE ATHEISM at this point - they're great).

What we are trying to do is help people who have come to an atheistic understanding of the world, but remain (or indeed *want* to remain) within their churches, doing good, "witnessing" for some of the good values that you *do* find in Christianity (they're humans after all, and most humans aren't all that bad), and who do not want to feel hypocritical or that they are dissembling when they stand up and sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" or some such.

Hence the Christianity Compatibility Layer (CCL). A cognitive module for atheists, to allow them to participate and interact with their Christian friends and family, and to show that "becoming an atheist" need not mean losing your values, what you've worked for, your social circle, your charitable leanings, your joy in life, or EVEN (if you're this way inclined) your church. You can be a force for good, for rationality, for science, for knowledge, and you can show people a new way to interpret the world around them - one that is positive, progressive, liberal, and pays due heed to history, culture, tradition, and the art of the possible.

So, no accommodationism here - at least, not for ideologies. Accommodation for people, and an easy route from theism to atheism, with the option to continue to be a Christian.