You make it sound like the Freedom from Atheism Foundation is starting a fight. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fight began way, way back in 1789 when the atheists threw the first punch - slaughtering tens of thousands of Catholics in France for the crime of being Catholic. Seeing how successful that was, the next round of atheistic regimes simply stepped on the gas, and instead of tens of thousands, we had tens of millions of victims. Don't just pass over that last sentence without thinking about it - tens of millions.
If Dawkins, et.al. get their wish and seize the reins of power, how high will the next total reach? A billion? More? Maybe while they're at it, they'll sell the body parts for profit? Perhaps discuss prices while crunching on salad?
So, far from being "another side to take", the sides were declared long ago - by the other guys, whether we liked it or not. It's long past time for believers to stop silently marching into the camps. I think websites like the one Victor linked to can perform a valuable service.
I meant that it exacerbates the conflict rather than ameliorating it. Here in the UK we went through thirty years of strife in Northern Ireland because trust between two groups evaporated. The conflict came to an end only after trust was painstakingly rebuilt. Regarding the conflict between religious groups and post 2001 militant atheism, my guess is that the new digital media have produced a strong polarising effect. But I see no actors in that medium trying to rebuild trust.
I think we have to look to people on the atheist side who don't want to turn it into a culture war and take the existence of a community in which vigorous debate can occur to be genuinely important. Atheists are, on my view, not all of a piece, and should not be treated as such.
5 comments:
I love it !!!
Understandable but depressing. Confrontation not engagement. Another team to join, another side to take. But understandable.
David,
You make it sound like the Freedom from Atheism Foundation is starting a fight. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fight began way, way back in 1789 when the atheists threw the first punch - slaughtering tens of thousands of Catholics in France for the crime of being Catholic. Seeing how successful that was, the next round of atheistic regimes simply stepped on the gas, and instead of tens of thousands, we had tens of millions of victims. Don't just pass over that last sentence without thinking about it - tens of millions.
If Dawkins, et.al. get their wish and seize the reins of power, how high will the next total reach? A billion? More? Maybe while they're at it, they'll sell the body parts for profit? Perhaps discuss prices while crunching on salad?
So, far from being "another side to take", the sides were declared long ago - by the other guys, whether we liked it or not. It's long past time for believers to stop silently marching into the camps. I think websites like the one Victor linked to can perform a valuable service.
Truth - it's the new hate speech.
I meant that it exacerbates the conflict rather than ameliorating it. Here in the UK we went through thirty years of strife in Northern Ireland because trust between two groups evaporated. The conflict came to an end only after trust was painstakingly rebuilt. Regarding the conflict between religious groups and post 2001 militant atheism, my guess is that the new digital media have produced a strong polarising effect. But I see no actors in that medium trying to rebuild trust.
I think we have to look to people on the atheist side who don't want to turn it into a culture war and take the existence of a community in which vigorous debate can occur to be genuinely important. Atheists are, on my view, not all of a piece, and should not be treated as such.
Post a Comment