Letters to the Editor
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More thoughts about future of religion
I offer my apologies as a Christian to those athiests who have been offended by zealous Bible-thumpers. But in all fairness, those kind of people annoy everyone who doesn't agree to attend their Six Flags Over Jesus mega-church or Assembly of Rattlesnake Handlers. Yes, believe it or not even fellow Christians are condemned for not being from the right sect. Which I think goes hand in hand with Harvey's point - fundamentalists are a thorn in the side of every moderate, rational person. Condemning religion by attacking the loose cannons is as ethically unfair as condemning all Muslims for 9-11.
I also wanted to point out my optimism that religion can adapt to serve the needs of people in the 21st Century. I think there's something important in having a public organization where people can express their spiritual feelings (at least for those who want to do so). Maybe my time in Japan has influenced my beliefs, but I also see the utility in keeping the tradition and culture passed down through religious ceremonies. My Japanese friends certainly didn't believe in actual Shinto gods, but they found cultural value and a sense of community in practicing Shinto ceremonies at various times of the year.
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Barry Lynn
I just want to give credit to Barry Lynn who is a devout Christian (a minister, I believe) and also the head of People United for the Separation of Church and State. He takes on the whacky fundamentalists frequently on television and we need more like him.
Oh, I agree. The sad thing is this guy is so notable because he's such a rare presence in our society. In spite of the fact that over 90% of the population of the US describes itself as religious, and that supposedly "most religious people" think the fundies are "quacks", guys like Lynn are about as rare as snow in Phoenix.
You religious moderates do realize the fundies will come after you next, don't you?
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Shite happens mate
Yeah yeah, Chris Hitchens like the universe just happened.
So what's new, another way-over-educated cynical Brit giving the finger to the almighty. What else can a poor boy do when your peoples history of conquest and empire evaporated after WWII but flip god the bird. Pretty soon like the residents in Mayfair who just had the US Embassy kicked out of Grosvenor Square (Scarlet Begonias, Jerry?), Chris Hitchens will give the finger to every American, except he's been over here so long he's doing it one Yank at a time. He's been here so long, milking our Anglophilia, it's a wonder even his American "friends" don't see through his intellectual ruse.
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Bad analogy
Condemning religion by attacking the loose cannons is as ethically unfair as condemning all Muslims for 9-11.
That's a really poor analogy. 9-11 was a single event. It would be unfair to blame all members of a group for a single act of outrage committed by a bunch of loons. But we aren't talking about a single act here - we're talking about a decades-long pattern of abuse which has not been effectively contested by the supposed majority of religious moderates here in the US.
Fundamentalists of all stripes have been striving for decades to deny broad swaths of our population their Constitutional rights. We aren't talking one single event here - we're talking tens of thousands at the local, state and federal levels, over decades. And that's just looking at the government. I won't even mention the kind of abuse religious bigots subject our schoolchildren to, or the kind of prejudice which takes place in the private sector.
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Sorry I missed all the fun!
I was out of town for the week when this article first got posted.
However, I'm heartened to see another voice added to the chior of disbelievers. Outstanding. Keep up the confidence, guys!
Also, I must give props to the various disbelievers who've manned the trenches here in the letters section (Jhillr64 and others).
To address the review itself, Mr. Harvey is fishing too far downstream when he says "what led humans to create gods was not simply fear but a desire to harness and account for those sustaining moments when we receive our lives most abundantly."
Wrong! Humans created gods to control other humans. That different states of conciousness exist, leading us "recieve our lives most abundantly" is not in the least bit surprising. What is amazing is that every human society has lacked the courage to KEEP it's lazier members from taking those transcendental moments and yoking them to a world of fear and insecurity and using it all as a path to power.
It is a very sad failure on our part.
Further, Mr. Harvey states "Man cannot live on reason alone, and for those who are unable to find in literature the sustenance for mind and soul of which Hitchens speaks, religion will continue to give existence purpose and meaning."
Give it time, Harvey, give it time. With each book demolishing superstition written, each tirade against it spoken, more and more people are learning that, good or bad, you can pretty much pick your own "purpose and meaning" if you just have to have it.
Over and over this is what we see reflected in the letters section. "My god wouldn't-" "My spirituality-" "My beliefs-" Each of these is another chink in the armor of organized superstition- which let me assure you- tells you EXACTLY WHAT YOUR GOD IS, AND YOUR BELIEFS SHOULD BE.
Lastly, Harvey sounds almost like he feels sorry for the fundamentalists hammered by Hitchens in his book. Puh-leez. Fundamental religious belief is a huge, real, and viral threat to every society on this planet. It is one of the worthiest of foes.
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aikimoe,
The point is, both sources provided anectdotal evidence with no concrete facts. You might think I'm stubbornly refusing to face the truth, but I'm not. I really have no stake in whether Mother Theresa was a saintly woman or not. If she was, great; if she wasn't, it really doesn't have an impact on what I think about religious people in general (same as you). I'm simply not convinced by the evidence.