Man in dress throws a tantrum
Archbishop attacks extreme atheists
The former Archbishop of Canterbury hit out yesterday at extreme atheists who are intolerant of religious views and attempt to deny Christians a voice in public debate.
Where do you begin with a sentance like that? Let’s start with the obvious question: what exactly is an “extreme athiest”?
Does the former Archbishop belive that atheists sit around arguing over who doesn’t believe in God the most? Is – in the Archbishop’s world – a moderate atheist someone who doesn’t believe in God, but only on Sundays?
Or is an “extreme atheist” simply someone who doesn’t automatically and instinctively agree with – or at least support – anything and everything an he happens to say just because he happens to be an Archbishop? In other words, is “extreme atheist” nothing more than a handy phrase for Christians to use when they want to avoid answering the people who are willing to engage them in public debate?
Which brings us rather neatly to the second half of the quoted sentence: “… intolerant of religious views and attempt to deny Christians a voice in public debate.”
I can’t – off the top of my head – think of any athiest who would want to deny Christians – or any other minority group – a voice in public debate. What I – and most atheists that I’m aware of – do object to is the elevating of the Christian – or other minority – viewpoint over and above all others and then ring fencing it as somehow ’sacred’ or ‘what we believe.’
The problem is not atheists, it’s the Christians who don’t like having their assumptions challenged when they do venture into public debate.
Lord Carey of Clifton told an audience at the festival that such fundamentalist atheists are threatening the fabric of society.
Now that sounds like a pretty extreme view to me. I hope he has some research to back it up.
How about this one, from the Journal of Religion and Society which found that… “In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.”
Ah.
(via normblog)
1 comment Tuesday 18 Oct 2005 | Paul | Miscellaneous Musings
What about “submission” then?
How do rationalists, artheists and agnostics deal with he calims of islam?
Because, to them we are all, equally “kuffar” and worthy of death…..