A headline on the internet news caught my eye: ANGRY ATHEISTS ARE HOT AUTHORS. I told you there was a movement under foot!
I called these guys “Aggressive Secularists” but many are calling them “Militant Atheists”. These are the writers that I started reading. They include:
Christopher Hitchens: God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Sam Harris: The End of Faith & Letter to a Christian Nation
Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion
Daniel Dennett: Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
I will have more to say about these books as I finish reading each one but as I mentioned in my previous blogs, I am intrigued by this new anti-religion phenomenon and what is it trying to achieve.
Even in the secular community, which is small (2% of Americans consider themselves non-believers and only 14% call themselves secular) some are calling for calm and that a “war” on religion will not be prudent.
I think what they are saying is that a war of this nature cannot be won (people are set in their beliefs period) and that our efforts should be aimed at preventing religion from controlling our lives (political).
Well that is all very good but as you have noticed, religion is being crammed down our throats whether you like it or not and our government is doing the cramming; so much for the Constitution!
You only have a number of ways to protect yourself from religious influence; fight it in the courts using the “Separation of Church and State” Constitutional argument which is being done by organizations like “Americans United for Separation of Church and State” run by Barry W. Lynn an ordained United Church of Christ minister or seek converts in the ranks of people that are not happy with their religious belief system.
To sway people that are having doubts about their belief system you have to show them the error of their ways in a logical and well reasoned fashion which the above mentioned authors and their books are attempting to do.
I have often mentioned that I feel these religious people will need a replacement for their beliefs and telling them to just be atheists is not going to work; they need something else. Some of these authors address this concern of mine by writing chapters titled “It’s OK to be an Atheist”. Why can’t you be an “Agnostic”? They say it is just “fence sitting”! Well I will tell you if I am convinced after reading some of this stuff.
The fact that these books are hot sellers is very telling; something is going on. I think Bush’s religious push despite the Constitution, Congress being influenced by radical right-wing Christianity and the damage done by the Muslim extremists has people questioning this whole religion thing; is it good or bad for us.
Let us see where this whole phenomenon goes!
I called these guys “Aggressive Secularists” but many are calling them “Militant Atheists”. These are the writers that I started reading. They include:
Christopher Hitchens: God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Sam Harris: The End of Faith & Letter to a Christian Nation
Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion
Daniel Dennett: Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
I will have more to say about these books as I finish reading each one but as I mentioned in my previous blogs, I am intrigued by this new anti-religion phenomenon and what is it trying to achieve.
Even in the secular community, which is small (2% of Americans consider themselves non-believers and only 14% call themselves secular) some are calling for calm and that a “war” on religion will not be prudent.
I think what they are saying is that a war of this nature cannot be won (people are set in their beliefs period) and that our efforts should be aimed at preventing religion from controlling our lives (political).
Well that is all very good but as you have noticed, religion is being crammed down our throats whether you like it or not and our government is doing the cramming; so much for the Constitution!
You only have a number of ways to protect yourself from religious influence; fight it in the courts using the “Separation of Church and State” Constitutional argument which is being done by organizations like “Americans United for Separation of Church and State” run by Barry W. Lynn an ordained United Church of Christ minister or seek converts in the ranks of people that are not happy with their religious belief system.
To sway people that are having doubts about their belief system you have to show them the error of their ways in a logical and well reasoned fashion which the above mentioned authors and their books are attempting to do.
I have often mentioned that I feel these religious people will need a replacement for their beliefs and telling them to just be atheists is not going to work; they need something else. Some of these authors address this concern of mine by writing chapters titled “It’s OK to be an Atheist”. Why can’t you be an “Agnostic”? They say it is just “fence sitting”! Well I will tell you if I am convinced after reading some of this stuff.
The fact that these books are hot sellers is very telling; something is going on. I think Bush’s religious push despite the Constitution, Congress being influenced by radical right-wing Christianity and the damage done by the Muslim extremists has people questioning this whole religion thing; is it good or bad for us.
Let us see where this whole phenomenon goes!
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