Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
"'Militant secularism' makes as much logical sense as 'aggressive pacifism' or 'hardline tolerance'; it is an oxymoron, a cynical attempt to paint equality and fairness as infringing upon the religious"
"My goal is to see the elimination of institutionalized religion, especially those religions that are based on some supposedly holy text or whose members follow leaders who claim special knowledge of divine intentions." Here's why
Short review of de Botton book. Atheists have no reason to be hostile to religion. "It is only the illiteracy of the current generation of atheists that leads them to think religious practitioners must be stupid or thoughtless"
Fascinating investigation into discrimination, isolation of atheists in the US. “I’d rather have a big ‘L’ or ‘lesbian’ written across my shirt than a big ‘A’ or ‘atheist’, because people are going to handle it better”
"After God's recent execution at the hands of the New Atheists, a number of thinkers are asking again whether, even in his absence, we need religion regardless." Enjoyable review of three new books from Flood, Rosenberg, de Botton
Tirade against Alain de Botton and others who claim to be atheists, but applaud religion as a force for good in society. "They hijack other people's beliefs, empty them of content and redeploy them in the name of moral order"
Anglican gets engaged to atheist. Confesses belief to fiancée's friends. "I may as well have said, 'Hi, my name's Dominic, and I'm a polygamist.'" To explain appeal of religion drags fiancée to a christening. It doesn't go well
Enjoyable review of "The Terror of God", by Islamic scholar Navid Kermani. Uses neglected work of Persian poet Faridoddin Attar to chart a long tradition of angry piety - of dissing God - across Judaism, Islam and Christianity
Fascinating essay debunks common myths about Nazis. Detailed, careful research concludes: "The Nazi ideology was theistic and religious and an offshoot of Christianity, merging Christianity with Nazi racial theory"
"'No man is an island,' reckons Donne, but he was never an atheist in Afghanistan during prayer." Writer explains in a dignified, poignant post how memorials to the dead resonate with an atheist, drawing on his military experience
A dead body is organic waste. So why do we cloak human bodies and ashes in so much ritual and taboo? Across religions, and even among atheists, there seems to be a sense that some aspect of the lost one survives in the remains
Interview with evolutionary biologist, British atheist-in-chief, Richard Dawkins. Now 70. Still prefers lecturing to excitable Bible Belt audiences than godless New Yorkers. Says religion's crime is to make children incurious
"The error of modern atheism has been to overlook how many aspects of faiths remain relevant even after their central tenets have been dismissed”
