From the BBC (again)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7156783.stm
Good I say. It's about time that the people who form and support religion actually had to defend it and their believes.
If someone claimed to be able to see Elvis, or could had super human powers, or was an alien from outer space living in London we'd have them sent for medical and psychiatric eveluation. We'd consider them nuts. But if enough people repeat the words told to them for generations it somehow becomes true and has value, is sacred and untouchable? The Dawkins way is to attack it head on and to disprove peoples misconceptions. If that is fundamentalism, then anyone who tries to find the truth in any area, be it science, technology or whatever.. is a fundamentalist. For trying hard to find the truth when other people might not like the results because it conflicts with their points of view.
Christmas always brings out the best in people eh? I consider myself to be an atheist and would label myself as such given the opportunity or challenged on it. Hypocritical of me to be "celebrating christmas" but I won't be singing Christmas songs or going to Church for midnight mass.
But this nonsense is being spouted by an Archbishop, at Christmas time, attacking the society we live in, to have maximum effect. Disgusting, evil, sickening thing that faith and religion.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7156783.stm
Funny that. I'm not aware of many wars or conflicts around the world which revolve around not believing in something.The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has described a rise in [atheist] "fundamentalism" as one of the great problems facing the world.
Absolutely! At least the Archbishop is listening to what the atheists are telling him.He said it advocated that religion in general and Christianity in particular have no substance, and that some view the faith as "superstitious nonsense".
Pot? Kettle? Black? Religion, especially Chrisitanity and Catholicism allow no room for debate, argument or rationalisation. Atheists have been trying to argue for a long time that Christian values are baseless and unfounded.Dr Morgan said: "All of this is what I would call the new "fundamentalism" of our age. It allows no room for disagreement, for doubt, for debate, for discussion.
How more polarised would you like to be that "Good/evil; heaven/hell; With us - against us".It leads to the language of expulsion and exclusivity, of extremism and polarisation, and the claim that because God is on our side, he is not on yours.
Dr Morgan said it was "perfectly natural" to have a "coherent and rational debate about the tenets of the Christianity".
But he said "virulent, almost irrational" attacks on it were "dangerous" because they refused to allow any contrary viewpoint and also affected the public perception of religion.
Good I say. It's about time that the people who form and support religion actually had to defend it and their believes.
If someone claimed to be able to see Elvis, or could had super human powers, or was an alien from outer space living in London we'd have them sent for medical and psychiatric eveluation. We'd consider them nuts. But if enough people repeat the words told to them for generations it somehow becomes true and has value, is sacred and untouchable? The Dawkins way is to attack it head on and to disprove peoples misconceptions. If that is fundamentalism, then anyone who tries to find the truth in any area, be it science, technology or whatever.. is a fundamentalist. For trying hard to find the truth when other people might not like the results because it conflicts with their points of view.
Christmas always brings out the best in people eh? I consider myself to be an atheist and would label myself as such given the opportunity or challenged on it. Hypocritical of me to be "celebrating christmas" but I won't be singing Christmas songs or going to Church for midnight mass.
But this nonsense is being spouted by an Archbishop, at Christmas time, attacking the society we live in, to have maximum effect. Disgusting, evil, sickening thing that faith and religion.