Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Why I havent' been blogging
I'm the web guy for mnatheists.org now. I opened my big mouth, and wanted extra features, so I've taken over the domain with a redesign. It's a giant work in progress, but there certainly are more features now. Oh, and I was mentioned in the Pioneer Press yesterday. If you go to twincities.com and search for "Minnesota Atheists" it'll be there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
17 comments:
What makes you think I've recovered?
Because you'll at least talk to me on the phone, which is a big step from earlier. I did mention to the reporter that you were still upset, but of course the article wasn't about me.
Why don't they write an aarticle about parents who have faith but who also have atheist children and how that makes them feel?
You're free to contact the paper. They could also have an article on homophobic parents with gay children, or racist parents of a white daughter marrying a black man.
""The biggest thing I want to get out of the show is tolerance of the atheist perspective," he said."
You sure?
I'm sure. I see the intolerance of atheist perspectives often. I think it's similar to the treatment of gays. There are people who won't listen to a homosexual about anything, because they are gay. The same thing happens to atheists.
Dear Gayle,
I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is, you won't be going to heaven. The good news is, your son won't be going to hell.
Paul, it doesn't help to antagonize people. It isn't going to make Gayle more comfortable with the situation, and maybe she never will be. The focus should be on their relationship, no matter their differences.
I listened to the radio show and the first half was really pro. Good back and forth on the phones, well informed hosts, and nice neat segments. I really liked the segment dealing with the post-enlightenment religious views of the founders, and their strong commitment to keeping government and religion separate.
But then Dawkins got on and I thought made an ass of the show. He just kept banging on with his pissy tone and thinking about the utopia of a religious free word. He doesn't want tolerance, he wants a war. He can't get one in Britain because no one gives a flip either way, so he comes to America where people care way too much so he can get into a fight and have his ego stroked at the same time. Tone like his matters. It makes people angry and tells them to pick a side. What happened to the Kurt Vonnegut or Douglas Adams style humanists? They were philosophers and thinkers. And jokers. I guess that kind of work is passe now that some one declared a culture war.
Dawkins isn't pissy, or angry. He's a biologist, foremost, sings Christmas carols, and is mostly upset by the intelligent design movement, because evolution is seen as attacking the notion of God as creator, so must not be true.
Gayle,
Being over-dramatic about your child's Atheism only makes his life harder without any real benefit. Being upset about it isn't going to make him see logic in believing, it will just cause mutual estrangement between the two of you. Love your kids for the experiences they bring, no matter what they are.
Have you read this 2006 article in Wired? I would like to see some more reaction to it, the web is pretty dry about it.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/atheism.html
The author is pretty brutal to Haris, Dawkins, and most of the "New Atheist" movement. He likes Daniel Dennet though, whom I have not heard of.
Also an interview, which is much more personal.
http://sonibyte.com/audio/raw/1569.mp3
...and I never said Dawkins was angry. Rather, from what I have seen, read, and heard about him and from him in the past year or so, he makes people angry because he sounds like an ass and seems to enjoy it. Dawkins doesn't want tolerance, he wants followers and the rest can just buzz off.
I don't think he would agree that he is being an ass, but I think he does agree with the latter.
Chris, Dawkins is calm, measured, reasoned, and respectful. How anyone could listen to him on that program (or to any of his other interviews or speeches) and come to the conclusion you did is a total mystery to me. Claiming that he is "seeking followers", "stroking his ego", and "wanting a war" is transparently untrue. I'm sorry you personally find his tone "pissy"; I think rather the same of yours.
To Charred Atheist, despite what you think, Bjorn and I are not estranged. His atheist beliefs have not exactely made my life easy either - did you ever think of that?
Can you explain how my athiest beliefs have made your life hard?
I promise to get back on that article, it's just long, and I have radio show prep to work on. Dennett is a philosopher who is very interested in examining religion developing within the history of humanity. He wrote a book, which I've neglected to buy, called, "Breaking the Spell."
"His atheist beliefs have not exactely made my life easy either"
It's always about "me me me" eh, Gayle?
Post a Comment