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Chris's avatar

There are still members of a cartoonish fire and brimstone Christianity from an age long gone. For someone who urges “secularists and believers to work together” perhaps you should avoid pointing out moral blunders that scream “human being” rather than any specific dogma. Obviously the bloody 20th century atheists weren’t shocking for their appalling application of Marxist dogma, but more for the immense scale of their bloodlust. Could it be that any concentration of human power, regardless of specific dogma, inevitably transgresses on the rights of men? Underlying justification of some kind is always used before the hammer drops, and religion is only one of the ways human power becomes concentrated and exercised.

I do want to read more of your writing but this one looks like you may be championing an already immovable segment of society. I suppose it is fun, and certainly simple, to point out bizarre statements made by an ancient people(and modern as well), but I think we have all read this stuff many times. I think it is a mistake to rely on your own faith that the answer lies in secular philosophy and the misconception that “reason, rationality, and empiricism” will lead everyone down the same path of truth. You don’t have to look far to see honest men of science disparaging any who disagree, even other honest men of science. Human beings of all stripes seem to share the same weaknesses. Give them the same concentration of power, and I see no reason to think that the same patterns won’t again occur.

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Rich Mayfield's avatar

This wasn't up to your high standard of intellectual critique. The arguments you made were a little less than your usual brilliance. To me, they displayed a lack of rigor in digging into the theological arguments that you quickly brushed aside. There are many atheists , myself included, who find the teachings of Jesus a helpful guide to a meaningful and challenging lifestyle. We also recognize the difficulties in determining the actual sayings and acts of Jesus. Good theological work has been done by Marcus Borg, John Spong, Karen Armstrong, and others to indicate the cultural and literary complexities that must be confronted before making decisions you so cavalierly made in this article.

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