Saturday, January 06, 2007
An impressively intellectually incoherent article, even by the Guardian's sometimes lax standards: Secular fundamentalists are the new totalitarians. Yes, apparently it's those evil atheists that are causing all the problems in this country.
If you read the article you will notice that the only name the writer Tobias Jones can bring to mind is Richard Dawkins, despite the fact that only a few weeks ago he organised a conference of scientists against religion or is affiliated with The Brights, an unpleasant but thankfully small group of secular elitist atheists. When most of the rest of the article is taken up with Jones bravely exposing how countless and nameless atheists have encouraged multiculturism in this country in order to stop people like that woman from British Airways from telling customers that Jesus Christ had died to save them you can see that this is just another 'we poor, persecuted Christians' article, that the target isn't actually atheists but anyone who isn't a Christian.
In recent years the nastier side of this totalitarianism has become blatantly apparent. It emerged with the hijab issue in France. With the hijab ban in French schools, a state was banishing religion not only from its corridors, but also from its citizens.
Hasn't that been true of France since it became a Republic?
Since 2001, lazy intellectuals have been allowed to get away with repeating the nonsense that terrorism and war are the consequences of belief in God. Believers are ridiculed for being, in contrast to the stupendously brainy atheists, very dim.
Of course, one might also say 'Since 2001, in the United States, non-Christians of all stripes have been accused at various times of everything up to and including treason and can even, on achieving political office, have their loyalty to their country questioned. Non-believers are ridiculed for being, in contrast to the devout believers, unwilling to accept things which they have no proof for.'
There's also the fact that we live in a cultural milieu dominated by postmodernism. Broadly speaking, it attempts to deconstruct power and its narratives. It tries to rescue the marginalised. A noble intent, but because it doesn't believe in truth, anything goes. The tyranny of orthodoxy has been replaced by the tyranny of relativism. You're supposed to believe in nothing, and hence nihilists and atheists are suddenly rather chic.
Don't let the syllogistic fallacy hit you in the arse on the way out.
Postmodernism has taken tolerance to the extremes, where extremists thrive. It's a dangerous form of appeasement.
You'll notice that this 'appeasement' only allows non-Christians to thrive. Not Christians, because they're the victims here.
If you read the article you will notice that the only name the writer Tobias Jones can bring to mind is Richard Dawkins, despite the fact that only a few weeks ago he organised a conference of scientists against religion or is affiliated with The Brights, an unpleasant but thankfully small group of secular elitist atheists. When most of the rest of the article is taken up with Jones bravely exposing how countless and nameless atheists have encouraged multiculturism in this country in order to stop people like that woman from British Airways from telling customers that Jesus Christ had died to save them you can see that this is just another 'we poor, persecuted Christians' article, that the target isn't actually atheists but anyone who isn't a Christian.
In recent years the nastier side of this totalitarianism has become blatantly apparent. It emerged with the hijab issue in France. With the hijab ban in French schools, a state was banishing religion not only from its corridors, but also from its citizens.
Hasn't that been true of France since it became a Republic?
Since 2001, lazy intellectuals have been allowed to get away with repeating the nonsense that terrorism and war are the consequences of belief in God. Believers are ridiculed for being, in contrast to the stupendously brainy atheists, very dim.
Of course, one might also say 'Since 2001, in the United States, non-Christians of all stripes have been accused at various times of everything up to and including treason and can even, on achieving political office, have their loyalty to their country questioned. Non-believers are ridiculed for being, in contrast to the devout believers, unwilling to accept things which they have no proof for.'
There's also the fact that we live in a cultural milieu dominated by postmodernism. Broadly speaking, it attempts to deconstruct power and its narratives. It tries to rescue the marginalised. A noble intent, but because it doesn't believe in truth, anything goes. The tyranny of orthodoxy has been replaced by the tyranny of relativism. You're supposed to believe in nothing, and hence nihilists and atheists are suddenly rather chic.
Don't let the syllogistic fallacy hit you in the arse on the way out.
Postmodernism has taken tolerance to the extremes, where extremists thrive. It's a dangerous form of appeasement.
You'll notice that this 'appeasement' only allows non-Christians to thrive. Not Christians, because they're the victims here.
Labels: atheists, Christianity, Fundamentalists- Christian, Fundamentalists- Secular, Richard Dawkins
