Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
I am reading Dawkins right now, so it is at the front of my mind. Most of his arguments are not new, and I don't agree with all of his takes.
There is quite a discussion going on now following the release of The God Delusion, God is Not Great (Hitchens) and The End of Faith (Harris).
Did anyone follow the debates in the US this week. Notice how all the Reps and Dems go out of their way to say they are religious (when quite probably 10-20% of them are not)?
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Dude, you can't read Harris and Hitchens along with Dawkins and expect a fair discussion on the role of religion in people's personal lives. I personally like a lot of their arguments. For example, Dawkins view on childhood indoctrination of religious views being tantamount to child abuse is a perfect depiction of the damage being done by politically motivated, religious zealots all over the world.
A lot of bad, stupid people practice religion. Clearly their views will conflict with a rational and logical view on life. That's the reason for this pseudo-conflict between religion and humanism/atheism/science(?).
However, I do take issue with a number of things that Dawkins et al. assert in their writings. Off the top of my head there are two questions I ask.
1) Are ALL religious people like this? Is the only route to spirituality through the Einsteinian appreciation for the orderliness and beauty of the universe?
2) Is the belief that human beings can be ruled by almost completely individual, self-interested, and rational actions almost as false as say a belief in a literal Bible?