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August 7, 2007 at 07:22:24
Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris: The Unholy Trinity . . .Thank God. by Robert Weitzel Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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Christopher Hitchens, contrarian atheist and slayer of all beasts fascistic and theocratic, will be in Madison, Wisconsin, this fall to present the keynote address at the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s fall conference. Anyone who is familiar with Hitchens’ substance and style will expect a speech that is irreverent and uncompromising and totally worth the price of admission. Predictably, faster than a fart can make a tent full of Cub Scouts giggle, letters to the editor and op-ed pieces appeared bemoaning Hitchens’ upcoming visit and calling him a boorish bigot for his willingness to describe the emperor’s nakedness in all its scabious and purulent magisterial arrogance. Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are not bigots. They are an unholy trinity of bestselling atheist authors who are fed up with having to tap dance around people of faith whose religious beliefs are as irrational as they are ubiquitous, and as potentially deadly as they are personally cathartic. This unholy trinity is the rising voice of over ten percent of Americans who identify themselves as atheists (closeted or otherwise) who are mad as heck—we don’t believe in hell—and who aren’t going to take it anymore. What else can account for the phenomenal sales of the unholy trinity’s recent books?
Think of it, at least ten of your hundred closest friends are the “pissed off faithless” . . . a sizable cabal at any backyard barbecue, or polling station for that matter.
If the faithful would just keep their religious beliefs in their own pocket and out of public school classrooms and bedrooms and women’s wombs, I doubt much would ever be heard from the unholy trinity or the POF. What would be the point?
But in kissing up to the religious right . . . or religious center . . . or religious left, it’s gotten so that politicians, both elephant and ass, will not open their mouths without first crossing themselves or testifying. For the POF, it’s particularly nauseating every election cycle as candidates yammer on about their walk with the Lord while they trample all over the truth to cut each other’s throats.
In preparation for the 2008 “holy war,” Hillary hired an evangelical Baptist who has put together her faith steering committee and sends out a weekly wrap-up sheet, Faith, Family and Values. Can you say “focus on the family” values? Rest assured, both John and Barack have their faith-based mojo working overtime as well.
I’m not suggesting there are no politicians with authentic religious bona fides. Jimmy Carter comes to mind. I just think it’s interesting that each and every member of the Executive and Legislative branches of our government is tight with the Lord. Statistically, at least ten percent of them should be atheists. Someone is not being very honest. Could it be they know atheism is the only unforgivable and unelectable political “sin?”
I suppose the real question is not, “Are they really religious?” but is, “To whom and at what price have they sold their souls?” Until political pandering to the religious and the dishonesty it breeds ends, the unholy trinity has work to do.
Closer to home, a recent Capital Times photograph shows Annette Ziegler, soon to be disciplined for ethical misconduct, placing her hand on a Bible and swearing to uphold the law as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. The POF will find this picture disturbing for several reasons. Until Christians see what the POF sees, the unholy trinity cannot rest.
Lest I become a boorish bigot let me add this. It goes without saying that multitudes of the faithful live quiet lives comfortable in the skin of their beliefs, and that good people are dedicating their lives to the betterment of humanity (locally and globally) under the banner of one religion or another. But if religion disappeared tomorrow, those same good people would still be out there doing what they can because of who they are not because of where they worship.
Without religion, though, their motives are above suspicion. Think Mother Theresa, whose religious beliefs concerning birth control exacerbated the suffering she was trying to relieve, assuming a person’s suffering and not their soul was her foremost concern.
Hitchens, Dawkins and Harris are carrying the torch passed onto them by the original unholy trinity of Paine, Jefferson and Madison whose views on religion and the separation of church and state laid the foundation for the religious freedom of the Republic. But they, too, were subjected to the same scorn and ridicule as their unholy 21st century progeny. So buck up boys. You’re in good company.
Commenting on Hitchens’ visit, The Capital Times was of the opinion that “his determination to express viewpoints that are so frequently forbidden makes him an essential player in a national debate that is so frequently emptied of meaning by it’s caution.”
The POF say “Amen brother! Bring it on.”
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| 7 comments |
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Hitchens
as English MP Galloway said once- 'is in bad need for a drink'. This idiot who supports the war in Iraq is one of the most odious anomalies on the current times and he is not even an atheist. To be an idiot does not mean to be an atheist. What surprises me that we here all that ' pissed off' thing. I would say that we have many things to be pissed off about, killing people is the first one coming to mind but nope..our Unholy Trinity is pissed of at .. religion. I would also say that compared to the great scientific minds of the past these three are so shallow that they certainly do not carry any torch- maybe a gas lighter would be the proper definition. It is regrettable that atheism as a movement is represented by the unfortunate idiots. It is also regrettable that in these times when we have to protect ourselves from Bush and Co we consider the one who is supporting him as the 'carrier of the torch'. It is doubly regrettable that we cannot distinguish between the real thing and a quackery, atheism or not and let the drunk to get his laurels. It is triply regrettable that we waste our time on this. I was born and raised in the atheistic society I am atheist myself. Let me tell you something: it does not mean anything. It does not make you better, smarter or more enlighttened. It does make you lonely. Of course, we all have to fight for the right of anyone to maintain his/her spiritual health they way they want. But none of us is better than the other and many of us are worse. Hitchens is much worse. He should go to Hell where he belongs. by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [131 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 9:32:12 AM
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HERETICS UNITE!
arent' we all just freethinking heretics of one shade or another? :) whether pagan, pelagian, atheist, or any shade between... we are all fed up with the orothodox and evangelical hijacking of our government and our lives. it's definitely past time we take action and speak out, returning these "lords of the flies" to their proper peripherial fringe, before pyres of inquisitions and witchtrials again burn. these mental midgets mean to usher in a new dark age, by blood and fire. are we to allow it...again? to borrow a line from Gandalf... in his standoff with the firedemon Shadowflame... by k kelly (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 182 comments) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 10:20:34 AM
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We call him a bigot because he is one...
Not because of his supposed "willingness to describe the emperor’s nakedness in all its scabious and purulent magisterial arrogance." There are 99 articles bashing Islam for every 1 article supposedly taking on the Christian right in this country. He is an absolute apologist for Bush attempting to unite church and state in this country. If that is atheism, I really dont understand the term. by Steven Leser (255 articles, 58 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 2147 comments [63 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 11:59:49 AM
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And another few things, Comparing Hitchens to either
Paine, Jefferson or Madison is like comparing Dan Quayle to Albert Einstein. What we need are true atheists stepping up to the plate to represent the movement, not Islamophobes masquerading as Atheists. Even the horrid favoring of the Iraq war would be acceptable if Hitchens had routinely called Bush out for his pandering to the Christian Right and his desire to marry church and state in this country. Hitchens does not do that. He is not a true atheist, he is an Islamophobe. by Steven Leser (255 articles, 58 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 2147 comments [63 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 12:05:30 PM
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Reply: Excellent, Mr. Leser!
I am all with you, here (see my put above). Mr. Hitchens's malice cna be matched only by his ignorance. He is not anything. He does not have any beleifs. It is an empty vessel which can be filled with anything but stores nothing. by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [131 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 1:15:03 PM
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Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Alan Dershowitz
August 7, 2007 On July 27, I, as an atheist, emailed the following to the Freedom from Religion Foundation with copies to many people. I am a member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, as well as the Atheist Alliance. The reference to the denial of tenure of Professor Norman Finkelstein by "St. Paul University" should have read by "DePaul University": by Allan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 2:46:58 PM
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Hitchens the Nihilist
Hitchens is enough to drive an atheist to drink, if not into the arms of some Deity. His speaking fees at least keep his own cupboard stocked. I would have to say Hitchens really isn't an atheist anyway. He definitely admires the Devil. by Mac McKinney (53 articles, 114 quicklinks, 241 diaries, 1414 comments [31 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 at 11:09:08 PM
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