This is related to my last post, where I mentioned that Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris were criticized for their extreme views of religion. Dawkins defends his position in an article published online at beliefnet, Why I Am Hostile Toward Religion. In the article, he aims to explain why he is not the mirror-opposite of religious fundamentalists:
I might retort that such hostility as I or other atheists occasionally voice toward religion is limited to words. I am not going to bomb anybody, behead them, stone them, burn them at the stake, crucify them, or fly planes into their skyscrapers, just because of a theological disagreement. But my interlocutor usually doesn’t leave it at that. He may go on to say something like this: “Doesn’t your hostility mark you out as a fundamentalist atheist, just as fundamentalist in your own way as the wingnuts of the Bible Belt in theirs?” I need to dispose of this accusation of fundamentalism, for it is distressingly common.
Dawkins’ argument is that religious fundamentalists derive their belief from holy books that they see as the truth. They know they will never change their opinions. Any evidence that is contrary to the truth of their religion must be false, for only their religion is the truth. Dawkins, on the other hand, derives his belief from the study of evidence. As new evidence arises that disproves, or displaces, the old, his beliefs and opinions will change.
I am no more fundamentalist when I say evolution is true than when I say it is true that New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere. We believe in evolution because the evidence supports it, and we would abandon it overnight if new evidence arose to disprove it. No real fundamentalist would ever say anything like that.
It’s not a long article, and if you’ve read or heard enough of Dawkins there’s really nothing new there in the overall theme. But it’s a good read and would be a great introduction to Dawkins for those who aren’t familiar with his work.
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{ 2 } Comments
I recommend Dawkin’s GOD DELUSION. The subject mentioned above is nicely developed there. Based on the audio version of the book. I find it much more interesting to listen to Dawkins than just to read him. Maybe he sounds better as a lecturer than reads as an author, try both.
Regards
Indeed. I’m a big fan of Dawkins and a regular reader of his site.
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