Good will to all men? Not from the grumpy atheists! (Thank God not all atheists are grumpy but there sure seems to be a lot of them)
Why is it that so many in the atheist community cannot bring themselves to get past their anger whenever they engage in discussions? The language of many of their contributions in public debate is laced with invective and dripping with sarcasm and bile. There are exceptions of course, but they tend to fall more into the category of being the 'exception that proves the rule' when compared to the hostility of many of today's atheist posters. Comment offered by the theists in the public square is often depicted as being 'malicious' or 'venomous' and intended to enslave the 'feeble minded and weak' by those who post. Nothing could be further from the truth. Venom is something that is oriented to death. Christians are oriented in a 180 degree different direction. We speak not to the culture of death that grips our world but rather for the culture of life and light which ends with the gift of eternal life. For example, the Catholic Church in its hum...
Mr. McDonald is rather high on the rhetoric content and low on the factual content. In particular his extended quote from a "combox" is unreferenced and even with the unique spelling of "Before you slam Mormanism" which should make the quote trackable is unknown to Google.
ReplyDeleteI'd ignore his attribution of scientism (what ever that is in his mind) to all his opponents if he actually dealt with their arguments intelligently.
Rationalist1
Wow..."sweeping generalizations" anyone?
ReplyDeleteFor someone claiming erudition and unparalleled perspicacity, I see little evidence of any cogent arguments. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
See??? I can use multi syllabic words and classical references too, ergo, I must be right.
Cheers...Martin
I just wish that Mr. McDonald would have addressed the substance of the various authors he decries rather than attack them.
ReplyDeleteHere's a good point of the late Mr. Hitchens to refute.
"Name one ethical statement made, or one ethical action performed, by a believer that could not have been uttered or done by a nonbeliever.
The second challenge. Can anyone think of a wicked statement made, or an evil action performed, precisely because of religious faith?
The second question is easy to answer, is it not? The first awaits a convincing reply."
Rationalist1
Great article and it reflects a lot of my experiences with evangelical atheists online. Not all but most of them. Sweeping generalization? Maybe. But its rare that I've ever engaged an atheist online where spaghetti monsters and jewish zombie references don't come up followed by back slaps and high fives from fellow haters.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Paul
Paul,
ReplyDeleteSome are like that but there's also the equivalent from the religious side. The problem is not atheist or Christians in general, it's that comment boxes attract a lot of people who's idea of debate is throwing insults rather than intelligent debate. I'm afraid, Mr. McDonald, in reacting to this situation, steers towards that himself.
Rationalist1