tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post2866876600891045480..comments2024-03-26T14:20:38.103-04:00Comments on The Thought Criminal: Short Stuff Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-40636248545703175102018-02-13T11:20:21.836-05:002018-02-13T11:20:21.836-05:00I'm glad you have. If I weren't so busy o...I'm glad you have. If I weren't so busy on Tuesdays I'd answer each of them. The Thought Criminalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381376556757084468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-88481008119360442812018-02-13T09:38:56.609-05:002018-02-13T09:38:56.609-05:00Sorry, I'm filling up your comments this morni...Sorry, I'm filling up your comments this morning. I suppose I should just write a blog post. But the funny thing about that RD article on atheists and the MRA is the article from a Southern Baptist minister (here:http://religiondispatches.org/dear-metoo-christians-time-to-take-a-long-look-in-the-mirror/) at RD which severely examines and critiques the SBC's position on women by an ordained SBC woman pastor, in ways we were taught to do in seminary, but in ways I never see an atheist do about atheism and it's practitioners. The comments on the atheist RD article are all about how "New Atheists" are not a thing, or not real atheists, or the category itself is a falsehood (I was expecting someone to shout "Fake News!" or "False Flag!", it would have meant the same thing). Self-examination? Anything like this:<br /><br />"My Southern Baptist ordination aligns me with the Baptist Faith and Message, a pestilent document of outright discrimination and hyper-masculine self-righteousness, both of which correlate to sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, mental, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse.<br /><br />"But Southern Baptist women are too entrenched to even notice the cognitive dissonance. This weighty theological and doctrinal baggage held by us—and similar ones held by evangelicals all over the world—place women in a losing power dynamic with men who can justify inappropriate behavior with inerrant scripture and ecclesial polity. Don’t believe me? Read their stories.<br /><br />Shame on us."<br /><br />"Shame on us"? When was the last time you read an atheist critique of sexism aligned with atheists and someone said: "Yup. Shame on us." If there is one comment with that tenor, if not those words, in the 100+ at that RD article, it was swamped by the 100 others that cried "foul" and "No True Scotsman!"<br /><br />Pitiful, really; but an interesting object lesson. Children-in-a-sandbox interesting, but nonetheless.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-77431283407694524472018-02-13T09:28:27.552-05:002018-02-13T09:28:27.552-05:00Interestingly on cue:
"The affinity between ...Interestingly on cue:<br /><br />"The affinity between New Atheist and Manosphere values is clearest in the popularity of the phrase “The Church of Feminism.” Women are coming forward about the prevalence of sexual assault? The Manosphere replies that the “Church of Feminism” is whipping up moral panic to “feel superior to others, while remaining a persecuted victim despite being an overwhelming majority.” Feminists decry the prevalence of patriarchy? Richard Dawkins retweets a video comparing feminists to Islamists.<br /><br />"The flipside of New Atheism and the Manosphere’s valorization of rationality is that they necessarily identify their detractors as “irrational.” For the Manosphere, the enemy is the hopelessly irrational woman. For New Atheism, the enemy is irrationality itself. But as the two groups’ memberships and rhetoric coalesce, New Atheism increasingly ends up firing at the same targets as blatant misogynists. As #MeToo continues to promote conversations about gender dynamics and rights, New Atheists might find that it’s time to be clear about their ideological commitments—or else have those commitments decided for them by their base."<br /><br />And this, of course, has spawned over 100 comments, mostly of the "No True Scotsman" variety, denouncing any attempt to paint atheists with such a broad brush.<br /><br />Clearly thinking among atheists is not required; nor is any self-examination. Christians (at least) should be held to a standard that requires self-examination and humility. Atheists, it seems, should simply form circular firing squads.<br /><br />That article is found here:<br />http://religiondispatches.org/how-mens-rights-activists-are-finding-unlikely-allies-in-new-atheism-metoo-the-manosphere-and-the-church-of-feminism/Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-68004443144390799862018-02-13T09:17:05.257-05:002018-02-13T09:17:05.257-05:00So we do away with religion and we have, what? Th...So we do away with religion and we have, what? The rule of law? Would that be the sterilization laws of America which taught the Nazis how to do it? (That's what they Nazis said, that isn't speculation.) Would that be the miscegenation laws? On what basis do we decide civil rights are a good idea, since that movement in America was spearheaded by Christians? Anti-slavery? Again, the abolitionist movement was spearheaded by religious figures, mostly Christians. What is the atheist example set by Bertrand Russell, Christopher Hitchens, noted Anglo-snob Richard Dawkins? Donald Trump recognizes no religious authority except when it suits his political campaign ("Two Corinthians"?). Shall be be our moral avatar?<br /><br />Shall we fall back on Sartre's existential ethic, where our choice of how to treat others is a choice for all humankind, even if we only decide how to treat our neighbor? Isn't that just the "Golden Rule" of Judaism and Christianity? I thought all religion was tainted and to be discarded. <br /><br />People have considered these issues for millennia. What's truly appalling is how stupid on-line atheists are, and how clever they imagine themselves to be. At least children in the sandbox can be forgiven for being children. What is the excuse of these fools?Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.com