I just read an article about a group of atheists and secular humanists getting together to put billboards in subway stations in New York. Now, I don't really have a problem with this, but what exactly are they promoting? I mean religion is an organized belief system shared in common with a large group of people. So, in essence, if they are trying to put a group of people together with an organized belief that there is No God, aren't these people in essence organizing a religion? Otherwise, what is the point?
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but that doesn't mean I have to put ads in subways looking for others that don't believe in Santa Claus - honestly, I could care less whether you do or don't. So what exactly are these people hoping to gain by organizing a group of people that don't believe in something? It seems like an awful lot of money to be spent to just say hi to others that share your disbelief.
I believe in a pendulum theory of human history. If the pendulum swings too far one direction, eventually it will swing back the other way equally as far. You go from a relatively staid 1950's, for instance, to the radical and turmoilific period of the late 60's and early 70's. I think this rise in secular humanism and atheism is a direct result of the oft-putting Moral Majority movement of the last ten years or so. As conservative Christians organized to take over school boards and elections in order to cram their religious beliefs down everyone's throats, there was bound to be an equal and opposite backlash at some point. This kind of excess has never been good for anyone. And while I don't expect a Spanish Inquisition (looking over my shoulder for Michael Palin now...) I think we haven't seen the last of the likes of Christopher Hutchins or his ilk any time soon. Considering how long the Falwell's and Robertson's of this world lasted, I suspect the atheists are here to stay for a while.
But to be honest, they've got a long way to go before they're ready to be subversive and subtle.
1 comment:
I'm not so sure it's a matter of promoting anything as advocating against a pattern of thinking and behavior that they see as dangerous - like the Truth Campaign or Just Say No. I think they believe the world would be better if people would learn to think for themselves.
I'm actually farily symathetic to this attitude. Not the atheist part, but the idea that we should approach everything - including matters of faith - with the mind engaged.
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