Last night's talk by Justin Trottier was quite interesting. There were several in the audience who agreed that Dawkins, Dennet, Harris, and Hitchins are rude and offensive. I have two thoughts about this. One the one hand, I don't care if some people find them offensive—that's their problem and they should develop a tougher skin. On the other hand, I agree with the four horsemen that religion does not get a free pass. It's silly to grant it so much protection that any criticism is ruled out of order.
Here's an amazing conversation between Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. They address the question: are they militant atheists?
They also discuss the relationship between frozen water falls and Jesus Christ.
Part 1:
Part 2:
[Hat Tip: The Unexamined Life]
I watched the videos and found them very interesting. It seemed to boil down to the various religions effectively being the forces of unreason, battling with rationality.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that our 4 horsemen seemd to be fuzzy about what they wanted to see happen, and what good bits of religion they wished to retain. They might seem rude and offensive to believers, but they didn't come across as organised or disciplined.