Eminent zoologist Richard Dawkins becomes the picture of the evangelical athiest, no longer a contradiction in terms, in a recent BBC interview about his book, The God Delusion:
I love that he referenced the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster but I found the whole interview covered some pretty old territory. I think he attacks organized religion very well but doesn't really hit theism head on in any substantial way. If we came from a big bang, which I fully accept that we probably did, where did the material that exploded come from? What preceded all of that? It's not to say that there isn't a possible scientific explanation for it but there could just as easily be a possible spiritual explanation. Whether the events of the universe are linear or cyclical, something has to get it all going...
Then again, this may just be my United Church background talking, where it was ok to think critically about all these things and not particularly oppressive.
That's the cosmological argument. With what little I know about relativity, I can see time as being just another dimension of the universe, so without the universe time doesn't really make sense, so the question what came before the universe doesn't really make sense, which I'm mostly ok with.
I like the part where he suggests we teach kids about philosophy and ethics to impart them with good values and morals. What a crazy suggestion.
Yeah, it's not 'new'... but the reason I posted it is because I think it's a new phenomenon that atheists are coming out of their warrens and actually arguing with the regious types. Usually it's fervent Christians that start debates like these. It could be a new offensive after the 'Intelligent Design' assault...
I read some of Dawkins's book in an airport, specifically attacks on logically believing in God, and I have to say I wish I could rattle these off. It would make me so insufferably right all the time. Also, it's kind of funny that the BBC interviewer was totally frightened of him.
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Then again, this may just be my United Church background talking, where it was ok to think critically about all these things and not particularly oppressive.
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I like the part where he suggests we teach kids about philosophy and ethics to impart them with good values and morals. What a crazy suggestion.
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I read some of Dawkins's book in an airport, specifically attacks on logically believing in God, and I have to say I wish I could rattle these off. It would make me so insufferably right all the time. Also, it's kind of funny that the BBC interviewer was totally frightened of him.
Go United Church!
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