Kevin DeGraaf’s Blog

Austin Cline has posted an excellent article about the myth of atheistic intolerance, and that has led me to think about my own position on the matter. I have been accused on many occasions of being too harsh, too dismissive, and/or too mocking toward religion. One such complainant explicitly denounced my position as being that of “fundamentalist” atheism (an appellation which is self-evidently logically incoherent). Other correspondents have urged me to be less disrespectful toward their blind-faith positions.

While I have tried to direct my reproachful critique toward theism itself, rather than at individual theists (”you have a silly belief” vs. “you are a silly person”), my experience has been that religious adherents, whose very identity is linked almost inextricably to their faith, seem to be unable or unwilling to recognize that distinction.

Christianity occupies a position of power in this country, and that fact has given rise to a widespread popular consensus that Christianity should enjoy an exemption from scrutiny. Any criticism of its doctrine, any suggestion that it might be inconsistent with reality, any idea which threatens to displace “faith” from its privileged position as the defining characteristic of one’s entire worldview — these and other insinuations are virtually guaranteed to cause an immediate, swift defensive reaction. I’m intolerant, I’m disrespectful, I’m closed-minded, I’m hateful, I’m an evil fundy. The list goes on and on, and the common theme is that I should just shut up and stop criticizing religion.

Hell, no.

I will not refrain from calling religion exactly what it is: medieval, superstitious, incoherent nonsense, incompatible with reality, dreamed up by scared human beings seeking explanation and comfort, encouraged by opportunistic humans seeking to control others, and used in furtherance of all manner of evil ends (opposing science, oppressing women and gays, causing holy wars, promoting in-group/out-group divisions, killing defenseless children, cheating the gullible, and scaring people into compliance through the grotesque absurdity that is the doctrine of hell, to name just a few examples).

I do not, will not, and indeed cannot show any deference toward a belief system that seeks to undermine reason itself to make room for the acceptance of unprovable and, in many cases, downright ludicrous propositions.

You Christians know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all other religions are full of crap. You know that Islam and Mormonism and Hinduism and all the others are complete nonsense because (1) your own doctrines say so, and (2) your rational mind is free to come to that obvious conclusion because it is not blinded by any Muslim or Mormon or Hindu dogma.

What you need to realize is that Christianity is no different. Burning bushes and wine-conjuring, donkey-stealing, fig-tree-smiting, virgin-impregnating superheroes are no more rational than flying horses and magical golden plates.  Religion is both utterly absurd and ominously dangerous, and those of us who recognize this owe your ideology no deference whatsoever.

I was hit hard by the flu this week. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday stuck at home, hanging on for dear life as my body took radical steps to rid itself of these wonderful little guests. Many of my extended family members have had the flu recently, and as one of them aptly put it, “you want to DIE but can’t!”. I was able to return to work today and confront the mountain of tasks that had piled up, but if past illnesses are any guide, I won’t be at 100% for another week or so.

I thought it would be fitting to use part of my illness-induced downtime to start reading a new book: The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design by Richard Dawkins (yes, that Dawkins).

Can any cdesign proponentsists explain to me why any intelligent engineer would create bodies that are vulnerable to viruses, or that defend against them in such grotesque ways as vomiting, diarrhea, fever and malaise (preferably without any cop-outs that involve talking snakes and naked ladies)?

Also, today being “Good” Friday, I would like to bring to your attention this post at The Learned Pig.  Excerpt:

What’s so “good” about a Friday that commemorates someone being nailed to a piece of wood and left to die?

Hudsonville, Michigan, where I attended high school, has attracted media attention over its mission statement:

The City Commission and Administration of the City of Hudsonville strive to serve God through the strengthening of family and community life and are committed to excellence in providing quality municipal services.

The city’s position was defended by the Grand Rapids Press.

I just sent an email to the city’s mayor, Donald VanDoeselaar:

As a former resident of Hudsonville, I’m disappointed to see the city espouse such flagrant disregard for the bedrock Constitutional principle of separation between religion and government.

Our country is a secular democratic republic, not a theocracy. Everyone is free to worship any deity, or no deity, as he/she sees fit. The proper role of the government is to attend to civic business, not to favor any establishments of religion.

If you want to worship an invisible man in the sky, that’s your business, but you have no right to officially endorse such belief in your capacity as a public official, or to use taxpayer funds to promote such an endorsement.

(Hat tip to Austin Cline.)