Media Issues: June 2007 Archives

You might want to check out this review of the movie Evan Almighty. Apparently this modern-day Noah's Ark comedy honors family values and focuses on God and is in the opinion of some thoroughly entertaining.

"god is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," by Christopher Hitchens has become a runaway best-seller,* even in the Bible belt. The first printing was 40,000 copies, but already in seven weeks 296,000 copies are in circulation. He's likely to earn $1 million from it. "This is atheism's moment," says the publisher's CEO.

Some of this however is conservatives scoping out the enemy. A bookstore owner comments, "There is a very strong presence of the religious right, and they want to know what's being said and figure out how to move against it."

Hitchens is a Jerry Springer-type figure who uses controversy and abuse to draw attention to himself. tothesource argues that these neo-atheists aren't really rational (despite their claims) but are relying on emotional arguments. “It is time that we admitted that faith is nothing more than the license religious people give one another to keep believing when reasons fail,” declares Sam Harris. Not very scientific.

Aldous Huxley said, "For myself, as, no doubt, for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaningless was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom; we objected to the political and economic system because it was unjust."

Ah. We get to the truth. The goal is sexual liberation. Why am I not surprised? (Huxley did later acknowledge this as an intellectual error.)

What about today? tothesource comments, 'And Christopher Hitchens? “Clearly, the human species is designed”—by evolution, mind you—“to experiment with sex.” Indeed, Hitchens assures readers, “The relationship between physical health and mental health is now well understood to have a strong connection to sexual function, or dysfunction.” In other words, inhibited sex makes us dysfunctional; it is downright unhealthy. “Can it be a coincidence,” Hitchens complains, “that all religions claim the right to legislate sex?”'

Certainly atheists are no better than any other party, least of which their opponents.

*Article will expire around 6/28, in about a week