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“I’m a cultural Christian”, says Richard Dawkins
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Anonymous
| Sadly, Christopher Hitchens is gone. And now, Daniel Dennett has passed away also. We have only Dawkins and Sam Harris to carry on the good fight. |
Anonymous
A new generation is here. Some of them are wonderful. My favorite right now is Alex O'Connor @cosmicskeptic. He interviewed Dawkins earlier this year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaRVzooavRI. O'Connor actually has quite a good Christian following (including me) because he is a worthy adversary. He makes the best arguments. He engages in dialectic. He challenges his fellow atheists on their bad arguments. He is intellectually honest. He also has great credentials, having graduated from Oxford a few years ago. Check him out! |
Anonymous
He's great. Also love Forrest Valkai. Check him out, he's an evolutionary biologist also and provides excellent foundations for theories of abiogenesis. Plus he's energetic, articulate and entertaining. |
Anonymous
Thank you . I will do that! |
Anonymous
Would you prefer to live in Ancient Greece? |
Anonymous
Is Dawkins really carrying on the good fight if he is praising Christianity? |
Anonymous
Correct.most things which people think of as universal human rights are really just Christian values that achieved prominence due to the political and economic success of Christian societies. |
Anonymous
You have missed the nuance of Christopher Hitchens if you think Dawkins is now contrary to him. Hitchens had plenty of praise for the cultural achievements of Christianity. |
Anonymous
There’s a new generation of atheist writers and speakers who actually want to have respectful discussions instead of shouting matches. Goodbye, Dawkins and Harris. |
Anonymous
I'm a DP, but I'm pretty sure that person you're responding to was commenting on the ridiculous comment that "It is against a framework of Christianity that all of our thought has significance." That's complete nonsense. As that poster pointed out (and it wasn't me, honest), Jefferson and Madison looked to democracy (Greece) and Rome (the Senate for example) when devising our Constitution. These long pre-dated Christianity. Jefferson himself was a deist, meaning he didn't belief in a personal God that got involved in human affairs. In fact, I don't see much at all where Christianity provides a framework against which all of our thoughts have significance. Maybe you could elaborate? |
Anonymous
He's not praising it. You completely misread what he means by being "culturally Christian." |
Anonymous
?? I'm very sure a lot of the slave holders in the South were very strong Christians. In fact, I see noting in the Bible that condemns it. |
Anonymous
Read more bible! Paul appeals to Philemon that he receive Onesimus (his erstwhile slave) as a brother instead of a slave. Paul says that he could command Philemon to do this (based on Christian charity), but instead appeals to him in love to do what he ought to do. Paul’s Plea for Onesimus 8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, b who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. 12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. |
Anonymous
Ancient Greece and Rome enthusiastically embraced slavery. I don’t have enough time to educate you about the evolution of western civilization from classical antiquity. You can start with Tom Hollands Dominion and come back once you have grasped the basics. |
Anonymous
Another DP. The attempt to connect Jefferson and Madison --> ancient Greece and Rome --> deism is lost on me, unless someone wants to explain it. Sure, they were strongly influenced by Greek and Roman political ideas. And sure, they were deists. But the ancient greeks and romans certainly weren't deists, instead they worshipped the gods of Mount Olympus. Jefferson and Madison didn't worship the gods of Mount Olympus. You're limiting yourself to the political and rhetorical aspects of Ancient Greece, and ignoring the social values that are most decidedly not taken from Ancient Greece. And sure, Jefferson and Madison looked to Greece (and Rome) for political and rhetorical foundations. What Jefferson and Madison were, is influenced by Christian social values. As far as social values go, Jefferson and Madison departed from Ancient Greece and were instead influenced by Christianity, whether they were traditional Christians or not. In Ancient Greece or Rome, if you were poor or orphaned, there was no social impetus to help you, so usually you died, and that was that. War and warriors were glorified. Might made right. None of these are Christian values, and none of them were values shared by Madison or Jefferson. That, as I understand it, is pp's argument. |