Bad atheists acting like atheists anger another atheist

[Michie]

But what did he expect?


“What a grift that was!” says atheist philosopher Phil Torres, angry at the once famous “New Atheists.” People like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Steven Pinker had given him “immense hope” and now they’ve upset him. He writes like a boy hurt to find his heroes aren’t heroic.

Their movement “appeared to offer moral clarity, it emphasized intellectual honesty and it embraced scientific truths about the nature and workings of reality,” he says. “In a world overflowing with irrationality,” they stood “for sanity in the face of stupidity.” Now, they don’t. And they behave badly, too.

Salon’s editors titled the story “Godless grifters: How the New Atheists merged with the far right.” Torres is angry about more than their politics. He’s also angry about their character. Many “turned out to be nothing more than self-aggrandizing, dogmatic, irascible, censorious, morally compromised people who, at every opportunity, have propped up the powerful over the powerless, the privileged over the marginalized.”

Yes, they have. But Torres doesn’t really have reason to complain.

The Godless Grifters
He names eight men, in a list he says is “hardly an exhaustive list.” Two he criticizes for their political views.

Continued below.
Bad Atheists Acting Like Atheists Anger Another Atheist - The Stream

 

[Bob Crowley]

We could say the same things about Christians. There are Christians to the right of Genghis Kahn, Christians to the left of Karl Marx, Christians who support the trans movement, Christians vehemently opposed to it and there are plenty of Christians who criticise other Christians - wrong Church, wrong Bible, wrong Tradition, wrong Theology, wrong date of Worship, wrong conditions for Baptism, wrong method of Baptism, Icons or no Icons, calling priests "Father" or not calling priests "Father", the infamous disagreement about the Filoque etc. etc.

As for the fact there might be some Atheist paedophiles or abusers, we can't very well point the finger at them given the recent history within the Church.

As my old pastor used to say "One bunch of sinners is pretty much the same as the next!"

So what's new?

At least Atheist Philosopher Phil Torres now has some ground in common with us - he's discovered his heroes are flawed.

 

[Sabertooth]

Salon’s editors titled the story “Godless grifters: How the New Atheists merged with the far right.”

It isn't surprising that atheists would be proponents of Darwinian economics...

 

[pdudgeon]

I think what would be new would be everyone finding common areas of agreement, and rejoicing that it has come about at last.
Because where Christ is, there is hope, joy, and truth.
And when we have those three things in common, then we can all worship God together.

 

[Ted Kaz]

....

 

[boughtwithaprice]

We could say the same things about Christians. There are Christians to the right of Genghis Kahn, Christians to the left of Karl Marx, Christians who support the trans movement, Christians vehemently opposed to it and there are plenty of Christians who criticise other Christians - wrong Church, wrong Bible, wrong Tradition, wrong Theology, wrong date of Worship, wrong conditions for Baptism, wrong method of Baptism, Icons or no Icons, calling priests "Father" or not calling priests "Father", the infamous disagreement about the Filoque etc. etc.

As for the fact there might be some Atheist paedophiles or abusers, we can't very well point the finger at them given the recent history within the Church.

As my old pastor used to say "One bunch of sinners is pretty much the same as the next!"

So what's new?

At least Atheist Philosopher Phil Torres now has some ground in common with us - he's discovered his heroes are flawed.

There are people like that because they are human. As Christians, we are called to mortify the deeds of the flesh and detach our affections for Worldly things. Store up treasures in heaven, as where your treasure is, there will be your heart. Satan loves playing the political game, left wing, right wing, blah, blah. What if they are both wrong?