Nietzsche claimed that 19th century Euros no longer truly believed in the Christian god of the bible, and that pious churchmen were doing nothing more than maintaining social convention. After all, if one genuinely believed in an omniscient deity who heard your prayers and read your mind and determined your everlasting fate, you’d think that might dominate your mind every waking moment. Nietzsche looked around and saw otherwise. “God is dead” he pronounced- not that he had killed God, as Berkeley t-shirts would have you believe, but that the faithful had killed him by failing to believe in him anymore. With the moral authority of God gone, Nietzsche prophesized, all hell would break loose until that ethical vacuum was filled.
Well, you can spin that story a number of ways if you look at the 20th century. Some argue that two world wars were a direct byproduct of that loss of belief. Others make Nietzsche a proto-Nazi and part of the problem. I’d blame his sis for that misconception, but that’s another story. When one looks around the continent today, the death of god is everywhere. Secular humanism is the new religion, unless you count football. The pope pontificates and the children of Luther and Calvin self-flagellate, but most churches lie idle on Sunday. In America, of course, faith is a tougher beast to slay, but that hasn’t kept a new crew of provocateurs from trying. Sam Harris’s The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell and Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great have very different strategies, but each is a mostly polemical attack on religious belief (really, they’re calling these guys “the four horsemen of atheism”).
Well, you can spin that story a number of ways if you look at the 20th century. Some argue that two world wars were a direct byproduct of that loss of belief. Others make Nietzsche a proto-Nazi and part of the problem. I’d blame his sis for that misconception, but that’s another story. When one looks around the continent today, the death of god is everywhere. Secular humanism is the new religion, unless you count football. The pope pontificates and the children of Luther and Calvin self-flagellate, but most churches lie idle on Sunday. In America, of course, faith is a tougher beast to slay, but that hasn’t kept a new crew of provocateurs from trying. Sam Harris’s The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell and Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great have very different strategies, but each is a mostly polemical attack on religious belief (really, they’re calling these guys “the four horsemen of atheism”).
Having finished the first four, I just tackled Hitchens, and it is easily the most entertaining of the neo-atheist works, as he is the best stylist and the funniest. His approach is to tell story after story to mount evidence upon evidence against the folly of belief. It’s an entertaining ride, but I humbly submit that no thunderbolts struck the three faithful readers who picked this up. These guys will change no minds, but their exposure might make it more comfortable for skeptics to come out of the closet. Of course they’re preaching to the choir, but the success of these authors bolster and broaden the ranks of that chorus. That a loudmouth alcoholic ex-pat like Hitchens can write a hate screed against God and make it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list speaks volumes about the number of voiceless doubters desperate to hear their views spoken publicly. It will be a long time before an atheist gets elected to any national office, but the success of these books suggests a need for rhetoric beyond “God Bless the United States of America.” I ain’t saying the reincarnation of Emma Goldman is going to be the next governor of Texas, but fewer folks are thumping bibles in the shadows than pollsters would have us think.
15 comments:
So it seems as though you have moved from an agnostic to an aethist. Interesting.
As for Hitchens, the times I have seen him on TV he comes off like a sweaty loudmouth who long ago over stayed his welcome in this country. And the fact he is the most virulent gentile supporter of Israel ever unleashed on the airwaves hasnt made him exactly a fave in the Compaglia household.
Oh and it appears that Hitchens supports the war in Iraq, too. Nice.
http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/31244/
yes, he supports the war in Iraq- what is your point?
That he is dead wrong about two things which are obvious at this point-Iraq and Israel- makes me wonder why I should listen to Hitchens when it comes to much more complicated questions like the existence of God.
you shouldn't- just keep listening to your pope
My Pope? Oh my.
misanthropic Christianity? Perhaps belief has become complicated
You've lost me.
But I can't help noticing how many aetheists seem to have exchanged faith for aetheism, as they believe it offers intellectual certainty and superiority vis a vis believers. Christopher Hitchens seems a perfect exmple of just such a toad.
"most churches lie idle on Sunday"
not true.
"It will be a long time before an atheist gets elected to any national office"
mayor of san francisco is the highpoint, no?
"fewer folks are thumping bibles in the shadows than pollsters would have us think."
i don't believe this, either. hitchens the toad hits the NY Times bestseller list but i doubt he sold 50 copies in Alabama.
"That a loudmouth alcoholic ex-pat like Hitchens can write a hate screed against God..."
all in, i'd rather listen to George Carlin make fun of religion. he was funny.
i drink YOUR milkshake - the pope
Carlin ain't that funny, but whatever...
Polls often ask about whether folks believe in a higher power, not in the Christian god of the Bible- all I'm saying is that the breadth of belief is wide- call 'em what you will- neo-deists-but plenty of folks want some kind of spiritual life without all the "hangups" of virgin births and Leviticus. They want to feel connected to something larger than themselves but they can't hang with the proscriptions of Christianity- not to mention the absurdity of so much of it.
Sorry, but check your European belief numbers and compare 'em to a hundred years ago- the churches be lying idle, relatively
When the Pope does something serious about pedophile priests and stops telling starving peasants that birth control is a sin, we can talk. Until then, he's a man in a funny hat and ridiculous shoes who does way more harm than good.
as far as intellectual certainty, I'd argue just the opposite. Belief ends the argument- skeptics are for just that- skeptical inquiry and not leaps of faith, knowing full well they don't have the answer and are "skeptical" of those who make that claim.
Anyway, I gotta run to Tahoe.
Hugs and kisses,
The Toad
oh sorry,as for the misanthropic Christianity, I was just confused how someone who claims to hate people can embrace a "prophet" whose central tenet is to "love thy neighbor"
churches lying idle; mosques are bursting.
mosques are churches...
You mean to suggest that people dont believe every thing in the Bible or that their pastor teaches them? And this means God is dead and organized religion is doomed? A) tell me something I dont know and B) Get a grip. Organized religion has lasted a few thousand years or so. And I like its chances going forward.
Complaints about the Pope are well taken. However, just a reminder Catholicism is a lot more than the Pope. I advise to read a brief history of the Church if you don't believe me.
Actually Mr Derr, Christopher Hitchens strikes me as someone who always believes he has the answers. Ergo he is not a sceptic by your definition. And neither are aethists. They believe they have the answer as to whether God exists.
Anyways, God bless you on your travels.....oops.
Tony,
I never said organized religion or god was dead. I just said that there are many more skeptics and folks who believe in "higher powers" other than Jehovah, Jesus or Mohammed. I also said that religious faith in Europe was waning, and I meant Christian faith before Bradley decided to get tricky and pull a mosque out of his ass. So be it.
And go back and look at the post- you keep making kneejerk assumptions that I am sucking the Hitchens cock. All I said was that his book was the most entertaining of the five most famous neo-atheist works and that it wouldn't change a single believer's mind. I also said that the popularity of these books suggests that there is a hunger for this kind of material.
That is pretty much all I said.
You have made some wild leaps from there. And I understand your point about atheism and certainty, but many atheists refuse to believe in the god(s) of organized religion. We can quibble about definitions (call me an agnostic if you want- it's just another label- should I call you a Catholic?), but why get so caught up on that and berating Christopher Hitchens? I'd be happy to talk about the various tenets of Catholicism or whether the books sales really do mean a rise in skepticism in America, but all you seem to want to do is rip Mr. Hitchens a new one.
I think you have a crush on him.
When are we going to get together to discuss the sessions?
As I only perform with God fearing Christians, I can't imagine participating in this project.
You're an aetheist, I know it.
Oprah sells way more books than Hitchens. Clearly this proves God is a black woman from Chicago by way of Mississippi. Hitchens will burn!
In two weeks? I'm in Chicago starting Thursday for the Giants Cubs series.
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