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[quote x-uri]I just watched he third episode -- and yes, the last three minutes were quite remarkable. It is galvanizing to see an unalloyed statement against religiosity, made with such eloquence and authority -- and somehow charming the way he finished it with a wry smile and acknowledgment that the the thoughtful disbelievers are outnumbered, and overmatched, by the "uncouth and shortsighted" agents of superstition and ignorance.
I cannot believe this religion bashing. Why even bring it up? People believing in God does make them "uncouth and shortsighted" What a bunch of crp. Being an atheist certainly does not make you a "thoughtful disbeliever." You just chose a different path. No points for that.
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Mint, I was referring specifically to the comments Dr. Miller made in the last minutes of the third, and concluding, episode of the documentary under discussion.
The people to whom he was referring in those remarks were described as being "uncouth and shortsighted" in addition to being religious.
His argument was that religion is not a harmless affectation, and that disbelievers ought to mount political opposition to the aims of the religious.
As for my own coinage "thoughtful disbeliever" I intended it to be taken as a distinct category from atheist, since Dr, Miller rejects the latter on the -- eminently reasonable -- grounds that "...we don't have a special name for people who don't believe in ghosts or witches...", so a special name for those who don't believe in gods is unnecessary.
The modifier "thoughtful" indicates that the disbeliever in question came to his or her disbelief through a careful examination and consideration of the notion of the supernatural.
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I don't read it that way. It sounds like it refers to all believers. Maybe I did not see enough of the quote. Guy still sounds like an incredibly arrogant atheist to me who has found an audience to speak to who think they are "intellectuals" too for disbelieving. I have never been exposed before to people who gloat in their non-belief. It's your choice so there you go don't advertise. Madeline Murray was probably correctly portrayed as the "most unpopular person in the Country." Not because she was an atheist but because she promoted it so much and tried to change things to her non believing approval.
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[quote spearmint]I have never been exposed before to people who gloat in their non-belief.
Are you basing this on a quote in a post or did you actually watch the program in question?
I have been exposed to endless amounts of people who gloat in their belief as well as those who gloat in non-belief.
Morons are not limited to one side of the equation. Things are balanced.
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[quote Lux Interior][quote spearmint]I have never been exposed before to people who gloat in their non-belief.
Are you basing this on a quote in a post or did you actually watch the program in question?
I have been exposed to endless amounts of people who gloat in their belief as well as those who gloat in non-belief.
Morons are not limited to one side of the equation. Things are balanced.
Of course I will never watch it. Why should I? Arrogant atheists and hope stifling jerks are not my cup of tea. The fact according to what I heard here that he was on PBS at all is not only disturbing but more reason to yank the funding. We do not need publicly subsidized stations. Unpopular Classic Music is not a civil right. Bill Moyer, LBJ's evil flunky does not deserve a platform with public money.
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[quote spearmint]I don't read it that way. It sounds like it refers to all believers.
Well, I wrote it and I was quoting Dr. Miller, who was not referring to "all believers".
[quote spearmint][Of course I will never watch it. Why should I? Arrogant atheists and hope stifling jerks are not my cup of tea.
Then why post to this thread?
The documentary under discussion is not what you imagine it to be. It is -- as the title says -- a discussion of the history of disbelief, of disbelievers. It explains arguments against a belief in god put forth by philosophers and scientists from antiquity to the present, and places these arguments in historical context.
At the end, the author of the documentary explains what prompted him to undertake the series. He explains it in plain language, without any mealy-mouthed apologies or conciliation directed towards believers.
Consider what it is like for a skeptic living in world where the majority of the population believes in demonstrably false things? Where superstitious thugs take and hold positions of power and try to stifle free thought?
It was, for a disbeliever, refreshing and encouraging to hear someone acknowledge that this is a dangerous state of affairs, and that it should not be tolerated simply because it is impolite, or impolitic, to point out to the religious that they are being very silly.
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Give it up. Minty has made up his mind that all non-believers are haters.
And his mind is like concrete.
All mixed up and permanently set.
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Mint is completely flexible. That is if you exactly agree with me.
