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Apr. 21st, 2007 02:55 amI wasn't going to comment on the Virginia Tech Massacre (I've said my piece elsewhere- i.e. license guns like cars, so that people who might be a danger to themselves and others can't get easy access to them.)
However this "total bounder" called Dinesh D'Souza has crawled out of the woodwork. I'd not heard of him before, but apparently he's popular with portions of the right wing in the USA. His argument is that atheists have nothing to offer in times of tragedy. This is patently not true. Atheists may not offer platitudes about it being "part of God's plan" or the deceased being "in a better place". What they do offer is the same thing any thinking human would. Their condolences, sympathy and offers of help. I don't deny that religion can provide a source of comfort in times of grief. I bitterly dispute the notion that the non-religious have nothing to offer.
Normally I'd let this pass, and ignore the vile little man, but Dinesh has gone one step further and invoked Richard Dawkins, the Atheist Overlord. Dawkins' message is (apparently) "get over it". Um no, that passage is from a book on evolution, And the universe really does seem pitilessly indifferent to our existence. Apart from our own small planet the rest of the universe is utterly hostile to human life. (Most of parts of the Earth aren't exactly friendly either.) Just because the universe doesn't care if you live or die doesn't mean that the people you share your life with don't. His eulogy (and previous lament) for Douglas Adams clearly demonstrate that. The lament still moves me six years on.
Where are the atheists? In the crowds at the memorials, grieving for their friends and loved ones. The atheists are out there offering a shoulder to cry on.
I find it strange that someone wouold want their funeral to be presided on by a bunch of strangers mouthing platitudes than someone standing up and saying "I loved him, and I will miss him". I have attended two funerals (my grandparents). Both were humanist. No sermons, just a group of friends gathered together to remember someone. We played music, read poetry, and reminisced. Isn't that a better way to mark someone's passing?
However this "total bounder" called Dinesh D'Souza has crawled out of the woodwork. I'd not heard of him before, but apparently he's popular with portions of the right wing in the USA. His argument is that atheists have nothing to offer in times of tragedy. This is patently not true. Atheists may not offer platitudes about it being "part of God's plan" or the deceased being "in a better place". What they do offer is the same thing any thinking human would. Their condolences, sympathy and offers of help. I don't deny that religion can provide a source of comfort in times of grief. I bitterly dispute the notion that the non-religious have nothing to offer.
Normally I'd let this pass, and ignore the vile little man, but Dinesh has gone one step further and invoked Richard Dawkins, the Atheist Overlord. Dawkins' message is (apparently) "get over it". Um no, that passage is from a book on evolution, And the universe really does seem pitilessly indifferent to our existence. Apart from our own small planet the rest of the universe is utterly hostile to human life. (Most of parts of the Earth aren't exactly friendly either.) Just because the universe doesn't care if you live or die doesn't mean that the people you share your life with don't. His eulogy (and previous lament) for Douglas Adams clearly demonstrate that. The lament still moves me six years on.
Where are the atheists? In the crowds at the memorials, grieving for their friends and loved ones. The atheists are out there offering a shoulder to cry on.
I find it strange that someone wouold want their funeral to be presided on by a bunch of strangers mouthing platitudes than someone standing up and saying "I loved him, and I will miss him". I have attended two funerals (my grandparents). Both were humanist. No sermons, just a group of friends gathered together to remember someone. We played music, read poetry, and reminisced. Isn't that a better way to mark someone's passing?
