The dialogue I propose, or rather, the environment I propose in which such dialogue is permitted to occur without a load of useless interfering chaff (such as "why are you doing this?") would see to who actually has the logic and rational arguments. I don't want to force anything, I just want to remove this ridiculous special protection afforded to religious idea just because they are religious. I still can't believe you guys buy into that!
:
Sure, criticise militant religionists all you like. But don't tar all of them with the same brush.
:
|
enabling those who would (for example) rather pray than acquire medical care for desperately sick children
|
For the record, anyone who does that isn't a moderate. I know plenty of fundamentalists who would say that's goddamn stupid. |
:
|
I have to say something that is heartfelt, and is also meant to offend. I do not absolve you mealy-mouthed moderates, I do not regard your beliefs as harmless. If Colleen Hauser or Leilani Neumann were in your church, you'd tell them to get medical care, but you'd also validate their belief in prayers. You would provide the soothing background muzak that says prayer is good, prayer is virtuous, prayer will connect you to the great lord who can do anything, prayer will give you solace in your time of worry. You would not raise your voice to say that prayer is useless, prayer is self-defeating, that while prayer might make you feel better while your child is suffering, that is no virtue. You pray yourselves. You think it is a noble and generous act for your representatives to prowl the corridors of hospitals, preying on the desperation of the sick. You abase yourselves before false hopes, and sacrifice human dignity on an altar built from the bones of the dead. You would spread the poison, piously excusing yourselves because you only want to administer sub-lethal doses.
You are Abraham's enablers. I hope you all feel a small tremor of guilt when you sit your own children down at bedtime to beg a nonexistent being for aid, when you plant the seed of futile supplication and surrender to delusions in their trusting minds. Damn you all.
|