Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 11, 2017 14:57:57 GMT
"Can theists and atheists live together in any sort of mutual respect? That is far more than an academic debating point. Throughout history, theocrats have punished dissidents who reject the state religion. In the 20th century, atheist regimes subjected religion to bloody repression, and a few, like North Korea, still do. And in recent years, especially in the Islamic world, thee has been a resurgence in the persecution of those who reject the prevailing form of religion, or all religion.
The rise in religious oppression is one of the factors that galvanized "new atheists" like the late Christopher Hitchens, who thought "religion poisons everything" .... but there is another form of cerebral atheism. John Gray ... is a strong advocate of the view that theism and atheism can coexist in freedom and a sort of amity."
I'm reminded of a quote, from Hitchens, at this point:
"“Many religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity and uplift, competing as they do in a marketplace. But we have a right to remember how barbarically they behaved when they were strong and were making an offer that people could not refuse.”
(God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything)