Monthly Archive

    Responding to criticism and arguing coherently are the hallmarks of reasonable, mature debate.  Browsing the articles on Alternet my attention was drawn to the article that shares the same moniker as this post, minus the question mark.  I was hoping for some meaty, thought-provoking arguments by Scofield.  I was disappointed.   The 5 points seem to be weak caricatures of common atheist arguments, and if they can rebutted by the relative small fry of the atheist community like me, they most certainly do not hold much weight.

5. Liberal and Moderate Religion Justifies Religious Extremism

“Sam Harris states that moderates are “in large part responsible for the religious conflict in our world” and “religious tolerance–born of the notion that every human being should be free to believe whatever he wants about God–is one of the principal forces driving us toward the abyss.” And Richard Dawkins states, “The teachings of ‘moderate’ religion, though not extremist in themselves, are an open invitation to extremism.” Christopher Hitchens has called liberation theology “sinister nonsense” and compared the liberal Unitarian tradition to rats and vermin.

The problem with this line of thinking is that it leads to some unwanted logical conclusions when applied equally to other ideas. It is hypocritical to selectively apply the principle where it suits one’s needs but not elsewhere.”

“We can ask whether or not all liberal and moderate expressions of something are responsible for their most extreme forms. Are the people who casually smoke marijuana in any way responsible for the death of someone involved in a violent heroin drug trade? Is a social drinker of alcohol creating the environment that leads to alcoholism?” Is a pediatrician responsible for Nazi medical experiments simply because he or she participates in the field of medicine? How about politics? Is a liberal democracy responsible for forms of government such as totalitarianism or fascism? […]

“[…] the more rational and tolerant uses of science, religion, medicine or government cannot be blamed for the destructive and harmful uses of them.”

Sam Harris speaks about this idea of the moderately religious supporting the radical religious in a very case.  It is not a generalization that makes sense to apply to other situations.  The idea that religious moderates facilitate the radical wings of their religion is different than the examples Scofield uses.  The difference begins with the idea that there is an equivalency based in religion that does not exist in the other examples listed.  The equivalency is this: Religious moderates and radicals use the same play-book to express their beliefs.

This leads to Islam claiming to be the religion of “peace” while claiming to do God’s work in suicide bombings, or the christian faith in both justifying and arguing against slavery using passages from the bible.  It is this salient point that makes Harris’s argument work while exposing the false equivalence of what Scofield is attempting to do.

Does social drinking set the environment for the abuse of alcohol, it certainly can, but it does not claim to justify destructive actions caused by people who take drinking to the extreme.  Social drinkers do not tacitly condone the irresponsible actions of others; it is rather the opposite, if responsible people are around, overindulgence is generally frowned upon.   I have never once seen a “please consume responsibly” warning on a religious text or commercial.

I’d go further with examples, but there really is no point because the analogies Scofield draws are incongruous with reality.  Science, when still performed as science adheres closely with rationality whether you are a moderate believer in science or a radical one, that aim remains the same, the search for testable, falsifiable, truths about the physical universe we inhabit.

4. Religion Requires a Belief in a Supernatural God

“I understand why anti-religious atheists are so reluctant to accept the fact that being religious doesn’t mean belief in the supernatural. The simplistic and convenient myth they’ve constructed would be shattered.”

Well, there are exceptions to the rule.  That is unsurprising.   The problem is that the religious that are currently infecting North American currently *do* require a belief in the supernatural, or at the very least magic.  Scofield’s fourth point is a a red herring of sorts.

3. Religion Causes Bad Behavior

Read the rest of this entry »