Wednesday, September 19, 2007
(Weekly Column)The Washington Post had a fascinating series last weekend discussing the rise of a movement representing "nonbelievers." The trend is worldwide, but is also taking root in America, one of the most religious western nations. As radical fundamentalism has spiraled out of control, many people are standing up and loudly declaring that there is simply too much God permeating our society.
According to the Post, the Atheist Alliance International's membership has almost doubled in the past year to 5,200. Its membership is mushrooming to the point where its national convention in Crystal City later this month has a 500-person waiting list.
The article also points out that five books promoting atheism have hit the bestseller lists in the past two years, outpacing even The Pope's latest book on Jesus. That is enough to make even an atheist scream "holy cow."
Additionally, the Post states that the Council for Secular Humanism's budget has climbed to $8 million, a 40 percent rise in two years. The group now has a think tank in Washington to promote the humanist principles of "science, reason and secularism." This movement of nonbelievers has formed American Atheists in Washington, which administers the Godless Americans PAC.
The surge in political atheism is clearly a reaction to the utter obnoxiousness of today's fundamentalists. No matter what the religion, these fanatics have made it clear that they have a God-given right to rule the earth and subjugate anyone who does not sing from the same hymn sheet.
The Middle East, of course, is the manifestation of such sectarian madness. The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks God wants his country to have a nuclear bomb. This may lead to George W. Bush, who has his own messiah complex, to bomb Tehran. In Saudi Arabia, the government lops off peoples' heads if they are deemed to have pissed off Allah (homosexuals make the list). In Iraq, it seems everyone is tuned into the God channel and speaks on his behalf. In Israel, meanwhile, ultra-orthodox Jews believe that God has given the "chosen people" all of the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. But, Palestinian fanatics swear that Allah intends for Muslims to eradicate Israel. With so much God, peace doesn't stand a prayer.
Either some of these people who are hearing God's voice are delusional, or God is a diabolical troublemaker. Is He whispering it the ears of radical Jews, "hey, you're the chosen people, keep every inch of the land," and then turning around and telling Palestinian Jihadis, "you know this is Muslim territory, now go out and blow yourself up for it." And when the big fight God instigated is about to break out, does he call his bookie to place bets?
This week, our homegrown fundamentalists took center stage with two creepy events in Florida, an important swing state. On Tuesday, they hosted the "Values Voter Presidential Debate," where lunatics were allowed 24-hour leave from the asylum to ask presidential also-rans their plans to bring our nation back to the Stone Age. I was fully expecting an impassioned argument to break out on whether the moderator's title should be changed to "agitator," because the proper term sounded too much like "moderate."
I suggest that in the next election cycle, the Democratic National Committee sponsor this debate, so all Americans can watch self-righteous buffoons turn the Republican candidates in to puritanical cartoons. The only thing worse than the political pandering, was watching the loopy activists act so demanding.
It was also quite clear to me that these activists did not look like happy people. Each one was more dour than the next, hardly advertisements for the joys of fundamentalism. They seemed unusually grumpy, which was odd, because the majority of Republican presidential candidates were playing their tune on issues like evolution, so as not to offend their senseless sensibilities.
The candidates weren't much better. While they all sucked up to the overblown legend of Ronald Reagan, they looked more like the Grim Reaper than The Gipper. Maybe they were afraid to laugh because they would reveal fangs? The only one that exuded humor was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who often seems more suited to a gig on Comedy Central, than to playing a central role in the presidential primaries.
The second event is the Family Impact Summit, a three-day hate-a-palooza in a Tampa suburb where a throng of right wing ideologues will mix with "ex-gay" leaders to plot how to take control of America. To counter the event, Equality Florida will hold a press conference and a rally outside the church where the Summit is being held. (I will participate)
While the fundamentalists fulminate in Tampa, the Post article mentioned one statistic that should worry them. While six percent of people over sixty have no faith in God, one in four adults ages 18-22 have no such faith. I believe this number will only grow as long as "Crazies for Christ" whose main value is vindictiveness represent"God's people."
34 Comments:
The sad thing about all this, is that most people who hold spiritual or religious beliefs are not mouth-foaming crazies who want Harry Potter banned from the local library or Halloween parties cancelled. Moderate and liberal churches and synogogues need to speak out and participate more. Although I am not an atheist, I'd take a kind-hearted level headed atheist any day over a religious zealot who thinks they have all the answers. Maybe the 'wars of religion' in the future will be between believers and not believers as opposed to sectarian violence (or considering the human race--we'll end up with both!) God help us! (Assuming there is one).
ps..a good group battling the religious right (and they're also gay-friendly) is www.jewsonfirst.org
You dont have to be Jewish to participate.
posted by , at
9/19/2007 9:55 AM
As radical fundamentalism has spiraled out of control, many people are standing up and loudly declaring that there is simply too much God permeating our society.
Thank God!
posted by , at
9/19/2007 1:25 PM
You have an interesting theological take on God. I wonder if there is any chance that you may have it wrong?
posted by , at
9/19/2007 5:04 PM
I usually love your columns but you have outdone yourself this time. If it weren't for the United Church of Christ I would become an atheist. I don't think that these zealots are religious at all, they just want to dominate and tell everyone else how to behave and what to believe. Most wars over the centuries have been about religion and it's so wrong. Live and let live is my motto and I will continue to believe this until the day I die.
posted by , at
9/19/2007 11:02 PM
Wayne, I'm a member of Freedom from Religion where there are many believers and atheists alike. The longer I live the more I become disillusioned with all forms of religion. Marx was right, it IS the opiate of the people.
posted by , at
9/20/2007 8:25 AM
I'm just a poor old Lutheran trying to do the right thing by people. These Crazies for Christ haven't got a clue.
posted by Richard, at
9/20/2007 11:55 PM
It's high time to take America back from these God-driven crazies and religious fanatics aka warmongers and peoplehaters.
posted by Yvon Thivierge, at
9/21/2007 1:01 PM
The problem isn't "God," but people making raising their own self-righteousness to the level of supreme authority (literally). Unfortunately, it seems to be a basic human tendency which, in the absence of theistic religion, manifests itself in other ways. What can one person do, other than train him/herself to "live and let live"?
posted by , at
9/21/2007 1:51 PM
The Values Voter Debate was held on Monday night not Tuesday as you state, and obviously you didn't attend because I didn't meet one grump or dour person the whole time I was there.
posted by , at
9/21/2007 5:47 PM
What kind of "values" are being debated, anyway?? it's such a modern construct of middle-age protestant christians.
posted by Emily K, at
9/21/2007 8:26 PM
Perhaps you are a dour person and that is why you were unable to recognize one. The people at the forum - I watched a live stream on the Internet - looked downright miserable and depressed.
posted by Wayne Besen, at
9/22/2007 1:03 AM
What kind of "values" are being debated, anyway?? it's such a modern construct of middle-age protestant christians.
Emily, these are not Protestant Christians. They are evangelicals and fundamentalists. They don't consider themselves Protestant. They claim themselves "true christians" while Catholics, Orthodox, Protestant(Methodists, Baptists etc...) are all heretics. They preach the false doctrine of the Rapture and claim the Bible to be all source of authority and faith. To them God has stopped talking and dropped the Bible from the sky as his final word. God can yet be revealing himself to man but they won't believe it or listen to his voice because it may contradict the Bible and their personal beliefs.
I couldn't imagine be in the middle of that whole summit. *shivers*
posted by , at
9/22/2007 4:29 AM
I can say that a fear and loathing for the fundamentalist/dominionist craziness that's arisen in the last few years has led me to find out more about secularism/humanism; I've read some brilliant stuff by Sam Harris, for example, and found some great good sense there. I've also discovered a great many good minds have followed the same road.
posted by Tom, at
9/22/2007 9:37 AM
Yup! and everytime the neocons go balistic on organizations like MoveOn.org, membership and donations skyrocket. I myself gave them another donation after that fascist censuring of the ad in the NY Times. The shmucks never learn, the fastest way to get people to read a book or see a movie is try to have it banned. The crazies who are against 'secular humanism' are actually promoting it by their extreme rhetoric and political activity.
Red V
posted by , at
9/22/2007 10:06 AM
Wayne dear, watching the event online is nothing like being there in person.
Doesn't it bother you that you stated the debate was on Tuesday, when in reality it was Monday night?
Seriously, don't you think getting a simple fact wrong is evidence that you're not really that informed.
posted by , at
9/23/2007 11:07 AM
It is nonfactual to call your personal opinion a fact. The people who appeared on television are clearly lunatic fringe and dour. Are you suggesting that they were really smiling and it was the television cameras that magically turned the smiles into frowns? Please, enlighten me.
posted by Wayne Besen, at
9/23/2007 11:39 AM
They looked like Nazis who were just told that they lost the war, a group of monochromatic moralizers.
posted by , at
9/23/2007 2:31 PM
Hmm well I didn't see the whole debate, but I did see clips of it in which a clearly terrified and superstitious activist asked the candidates what they intend to do to "stop the homosexual agenda" (Aaaaagh! Run away! The gays are after your children!!), as well as a gospel choir singing a demonized version of "God Bless America" with the words "why should God bless America?"
Good lord, if liberals sang such an anti-American version of that song, the entire world would crash down on them and they would be accused of "hating America".
But apparently only the crazy religious right gets to hate both America and other Americans.
posted by Rygar, at
9/23/2007 2:33 PM
This week, our homegrown fundamentalists took center stage with two creepy events in Florida, an important swing state. On Tuesday, they hosted the "Values Voter Presidential Debate,"
Hmmm, considering you can't tell the truth about the night the debate was on, I'm sure the "dour" looks are only your reality....
posted by , at
9/23/2007 7:09 PM
OK, so all of Wayne's opinions and commentary on fundamentalism and the "Value Voter" debate are completely unbelievable and illegitimate merely because he innocently thought the debate was on a Tuesday instead of Monday?
With such splendidly illogical thinking, it's no wonder you fundies fall for the ex-gay baloney hook, line and sinker. Fooling you guys is as easy as taking candy from a blind baby! If the only fault that you can find with Wayne's commentary is his innocently reporting the debate as being on a Tuesday instead of Monday evening, you are clearly on the losing side of this debate.
posted by , at
9/24/2007 8:41 AM
Perfectly said Chris! And if we want to split hairs, in the rest of the world, Asia and Europe etc., it WAS Tuesday!
Gary (NJ)
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