Reply To: You wouldn’t believe it

[Gurnelista]

Aye aye-ey, I was baptised and went had a taste of it all at school and to some extent at home. Soon gave up on it though, particularly when abroad and seeing the similarities common to decent human behaviour everywhere, and the way people basically inherit their superstition from the state. Oh, and learning about the history of religious thought; how it was basically a pre-scientific story to help people understand the universe – how pretty much every country and community had its own version until they were conquered and forced to adopt the story of the rulers.

As for JI’s point, passing on values to kids such as honesty and kindness – which we all do or should – is quite different to indoctrinating them with mythology.

If someone in the media or public life comes out with wacky beliefs they rightly get called out for it, David Icke for one, Glen Hoddle for another.

More important tho’, is when it involves our public representatives such as MP’s. Yet, for some reason the religious ones get away with it, like the ‘Lords Spiritual’, despite having crazy ideas about second comings and goings and even denying evolution!

Nobody would take seriously a person who believed, say, that babies are brought to families by a stork, or that the dead return as insects. Why should it be any different with those holding views based on superstition?

The main problem is, I suppose, that by declaring their atheism and challenging a religious view of the world, many would be worried about losing their electoral popularity and privilege. And they may lose much more. If they put their cards on the table and honestly called out the craziness of Christianity or any other superstition, as many folk did with Hoddle, Icke and their like, they might need start wearing a bullet-proof vest.

But it wouldn’t be any atheist who’s holding the weapon.