25 September 2008
Training and atheism
The training was better than I expected actually. I found it all very easy, but I still learnt some things I didn't know, and corrected some things I thought I knew but apparently didn't. The only annoying thing was the bizarre woman sitting behind me who during the afternoon started mewling like a kitten at everything the trainer said. She kept going "Hmmmm..... Mmmm hmmmmm.... Hmmmm?..... Hmmmmm!...... Mmmmm". I was thinking a) shut the hell up, and b) this must be what having sex with you sounds like. What the hell was she doing?? Did we all really need to hear her quizzical squealings all through the afternoon? It also sounded quite like she'd had her mouth taped shut. I wish they'd done her nose as well.
Yesterday I also started reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, on Chris' recommendation. He's been terribly fired up in his atheism since he read it. Atheism is a nice word actually when you break it down into its component parts. Anyway, I've only read the preface so far, but I'm already enjoying it. He's used the preface to demolish the criticisms of earlier editions of the book, by looking at each one, deconstructing it, and then explaining why it's wrong, e.g. 'the book is strident and shrill' - no it's not, it just says things certain people don't want to hear without pulling any punches, but is still less strident and shrill than those people themselves; 'the book is as fundamentalist as the people it condemns' - no it isn't, he argues based on logic and the evidence available, if people want to show him compelling evidence in support of religion and creationism, he'll happily change his mind - a fundamentalist would not.
So anyway, I'm sure I'll enjoy the book, and it'll probably turn my fairly vague and slightly guilty-feeling lack of belief in God into full-blown atheism. I already like his first main point: there are no religious children, only children of religious parents - they're not old enough to have a position on religion, in the same way that they have no position on politics or economics.
Yesterday I also started reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, on Chris' recommendation. He's been terribly fired up in his atheism since he read it. Atheism is a nice word actually when you break it down into its component parts. Anyway, I've only read the preface so far, but I'm already enjoying it. He's used the preface to demolish the criticisms of earlier editions of the book, by looking at each one, deconstructing it, and then explaining why it's wrong, e.g. 'the book is strident and shrill' - no it's not, it just says things certain people don't want to hear without pulling any punches, but is still less strident and shrill than those people themselves; 'the book is as fundamentalist as the people it condemns' - no it isn't, he argues based on logic and the evidence available, if people want to show him compelling evidence in support of religion and creationism, he'll happily change his mind - a fundamentalist would not.
So anyway, I'm sure I'll enjoy the book, and it'll probably turn my fairly vague and slightly guilty-feeling lack of belief in God into full-blown atheism. I already like his first main point: there are no religious children, only children of religious parents - they're not old enough to have a position on religion, in the same way that they have no position on politics or economics.
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1 comment:
I'll be interested to see what you think of the book once you've read it...might add it to my reading list. Helen.
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