Well, could it get any better than that? In the past I have objected to people taking the position that Dawkins is a religious leader for the Atheist religion<\/a>. I am sure 99.99% of the worlds population can, after giving it a moments thought, see how ludicrous the concept is. I wish I didn’t have to say it but some people don’t realise that Atheism is not <\/strong>a competing religion. Not believing in (deity of choice) is not the “opposite” of believing in the said deity.<\/p>\n

Strangely, this seems to be a concept which religious people really can not come to terms with. This results in them identifying prominent atheists and subjecting them to the treatment as if they were priests of a heretical religion. This is farcical. Entertaining, but farcical none the less.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I was following the “FriendlyAtheist.com” blasphemy challenge links out of curiosity and I found some interesting sites which largely indicate to me (living in the comparatively secular UK) the extent that religious dogma provides an undercurrent to the thought processes of people in the US.<\/p>\n

One site which really stood out was on WSLS.com (“Blasphemy Challenge targets youngsters<\/a>“). Now without going into the rather tepid journalistic style there were some bits which amazed me. Before I paste the quotes, I should explain myself. Remember, journalists write in a language they assume their audiences will understand and are nearly always going to bias their editorial space in the direction they think their readers and supporters will appreciate. With that in mind, look at these gems: (emphasis mine)<\/p>\n

I asked Donald Shedd, biology professor at Randolph College in Lynchburg, about the videos:”are you surprised?”<\/p>\n

Shedd: “no, not at all. An increasing number of people are prepared to verbalize that.” Shedd is a follower of Richard Dawkins<\/strong>, who he calls the “Pope” of atheism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blimey. Surely Dawkins assumption of the Atheist Papal position should have been made public! Now, I do actually wonder if this was something Donald Shedd said or if it was something the journalist prompted for (or made up). But it is no where near as worrying as the “follower of Dawkins” comment.<\/p>\n

Atheism is not a religion. Dawkins is not the Prophet of the Atheist God. When he says something, he is giving his own opinion and leaving his comments open to debate and challenge. Do people not understand what being an Atheist is?<\/p>\n

This is followed up with:<\/p>\n

“The blasphemy challenge” says it’s largely based on Dawkins’ teachings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What? I mean, seriously, WHAT?<\/p>\n

Dawkins is an expert on Evolutionary Biology. I have read the Blasphemy challenge<\/a> website and it has nothing to do with biology nor it is based on any biology textbooks. Does the “journalist” who wrote the article actually think that Dawkins’ books (God Delusion, Blind Watchmaker etc) are “teachings” which are followed by Atheists?<\/p>\n

Madness. Pure, unadulterated madness.<\/p>\n

Sadly, this is, I suspect, an example of the journalist writing for his audience. They are probably religious people who expect to see a competing religion (I know, I know) have a Pope and have teachings.<\/p>\n

Doesn’t stop it being madness though. Currently there is only one comment for this story (another one written by a very rational person may be awaiting moderation though…) and it reads:<\/p>\n

God is very real and people better start believing it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well, enough said really. There is nothing I could write that would be funnier than that.<\/p>\n

Technorati Tags: Atheist<\/a>, Richard Dawkins<\/a>, Religion<\/a>, Blasphemy<\/a>, Christianity<\/a>, Bible<\/a>, Philosophy<\/a><\/p>\n

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