Religious News Verses: The Shrinking Pool, Thoughts for the Day and Crybaby Theists
Baptist Planet points out that the Southern Baptists will be running out of members because demographics show that there is a shrinking pool of potential recruits.
Lord Birt, the former Director General of the BBC, has called for atheists to contribute to Radio 4's "Thought for the Day," according to the UK's Telegraph. Religious broadcasts over public airwaves have been increasing, but the religious belief is contrasting. 46% of the British are non-believers. The Telegraph writes:
Lord Birt, who was head of the corporation between 1992 and 2000 appeared to agree that there needed to be a greater range of views.
He said: "The BBC must one day soon loosen the stranglehold of the established religious organisations and more fully embrace the humanist movement."
He described the humanist tradition as "a loose network of individuals broadly exercised by questions of the spirit, concerned to optimise the sum total of human happiness here on earth; individuals naturally respectful of others, wedded to rationalism and to scientific rigour, revering all life, unafraid to proclaim and to celebrate the joy of existence and the richness of human expression."
When plans for a non-religious Thought for the Day on Radio 4's Today programme were mooted earlier this year, it sparked criticism from faith leaders. They said that in an increasingly secular climate, it was "vitally important" that religion retains its voice.
Michael Brull writes in Australia's The Age about the "New Crybaby Theists," pointing out that religious leaders say that they are being discriminated against if anyone questions or ridicules their beliefs. He observes,
The public and commercial prominence and success of atheist writers such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and AC Grayling has been heralded as the rise of a "new atheism". Yet the response to this could equally be heralded as the rise of a "new theism".
Facing a new attack with an international audience playing close attention, religions have as little rational argument in their favour as ever. There was a time when they could deal with dissent through more draconian measures: the kind that can still be practiced in, say, Saudi Arabia. Having lost the power of the gun in the West, apologists of religion have a new weapon: being offended.
Rather than confronting (say) Dawkins' arguments with counter-arguments, people like Craven, and many others like him, instead cry out: why are you picking on us? All we want is for you to respect our beliefs. And so, the crybaby theists hide behind the demand for respect, which sounds reasonable enough. The more shameless — and their ranks are represented in many religions, such as Muslims, Christians and Jews — complain that when someone criticises their religious faith, the people who belong to that religion are being subjected to abuse.
The bottom line is that such special pleading is a way for theists to avoid answering their critics. The cry that religious beliefs are not being treated respectfully often demonstrates incredible arrogance and hypocrisy.
Brull's article was in response to an opinion piece by Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. In "A plague of atheists has descended, and Catholics are the target," Craven opines that:
FROM time immemorial, this world has been troubled by plagues. From bogong moths in Canberra to frogs in biblical Egypt, unwelcome and unlovely creatures have the awkward habit of turning up in bulk.
Just now, we are facing one of our largest and least appealing infestations. Somewhat in advance of summer's blowflies, we are beset by atheists. Worse, they are not traditional atheists. These tended to be quiet blokes called Algie with ancillary interests in nudist ceramics, who were perfectly happy as long as you pretended to accept a pamphlet in Flinders Lane.
No, the new hobby atheist is as brash, noisy and confident as a cheap electric kettle. They want everyone to know that they have not found God, and that no one else should.
The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission sent out an email alert this morning, inviting people to participate in the "Rally for Religious Free Speech." The CADC claims that the expanded hate crimes legislation will ban Christians from their free speech rights to preach against homosexuals and others that they find unfavorable. According to the alert,
Please join us at 1:30pm on November 16th in front of the Department of Justice in Washington DC, as we fight for our religious liberties.At the rally, a group of ministers will preach from the Bible on the prohibition against homosexuality, then we will present a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that the religious liberty of all Americans be respected.
The hate crimes legislation does not prohibit these people from their free speech. In fact, it explicitly provides free speech and religious liberty protections.
Related posts:
- Religious News Verses: Gays, Imprisonment and the Rapture
- Religious News Verses: Churching the Unchurched; The Bets Are On
- Hate Crimes Bill Passes Senate with Religious Speech Amendment
- Religious News Verses: Who's The Most Intolerant?
- Religious News Verses: Prayer, Hate and Christmas
- Religious News Verses — The Myth of Christian Persecution in America
- Religious News Verses – Lawsuits, Racism and Atheism
- Religious News Verses: Faith, Atheists and Cruising for God
- Religious News Verses
- Religious News Verses: Barton's Bogus Quotes Used by the Tea Party and More 'Christian Nation' News
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