"I guess it's obvious that Santa Claus is the kid's version of God. If you get to your twenties and you're still believing in God, which I was, I feel it's a state of arrested development, as if a child was twelve and still believed in Santa Claus." -- Julia Sweeney, as heard on NPR's To the Best of our Knowledge.
Although Julia Sweeney - former cast member of SNL - could hardly be called an intellectual, I give her credit for so succinctly summarizing the fall-back position of atheistic luminaries like Dawkins, Dennett, and Sam Harris. Anyone who has encountered the writings of these bold men is quite familiar with such "God as Tooth Fairy" attacks. Indeed, the idea that religion is no more than childish fancy is one of the most treasured and nurtured thoughts among secular elites, largely because it reinforces their sense of superiority over the benighted masses. But sadly, it's a simplistic approach that betrays the ignorance and shallow thinking of its advocates. The main problem is that it misses its intended target by a mile. Sweeney's argument is correct to this extent: if any believer's conception of God actually resembled the figure of Santa Claus, then they would certainly be in a state of arrested development. But very few of the adherents of the world's major religions - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. - have such a crude conception of God. The fact that Sweeney can say that "it's obvious that Santa Claus is the kid's version of God" indicates that she has no understanding of actual faith, and that the faith she thought she had in her twenties was only a sham, and not the real deal. Apparently, she has since come to think that all believers share her simplistic notions of God.
Likewise, Dawkins and Harris have sold a lot of books with their straw-man arguments, running down a caricature of religion that primarily exists in the minds of "secular fundamentalists" like themselves. These modern atheists are not interested in understanding religion, only attacking it. Thus, Dawkins can say that "we should devote as much time to studying serious theology as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns." He makes no effort to understand the best minds of the Christian tradition - Augustine, Aquinas, or Barth - probably because it's so much easier to beat up on the likes of Pat Robertson.
The intellectual laziness of modern atheism is a shame because, as has been pointed out elsewhere, Christianity needs smart atheists to keep it honest. In my estimation, the best example of a "purifying atheist" is Friedrich Nietzsche (for a wonderful synopsis of Nietzsche's contributions to Christian thought, please check out Byron Smith's post here). The son of a Lutheran pastor, Nietzsche had a deeper understanding of Christianity than the vast majority of theologians, past and present. And unlike modern atheists, he took the idea of God very seriously. He may have reached some of the same conclusions about religion as modern atheists, but he took a very different route. His writings bear witness, not to a simple-minded dismissal of God, but to a profound confrontation with his religious heritage. In the end, his struggle may have yielded a purer and more faithful account of the Christian faith. Thus, Eberhard Jungel could say that "[Nietzsche's] thoughts come very close to the Christian truth which he was opposing. They merit special attention." A hundred years from now, I doubt that anyone will be saying the same thing about Harris' recent book.
So here's a challenge to all those aspiring atheists out there: ditch the silly "Santa Claus" argument (you're better than that!) and start engaging religion with a little sophistication. May I suggest a certain German madman?
682 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 682 Newer› Newest»good credit score [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]what is the highest credit score possible [/url] what is a credit score view my credit report https://creditreportadvanced.com/
free online credit report [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]annual credit score [/url] free business credit report free credit report no credit card https://creditreportadvanced.com/
https://creditscoreblk.com/ free annual credit report government official equifax credit score national credit report credit karma uk
https://creditscoresmy.com/ free credit score check how do i check my credit score how to check your credit score free credit score
free credit report annual https://freecreditscoreses.com/ absolutely credit free score canadian credit check credit report monitor
anual credit report [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]how to get a free credit report [/url] credit score ratings chart social credit score free credit score checker
how to dispute credit report [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]equifax business credit report [/url] how to check my credit score what is credit score
https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ my credit score credit score repair equifax credit report credit karma
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ annual credit report free boost credit score credit karma check my credit score free yearly credit report
free transunion credit report [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]my credit scoring [/url] find credit score annual credit report completely free experian
equifax credit score https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ credit score free free credit report gov transunion credit report phone number
credit report online [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]free credit score online credit report [/url] anual credit report annual credit report completely free credit score check free
credit karma [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]credit score repair [/url] free equifax credit report business credit score free credit report instant
get my credit report https://creditreportl.com/ check your credit score annual credit report completely free government annualcreditreport
https://creditreportms.com/ credit score ranges credit report dispute equifax free credit score experian free credit report
https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ myfreecreditreport transunion free credit score credit karma credit scores online
credit score definition [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]transunion free credit report annual [/url] how to ck your credit score my credit score
annual free credit score free equifax credit report karma free credit score credit score repair
credit check [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]free credit score credit report [/url] what is a great credit score how to improve your credit score how to get a credit report
average credit score free credit report and scores boost my credit score yearly free credit report
fico credit score https://creditscoresmob.com/ what is an excellent credit score my credit score credit report for free
experian free credit score [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]transunion credit report phone number [/url] chase credit score freecreditscore high credit score
chase credit score [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]perfect credit score [/url] trans union corporation free credit report how to dispute credit report items high credit score
credit karma free credit report [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]credit karma credit score [/url] credit score repair best free credit report
experian credit score https://getcreditscorefast.com/ does forbearance affect credit score how do i get my credit score credit report dispute
equifax free credit score https://freecreditscoreses.com/ myfreecreditreport freecreditscore check credit score for free
transunion credit report phone number [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]free annual credit report official site [/url] how to credit score how to get credit report what is a great credit score
https://creditreportms.com/ free credit report gov canadian credit check credit score ranges my credit scoring
transunion credit report https://creditreportgetstats.com/ how to raise your credit score fast equifax business credit report how to dispute credit report items
credit report scores [url=https://getcreditreportstats.com/ ]how to get a credit report [/url] find credit score myfreecreditreport
https://creditscoresbureau.com/ check my credit score credit score ratings chart credit score ranges free yearly credit report
free credit score erian [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]chase credit [/url] free credit report annual credit report dispute annual credit report request form
annual credit score [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]credit score ranges [/url] credit karma free credit score free credit report transunion credit score simulator
https://creditreportadvanced.com/ perfect credit score credit karma free credit score score credit free credit report instant
free credit [url=https://creditscoresmy.com/ ]how to raise credit score [/url] free credit scores without paying how to increase credit score best free credit report
check credit report [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]annual free credit report [/url] truly free credit report free credit report transunion
credit karma uk [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]check credit score [/url] free credit score report how to check credit score
my annual credit report free how to dispute credit report items check credit report how to unfreeze credit report
free credit report and scores https://freecreditscoreses.com/ check credit score for free highest credit score credit score needed for mortgage
transunion credit score https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ credit report companies my credit report free credit report transunion
https://getcreditreportstats.com/ credit score free transunion credit score free annual credit report government credit score rating
check credit report government free credit report transunion free credit report online highest credit score
credit [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]cheapest credit report [/url] free credit report no credit card annual free credit score credit score ratings chart
free credit report online credit score [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]business credit score [/url] excellent credit score free credit report online
annual credit report free [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]how to check credit score for free [/url] experian business credit report equifax credit report credit reporting agencies
whats my credit score https://creditscoresbureau.com/ my free credit report my free credit report annual excellent credit score
transunion free credit report online [url=https://creditscoresmy.com/ ]what is a credit score [/url] chase credit absolutely free credit report
experian credit report free [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]check credit score free [/url] online credit report free credit score erian
credit karma check my credit score equifax credit report free annual free credit score online credit report annual credit report completely free government
https://freecreditscoreses.com/ get free credit score free credit score equifax free credit score online credit report credit score needed for mortgage
credit report online [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]freecreditreport [/url] my free annual credit report credit score check free credit score rating
annual credit report request form [url=https://getcreditreportstats.com/ ]online credit report [/url] score credit how to improve credit score intuit credit score
credit karma com free credit score [url=https://freecreditreportstats.com/ ]credit score free [/url] free credit score ck credit karma com free credit score best credit score
free annual credit report equifax credit report how do i get my credit score credit bureaus
get free credit report [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]how to improve credit score [/url] credit score simulator credit scores free freecreditscore
how do i get my credit score [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]freecreditscore [/url] consumer credit report check credit score for free https://creditreportadvanced.com/
free credit score credit report [url=https://creditscoresmy.com/ ]how to ck my credit score [/url] free online credit report find my credit score
credit score simulator free credit report gov trans union corporation free credit report karma free credit score
credit score calculator [url=https://creditscoresmob.com/ ]max credit score [/url] transunion free credit report annual experian free credit report how do i get my credit score
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ annual free credit score credit score chart credit scores online free annual credit report free
check my credit score for free free credit score online credit report credit score chart equifax free credit score
get my credit report [url=https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ ]free credit report government [/url] credit scoring cheapest credit report
annual credit report how to dispute credit report credit score definition free credit reports
free credit reports [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]how to get credit report [/url] how to improve my credit score credit scores free
transunion free credit report online [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]check credit rating [/url] free credit report online credit score what is good credit score
chase credit score [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]credit score definition [/url] check my credit chase credit score highest credit score
chase credit [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]how to get a free credit report [/url] credit bureau how to ck credit score free credit score check
mint credit score [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]absolutely credit free score [/url] credit score check my free credit report annual check my credit score
equifax credit report [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]free credit score [/url] what is credit score experian free credit score free credit report equifax
how to increase your credit score fast [url=https://freecreditreportstats.com/ ]free credit report instant [/url] credit report companies free credit score karma
free credit score ck [url=https://creditscoresmy.com/ ]free yearly credit report [/url] how do i get my credit score how to credit score
free credit card free credit scores without paying credit score rating best credit score
https://getcreditreportstats.com/ equifax free credit report free online credit report credit score calculator annual credit report completely free
https://freecreditreportstats.com/ credit reporting agencies free credit report government perfect credit score check credit
get my credit score [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]how to get a free credit report [/url] myfreecreditreport transunion credit report annualcreditreport
credit bureau [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]cheapest credit report [/url] free credit check best free credit report
annual credit report request form https://webcreditscores.com/ free credit report transunion chase credit score check credit score for free
https://creditscoresmob.com/ what is good credit score my free credit report annual free credit score report get all three credit scores
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ karma free credit score free credit report experian transunion credit report free does forbearance affect credit score
credit check free [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]turbo credit score [/url] free credit report uk credit karma credit score free
free annual credit report free business credit report what is an excellent credit score check your credit score https://creditscoresmob.com/
https://creditreportl.com/ check my credit report free annual credit report official site free credit report annual free experian credit report
my free credit report annual https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ how do i get my credit score boost credit score credit score ranges
https://creditreportadvanced.com/ free annual credit report free credit card score credit check credit score free
get my credit score [url=https://creditscoresbureau.com/ ]transunion free credit report online [/url] experian free credit report good credit score credit score
experian business credit report what is a good credit score number what is an excellent credit score free yearly credit report
get all three credit scores [url=https://creditscoresbureau.com/ ]credit scores [/url] my free credit report absolutely credit free score annual free credit report
experian credit report free what is a good credit score freecreditscore credit score ratings https://creditreportadvanced.com/
free credit report instant what is a good credit score free credit report free experian credit report
credit bureaus credit score calculator anual credit report equifax free credit report
transunion credit report free [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]truly free credit scores [/url] my free credit report annual credit score ratings chart credit scores free
credit reporting agencies https://freecreditreportstats.com/ transunion free credit report check my credit score what is a good credit score number
get a free credit report [url=https://getcreditreportstats.com/ ]highest credit score [/url] how to unfreeze credit report credit score ratings
experian plc experian credit report free equifax free credit score my annual credit report
annual credit report request form https://creditreportms.com/ free credit report info unfreeze credit report credit score scale
what is credit score [url=https://getcreditreportstats.com/ ]free credit report government [/url] whats a good credit score credit report scores
how to increase your credit score fast transunion free credit report annual score credit how to dispute credit report
get my credit report how to raise your credit score fast credit score free how to raise credit score
how to increase your credit score fast my annual credit report free how to increase credit score credit reporting agencies
https://creditreportl.com/ my free credit report annual credit report scores equifax business credit report free credit score check online credit report
annual credit report request form how to dispute credit report items get free credit report online credit report https://creditscoresmob.com/
check your credit score [url=https://webcreditscores.com/ ]transunion credit report phone number [/url] chase credit credit report scores credit karma ck my credit score
good credit score range [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]one time free credit score [/url] annual free credit score good credit score range free credit report online
experian free credit score [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]free credit card [/url] get a free credit report free credit ck
free credit score karma https://creditscoresrw.com/ check credit free credit reports chase credit
check your credit score free credit report online boost credit score absolutely free credit report
https://creditscoresmy.com/ chase credit equifax business credit report check credit score highest credit score
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ free credit report get my free credit report get credit score check my credit report
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ how do i get my credit score free annual credit report free what is the highest credit score possible absolutely credit free score
business credit report experian free credit score free credit score equifax check my credit score credit karma
free online credit report free experian credit report check my credit score for free credit score rating
credit karma free credit score [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]my free annual credit report [/url] cheapest credit report free credit credit score
check credit report what is a credit score free credit score erian transunion free credit score
https://getcreditreportstats.com/ credit score ranges free credit karma turbotax credit score boost credit score
best credit score https://creditreportadvanced.com/ intuit credit score transunion credit report phone number find my credit score
my credit scoring [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]what is a credit score [/url] request credit report how to check your credit score request credit report
what is a perfect credit score [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]get my credit report [/url] credit karma com free credit score mortgage credit report my annual credit report
https://webcreditscores.com/ my free credit report how to ck credit score highest credit score credit score scale
https://creditscoresmob.com/ credit reporting agencies karma credit report credit reports free credit check
what is good credit score [url=https://webcreditscores.com/ ]truly free credit report [/url] boost credit score credit score range highest credit score possible
federally mandated free credit report https://getcreditscorefast.com/ check credit score free credit score online credit report check my credit score for free
karma credit score [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]how to check your credit score [/url] annual credit report free myfreecreditreport
https://creditreportms.com/ check my credit credit karma ck my credit score free credit score checker transunion free credit report online
transunion credit report dispute [url=https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ ]how to get a credit report [/url] what is good credit score annual credit report official site
turbo credit score [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]myfreecreditreport [/url] how to get a credit score free credit score erian free credit score experian
get my credit score how to ck my credit score free business credit report annual credit report completely free government
credit score companies [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]whats a good credit score [/url] business credit report free credit ck
free credit report gov free credit score free credit reports credit score credit report online
free credit report experian freeze credit report check credit scores credit reporting agencies https://creditreportadvanced.com/
credit score repair [url=https://creditscoresrw.com/ ]anual credit report [/url] get credit score credit karma credit score free free credit score check your credit report online
credit report dispute government free credit report boost credit score perfect credit score
credit reporting agency [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]view my credit report [/url] credit karma free credit report how to ck your credit score how to ck your credit score
get my credit report https://creditreportadvanced.com/ dispute credit report free credit report uk free annual credit report
free credit report https://freecreditreportstats.com/ fico credit score get a credit report credit score range
free credit score now experian credit report get free credit score how to increase credit score
https://creditscoresmy.com/ credit report agencies find my credit score high credit score free credit scores
https://freecreditscoreses.com/ free credit score free credit reports free credit report experian how to dispute credit report credit score calculator
annual credit report request form [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]free credit score free credit reports [/url] free equifax credit report free credit score erian
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ karma free credit score checking credit score get free credit score credit report scores
https://creditscoresmob.com/ mint credit score credit report dispute equifax free credit score credit score simulator
credit bureau https://creditreportms.com/ free credit score erian free credit score ck my free annual credit report
annualcreditreport https://creditreportl.com/ check my credit score for free does forbearance affect credit score free annual credit report official site
https://creditscorecheckresults.com/ equifax credit report boost my credit score how to ck your credit score free transunion credit report
https://creditreportl.com/ credit score ratings chart credit karma credit report score credit credit scores free
free online credit score [url=https://creditscoreblk.com/ ]free credit report government [/url] absolutely credit free score free credit score erian what credit score for mortgage
https://creditscoresbureau.com/ credit report scores how to get a free credit report how to check credit score for free discover credit score
annual credit score https://creditscoreblk.com/ my credit score free credit score report free credit score credit report
online credit score [url=https://creditreportadvanced.com/ ]experian free credit score [/url] highest credit score possible highest credit score https://creditreportadvanced.com/
free credit report equifax my credit scoring boost credit score find credit score https://creditreportadvanced.com/
check credit rating [url=https://creditscoresmy.com/ ]check my credit score credit karma [/url] check credit score high credit score
credit scores online https://freecreditscoreses.com/ transunion free credit report credit report online best credit score
credit reporting [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]highest credit score possible [/url] freecreditreport minimum credit score for mortgage
credit check [url=https://freecreditscoreses.com/ ]what is a credit score [/url] transunion free credit score free equifax credit report highest credit score
annual credit report completely free government [url=https://getcreditreportstats.com/ ]free credit score free credit reports [/url] average credit score truly free credit scores how do i check my credit score
credit score check free [url=https://freecreditreportstats.com/ ]free credit score karma [/url] credit score check credit reporting agency social credit score
https://getcreditreportstats.com/ karma free credit score credit karma check my credit score free credit report gov get a credit report
https://creditreportms.com/ my annual credit report free chase credit mint credit score get my credit score
get my free credit report [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]credit rating check [/url] free credit scores check credit rating
https://creditscoresmob.com/ what is a perfect credit score credit karma how to unfreeze credit report highest credit score
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ credit score range get my free credit report my credit score check credit rating
transunion free credit report online business credit score credit score ratings free credit report gov https://getcreditscorefast.com/
credit score range credit bureau credit score free chase credit score
https://creditreportl.com/ how to ck my credit score annual credit report absolutely free credit report my annual credit report
get credit score free credit score checker free annual credit report government get a free credit report
https://creditreportl.com/ transunion free credit report annual how to improve your credit score transunion free credit report annual what credit score for mortgage
check free credit score credit score simulator free credit report free credit card
average credit score good credit score get a credit report equifax free credit score
free credit scores get credit report - free credit report free annual credit report government official how to improve your credit score
how to credit report https://creditreportl.com/ credit karma credit score free free credit check free credit score ck
https://creditreportms.com/ what credit score for mortgage truly free credit report annual free credit report score credit
https://creditreportms.com/ how to increase your credit score fast perfect credit score how to improve my credit score transunion credit report free
free credit score online [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]freecreditreport [/url] find credit score check credit score for free turbotax credit score
credit score online [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]free credit karma [/url] score credit free credit score checker credit report online
what is my credit score [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]credit karma free credit score [/url] free credit government free credit report https://getcreditscorefast.com/
free credit score [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]checking credit score [/url] free credit scores without paying intuit credit score
free annual credit report complaints [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]check your credit rating [/url] my free credit report how to dispute credit report items business credit score
absolutely credit free score free credit ck freeze credit report credit karma credit score
what is the highest credit score possible how do i get my credit score karma credit score credit bureau
credit bureau [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]get all three credit scores [/url] yearly free credit report transunion free credit report
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ best credit score free credit score ck free credit report government trans union corporation free credit report
credit score ratings chart [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]credit bureau [/url] perfect credit score credit bureaus
check credit score free [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]free experian credit report [/url] check credit report annual credit report request form annual credit score
check credit scores [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]credit reports [/url] my annual credit report how to read credit report
how to check credit score [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]my credit score [/url] truly free credit report minimum credit score for mortgage credit scores online
get credit score [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]credit score scale [/url] what credit score for mortgage credit karma free credit report free credit report government
unfreeze credit report [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]my free credit report annual [/url] fico credit score online credit report consumer credit report
free transunion credit report https://getcreditscorefast.com/ free credit report government highest credit score credit karma uk
https://creditreportms.com/ credit reporting agency highest credit score free credit report how to get a free credit report
how to improve credit score [url=https://creditreportms.com/ ]mint credit score [/url] free credit report online free credit report uk equifax credit score
https://creditreportms.com/ annual free credit report official site free online credit report credit karma ck my credit score transunion free credit report annual
what is a great credit score https://creditreportl.com/ credit report online freecreditreport what is the highest credit score possible
credit report agencies [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]how to check my credit score [/url] check my credit report boost credit score https://creditreportl.com/
what is considered a good credit score https://getcreditscorefast.com/ credit score simulator my annual credit report free absolutely free credit report
equifax credit report free annual [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]get my credit report [/url] free credit report experian how to improve your credit score cheapest credit report
unfreeze credit report [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]mortgage credit report [/url] what is a good credit score number equifax free credit report how to credit report
my credit scoring [url=https://getcreditscorefast.com/ ]intuit credit score [/url] free credit report government credit score free one time free credit score
https://getcreditscorefast.com/ transunion credit report free check my credit score credit karma credit karma credit score get credit report
karma credit score what credit score for mortgage free equifax credit report anual credit report
free credit scores [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]free credit score ck [/url] minimum credit score for mortgage my free credit report
free transunion credit report [url=https://creditreportl.com/ ]credit bureau [/url] boost my credit score free credit karma
Post a Comment