The age of atheism: “If God exists, why is anybody unhappy?” - Salon.comQ: "I’ve attended numerous so-called “Atheist Church” services over the last year, and I notice words like “awe,” “mystery,” and “transcendence” floating around a lot. They make me cringe. Does it seem to you that a new wave of “Atheists” is trying to reclaim an awe or mystery that is actually rooted in early monotheism?A: I’m very much against the concept of transcendence. One problem we have is that many religious words, like “salvation” and”transcendence,” are firmly embedded in our vocabulary. Some people try to make secular equivalents, which I think is a mistake. Rather than going back to the old religious vocabulary, we should go to a new one..."
"For anybody who has wondered about the meaning of life, Peter Watson's 'Age of Atheists'" http://m.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-age-of-atheism-how-we-have-sought-to-live-since-the-death-of-god-by-peter-watson/2014/02/26/2510cd38-9b3a-11e3-9080-5d1d87a6d793_story.html …
Thanks for the Links! I missed the 3QD piece and therefore a new word.
ReplyDeleteotiose |ˈōSHēˌōs, ˈōtēˌōs|
adjective
serving no practical purpose or result: he did fuss, uttering otiose explanations.
• archaic indolent; idle.
Also, the NYT piece on "When May I Shoot a Student?" was brilliant. I first read about it in Huff Po. Here's a quote not in the original:
Hampikian, who teaches biology and criminal justice, told The Huffington Post he wrote the op-ed in a satirical tone “because comedy is really at the heart of intelligent discourse to me."