A Manifesto

An Atheist’s Manifesto is a well-written four page article that pretty much says what the title indicates. It asks some hard questions, raises some interesting points and alternates between being funny and really quite scary:

It is worth noting that no one ever needs to identify himself as a non-astrologer or a non-alchemist. Consequently, we do not have words for people who deny the validity of these pseudo-disciplines. Likewise, atheism is a term that should not even exist. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make when in the presence of religious dogma. The atheist is merely a person who believes that the 260 million Americans (87% of the population) who claim to “never doubt the existence of God” should be obliged to present evidence for his existence—and, indeed, for his benevolence, given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day. Only the atheist appreciates just how uncanny our situation is: Most of us believe in a God that is every bit as specious as the gods of Mount Olympus; no person, whatever his or her qualifications, can seek public office in the United States without pretending to be certain that such a God exists; and much of what passes for public policy in our country conforms to religious taboos and superstitions appropriate to a medieval theocracy. Our circumstance is abject, indefensible and terrifying. It would be hilarious if the stakes were not so high.

Veering off on a tangent for a while, I actually had to look up a couple of words while reading that, one of them being unctuous which, in the context of the article, is being “characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness” which stems from one of its other meanings, “having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.” What a great word.

Posted in Textism on Friday December 9, 2005.