BRIDGE BUILDING OR BRIDGE-BOMBING

Recently, I concluded an exchange with a militant atheist (MA) by saying, “No respect, no conversation,” after he had made several demeaning comments. I thought that my response was very appropriate.

He responded, “To get respect, you’ve got to earn respect.” However, in many cases, the theist cannot earn the respect of an MA. This is because many have been taught that religion needs to be eliminated, and scorn and ridicule are the best tools to accomplish the job. For example, atheist philosopher Paul Edwards urges elimination instead toleration:

·       The sooner these sick [religious] dreams are eliminated from the human scene the better.

Likewise, Jon O’Hair of American Atheists favor eradication of those who do not think as he:

·       This world would be the best of all possible worlds if “faith” was eradicated from the face of the earth.

When the beliefs themselves cannot be eradicated, the intolerant have often gone to the next phase – the eradication of those who hold these beliefs. Meanwhile, the atheist has his own faith consisting of secular humanism, macro-evolution, naturalism, materialism, and moral relativism.

The late, highly popular and articulate Christopher Hitchens explicitly stated that:

·       I think religion should be treated with ridicule, hatred and contempt, and I claim that right.

Yes, Hitchens had that right. However, the world might be better served by better behaviors.

MA Richard Dawkins succinctly urged atheists at a conference to:

·       Mock them, ridicule them… in public.

However, ridicule breeds ridicule; mockery breeds more mockery. Meanwhile, respect elicits respect. Theoretical physicist Steven Weinberg advises that:

·       “The world needs to wake up from the long nightmare of religion … anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.

One again, the MA refuses to acknowledge that he too is religious. He has his own naturalistic creation myth – that everything jumped into existence uncaused out of nothing – and his own unproven materialistic beliefs about his eternal condition.

In light of the fact that we are all religious, it makes little sense to compare religion to non-religion or atheism. Instead, we need to weigh the truth claims of all religions, including the atheistic belief that there is no God.

MA Sam Harris takes it one absurd step further:

·       If I could wave a magic wand and get rid of either rape or religion, I would not hesitate to get rid of religion. http://reasonsforjesus.com/90-atheist-quotes-every-christian-atheist-need-to-read/

I would like to discuss this point with Harris. However, the flight behind the walls of ridicule and contempt is a conversation stopper. Instead, we need to appreciate the fact that meaningful conversation can only arise from the fertile soil of mutual respect. This is the strategy of bridge-building and not bridge-bombing, and I am convinced that bridges improve our lives.