Halcyon
Lord of the Badgers
Well, i guess this is just for us British - unless anyone else can get Channel 4 where you are?
So, did anyone see it last night?
For those who don't know, this was part one of a two part documentary by Richard Dawkins, in which he attacks religion as being the - you guessed it - Root of All Evil.
For those who don't know who Richard Dawkins is, he's a Professor at Oxford University (England) and a fanatical evolutionist. What i mean by fanatical is that although he knows his science, he seems to me to be as narrow minded and ignorant of alternative ideas as any religious extremist is.
Anyway, he focussed on the Abrahamic faiths, i don't know why - either he doesn't know anything about other faiths or doesn't consider them a threat to human safety - which he does consider (specifically) Christianity and Islam to be.
He made some good points, for example, the laughable religious tension in Jerusalem - and the obvious point that no atheist or evolutionist would murder innocent people to "fast track them to martyrs' heaven" < - - thats a quote from the program by the way.
It was obviously filmed in a biased manner, which is only to be expected. At one point he interviewed an Evangelical Pastor and got into a discussion/debate. The Pastor remained calm and polite throughout, Dawkins on the other hand did get quite irrate and came across arrogant - the Pastor even chastised him for being arrogant. I thought "Why has he (Dawkins) left this in the film" and i was impressed with the seemingly wise, accepting and polite attitude of the Pastor.
Later on we found out why Dawkins had left in that argument. After the official interview the Pastor came out (to the front of the church, where the film crew were packing up) and threatened Dawkins with criminal action for trespassing if he didn't leave immediately - he also wasn't quite as understanding as before, saying that Dawkins had "called his children animals". Dawkins didn't do this of course, it was a reference to his belief in evolution. Dawkins had left it in to show what he believed was the two-faced nature of the Pastor.
I'm looking forward to the final part next week.
Anyone else see it? What did you think?
So, did anyone see it last night?
For those who don't know, this was part one of a two part documentary by Richard Dawkins, in which he attacks religion as being the - you guessed it - Root of All Evil.
For those who don't know who Richard Dawkins is, he's a Professor at Oxford University (England) and a fanatical evolutionist. What i mean by fanatical is that although he knows his science, he seems to me to be as narrow minded and ignorant of alternative ideas as any religious extremist is.
Anyway, he focussed on the Abrahamic faiths, i don't know why - either he doesn't know anything about other faiths or doesn't consider them a threat to human safety - which he does consider (specifically) Christianity and Islam to be.
He made some good points, for example, the laughable religious tension in Jerusalem - and the obvious point that no atheist or evolutionist would murder innocent people to "fast track them to martyrs' heaven" < - - thats a quote from the program by the way.
It was obviously filmed in a biased manner, which is only to be expected. At one point he interviewed an Evangelical Pastor and got into a discussion/debate. The Pastor remained calm and polite throughout, Dawkins on the other hand did get quite irrate and came across arrogant - the Pastor even chastised him for being arrogant. I thought "Why has he (Dawkins) left this in the film" and i was impressed with the seemingly wise, accepting and polite attitude of the Pastor.
Later on we found out why Dawkins had left in that argument. After the official interview the Pastor came out (to the front of the church, where the film crew were packing up) and threatened Dawkins with criminal action for trespassing if he didn't leave immediately - he also wasn't quite as understanding as before, saying that Dawkins had "called his children animals". Dawkins didn't do this of course, it was a reference to his belief in evolution. Dawkins had left it in to show what he believed was the two-faced nature of the Pastor.
I'm looking forward to the final part next week.
Anyone else see it? What did you think?
