Richard Dawkins Laments The Decline Of Christianity In England, Calls Himself "Culturally Christian"

Where did Tucker find communism ?

 

Except that the Jesus of the Bible is a total badass, so much so that he’d send Genghis Kahn running screaming from the room.

 

This is your own hackneyed contrarianism speaking. Jesus is a very 'feminized' figure, look at basically any artistic representation, "meek and mild" is the text the subtext is submissive - he's supposed to be approachable an non threatening for men and women (also probably why he's whiter than white in European depictions). He's the antithesis of how 'barbarians' are generally depicted in art.

 

Off topic maybe, but this is interesting. I cant seem to find anything about it though. Do you have a link?

 

I have a hard time believing a guy who's career is largely owed to whites who think of themselves as anti-racists buying his books has said they are actually the biggest racists of all. If so, that would be an incredibly funny trick to pull.

 

I’m not interested so much in the Jesus of one’s own sensibilities, Jesus as divine-subject, as it were, I’m talking about the only Jesus of whom we have a reliable record.

 

Yes, the Jesus in the Bible is a "turn the other cheek / meek shall inherit the earth" guy, its not just art that depicts him that way. Those artists were more biblically literate than anyone now that hasnt gone to seminary or something.

 

I’m just a guy who reads the Bible and doesn’t want to make up a more palatable Jesus because the only Jesus of whom we have a reliable record is received as a tad harsh.

 

Look you can think Jesus was a 'badass' because he turned the other cheek and was a pacifist and all, but Genghis Khan would have flayed him alive and fed his flesh to his dogs not run away in terror because he was so wholesome lol.

 

Hard right types always struggle with Christianity because deep down they agree with the Nietzschian idea that it represents a "slave morality" - they either have to invent a muscular, badass Jesus for themselves or reject Christianity is irrevocably pussified and find something else like paganism or new atheism. Given their obvious jealousy of Islam, I wouldnt rule that one out either.

 

Okay, but now we’ve gone from Pee-Wee Herman Jesus to Chuck Norris Jesus as fabricated by MAGA’s of the First Century. I smell genetic fallacy.

 

Again, just a guy who reads the Bible, but seems to me his Bible death was excruciating enough. As memory serves, our word “excruciating” translates “out of the cross.”

 

I dont remember Genghis Khan being in the Bible, that was your fan fiction.

 

As much as I struggle with my faith because I feel like I fail to live up to the standards God expects of us, this is 100% true.

Remove faith and religion from the West, and the culture decays awfully fast.

It is quite dangerous to simultaneously suggest:
1) there's nothing inherently wrong with vices that are victimless by "modern standards"
2) human beings are inherently good
3) we don't need incentive structures promoting good behavior because human beings are inherently good, and therefore, it is safe to remove them.

That is a fast track to a cultural dumpster fire completely devoid of any sense of virtue.

It's why the "Cultural Christians" are definitely onto something. But it's clearly a halfway measure. Still falling into the same Atheist trap in having the arrogance to believe they know which rules translate to "modern society" and which ones don't. The ultimate question remains: "On whose authority?"

 

If you dont believe human beings are inherently worthy or good or that many vices are victimless, good luck being a small government conservative or libertarian.

I also think you are doing original sin a disservice if you are suggesting that means humans are inherently wicked or evil. I'm not sure that is God's view!

 

Presbyterians? Really? Was raised Presbyterian and the son of a son of a son of a Presbyterian who has his name on the cornerstone of such a church and I never heard this creed never saw this in practice - maybe that’s what they were learning in the adult Sunday school. They never told me.

 

Reading this topic brought to mind a saying I once read:

"There are two things God left out of the Bible: My opinion and yours."

Having posted that, I must acknowledge there have been some fantastic comments from Contra, 715, and probably some others. Thanks

 

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary scientist first. I’m going to guess that much of his hostility to Christianity in the past is those who try to diminish science because they think it threatens Christianity.

However, as a true atheist, he is more hostile to Islam than Christianity because some of the more radical teachings in their scriptures that are believed in implemented today, to varying degrees. Sam Harris holds very similar views.

Also as a scientist he has gotten himself in trouble with those on the far left because he has the audacity to say definitively that there are two sexes. So now he has gone from A1 villain on the right to a hero because he criticizes Islam and identity politics. The fact is he hasn’t changed. He is very analytical and logical and his views are driven by science. They always have been. Whether than pleases or offends conservatives or liberals he could give a shit about that.

 

Wgb

It's literally a fundamental feature of communism.

Communism and Religion | Victims of Communism

Exceptions don't nullify the rule--they just stand as exceptions to the rule.

 

Edit: Dawkins himself, an English man talking from England, expressly pointed out how great Christianity looks, juxtaposed agsinst the religion of peace.

...and that's against a historically negative view of Christianity, against pretty much anything else.

TBL--I took Dawkins' comments more as an indictment against Islam, than a props to Christianity.

Some on hete seem hyper focused on @Contra , while ignoring Dawkins' scalding rebuke of Islam.