Hitchens has an epiphany

[Levin]

http://www.slate.com/id/2195683/

Based on watching Planet Earth, Hitchens discovers that salamanders dwelling in underground caves have evolved backwards -- they have lost their eyesight. One of the primary arguments against evolution, supposedly, is posed as a question: How can something so complex as the eye evolve? Hitchens answers: easy, just as an eye can devolve. From this he concludes people who believe in a divine Creator to be crazy.

There's a huge missing link in his grand new syllogism: evolution neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. I guess all Hitchens is really doing is attacking those who think evolution and God are incompatible. But he of course doesn't cabin his conclusion so carefully; he just says anyone who believes in God is crazy b/c, look, salamanders have devolved.

[MikeWaters]

I glanced at the article before. It sounded like the work of ClouSeaU.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Levin

http://www.slate.com/id/2195683/

Based on watching Planet Earth, Hitchens discovers that salamanders dwelling in underground caves have evolved backwards -- they have lost their eyesight. One of the primary arguments against evolution, supposedly, is posed as a question: How can something so complex as the eye evolve? Hitchens answers: easy, just as an eye can devolve. From this he concludes people who believe in a divine Creator to be crazy.

There's a huge missing link in his grand new syllogism: evolution neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. I guess all Hitchens is really doing is attacking those who think evolution and God are incompatible. But he of course doesn't cabin his conclusion so carefully; he just says anyone who believes in God is crazy b/c, look, salamanders have devolved.

When Hitchins says he doesn't believe in God he means he rejects the Judeo-Christian mythical tradition, including Islam. He claims that the Bible's creation story, the Exoudus, Virgin birth, Jesus' miracles, the resurrection, and the Koran's "first vision" and purported God speaking, etc. are not historical. They are demonstrably inter-related myths. Historically, if you rejected the historicity of the Judeo-Christian myth, including Islam, as he does and as any legitimate intellectual or scholar does nowadays, it meant you were an atheist.

That's really all Hitchins is doing now. Of course it's not a new enterprise but what continues to give Hitchins' archaic message vitality is the big American appetite for sleazy Judeo-Christian apologics kicking against all reason and objecive evidence. The new rise of American protestantism the past 30 years is another unfortunate byproduct of cheapening of American life by popular culture, a television and junk food culture. See Wall-e.

Hitchins' and Richard Dawkins', et al.'s books spend their entire time attacking traditional monotheism's God. They go no further, really. In fact, Harris makes a pitch for Buddhism as the true church! But Hitchins doesn't claim to know what happened before the big bang, as I'm sure he'd readily acnowledge.

No one could at this point. It's conjecture. No one knows! That's the way it's supposed to be. He calls himself an atheist because it's part of his persona and branding. Nowadays, most the educated world is "atheist" per the historical definition of the word.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

When Hitchins says he doesn't believe in God he means he rejects the Judeo-Christian mythical tradition, including Islam. He claims that the Bible's creation story, the Exoudus, Virgin birth, Jesus' miracles, the resurrection, and the Koran's "first vision" and purported God speaking, etc. are not historical. They are demonstrably inter-related myths. Historically, if you rejected the historicity of the Judeo-Christian myth, including Islam, as he does and as any legitimate intellectual or scholar does nowadays, it meant you were an atheist.

That's really all Hitchins is doing now. Of course it's not a new enterprise but what continues to give Hitchins' archaic message vitality is the big American appetite for sleazy Judeo-Christian apologics kicking against all reason and objecive evidence. The new rise of American protestantism the past 30 years is another unfortunate byproduct of cheapening of American life by popular culture, a television and junk food culture. See Wall-e.

Hitchins' and Richard Dawkins', et al.'s books spend their entire time attacking traditional monotheism's God. They go no further, really. In fact, Harris makes a pitch for Buddhism as the true church! But Hitchins doesn't claim to know what happened before the big bang, as I'm sure he'd readily acnowledge.

No one could at this point. It's conjecture. No one knows! That's the way it's supposed to be. He calls himself an atheist because it's part of his persona and branding. Nowadays, most the educated world is "atheist" per the historical definition of the word.

link?

[Tex]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I glanced at the article before. It sounded like the work of ClouSeaU.

Much like his waterboarding article.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

link?

My post is filled with citations. Moreover, do I need a link when I tell you it's 9:56 pst right now?