Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Athorism is chic

Here's Richard Dawkins' contribution to the On Faith series by Newsweek and the Washington Post.

Athorism is enjoying a certain vogue right now. Can there be a productive conversation between Valhallans and athorists? Naïve literalists apart, sophisticated thoreologians long ago ceased believing in the material substance of Thor's mighty hammer. But the spiritual essence of hammeriness remains a thunderingly enlightened relevation, and hammerological faith retains its special place in the eschatology of neo-Valhallism, while enjoying a productive conversation with the scientific theory of thunder in its non-overlapping magisterium. Militant athorists are their own worst enemy. Ignorant of the finer points of thoreology, they really should desist from their strident and intolerant strawmandering, and treat Thor-faith with the uniquely protected respect it has always received in the past. In any case, they are doomed to failure. People need Thor, and nothing will ever remove him from the culture. What are you going to put in his place?


Go read the rest of it.

When confronted by Xians/Muslims, whip out the Dawkins (and Stephen Roberts) retort: Do you believe in Ahura Mazda, Loki, Demeter, Vishnu, and the other 999 gods? Well then, congratulations! You're 99.9% atheistic.

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