The ‘Big Three’ monotheisms of Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the subject of “Among the Disbelievers,” Daniel Lazare’s fascinating piece in this weeks’ Nation. Lazare provides a terrific overview of four recent atheist manifestos: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens; Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism; Islam by Michel Onfray and The Meaning of Life by Terry Eagleton.
Lazare takes a probing look at what he calls “the problem, more or less, confronting today’s reinvigorated atheist movement.”
As someone who is alarmed and angered at the rise of religious fundamentalism in the US and around the globe, I was nonetheless impressed with Lazare’s critique.
Filed under: politics
From CNN today:
Federal officials arrived Monday in ravaged Greensburg [Kansas] to survey the damage caused by the weekend’s tornado-packed storms.
Amy Hempel, short story writer, is spending a rainy morning at a Madison Avenue diner.She is 55 years old. Her flowing hair is silvery-white. Her speech is clear, but careful. She sometimes edits herself as she talks or advances her thoughts as if placing one foot slowly before the other.
And here it is: the secret, maybe.
Filed under: politics
Katha Pollitt rips the Supreme Court for last week’s decision upholding the so called Partial Birth Abortion Act. The Law forbids intact dilation and extraction abortions “and, in flagrant violation of Roe v. Wade, lacked an exception to preserve the health of the woman.”
This decision paves the way for future restrictions on a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy. It replaces the the expertise of physicians and the rights of women with the beliefs of 5 men who know nothing about either.
Here’s more, but read the whole thing in the Nation:
