Richard Dawkins Revisited

In response to my earlier posting about Richard Dawkins, I received a comment from one reader that I initially relegated to the trash bin. Upon further reflection, however, I decided that it merits a response.

The reader Jonolan wrote: Dawkins is one of the Godless; why would any true human allow it [sic] a public forum?

Well, how's that for a tolerant, enlightened attitude? Atheists (and presumably agnostics, too) should be denied a forum, and anyone who provides them with one cannot be a true human. The reader does not state his own religious preference, but no matter: I remain wary of anyone who wears their religion on their sleeve.

In any case, spare me your sanctimonious righteousness, dear reader. Ardent religionists have perpetrated as much evil as any other class of miscreant. From the Crusades to the Inquisition to the Protestant-Catholic strife in Northern Ireland to Al-Qaeda, religious extremism has wreaked havoc throughout history. We in the United States are certainly not exempt: the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and misguided individuals like Timothy McVeigh all claimed to be doing God's work. What hogwash. I would much prefer to deal with the likes of Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris any day.

I never cease to be amazed at the arrogance of religious zealots who maintain that their particular religion has a monopoly on truth and—by extension—virtue, and that all non-believers should therefore be silenced or—better yet—eliminated altogether.

On second thought, maybe I do share that last sentiment after all: perhaps intolerant extremists of all types should be (in no particular order) keelhauled, drawn-and-quartered, hanged, and shot. As Jon Lovitz so famously said on Saturday Night Live, Yeah! That's the ticket!