An Atheistic Examination of the Culture of Belief: How Religious Devotion Trivializes American Law and Politics

An Atheistic Examination of the Culture of Death

Voodoo Anti-Atheism - Fri, May 19, 2006

Sam Harris practices an irrational form of "voodoo atheism," says Jonah Goldberg in National Review Online. The basis for this assessment? The intro to an interview with Harris reveals that the End of Faith author engages in Zen meditation and values mystical experiences. "This alone is pretty much all I need to read to not care about what this guy has to say," Goldberg concludes. Goldberg then condemns those who purport to use reason to dismiss traditional religions, while simultaneously claiming that "other, often more bizarre, supernatural theories are plainly true." In particular, he notes that "[a] great many feminist theorists endorse a hodge-podge of faiths from Wicca to Gaia theory and that "[m]ake-believe Buddhists and Kabbalists snort and guffaw at traditional religion while at the same time they worship crystal rocks and blather on about how they were a scullery maid in the 14th century." Driving home the point, Goldberg asks, "[o]n what grounds do they claim that, say, the story of Jesus' Resurrection is an obviously absurd fairy tale, but the mystical healing power of crystals or the 'obviousness' of reincarnation are plain for all to see?" He ends by cautioning that "[i]f you're going to be an atheist when it comes to traditional religion, fine . . . [b]ut don'tlet me catch you playing with voodoo on the side if you want to be taken seriously."

Words from such a seemingly hardcore, uncompromising atheist haven't graced NRO since Ben Domenech plagiarized the work of the godless Maryann Johanson its webpages. It's encouraging to see someone at the publication founded by devout Catholic William F. Buckley, Jr. finally concede that Jesus and witches and Gaia and crystals belong on the exact same intellectual shelf. Someone who understands why the joke about rejecting Santa on the Easter Bunny's advice is funny. But Goldberg's actual intention, it appears, is to defend traditional, conservative faiths from "left-wing anti-religious bias" by demonstrating hypocrisy. He hammers home his points well -- so well, though, that he smashes the thumbs of everyone he's defending and, I suspect, himself.

Let's consider the implications of what he's saying. First and foremost, he's proclaiming that atheism alone is true and rational. It's completely incompatible with the slightest departure from reason -- to the extent that he won't even read anything written by an atheist whose beliefs are tainted by the slightest form of supernaturalism.

Second, he's declaring that no religion has the right to criticize any other religion on the ground of rationality. After all, every religion is founded on a mountain of idiocy, not just grain of spirituality. So any religion (right-wing or left-wing) which makes a claim of exclusivity engages in "anti-religious bias" -- it's asserting that the tenets of the rest are false.

Third, he's suggesting that no one should read anything written by a religious person. If a little bit of spirituality bars Harris from further consideration, we should likewise ignore attempts by people of greater faith to construct arguments based on reason. They can't possibly demand that we adhere to rules of rational discourse when so much of their worldview is infected by the most outlandish of fairytales.

Ultimately, this all leads to the question of whether we should listen to Mr. Goldberg. He's either as complete an atheist as I am, or he subscribes to some form of supernaturalism, Harris-like or worse. If it's the latter, he's in no position to criticize Harris for his deviation from the truth. If Goldberg believes in Christ or Allah or Vishnu or the Goddess, he's "playing with voodoo on the side" and isn't entitled to be taken seriously.

Finally, Goldberg would do well recognize that Harris' response to criticism of his "rational mysticism" has been to address it head on. Among other things, he volunteered himself for a grilling at this blog on his alleged heresy by two lawyers, a biomedical grad student and a Brian Flemming. But I've yet to see demands for debate about the Resurrection at NRO, or about the existence Gaia by left-wing religionists at whatever sites they inhabit.

(Top) —Posted by: The Raving Atheist in The Daily Rave · Permalink · 6 Comments

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