There aren’t 1,200+ words to describe anything I find so boring I’d rather take a nap than find a way to make it exciting. Charlotte Allen feels no such reserve about atheists, even as she describes them as "crashing bores" and "excruciating snoozes" in her 1,200+ word article, "Why I Can’t Stand Atheists." Whether you agree with her or not, her article makes an excellent "do not do this" example for any forensic, debate, and speech class.
The generalizations are so glaring they’re worth mentioning only for the worth they’d have in “Lesson One: Just because all fire trucks are red trucks doesn’t mean all red trucks are fire trucks.” Extremists populate every opinion that can and could be had. Using the fringe to define the whole — and treating the whole accordingly — is about as effective as throwing out all foodstuffs because one found a worm in an apple, and then outlawing food.
Equally pertinent for the advanced debate student would be Ms. Allen’s conjecture, myopic definition of terms, and woefully transparent attempt to write her own rules of engagement.
From "...few of them are interested in making serious metaphysical or epistemological arguments against God's existence, or in taking on the serious arguments that theologians have made attempting to reconcile, say, God's omniscience with free will or God's goodness with human suffering" to "What primarily seems to motivate atheists isn't rationalism but anger...", this diatribe is, at its worst, self-serving; at best it is elementary (although I am loath to compare Ms. Allen’s self-suffocation to a small child who, rightly so, still believes s/he can sing, draw, and dance).
Unfortunately, vocal atheists offer up as much conjecture and make as many attempts to lure the other side into their own playing field. Both are surprised when the other insists, "No, you come over here."
Article comments
1 - Jeannie Danna
Diana,
I believe in God, yet my belief is personal and I don't believe that we are separating church and state any longer. This is the fundamental difference between us in the world today and we need to get back to what Christ taught whether, we believe or not, tolerate one another. One of my favorite atheists is Bill Maher, I love Bill Maher! :)
2 - Irene Wagner
(Soon to be deleted Heads up) -- this is a powerful disinsentive - your link to Charolotte's article caused my network to time out.
3 - Ruvy
Diane,
I'm glad your article was as short as it was. Really - who cares about this tripe? People who have serious religious beliefs (whatever they are) are not swayed at all by articles on the internet.
4 - M Sholehchudin
what is borring because not focus?