In what follows I'm quoting from and commenting on this article by Ian Gurvitz, about the pastor who's announced that his church will burn Korans. I'm reconstructing it here because the Huffington Post moderation won't let you read it there. Actually, the post which didn't make it past the moderation was toned down a bit compared to the following.
"The world is stuck in this cesspool of stupidity when it comes to religion"
We agree on that. Where we part company is your insistence that we can keep religion and still rid ourselves somehow of the stupidity. To me, one is part and parcel of the other. Getting the stupid out of religion is like getting the piss out of a swimming pool or the porn out of the Internet.
"Religion, in its purest form, is a system of rites, rituals, and practices that can lead one to a deeper experience of life."
I consider that to be a particularly persistent albeit unfounded rumor. We atheists aren't rendered shallow by our atheism, and you others aren't rendered deep by your oog-booga. I just ain't buyin it, Dudemeister.
"It is there to encourage our better natures, not foment our baser instincts."
It is a residue of our more primitive nature, of our stone age selves. Religion boils down to fear of ghosts and spirits and other nonexistent things. Fear of our own dreams.
"And while it may be too much to expect the entire world to crawl out of the intellectual dark ages in its understanding of religion, how about decent, intelligent people of all religious or intellectual persuasions, including those in the media, making a commitment, as a means of worldwide counter protest, to come together on this sad anniversary and simply ignore this asshole?"
And you think you're somehow leading the way in this enlightened effort to ignore him by publishing an article with his name in the title? Comically spectacular fail.
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