Science Forums 2

[Not half, but whole!]

Earlier today I was listening to NPR and there was an interview with Chris Hedges. He has recently published a book, I Don't Believe in Atheists. Being a life long atheist I was intrigued by the intro and continued to listen. What followed was imo a off base depiction of those that don't have faith and what is representative of atheists.

One of the recurring themes in the interview was irrationality that science and technology can solve the world problems and that such a belief was cult-like. This seems at best incredibly short sighted if not completely wrong. Science and technology have made life immeasurably better. It is true that these forces have also caused some of the most horrific events even known to man; science has allowed us bigger rocks to throw at each other. Science has also helped remove many of the prime reasons people inherently fight. This interview seemed to impart that that there was some sort of "morality" in science. Fact is fact, it has no connotations outside of its sheer existence.

The last segment I listened to prior to having to return to work was Hedge's belief that atheists and the radical right were inevitable bedfellows. That the current atheist movement promoted violent methods (supported torture, genocide, etc.) an almost xenophobic existence. That the political aims of both groups were parallel.

These claims flabbergasted me. As I stated earlier I have grown-up god-less. Most of these ideas presented by Hedges ranged from mildly offensive to blatantly wrong. Has there been a shift from the atheist freethinker to the atheist fascist while I wasn't looking?