The Fundy Bible

Psychotic Hatreds

Welcome to 2009! We're going to start this off by going in a bit of a different direction from usual. Most of the time this blog is ranting about things in society and the news that happen to annoy me at any given moment, but I don't really talk about myself that much. Some of the fans noticed this, and want to know what my pet peeves are. That's a pretty fair question, so I'll tell you, in no particular order.

Pretty high on that list is people who complain about so many inconveniences in their lives, great and small, yet don't lift a finger to change it. Like people who have trouble using the Internet, but don't want to learn how to use it. I've honestly seen a teacher who was pretty deep in debt, but couldn't be bothered to work, for some reason. I just don't get this; can you imagine a doctor saying that you need emergency surgery, but saying he doesn't feel like giving it to you? Evidently my parents and teachers did something very wrong, when I was a kid: they told me that hard work pays off.

While we're at it, I really cannot stand people who pay no attention whatsoever to what's going on around them, then get on a soapbox to attack it anyway. Look, I have no problem with people saying something that I disagree with, but I think that there should be a law that before you open your mouth about it in public, you should know what the fuck you're talking about. Not too long ago, I got in a lot of arguments over Stephen Harper just sitting back and playing with himself, instead of doing something about the economy. Without fail, all I hear from his supporters is "What's he supposed to do, he's only been back in power for a few weeks" or whatever. The problem is that he's been in power for a total of about three years now -- and even though I don't have any training in economics, I for one saw this recession coming at least a year and a half ago, when the mortgage crisis turned up in The States. So Emperor Harper -- supposedly a trained economist -- should definitely have known something was going to snap and affect us, especially since I was taught in Grade 9 History that recessions are regular things that happen every ten or twenty years. That's why it's called an economic cycle. So the only way Harper could honestly have not had a plan, until the markets crashed and he was nearly kicked out, is if the guy either has no idea what he's doing, or simply doesn't give a damn.

And another thing: why the hell do blue-collar men and women honestly think that Harper cares about the working stiff? This guy thrives on high-end business interests, and until six months ago I've never seen him lift a finger to do anything about all of the local industries collapsing. In addition to that, he has repeatedly cut funding to or shut down groups that protect women's rights, not to mention weaken child care in this country. Why do so many people shrug off anything I say about the guy being a dictator in the wings, when all he's done since taking power is break the law, sue the opposition for pointing out that he bribed an MP, try to censor progressive voices, and finally dissolve Parliament just to save his own ass? Whenever I bring this up, people look at me like I have three heads -- BUT I JUST READ THE FUCKING NEWS!

I also have no respect at all for people who know full well that certain people are out of line, don't do anything about it, then have the nerve to lecture other people about things like decency and courage. Give me a break. To me, it's very simple: if someone I know is abusive and self-centered, then I stand up to them. Believe me, I've done this with people in every circle of my life, including some family members. I especially do this, if such a person is getting on the case of someone else close to me: what kind of a friend would I be if I don't go to bat for them when they're in the right? If you're not going to stand up for people, then don't pretend to care about them, I have no patience for soap operas.

Those who've been reading this blog for a while know that I don't have much respect for the local or provincial government either, and to be honest, it's because it's usually dumb as a bloody post. This is particularly bad in Hamilton, where city hall seems to have this allergy to doing anything useful, or even anything that will stop this city from falling apart. Case in point, it took them something like thirty years to build the Red Hill Creek Expressway, and when it finally opened, not only did we have several onramps cutting across traffic, but there are very few lights on the thing. Meaning that, if you happen to drive it at night, you will be blind as a bat. I've complained about this more than once, but for some reason the city doesn't plan on doing anything about it. They even went so far as to flat out lie to me, saying that there are lights out there, but they were burned out. Well, if that's true, then the posts are also completely invisible! Maybe if some of their staff crash into a couple of medians and guardrails one evening, they will change their minds... if they don't win some Darwin Awards along the way.

Finally, since some people have gotten on my case about anti-religious statements I've made on the show, I'll try to make my views on this a little more clear. I don't have any problem with people having beliefs -- it's when they just blindly follow it without any thought, or try to force those beliefs on anyone else, that I get pissed off. For the record, I have stood up to zealots of all faiths over this, from Christians all the way to Atheists. Stupidity and hatred are hardly exclusive to one religion. Generally speaking I get along with Christians just fine, the only time I look at them kind of funny is if they say something like "This is wrong, because God says so, and that's that!" Well, with all due respect, when the only proof of that is in a book that is well known to have been edited and altered several times over the last couple of thousand years, some of us have good reason to be skeptical. I don't mean to be rude about this, I really don't, but it is approximately the same logic that a five year old would use to say that Superman is real. Not to mention, The Bible contradicts itself so many times in tone and teachings, that you can use to justify pretty much anything, including things that are truly reprehensible.

As for some of the intolerant factions, such as the Christian Right, the reason I dislike them probably goes without saying by now -- anyone who watches them can tell that the group is racist, homophobic, and so zealous that they think non-believers have no rights. Heck, they wear it on their sleeves! But the fact that many of them use a religion of peace and love, to justify hatred, war, and oppression just sickens me. I've honestly come across some wingnuts who see no reason at all to help the poor, even though Jesus said many times that His followers are supposed to do exactly that! It's precisely because of this sort of bullshit that I don't have a religion, not because I don't believe in God but because I don't want to be mistaken for these heartless lunatics who give the whole concept of faith a bad name.

Ok, while I plan on revisiting this later on, I'd like to invite everyone watching this to keep the discussion going in the meantime. Talk amongst yourselves, message me with questions or more rant requests, it's all good. But don't ask me to do your homework for you, and please don't lecture me on things that anyone with a working pair of eyes can see is wrong. At the very least, I will have no qualms about blocking you. If I'm really in a bad mood, I might bite your damn head off. Enough said.

Atheist war, in The Toronto Star

"Atheist Beliefs Deserve Respect Too"

Popular authors no more "ferociously attack religion" than religious writers such as Dow Marmur ferociously attack atheism. Marmur's criticism therefore oozes hypocrisy.

Marmur seems particularly preoccupied with scholars, saying that atheism was "fashionable among academics" in 1982 when David Hay published his book on religious experience. As a philosophy doctoral student and teaching assistant, I can attest that atheism is even more popular today, and I am optimistic that its membership will increase into the future.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Michelle Ciurria, Toronto

Your op-ed religion columnist, Dow Marmur, has written approvingly of inter-faith dialogue, although he does see pitfalls, and he gives the appearance of being interested in, and tolerant of, belief systems other than his own. I wonder, then, why he feels the need to express quite uncharitable views of atheists and other non-believers.

Rabbi Marmur really knows how to pile it on: "attacking traditional religion has become something of a sport," "authors who ferociously attack religion," "the guise of common sense and scientific objectivity," "their severe strictures," "their second line of attack," "shrill denunciations," "when atheism was fashionable," and "atheist tracts." And that's just one column.

I can hardly wait to rummage again through the dictionary and thesaurus. Somehow I don't think I should expect Marmur to participate in forming an inter-faith Canadian Council of Jews and Atheists any time soon.

Michael Collins, Toronto

As an atheist, I'd like to extend secular holiday greetings to Rabbi Emeritus Dow Marmur and assure him that, in spite of what he might have read, atheists do not feel close to God, nor to any other non-existent being.

Larry Moran, Mississauga

Let's contrast Rabbi Dow Marmur's comments about religion with atheism. His religious traditions come out of a book or books handed down to him loaded with compulsion and dire consequences if not followed. There is also a financial incentive for saying what he does. For someone like me, there are no rewards for what I think other than my own pursuit of truth and common sense. After I finish reading his column, the Bible, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, et al, I am free to agree or disagree. I am able to pick up Dawkins and say, "That's what I think. At last there are people who think as I do. It's exhilarating!"

You can have your faith. I define religious faith as something to be believed but unable to be proved. Stewart Fisher, Campbelleville

We need freedom from religion as much as freedom of religion. From time to time, a theist or an atheist notes that someone in the other camp has done something horrible or, worse, changed their mind.

Dow Marmur, in spite of my sense that he is a civil and reasoned man with whom it would be a pleasure to break bread, frequently plays this game, scoring petty points on serious issues of significant personal expression.

The person who wrote the headline, however, portrays a far less noble demeanor. Would he or she have been censured, I wonder, if the headline had read "'Tis not the season for Judaism"?

Andrew McCammon, Toronto

"Atheist Letters Stir The Pot"

Religious people and religions also deserve respect. Virtually all the hospitals, schools and universities were originally opened by religious people – Christians in particular. I have yet to find a charity run by atheists. I would have more respect for atheists if that were the case.

Clarence McMullen, Toronto

Michael Collins sees the rabbi's words as uncharitable, even though Dow Marmur acknowledges flaws in much dogma. We await a similar acknowledgement from atheists. Mr. Collins seems unaware of the acerbity common to the current rash of anti-theist literature.

Stewart Fisher correctly describes religious faith as "something to be believed but unable to be proved," of course, depending on the type of proof required. Thus, we have faith. Atheism also lacks proof. Thus, atheists have faith.

And Andrew McCammon pleads for freedom from religion. Exactly what is the compulsion from which he seeks freedom in 21st century Canada? No one compelled him to read the rabbi's column.

Raymond Peringer, Toronto

Whoever wrote the headline for these letters misunderstands atheism. Atheism by itself is not a belief; it is just the absence of belief in gods. It's not even a single belief, much less a body of beliefs. Atheism by itself offers no guidance on moral, social or political matters. Atheism, like theism, can be part of an ideology, but neither can be an ideology by itself.

Jim Ebsary, Welland

"Little Regard for Atheists"

Raymond Peringer challenges the notion that atheists seek freedom from religion, and asks, "Exactly what is the compulsion from which he (atheists) seek freedom in 21st century Canada?" I can answer that question for him. We are compelled to recognize God every time we sing our National Anthem. We are compelled to be involved in prayers whenever we attend a meeting of our municipal and regional elected officials. And we are compelled to live under a Constitution that recognizes the supremacy of God. All of these strictures have been imposed upon the general population by bureaucrats or politicians without regard for the growing minority of non-believers in Canada.

Ron Ross, Brampton

"Atheists Deserve the Same Rights as Everyone Else" (mine)

The letters attacking an atheist, who was speaking out for his rights to be respected, disturbed and incensed me. This is not only as a non-religious person, but as a human being.

A writer asks, "Exactly what is the compulsion from which [an atheist] seeks freedom [from religion] in 21st-century Canada?" Well, speaking as an agnostic, I can tell you first-hand that whenever the general public hears about my beliefs, I am very often attacked for it.

Frankly, I and many others resent the implication that we are some sort of malcontents, just because we do not believe the same things as most of the country. We also resent having our beliefs dismissed, just because they are unconventional. The last time I checked, atheists have the same legal rights and freedoms as anyone else – so let's start accepting that.

Stephen Bryce, Stoney Creek, Ont.