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April 25, 2006
Old Mill
Richard Reeves writing on (sad?) John Stuart Mill -- born atheist, champion of liberty, including the liberty to speak harshly of religion:
Mill insists that religion should be subject to the same criticism as any other system of thought, regardless of the offence caused. I think we can be confident that Mill would be disappointed by the progress made on this issue in the last century and a half, and by the regress of the last half decade. He certainly anticipated those who wanted to turn only "intemperate" expressions of religious criticism into crimes. Mill gave no ground, pointing out that serious offence is taken "whenever the attack is telling and powerful." There is no doubt where he would stand on the current debates on religious hatred, or on publication of the cartoons of Muhammad.
Posted by Mitchell Stephens at April 25, 2006 10:57 PM
Comments
Religion has been subject to the same criticism. Theist ideas do not bear up to the mildest of scrutiny. The notions are absurd.
The very essense of religion is that it provides a meaning for life, and yet the process of a god creating us -> afterlife clearly adds no extra meaning, unless you have the answer to why a god created us.
Do theist ideas provide any answers other than the ones we have already? No.
They are no more than the magic "elixir of life" peddled by con-men.
Posted by: Simon at April 28, 2006 10:37 AM
