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May 24, 2006
Trashing the Bible...and God
More from that interview with Sam Harris, author of the End of Faith (and somewhat unorthodox atheist):
Q: Richard Dawkins, a vocal atheist, has said the Old Testament God is a "psychotic monster."
A: Not only is the character of God diabolical in those books, but there are explicit prescriptions for how to live that are not metaphors; they are not open to theological judo. God just comes right out and says "stone people" for a list of offenses so preposterous and all-encompassing that the killing never stops. You have to kill people for working on the Sabbath. You kill people for fornication.
Okay, Dawkins and Harris are known atheists, and this appeared on the Web, not in a mainstream publication. But "psychotic monster" (or should it be Psychotic Monster) and "diabolical" (interesting choice of word)? God? Is this further evidence that it is becoming easier to take swings at religion?
Posted by Mitchell Stephens at May 24, 2006 10:32 PM
Comments
Are you familiar with the heresy of Marcionism? Marcion of Sinope was a 2nd century Christian theologian who believed there were two gods. One was the Old Testament god who was inferior and in fact something of a psychotic monster. Jesus was sent by a different god, the New Testament god (the monad of gnosticism), the source of all goodness.
In other words you can take a swing at God without being an atheist!
Posted by: No More Mr. Nice Guy! at May 25, 2006 5:07 PM
