[Assam] Defenders of the Faith -NYT Op ed

[Ram Sarangapani]

>Do you want my vote on it?

Of couse I do (and thanks). Lately (you may have noticed) I have been thrown
to the wolves and have been fighting a lonely battle :))


On 3/16/06, Dilip/Dil Deka <dilipdeka at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>  Do you want my vote on it? I agree that organized religion has done more
> harm than good.
> Dilip
>
>
> *Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
> You are welcome C'da. And see I am not that "lungi kheda" anti this or
> anti that (of religions) that some often would like to paint me as. :)
>
> I too think this was a brilliant piece. Organized religion has done more
> harm than good to the world, IMHO.
>
> --Ram
>
>
> On 3/16/06, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks for sharing it Ram.One of the finest
> > pieces I have read on the subject with reference
> > to current events. Brilliant!
> >
> > c-da
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > At 12:28 PM -0600 3/16/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
> > >This is an interesting article and advances the
> > >importance of Atheism in the world religious
> > >order. I think, many of us (even though we claim
> > >to belong to some religion or the other) will
> > >find the benefits of Atheism.
> > >
> > >______________________________
> > >
> > >Defenders of the Faith
> > >By SLAVOJ ZIZEK
> > >
> > >London
> > >
> > >FOR centuries, we have been told that without
> > >religion we are no more than egotistic animals
> > >fighting for our share, our only morality that
> > >of a pack of wolves; only religion, it is said,
> > >can elevate us to a higher spiritual level.
> > >Today, when religion is emerging as the
> > >wellspring of murderous violence around the
> > >world, assurances that Christian or Muslim or
> > >Hindu fundamentalists are only abusing and
> > >perverting the noble spiritual messages of their
> > >creeds ring increasingly hollow. What about
> > >restoring the dignity of atheism, one of
> > >Europe's greatest legacies and perhaps our only
> > >chance for peace?
> > >
> > >More than a century ago, in "The Brothers
> > >Karamazov" and other works, Dostoyevsky warned
> > >against the dangers of godless moral nihilism,
> > >arguing in essence that if God doesn't exist,
> > >then everything is permitted. The French
> > >philosopher André Glucksmann even applied
> > >Dostoyevsky's critique of godless nihilism to
> > >9/11, as the title of his book, "Dostoyevsky in
> > >Manhattan," suggests.
> > >
> > >This argument couldn't have been more wrong: the
> > >lesson of today's terrorism is that if God
> > >exists, then everything, including blowing up
> > >thousands of innocent bystanders, is permitted -
> > >at least to those who claim to act directly on
> > >behalf of God, since, clearly, a direct link to
> > >God justifies the violation of any merely human
> > >constraints and considerations. In short,
> > >fundamentalists have become no different than
> > >the "godless" Stalinist Communists, to whom
> > >everything was permitted since they perceived
> > >themselves as direct instruments of their
> > >divinity, the Historical Necessity of Progress
> > >Toward Communism.
> > >
> > >During the Seventh Crusade, led by St. Louis,
> > >Yves le Breton reported how he once encountered
> > >an old woman who wandered down the street with a
> > >dish full of fire in her right hand and a bowl
> > >full of water in her left hand. Asked why she
> > >carried the two bowls, she answered that with
> > >the fire she would burn up Paradise until
> > >nothing remained of it, and with the water she
> > >would put out the fires of Hell until nothing
> > >remained of them: "Because I want no one to do
> > >good in order to receive the reward of Paradise,
> > >or from fear of Hell; but solely out of love for
> > >God." Today, this properly Christian ethical
> > >stance survives mostly in atheism.
> > >
> > >Fundamentalists do what they perceive as good
> > >deeds in order to fulfill God's will and to earn
> > >salvation; atheists do them simply because it is
> > >the right thing to do. Is this also not our most
> > >elementary experience of morality? When I do a
> > >good deed, I do so not with an eye toward
> > >gaining God's favor; I do it because if I did
> > >not, I could not look at myself in the mirror. A
> > >moral deed is by definition its own reward.
> > >David Hume, a believer, made this point in a
> > >very poignant way, when he wrote that the only
> > >way to show true respect for God is to act
> > >morally while ignoring God's existence.
> > >
> > >Two years ago, Europeans were debating whether
> > >the preamble of the European Constitution should
> > >mention Christianity as a key component of the
> > >European legacy. As usual, a compromise was
> > >worked out, a reference in general terms to the
> > >"religious inheritance" of Europe. But where was
> > >modern Europe's most precious legacy, that of
> > >atheism? What makes modern Europe unique is that
> > >it is the first and only civilization in which
> > >atheism is a fully legitimate option, not an
> > >obstacle to any public post.
> > >
> > >Atheism is a European legacy worth fighting for,
> > >not least because it creates a safe public space
> > >for believers. Consider the debate that raged in
> > >Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, my home
> > >country, as the constitutional controversy
> > >simmered: should Muslims (mostly immigrant
> > >workers from the old Yugoslav republics) be
> > >allowed to build a mosque? While conservatives
> > >opposed the mosque for cultural, political and
> > >even architectural reasons, the liberal weekly
> > >journal Mladina was consistently outspoken in
> > >its support for the mosque, in keeping with its
> > >concern for the rights of those from other
> > >former Yugoslav republics.
> > >
> > >Not surprisingly, given its liberal attitudes,
> > >Mladina was also one of the few Slovenian
> > >publications to reprint the infamous caricatures
> > >of Muhammad. And, conversely, those who
> > >displayed the greatest "understanding" for the
> > >violent Muslim protests those cartoons caused
> > >were also the ones who regularly expressed their
> > >concern for the fate of Christianity in Europe.
> > >
> > >These weird alliances confront Europe's Muslims
> > >with a difficult choice: the only political
> > >force that does not reduce them to second-class
> > >citizens and allows them the space to express
> > >their religious identity are the "godless"
> > >atheist liberals, while those closest to their
> > >religious social practice, their Christian
> > >mirror-image, are their greatest political
> > >enemies. The paradox is that Muslims' only real
> > >allies are not those who first published the
> > >caricatures for shock value, but those who, in
> > >support of the ideal of freedom of expression,
> > >reprinted them.
> > >
> > >While a true atheist has no need to boost his
> > >own stance by provoking believers with
> > >blasphemy, he also refuses to reduce the problem
> > >of the Muhammad caricatures to one of respect
> > >for other's beliefs. Respect for other's beliefs
> > >as the highest value can mean only one of two
> > >things: either we treat the other in a
> > >patronizing way and avoid hurting him in order
> > >not to ruin his illusions, or we adopt the
> > >relativist stance of multiple "regimes of
> > >truth," disqualifying as violent imposition any
> > >clear insistence on truth.
> > >
> > >What, however, about submitting Islam - together
> > >with all other religions - to a respectful, but
> > >for that reason no less ruthless, critical
> > >analysis? This, and only this, is the way to
> > >show a true respect for Muslims: to treat them
> > >as serious adults responsible for their beliefs.
> > >
> > >Slavoj Zizek, the international director of the
> > >Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, is the
> > >author, most recently, of "The Parallax View."
> > >
> > >
> > >_______________________________________________
> > >assam mailing list
> > >assam at assamnet.org
> > >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
> >
>
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