[extropy-chat] Atheists launch inquisition...

[Spike]

> Olga Bourlin
... 
> Bertrand Russell once went on about how - yes, certainly, it 
> was *possible* (I am paraphrasing from memory) that Saturn's rings
hold 
> porcelain teacups...Olga

A local christian minister who is a converted muslim
stirred the pot by posting on his sign out front 
his upcoming sermon title: Why I am Not a Muslim.

The local news agencies, TV, radio and both major
newspapers jumped on it, reporting that some considered
it offensive, racist, yakkity yak and bla bla.  With
alllll the ink that was spilled on this silly thing,
*none* of the news people, not even one, recognized 
that the sermon title might be based on Bertrand
Russell's famous and thoroughly devastating short
volume called "Why I Am Not A Christian."

So I asked several of my office people today if they
were familiar with the work.  I was terribly disappointed
to find that few of them had even heard of Bertrand
Russell.  Oy!  I thought *I* was the illiterate savage!

Is Bertrand Russell really that obscure in modern
times?  He had such an impact on my own thinking
in my younger years.

spike