[ExI] pat condell's latest subtle rant

[Max More]

Regarding:
Aggressive Atheism, by Pat Condell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjO4duhMRZk

I tried to watch this twice before, but stopped the video due to 
being put off by Condell's manner.

Tonight, I finally watched the whole thing. It made me feel like I 
was 18 years old again. An aggressive atheist. A guy who went to 
classes wearing badges (US: buttons) saying things like "legalize 
heroin", "taxation is theft", and "God is dead". It reminded me of 
confidently -- nay, arrogantly -- telling the religious buffoons 
what's what. And you know what? Every thing Condell says is basically right.

Yet, his attitude and approach, while refreshing, leaving me feeling 
that his message is purely and pointlessly a preaching-to-the-choir 
approach. Its value is completely one of entertainment. No, okay, it 
may also kick some atheists in the ass and inspire them to do 
something more active to combat the major problems that come with 
religious thinking.

While Condell's aggressive approach definitely has a degree of wisdom 
(and a load of intellectual good sense), is it really appropriate to, 
or useful for, or humanistic in, dealing with all situations?

For instance: My half-brother, who I just learned has been diagnosed 
with serious cancer, has asked me to read a novel that I see is 
extremely popular among the religious (Christian in particular): The Shack.

Relevant background: This is a (considerably older) half-brother -- 
simply "brother" as far as I knew until a few years ago -- who, when 
I was in my teens and had recently lost his beliefs... or rather, had 
thrown off the shackles of... religion, insisted (at a Christmas 
family gathering), that I would certainly go to Hell forever because 
I didn't believe that Jesus was the son of God.

A Pat Condell-style atheist might tell simply tell my brother that he 
is an idiot to believe this crap. I agreed to actually read this book 
and -- unless it really is *monumentally* stupid -- I intend to 
discuss it with my brother exploratively rather than explaining 
abruptly to him why his decades-long religious beliefs are moronic.

Am I a just a weak fool to do this? Is Condell's attitude and 
approach always useful/appropriate/effective/wise?

Max


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Max More, Ph.D.
Strategic Philosopher
Extropy Institute Founder
www.maxmore.com
max at maxmore.com
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