Atheism: what's the point?
By Mark Vernon on Friday, January 11 2013, 15:59 - Events - Permalink
I took part in a discussion about the value of atheism in The Battle of Ideas last year, the video of the session now being available online.
I basically argued that the three biggest hitters - Freud, Marx and Nietzsche - were almost certainly wrong in their analysis of God and religion, but are very useful for believers to engage with. (I'm about 15 minutes in...)
Comments
Very fine little summaries, Mark. I get the impression that these had been practiced beforehand against the stop-watch! I particularly liked your bit about Nietzsche and the fallacy of relying on our own strength or will to power. Like a lot of your stuff, this hints at a great deal more than appears on the surface - it is a spur to further thought on our own behalf. Something like it can be applied to a lot of sceptical self-centred modern thought. Many thanks.
It's dangerous to rely on our own strength; it's also dangerous to rely on a comfort that's not really there.
Nice presentation, though.
The thing with Christians is that they're always right, never wrong, despite how wrong they can be. Now you can never say that about the Muslims, as that would be a very uncouth thing to do, despite how correct it might be.