“Wafergate” – Update

It is perhaps necessary to update readers on the events previously described. It shouldn’t take very long to find various blogs and groups (I have just joined a Facebook group called ‘Get PZ Myers Fired’, following on from seeing PZ joining himself). I just wanted to update everyone on a particularly interesting blog, Josiahconcept.org.

In it, we find this:

Of course, the death threats that he’s received are inexcusable from those who claim the title of Christian.  Personally, I say that, despite his obvious attempt to offend the sensibilities of the religious, we should smile and turn the other cheek.  Myers is, as I said earlier in this post, a bitter and sour little man who gets far more attention than he deserves.

“Inexusable” is about right. But Christian? What does that mean? Perhaps I am being too malicious, but I detect a hint of the typical theistic No-True Scotsman fallacy. “No true Christian would wish him death, considering Exodus 20:13, 23:4-5; Matthew 7:12, Jesus himself quotes Leviticus 19:18.”

I do not want to even consider every part of the Bible that is atrocious (Leviticus 24:16 and Hebrews 10:28-29 seem appropriate) – needless to say, on either side we can make cases for who is a “true” Christian. The main reason I raise this blog is to show that: yes, in fact, if they were meek, mild Christians they would have turned the other cheek.

They did not.

What on earth do we have here? Even if this blogger does not like PZ Myers (labelling him “a bitter and sour little man” by what standards aside from his postings I’m not sure), he can not deny the ABSOLUTE STUPIDITY OF IT ALL. Yes, sure, we should spare the feelings of the religious by respecting their beliefs and vice versa. But there is a difference between PZ Myers writing on his own blog, KNOWN to be an atheist academic and blogger and Catholics LOOKING for his blog, FINDING IT, SENDING HIM DEATH THREATS and possibly GETTING HIM FIRED.

Until I’m shown otherwise, at these base-levels, I will not budge in my support and defence of PZ Myers.

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NEW: At this blog, we have this posting:

The Crackpot Professor Now Also Intends to Desecrate the Koran

What an about face! First he would “never” treat the Koran with disrespect, and now he plans do desecrate it along with the Eucharist. We MUST reach out to our Muslim brothers and sisters on this. We could accomplish a lot working together on this issue.

From the crackpot’s [PZ Myers'] blog:
“Good grief, but this is tedious. I’m still getting piles of email every day from people 1) begging me not to abuse a cracker because it is so sacred to them, piles of email telling me to 2) abuse a book because it is so sacred to Muslims (I’ve even been sent two copies of the Koran!), and of course, the 3) bizarre complaint that I’m a coward, afraid to commit sacrilege. You can all stop now. 1) Your personal sense of the sacred in a piece of bread dough is absurd to me and imposes on me no sense of obligation. 2) Since I now own one entirely superfluous copy of the Koran, it will meet the very same fate as the crackers. Thanks to all who have demanded that I treat that silly book with disrespect, I’ll have to treat both equally. 3) I have not rushed to be rude to a cracker because, well, it’s there, it’s ridiculous, and it’s not very important. I’ve been traveling, and I’ve come home to writing deadlines, and those get first priority. Heck, going into the kitchen right now and fixing myself a sandwich for lunch has higher priority. After I’ve cleared the deck of my work this week, then I might take a moment to casually demolish a sacred cow.

Now enough. You can all stop dunning me. Be patient, godless ones, and surrender to despair, O Ye Believers.”

What a load of bollocks! What do they know about Islam? If you told Muslims that the bread represents Allah, they would be appalled. If even drawing the prophet can incite violence, how will telling them God is made into a wafer, ala the Eucharist, to be consumed!!!
Another thing not being realise is this: Why is it that for naturalists/secularists there is no book that a religious could burn that would incite, for example, the AAS to require them to be fired, killed, etc.? Why is it that we can simply shrug off the desicration of God is Not Great, as I often have to do, and not seek vengeance and blood?

I can answer this question in terms of cognitive psychology and get a fairly balanced answer. The problem however is that it still does not make it right.

I’m sorry to say this, but this is one place where the points definitely belong to us. The absurdity of it all!