Hey, Heath Ledger Died.

[electricdunnahoo]

1st Renfro now Ledger.  Who's going to complete the celebrity death hat-trick?  Britney?  Lindsay?

I didnt hear about Renfro. Weird.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Queer feminist optimists are my favorite kind of people!!! But you have to be careful; you're one short additional qualifier away from being declared officially "quirky".

She spins her own clothes, too.

[KickTheBobo]

In the interests of full FOT disclosure, I am a fully-vested Presbyterian. I have no interest in proselytizing, but if you're going to blanket hate people who attend church regularly, I guess I'm in your hate pit.

what if you attend Jerk Church™, like me?

[John Junk]

When I say "crazy christians" I don't mean, like, "Oh, those crazy christians!"  I'm referring to particular individuals or groups within the massive christian world that are crazy.  There is a history of very serious, intelligent, and very religious people in my fam (at least by Vatican II standards) and I certainly don't blanketly hate anyone who is christian or religious.  In fact, I'm always finding myself defending religion in the face of dismissive postmodernist post-colonial theorists and the like at this goddamned art school.  (and by goddamned I mean that God is sending all these queers to hell.)*





*That's not what I really meant.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Yeah, ditto, JJ - I'm a dyed-in-the-wool secular humanist, but I really hate all that Dawkins/Hitchens atheist blowhardery.  In some magazine a while back, Terry Eagleton - himself a Marxist scholar - did a great takedown of these guys, pointing out that their attacks on religion generally (and Christianity specifically) were addressed by theologians centuries ago.

[John Junk]

Terry Eagleton is the man.  I read Literary Theory and it's one of the most helpful/best books I've ever read.  Beyond Theory was a little too grouchy for me, but he brings up some solid points.

[mike a]

Living in the Midwest, I've gotten to know my share of devout Christians.  I've found most of them to be perfectly normal, friendly people - certainly not brainwashed or insane to any extent.  It's forced me to re-examine some of my own prejudices toward people of faith.  Like Jason, though, I can't stand militant atheists.  Personally I go back and forth on the existence of a Supreme Being, but I think most atheist arguments are disingenuous, based more on the arguer's preconceived notions than anything else.  I'd dare say that it's the most pious people who carry the most doubts about God's ways and means.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I will take atheists over the Mitzvah Tank any day, though.  I always deny my Judaism when they ask me, but a (gentile) Slovakian friend of mine always says yes because he wants the free dreidels.

[mike a]

You can't front on the young Lubavitchers that staff the mitzvah tanks, though.  Experience has shown me they can spot a non-tefillin-wrapping Jew a block away.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

It's true.  My friend John who, like me, is half-Jewish* but unlike me doesn't look it, told them "not today!" when they asked him if he was Jewish.  Predictably, they had conniptions.








*Let it be known, I'm half-Irish but don't observe those holidays either

[Laurie]

I will take atheists over the Mitzvah Tank any day, though.  I always deny my Judaism when they ask me, but a (gentile) Slovakian friend of mine always says yes because he wants the free dreidels.

Wow, I didn't know about these. Do they also hand out FREE chocolate gelt??

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

In the interests of full FOT disclosure, I am a fully-vested Presbyterian. I have no interest in proselytizing, but if you're going to blanket hate people who attend church regularly, I guess I'm in your hate pit.

what if you attend Jerk Church™, like me?

Bobo, when is the Jerk Church (tm) Tank coming to Brooklyn?

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I will take atheists over the Mitzvah Tank any day, though.  I always deny my Judaism when they ask me, but a (gentile) Slovakian friend of mine always says yes because he wants the free dreidels.

Wow, I didn't know about these. Do they also hand out FREE chocolate gelt??

I'm floored that you don't know about these guys.  I believe they do, but really I'm just going on my friend Pavol's say-so.

[dave from knoxville]

Terry Eagleton is the man.  I read Literary Theory and it's one of the most helpful/best books I've ever read.  Beyond Theory was a little too grouchy for me, but he brings up some solid points.

Is this something a relatively well-rounded math guy like me should try to read?

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Dave, I'd suggest starting with his articles - if you Google his name and either Dawkins' or Hitchens' (if memory serves he goes after them both) you should be able to find that article.  If you like that, well, dig in!