Wednesday, December 5, 2007 | Reason : In the News | print version

Bad Faith Awards: Vote for the winner now

by New Humanist

http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2007/12/bad-faith-awards-vote-for-winner-now.html

Bad Faith Awards: Vote for the winner now

After months of nominations, the time has finally come to decide who walks away with the coveted 2007 New Humanist Bad Faith Award.

To help you decide who will be crowned 2007's most scurrilous enemy of reason we've pulled together a shortlist of 10 runners and riders. Have a read, follow the links for more information on the nonsense they've been spouting, then place your vote in the poll at the top right of this page:

* Chuck Norris: These days the martial arts legend seems to spend less time cracking skulls and more time lamenting the moral decline of Western civilisation. His weekly column on conservative Christian website WorldNetDaily is a goldmine of evangelical rantings, and his Bad Faith nomination comes by way of his declaration that if he was US President he would "tattoo an American flag with the words 'In God we trust' on the forehead of every atheist".

* The Bishop of Carlisle: This Cumbrian prelate shot to fame when he suggested this summer's floods were God's punishment for Britain's liberal attitude to homosexuality.

* Dr Joyce Pratt: Appropriately named doctor who recommended an exorcism to a woman complaining of stomach pains.

* Richard Dawkins: One heretic New Humanist reader even put forward rationalism's very own Dawkins, for turning "the 19th century's doubting of religious dogma into another kind of dogma". The cheek...

* Cardinal Keith O'Brien: Scottish cardinal who tastefully compared the abortion rate in Scotland to "two Dunblane massacres a day".

* Westboro Baptist Church: That delightful bunch who picket the funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq, displaying such tactful signs as "God hates fags" and "God blew up the troops".

* Archbishop Francisco Chimoio: Head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique who claims some European-made condoms are deliberately infected with HIV in order to quickly finish off the African people.

* Dinesh D'Souza: Conservative author who said the following about the Virginia Tech massacre: "Notice something interesting about the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings? Atheists are nowhere to be found".

* General Sir Richard Dannatt: Chief of the General Staff, and self professed evangelical, who said: "In my business, asking people to risk their lives is part of the job, but doing so without giving them the chance to understand that there is a life after death is something of a betrayal".

* Pope Benedict XVI: Clearly the bookies' favourite. Perhaps he should be excluded to give the rest a chance?

So there we have it. The poll is open until 16 December, and the winner will be announced in the January/February issue of New Humanist.

Posted by Paul Sims

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1. Comment #94404 by Cartomancer on December 5, 2007 at 3:53 pm

Chuck Norris. I hate the bearded gurning Bruce Lee knock off...

No! Wait! I wanna change to Ratzinger!

No! the odious Phelps Cult!

No! the Bishop of Carlisle!

Oh, there are just too many of them to choose from. Maybe I'll just follow Father Ted's advice and leave a pad and pencil out all night in the hope that god writes down who I should vote for.

Other Comments by Cartomancer

2. Comment #94406 by Dr Benway on December 5, 2007 at 3:55 pm

"Bad faith" to me means insincere "cake-and-eat-it-too-ishness."

Due to apparent sincerity, I would leave off Dawkins, Westboro Baptist Church, and the Pope. Many others I can't judge.

D'Souza fits the bill, but I'd hate to give him the satisfaction of so much attention.

Difficult choice. Hmm.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

3. Comment #94407 by Rtambree on December 5, 2007 at 3:56 pm

What about the Sudanese or Saudi courts?

Other Comments by Rtambree

4. Comment #94410 by Eamonn Shute on December 5, 2007 at 3:58 pm

What, no moslems?

Other Comments by Eamonn Shute

5. Comment #94412 by Dr Benway on December 5, 2007 at 4:02 pm

Chuck Norris! Why?

1. The atttention cannot further enlarge his maximized ego.

2. The juxtaposition of cartoon-like head-crackin' violence and the messiah who taught "love thy enemies" surely involves some ol'-school Sartre-certified bad faith.

Where is "Rage Boy" on this list?

Other Comments by Dr Benway

6. Comment #94414 by Tanglewood on December 5, 2007 at 4:04 pm

Yeah, turns out they just want to give someone an award, not get themselves blown into a million itty-bitty pieces.

Other Comments by Tanglewood

7. Comment #94442 by Stephen Maxwell on December 5, 2007 at 4:57 pm

Wow!

Spoilt for choice. As a Scot, I get particularly pissed off with the Keith O'Brien comment (which I never knew he made). But in the grand scheme of things Archbishop Francisco Chimoio surely takes the biscuit.

What's the chances of Chuck Norris becoming President?
Who takes the Church of England seriously these days?
Not even Christians want to associate themselves with Westboro Baptist Church.

But I have a scary feeling that people from Mozambique might actually listen to what this guy says about condoms.

Other Comments by Stephen Maxwell

8. Comment #94445 by Pilot22A on December 5, 2007 at 4:59 pm

We need more Chuck Norris's. These guys are so wacko that their actions even make the Bible-Thumping crowd cringe.

Saturate (if that's possible) the entire Web with Xian Nimrods like him, and let them do our job for us, showing just how idiotic religion is.

ps to the Chuckster - I'm about a gazillion years old but you might want to think twice about betting you will ever be able to tattoo "In god we trust" on my forehead. I'll bet you couldn't do it without losing any eyeball or two.

Other Comments by Pilot22A

9. Comment #94447 by Ty_Webb on December 5, 2007 at 5:02 pm

I actually think that most of those people actually further our cause. The Westboro lot are so shockingly awful that they are a great example of what religion can do.

As to the person who will cause the most people to die, I'd give that to Chimoio. Lies like that make me wish that there was a hell.

Other Comments by Ty_Webb

10. Comment #94448 by Foth on December 5, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Haha... D'Souza in the lead.

He's my favorite.

Other Comments by Foth

11. Comment #94459 by Storeo on December 5, 2007 at 5:21 pm

I'm quite fond of the Phelps, whenever they debate a moderate religious individual on the credence of the moderates beliefs, the moderate gets absolutely destroyed due to the fact that the Phelps actually take that book seriously. Of course they're absolute lunatics, but its handy to have them around. D'Souza on the other hand...

Other Comments by Storeo

12. Comment #94460 by Rtambree on December 5, 2007 at 5:24 pm

Alistair McGrath gets my vote for the "Biggest Waste of Time" award.

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13. Comment #94468 by Kell on December 5, 2007 at 5:44 pm

Alister McGrath gets my vote for the "Biggest Waste of Time" award

Alistair McGrath gets the award for "Faith That Is, Indeed, Grateful For The Opportunity To Enter Such A Dialogue That Benefits The Furtherance Of Debate, While Engaging Fully With The Welcome Questions Raised By This Award And *THUNK* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....."

Other Comments by Kell

14. Comment #94469 by NormanDoering on December 5, 2007 at 5:47 pm

Why isn't George Bush on the list?

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15. Comment #94474 by Dr Benway on December 5, 2007 at 5:56 pm

Ok, you have my permission for D'Souza to win, provided he ties with something truly awful, like the Phelps crowd.

"Pastor Fred Phelps and Dinesh D'Souza together share this year's head-smackin' "he said whaa?" Bad Faith award!

Other Comments by Dr Benway

16. Comment #94479 by gyokusai on December 5, 2007 at 6:04 pm

I'm pretty much used to thinking in terms of who could inflict the greatest possible damage and when and how---and although General Sir Richard Dannatt is a strong contender in this regard for reasons I don't want to go into, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio tops the list in the most ghastly way.

(Of course, the papal ban on condoms is helping millions along to their afterlife anyway, even w/o Chimoio ... but we should really exclude Pope Benedict XVI here so others have a chance, and give him an evilness life achievement award or something instead.)

^_^J.

Other Comments by gyokusai

17. Comment #94481 by Jack Rawlinson on December 5, 2007 at 6:25 pm

Out of that list, D'Souza. Ben Stein should have been there too, though.

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18. Comment #94484 by Lord of the Morning on December 5, 2007 at 6:48 pm

Wow i didn't know Ben Stein was off his rocker. didn't know about Chuck Norris either. Truly a sad day.

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19. Comment #94488 by John Pritzlaff on December 5, 2007 at 7:19 pm

Archbishop Chimoio's case is the most serious, and the most dishonest. I mean, he tells these people that condoms will give them AIDS, but he's causing them to get AIDS by telling them not to wear condoms! But then again D'Souza has been the most prolific as of late, in America. I actually like that Dawkins is on this list, because there's something so freethinker-ish about allowing such a heretical nomination. Norris just plain pisses me off, because he's so annoying and there's actually a good chance some people might listen to him on the basis of his fame and supposed coolness (even though his his coolness was something of a parody-fad). But ultimately, I guess I've got to go with the Pope, for his prevalence, punctuated by his retarded new encyclical, and the fact that he's the leader of guys like the aforementioned Archbishop Chimoio.

Other Comments by John Pritzlaff

20. Comment #94491 by dragonfirematrix on December 5, 2007 at 7:21 pm

Okay, okay, this is tough.

I am comfortable with taking one out of the list, but that leaves nine others who should be make the winner's circle.

Can I pick nine winners?

:)

Other Comments by dragonfirematrix

21. Comment #94497 by cowalker on December 5, 2007 at 8:00 pm

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL3016839520071130?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

In the second encyclical of his papacy, Benedict urges Christians to put their hope for the future in God and not in technology, wealth or political ideologies which can often be deluding.

Atheism could be regarded by some as a "type of moralism", particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, to protest against the injustices of the world and world history, he said.

Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God."

History has proven wrong ideologies such as Marxism which say humans had to establish social justice because God did not exist, the Pope wrote.

I voted for Pope Rat as the most dangerous enemy of reason. He claims Christianity is not an ideology. He claims atheism "could be" a type of moralism. He states the arguments of atheists but doesn't bother to refute them. All that history has proven is that humans practicing versions of Marxism in the Soviet Union, China and Cuba did not succeed in establishing social justice. That proves nothing about whether humans need to establish social justice because there is no God. He might as well say that history has proven wrong the belief that national organizations should aid disaster victims, because FEMA, under the direction of a former employee of the International Arabian Horse Association, failed to help Katrina victims in 2005. Just give up and pray, right?

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22. Comment #94500 by MaxWeiss on December 5, 2007 at 8:07 pm

NNNoooooooooo.... not Chuck Norris. I would be upset if his tears didn't cure both cancer and AIDS.

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23. Comment #94501 by prettygoodformonkeys on December 5, 2007 at 8:30 pm

The "Enemy of Reason" winner has to be D'Souza. They are all deluded in their own way, and have individual issues with reason, but he is the most energetic in searching out ALL forms of reason and doing his utmost to twist them into unrecognizable shapes. He has no pet; he attacks all reason.

First prize should be an "Enema of Reason": an emulsion of the complete works of R.J. Ingersoll and, let's say, beet juice, administered to the unadulterated strains of "Imagine", by J. Lennon.

Other Comments by prettygoodformonkeys

24. Comment #94504 by Ian on December 5, 2007 at 8:43 pm

How about the people who did the hatchet job on Anthony Flew?

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25. Comment #94506 by MarcCountry on December 5, 2007 at 8:54 pm

I'm not surprised to see Dinesh D'Souza out in a comfortable lead... he got my vote.

Other Comments by MarcCountry

26. Comment #94507 by tman on December 5, 2007 at 8:55 pm

D'Souza is the King Douche. Vote for this shit head. He is polluting the public sphere with soo much disinformation. It's a crime.

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27. Comment #94511 by nogodsever on December 5, 2007 at 9:12 pm

Of course, if he wins, D'Souza will wear it as a badge of honor. He will probably write an essay about how he's The Man Atheists Fear Most or some nonsense, and claim he has us scared and on the run, after his recent debates with our leading lights.

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28. Comment #94519 by ADParker on December 5, 2007 at 10:38 pm

It was a tough call, but I had to vote for D'Souza.
It was the "most scurrilous enemy of reason" that tipped the scale. All of them (except the obvious of course) are pretty bad misuses or plain old abandonment of reason, but D'Souza's method of twisting (pseudo)reason to his own ends most aptly epitomises the meaning of the award I felt.

Other Comments by ADParker

29. Comment #94520 by Nick Good on December 5, 2007 at 10:38 pm

I'd nominate the New Humanists themselves for promulgating a 'bad faith' award whilst displaying very clear cowardice that amounts to self inflicted Dhimmitude by not even nominating one Muslim whilst we have http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks

Other Comments by Nick Good

30. Comment #94526 by GBile on December 5, 2007 at 11:25 pm

'Kill a commie for christ'

Oh, nostalgia ...

Other Comments by GBile

31. Comment #94534 by Nick Good on December 6, 2007 at 12:11 am

Oh and why oh why is 'Mother Teresa' not on the list; in the light of revelations about her closet atheism?

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32. Comment #94543 by Justanotheratheist on December 6, 2007 at 1:06 am

It's interesting to realize that Norris would be an infinitely worse president than he is an actor, which is an achievement in itself!

However, although all the candidates (except one, of course) have great credentials, I cannot go against Joe the Pope. My reasoning is simple: given his position, he has the capacity to wreak vastly more damage than everyone else on the list combined.

Chuck would be my second pick. Poor misguided sod should go back to making unwatchable movies.

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33. Comment #94548 by Philip1978 on December 6, 2007 at 1:20 am

I went for the Pope, out of the lot of them, he is the biggest cause of fear, misery and death on a global scale

Chuck, Dinesh, Dawkins(!) The General, Westboro - It would help their popularity and egos too much and I dont want them to have the credit, especially that miscreant Dawkins! :)

The religious idiots are only technically taking orders from "on high" and Joyce Pratt is just plain stupid and is too small scale

The pope is large scale, his ego would not be boosted and I think it disgraces him more than it would the others, so please don't let Dinesh win, he would love it and lord (laud- gettit?) it too much

Philip

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34. Comment #94549 by Random_Interrupt on December 6, 2007 at 1:23 am

When one considers the horrific deathtoll from AIDS in africa, i'm gonna have to go with Archbishop Francisco Chimoio. Dinesh was tempting but he's merely irritating, Chimoio is genocidally dangerous.

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35. Comment #94551 by SilentMike on December 6, 2007 at 1:25 am

Joe Ratzinger (AKA the pope) is my man. You have to choose a "respectable" religious figure for something like this, and drag their name through the mud (it would be advisable to try and get the choice to the public media, get that name good and dirty). No point in choosing someone like D`Souza, who has no good name. The little worm would enjoy it. Of the important religious figures around Ratzinger is clearly the most vile and heads the most sinister organization.

And yeah, where are the muslims?

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36. Comment #94552 by IainB on December 6, 2007 at 1:26 am

This is difficult. So many complete idiots to choose from. I'm sorely tempted to vote for my local embarrassment O'Brien, but after watching him debate Dan Dennet, I've got to go for D'Souza. I'd rather steep my scrotum in paint remover for an hour than listen to him again. Utter moron.

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37. Comment #94562 by Philip1978 on December 6, 2007 at 1:42 am

Random_Interrupt

But wasn't he taking orders from the Pope? The Pope laid down those guidelines and told his evil henchmen to go off and spread the message. I don't doubt the archbishop deserves punishment, but the Pope sent him there to do it.

Philip

Other Comments by Philip1978

38. Comment #94566 by ingl0rius on December 6, 2007 at 1:52 am

How on earth has RD managed to get so many votes?

He has received more votes than the bishop of carlisle for goodness sakes!

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39. Comment #94572 by irate_atheist on December 6, 2007 at 2:02 am

It's such a shame that Jerry Fallwell died this past year. Couldn't they have a posthumous awards section for lifetime lack of achievement?

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40. Comment #94573 by Corylus on December 6, 2007 at 2:06 am

Had to go for the Bishop of Carlisle.

That he spouted such homophobic drivel needs to be publicised wider. This was not Phelps but an Anglican bishop.

This could be an object lesson is showing how important it is to ask the nice moderates exactly what they believe and who they would consider demeaning and discriminating against in the name of faith.

If the answer is 'no-one' - then fine. However, I do think it is important to routinely ask for this assurance.

I was tempted by Chuck Norris. However, on reflection, I realised that my antipathy was due not to his reasoning skills, but crimes against insomniacs. What's on when you can't sleep? Walker Texas Ranger or the shopping channel.

Not good.

Other Comments by Corylus

41. Comment #94586 by bigdavid on December 6, 2007 at 2:53 am

Ratzi the natzi for me he has previous for being part of an organisation doing mass murder.

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42. Comment #94593 by The Anti-Pope on December 6, 2007 at 3:10 am

My profile name says it all :D

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43. Comment #94595 by SilentMike on December 6, 2007 at 3:12 am

The vote for D'Souza is a mistake. This is the result of anger and will do no good. He'll just wear it as a badge of honor. There's no point slinging mud at someone who willingly swims in feces. You need to aim high, not low.

Other Comments by SilentMike

44. Comment #94611 by Vaal on December 6, 2007 at 3:52 am

Chuck Norris? Really? I had no idea. Who cares what a ham actor thinks. Mind you, we could have said that about Reagan!

I agree about D'Souza, he will treat it like an "Asbo", and he is no more than an unctuous irritating apologist, of the worse type. Raises his profile too much.

The Pope is an imbecile.

My top at the moment would be the Bishop of Carlisle for sheer stupidity.

How about Bishop Boniface? Think he would be a good front runner.

Other Comments by Vaal

45. Comment #94613 by Vaal on December 6, 2007 at 3:59 am

Sorry, didn't see Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, he is the front runner by far. What an arse!

Other Comments by Vaal

46. Comment #94614 by AllanW on December 6, 2007 at 4:03 am

Just voted.

I may be pedantic but can we change the title of this thread please? We are being asked to vote. There are a number of contestants. We will not know the winner until the result is declared. If you want me to vote for the winner then please tell me who it is and I'll consider it :)

Other Comments by AllanW

47. Comment #94615 by Tyler Durden on December 6, 2007 at 4:06 am

The Pope, for wearing those funny hats :) Oh, and the for whole 'atheism is bad, I believe in sky fairies' thingy!

D'Souza in the lead on 27%, Pope 2nd on 15%. Have to agree with all above that D'Souza will lap this up if he wins, he's a media whore, any publicicty will do for him!

Other Comments by Tyler Durden

48. Comment #94622 by sgr79 on December 6, 2007 at 4:45 am

Archbishop Francisco Chimoio

And I second the posthumous lifetime award nomination of Jerry Falwell.

Other Comments by sgr79

49. Comment #94623 by ghost of numf-el on December 6, 2007 at 4:58 am

I want ot vote for them all - twice.

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50. Comment #94625 by phasmagigas on December 6, 2007 at 5:13 am

the bishop of carlisles vulgar comments. I'd have been more persuaded by his argument had the UK seen a severe drought (it rains most days in the uk anyway so a bit more is hardly remarkable). Water, even a flood is preferable to drought, i think i should rather drown than die of thirst.

westboro baptists do a good job of showing americans what religion can do to minds but unfortunately it doesnt make them question their own faith views, instead they say 'we just dont like those crazies'.

dinesh, well atheists are not to be found after school massacres because they tend not to poke their nose into others business and dont like to condescend people with false hopes and thoughts.

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