By MICHAEL BRULL - THE AGE.COM.AU
Added: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 UTC

Thanks to Mike for the link.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-new-crybaby-theists-20091105-hyyc.html

This is an article from theage.com.au in reply to this article "A Plague of Atheists... http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-plague-of-atheists-has-descended-and-catholics-are-the-target-20091103-hv52.html

Greg Craven attacks one of the terrible “infestations” we face today: being “beset by atheists”. Craven's article was remarkable for being almost entirely composed of ad hominem attacks on people who disagree with him. Incredibly, Craven declares that the “new atheism” is “so banally derivative of every piece of hate mail ever sent to God that I am amazed Satan has yet to sue for copyright infringement”.

Get it? This is obviously a fairly broad category, yet the long and short is that someone who doesn't believe in god is plagiarising the devil. Craven goes on to wonder at “atheist bigotry”, such as the view that at the “slightest opportunity”, Catholics would reintroduce the auto da fe. Who can fail to be dazzled at Craven's obvious framework of pluralism and tolerance?

Whilst Craven's writings can be easily dismissed as name-calling, they reflect the rise of a new phenomenon. The public and commercial prominence and success of atheist writers such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and AC Grayling has been heralded as the rise of a “new atheism”. Yet the response to this could equally be heralded as the rise of a “new theism”.
...
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-new-crybaby-theists-20091105-hyyc.html

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