Barton's piece is extremely disappointing. In her hierarchy of 'good, acceptable, bad, worse, and worser' atheists, I wonder where she would place my role in the US SC case "Abington vs. Schempp"? Is this OK because it was about stopping devotional Bible-reading in public schools under the authority of the government? Or is it pretty bad because it insists that the schools are to be secular--that is, neutral, neither fostering organized religion nor hindering personal religious beliefs. Like so many evangelical Christians who are convinced that secular means a "war on Christians", Barton seems to feel there is a "war on spirituality" (whatever that actually is). Osama bin Laden believes there is a "war on Islam."

Barton repeats, "without regard for the thought process," old notions that atheists are somehow "negative." And implies that atheists are unable to recognize beauty, love, ethical and moral concerns, sociability, and commitment to larger values, and does so because we love the cababilities of our brains to appreciate evidence and rational, consistent, loveable views of the world.

If there is a "war on belief" going on, it is certainly "a war on atheists". From the 5000 or so letters we received back in 1963, it was clear that the most despised group in America are atheists. I knew Madalyn Murray--and I know how she was hounded. It is very sad to me that 43 years later, Barton wants to stir up antipathy toward secularists in order to assure that "faith-believers" are not put upon by atheists.

I wonder, too, how Barton regards faith beliefs in psychics, astrology, UFOs, dowsing, faith healing, appearances of the Virgin Mary--even on cheese sandwiches!--stone statues that burst into tears, in exorcism, ghosts, prayer, Loch Ness and other lake monsters, life after death, crop circles, body meridians, laying on of hands, foot-ology, raptures, tarot cards, Nostradamus, book of Revelation, red heifers appearing in Israel, alien abductions, homeopathy, feng shui, magnetic bracelets, secret codes in the Bible, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic powers, full trance mediums to connect with the dearly departed--all stuff related to supernaturalisms. The list of irrational nonsense is endless. Atheism and skepticism go hand in hand.

8:57 PM