Comments on: "Say Amen!"

By: berkeleyfarm

berkeleyfarm — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:28:53 +0000

Amy -

I think you hit a lot of nails on the head here. Especially with #3.
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(I am still thinking WTF with Warren's craptastic delivery and I have spent a lot of time in the OC. Urf.)
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Not surprised about the Shema, due to the interest a lot of conservative evangelicals (yeah, I used to be one) have in a lot of the Hebrew Scriptures. At least it isn't the scary scorched-earth "Joel's Army" stuff that Warren also seems to be a part of (which, if TIME hasn't covered it, is well worth the ink IMO).

By: formerlyjames

formerlyjames — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:27:35 +0000

Excellent post. I too thought that Lowery made Warren look more lame than he did anyway. Lowery left everybody (well, almost; everybody can't be done at such an event), with a smile on their face.
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Also, in union with fense at #20, it will be refreshing if everybody stops assuming that everybody else in on their religious wave length, or any religious mind trip for that matter.

By: fense

fense — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:08:51 +0000

As an atheist, let me assure you it's nice to have a President who considers you a real citizen again. BTW, most of the Founding Fathers were agnostic at best. John Adams didn't even take the oath on a bible - he used a book of law. I wish we would follow his example, because I put a lot more "faith" in the Constitution than I do the Bible, or any other so-called "Holy Book".

By: boulderiter

boulderiter — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:27:34 +0000

sgr1, aka the real blowhard, got a few folks going, but not as many as the prayer givers themselves.

Actually, what us non-believers need is a good PR firm and solid rebranding. If we had a better image, one not borne out of evil communism back in the mid-20th -- atheists? don't they torture small animals? -- we would see our number rise. Back in my dating days, "Do you believe in God?", I would wait for a commitment from the date, but usually had to resort to the old stand by, I, well, I believe in the goodness of man, natural law, and utopian energy fields that surely . . . how's your wine?

This as opposed to, I'm an atheist! Which generally meant an early evening, alone. Of course that was before the Atheist Dating Service, etc. Yes, rebranding is what is needed and Amy (or Joel Stein) should propose this in a future article.

By: destor23

destor23 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:57:02 +0000

Why no mention of the big tragedy here, which is that aside from one throwaway line to non-believers, there was a bunch of religion in all of this and no real secular content at all? You note Rick Warren and Reverend Lowery speaking and then say "oh, no Jews or Catholics." Well... not like he was Richard Dawkins up either! Why isn't that a tragedy?

By: cincinnatus est exterminata!

cincinnatus est exterminata! — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:49:15 +0000

"I was listening to him wondering how he built up such a large congregation with such craptastic delivery skills. "
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You've obviously never been to Orange County CA.

By: pourmecoffee

pourmecoffee — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:34:01 +0000

Ha. I've been reading Metafilter for over eight years. Never posted, but I love the depth and breadth of topics. It's more information sharing than discussion. I used to love Robot Wisdom and Memepool in that same genre, but they are dead now.

By: Joe Bftsplk

Joe Bftsplk — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:32:56 +0000

OT -- are we supposed to get any "pool reports" from those lucky Swamplanders in D.C.?
Not that I'd expect them to be coherent...

By: Joe Bftsplk

Joe Bftsplk — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:29:11 +0000

Yes, pourme, thanks for the MetaFilter link. But who are all these people who can stop after one sentence?

By: textee

textee — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:28:25 +0000

Sullivan sounds shocked that Obama saluted the atheist left. Someone please clue her in to the fact that the atheist left has been the dominant base of the Democrat party for at least 50 years. Is Sullivan 18 years old?