and I didn’t like it. This actually happened last Monday, but I had forgotten about it until something reminded me this morning. I was stuck on a difficult passage on what I was writing, so I headed downstairs for lunch and some talk radio- that usually gets the synapses firing. (at least)
Dialing around, I found Bill O’Riley and listened for a while. He was talking about a book he has out that blames all of mankind’s ills on something he calls “secular progressives”- and as I’ve lately been reading that all mankind’s ills come from religion, I found it fascinating. His definition of “secular progressives” is a little more complicated than a simple secular/religious dichotomy, and he was giving examples of people who were “sp’s”. (apparently, many of them live in San Francisco)
One of his callers said that an atheist could not be a moral person, that without God’s laws there could be no morality. Bill objected, holding us up as an example. “Look at Unitarians,” he said, “They are atheists and secular humanists, and they’re perfectly decent, moral people.” He then went on to explain the additional factors that made one a secular progressive.
I was disappointed and upset that O’Riley, an educated man, could hold and propagate that belief, and considered calling him to correct his mistaken impression. Then I caught myself, and laughed- how could I convince Bill O’Riley that you don’t have to be an atheist secular humanist to be a Unitarian Universalist when I can’t even convince the Unitarians?
6 comments:
O'Riley interviewed New Haven's UU Rev Kathleen McTique a while back. I think he likes UUs and was quite graceful, as he can be, whe she admitted she couldn't define torture but was none the less against it.
"...when I can't even convice the Unitarians."
Priceless.
Liberalism has gone Holy Rollar on us now. And a crueler sort of Holy Rollarism than Billy Sunday ever preached,
Dean sent the warning on CNN's SITUATION ROOM with host Wolf Blitzer.
Chariman Dean said the former New York City Mayor "has a lot of character issues that he has to answer for. And overwhelmingly, Americans are going to vote on honesty and integrity.... We've begun to reach out to evangelical Christians, and that's a real problem for him. His personal life is a serious problem for him."
BLITZER: Well, describe those character issues...
DEAN: No, I'm not going to get into that stuff. I don't like attacking people on their personal lives, but I can assure you that in the Republican primary, given what went on in the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina between George Bush and John McCain, those attacks will be made in the Republican Party.
No, I'm not going to get into that stuff after gettin neck high in it.
Is there anyone not aware that Giuliani's wife threw him out of Gracie mansion because of the public nature of his extramarital affair?
Or that Giulani has done his best to make it illegal to be homeless in the more fashionable parts of town? (Likely not what Dean meant by character issues, but I think it is one...)
I'm more curious why Blitzer bothered to ask the question.
To me it is akin to:
Mitt Romney: Bill Clinton has a lot to answer for when it comes to marital fidelity.
Wolf Blitzer: Really? What have you heard?
CC
Well you might have better luck convincing him that Unitarians aka U*Us are not nearly as "perfectly decent, moral people" as he apparently believes. . . Come to think of it maybe I will take the time to enlighten him. BTW One of my all time favorite picket sign slogans, and one that I happen to be displaying at the moment, is -
"CHURCH" OF THE IMMORAL MAJORITY
Joel, I wanted to comment on your post today, but there was no "comments" section. Is that a deliberate action on your part? Or a computer slipup?
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