Friday 2 April 2010

Opposing Views

In the Radio Times this week there is an article by the Bishop of Croydon, Nick Baines, who calls himself an "e-vangelist" since he writes a blog at http://nickbaines.wordpress.com, "normally five times a week" - it's a wonder he can find time for anything else.

He says he tries to practise "confident humility", surely an oxymoron, but he is not averse to the occasional arrogant put-down such as: "Richard Dawkins isn't alone in excelling in one field - such as biology - while being awful in another - such as 'thinking'." Ouch! The implication being that his own thinking is hunky dory.

He also has the usual complaint: "An area of challenge relates to the atheists in the blogosphere, particularly those who represent perfectly what their prejudices tell them is the preserve of religious people: fundamentalism and an unswayable confidence in their own unargued-for assumptions about the world and human meaning." I must admit I've encountered a few who give that impression! However all atheists and humanists I know most certainly have thought very hard about their assumptions and about giving meaning to their lives."

There is a point in which I can agree with him: "... what's the point in simply talking to those who agree with you when you could be arguing your way to a better understanding ...", though we may differ as to what needs to be understood. To this end I propose to add a series of links in the right-hand column to various sites that represent Opposing Views, beginning with the Bishop's blog. If you have any links that you think ought to be included please let me know.

2 comments:

  1. The idea that "confident humility" is an oxymoron, springs from a caricature of the meaning of humility, which is not the same as self-doubt. In fact, reading your blog I'd like to suggest that you do express that virtue. To me, the confidence comes from honest and tested self-knowledge. Humility is an expression of knowing that I can, and should, learn from others.

    The "usual complaint" about fundamentalist atheists illustrates that in the blogosphere, those calling themselves atheists can be divided into two groups:
    (1) those who have come to their position as a result of a thoughtful search for the truth; and
    (2) trolls who are just looking for a good fight, who don't happen to be religious, or who really define their identity as being anti-Christian.

    I tend to think of the www as being like a pub, particulary in the variety of people and opinions that you'll meet there. So if I'm in a pub and meet a bloke looking for a fight I don't oblige!

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  2. OK, "skinhead", maybe not quite an oxymoron, more a sort of confidence trick. The advantage of the www over a pub is that you can get into an argument without physical danger.

    I used to go to the Anglican Mainstream forum to stir things up a bit, particularly the creationists and the homophobes, but I now find that the discussion forum there is "undergoing renewal". Hopefully it will be resurrected. Meanwhile the comments on Bishop Baines's Blog give some idea of what it was like.

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