Re: [asa] The Criticism Begins

While I am always in favor of honestly representing what a person has said -
regardless of their status or conduct - some perspective is called for.
Dawkins is more or less a cheerleader-clown for the modern atheist at this
point, with "modern" adding up to "obnoxious and aggressively
anti-theist/anti-religious". That a journalist may have taken some
apparently ignorant quotes from him out of context is a shame, largely
because it's not as if legitimate ones are in short supply from the man when
it comes to religious topics.

Again, that's not to defend any misrepresentation of him. But frankly, in
perspective, I find it difficult to get too worked up about it - doubly so
since it's not like journalists in general are stellar when it comes to this
sort of thing, but ooooh, those CHRISTIAN journalists, why they're just
something else.

On Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:28 AM, John Walley <john_walley@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
> I agree the Christian reaction of dishonest, defensive atheist bashing
> needs to stop. I am greatly relieved to hear the description of the
> Dawkins/Maher exchange didn't go down the way it was descibed below. I was
> quite frankly shocked to hear that if the first place as it seemed over the
> top even for Maher. In Dawkins' video interview with McGrath he was
> suprisingly civil and gracious.
>
> I agree it only gives them ammunition.
>
> John
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Iain Strachan <igd.strachan@gmail.com>
> To: mrb22667@kansas.net
> Cc: asa <asa@calvin.edu>
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 2:55:36 AM
> Subject: Re: [asa] The Criticism Begins
>
> If Mary Spiro is a Christian then it's all the more disappointing that
> she should mis-represent Dawkins in this way. It would just give
> atheists more ammunition against dishonest Christians.
>
> You can see the Dawkins/Maher interview for yourself as it's posted on
> the original web-page:
>
>
> http://www.examiner.com/x-6378-Baltimore-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m7d8-Is-Godfearing-genehunter-Francis-Collins-fit-to-run-NIH<http://www.examiner.com/x-6378-Baltimore-Science-News-Examiner%7Ey2009m7d8-Is-Godfearing-genehunter-Francis-Collins-fit-to-run-NIH>
>
> As I recall when I saw it, Dawkins had earlier said the Collins WAS a
> "bright guy" and a very good scientist. The "he's not a bright guy"
> was just part of humorous banter.
>
> This is not the first time someone has been totally misrepresented by
> a journalist by selective use of quotes. In the UK Daily Telegraph
> last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury was accused of not believing
> in the Christmas story by very adroit use of ellipses, which omitted
> the fact that he was saying the myths were the parts of the
> traditional tale that were not in the Bible.
>
> Journalists are notorious for dishonesty in this way (selective
> quoting), but I would have hoped for better from a Christian
> journalist.
>
> Iain
>
> On Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:20 AM, <mrb22667@kansas.net> wrote:
> > I did a double-take, seeing the name Mary Spiro below. I know her
> personally.
> > She is a Christian, by the way; though its been a year or two since I've
> seen
> > her and I don't know what her current faith journey is like. I don't
> think she
> > was deliberately trying to be biased against Collins, though I agree that
> the
> > caption is sensationalistic and her quoting Dawkins like that (if the
> interview
> > was as you describe) was probably misleading. But it was more of an
> > embarrassment to Dawkins, though to have such dismissively biased
> inanities
> > attributed to him --and unfortunately for him, quite believable
> attributions at
> > that. Look on the bright side: at least Christians who think
> scientifically
> > are getting some press-time that isn't mocking. (at least, I don't take
> it to
> > be, not from Mary, anyway.)
> >
> > --Merv
> >
> >
> > Quoting Iain Strachan <igd.strachan@gmail.com>:
> >
> >> On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 11:43 AM, Jack Haas<haas.john@comcast.net>
> wrote:
> >> > Is God-fearing, gene-hunter Francis Collins fit to run NIH?
> >> > the Bill Maher Show in April 2008. Dawkins likened Collins belief in
> God
> >> to
> >> > a belief in an “imaginary friend” and referred to him as “not a bright
> >> guy.
> >>
> >> I just looked at the Dawkins/Maher interview, and this sentence is so
> >> completely out of context that it's pretty much tantamount to a
> >> concocted lie.
> >>
> >> Yes, the interview talked about "imaginary friends", but not in the
> >> context of Collins. Dawkins was complimenting Maher on coining the
> >> phrase.
> >>
> >> Secondly the context in which Dawkins said that Collins was "not a
> >> bright guy" was just in response to a joke by Maher. Dawkins had said
> >> that Collins certainly didn't believe in "the talking snake". To which
> >> Maher responded jokingly "I've interviewed him and he totally does".
> >> And Dawkins replied that in that case Collins had gone right down in
> >> his estimation and that "he's not a
> >> bright guy". It was perfectly clear from the context that neither of
> >> them meant what they said literally - it was just a bit of joking.
> >>
> >> If there's one person who has gone right down in MY estimation, it's
> >> Mary Spiro, the author of the article, and concocter of this piece of
> >> gross misrepresentation.
> >>
> >> Iain
> >>
> >>
> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
> >> "unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> -----------
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> world domination
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>
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Received on Fri Jul 10 04:07:15 2009