[G. Stolyarov II]

Henry Emrich is a writer for SoloHQ and a contributor to The Rational Argumentator.

[G. Stolyarov II]

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[G. Stolyarov II]

Visit TRA's Yahoo! Group, the newest means of notification and communication for our subscribers. You can find it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rationalargumentator

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[sauropod]

" Most "Believers" (in whatever religion), simply don't understand, or think about, their religion very deeply."

This is the arrogant conceit of the Objectivists. This is THEIR belief. It's not true.

[sauropod]

"They don't CARE that the "thou shalt not steal" thing is an injunction against stealing your neighbor's SLAVE. Most people honestly have no idea what the bible actually says, or what Christianity actually teaches."

Excuse me? What bible is this guy reading?

[ArGee]

Most people don't really understand what Christianity means by "God". They have no idea that the concept makes no sense, as their religion teaches it.

I didn't get very far past this statement since it's obvious that Henry doesn't really know what Christianity teaches about G-d.

Speaking for myself, I know full well how bloody the Bible is, but the evil in it does not come from G-d. Mostly, it comes from man. And it is hard to match the evil done by atheistic men (which is not to say that theistic men haven't tried).

Shalom.

[stanz]

Interesting article. Going to check out the links you cited.

[eastsider]

Why They Fear Us

The Objectivists are now taking the 'phobe" page from the GLBT handbook? Ayn would be so proud ...

[morque2001]

We are a slave rebellion, friends: an "Underground railroad" of the Human Spirit.

This is good, you, like Ayn Rand, at least admit to the existence of a "Human Spirit". That Spirit is Real, It is conscious part of yourself, what Rand would call the "ego". This "spirit" is God's gift to us, it has a free will and a capacity for joy. Learn to listen to it. In the end, it is truly the one thing that no other Human can take from you.

[possible]

The article says, "Those of us who know a better way MUST stand for it, and MUST reach out to them."

But all I see is a series of insults.

[thoughtomator]

This is Exhibit A for why Objectivist dogma cannot be taken seriously:

Most people don't really understand what Christianity means by "God". They have no idea that the concept makes no sense, as their religion teaches it. To them, "God" is somewhere between Santa Claus and Uncle Sam – a benevolent, strong, heroic Father figure "in the sky". Most of them have only a vague notion of heaven, and no interest in hell whatsoever.

First thing revealed is that the author of this piece doesn't have the slightest concept of God. By the inference it is also clear that the author isn't interested in finding out what that concept really is as much as he is interested in debunking it. Lastly it reveals Objectivism to be fundamentally nihilist and that 'rationalism' as they call it is really 'rationalization'. Objectivist dogma holds atheism as an unchallengable and undebatable truth, which completely undermines every stated purpose of the very existence of Objectivism.

I'll spare the psychological profiling of the type of person who needs to misplace his faith into Objectivism, other than to note it is not pretty.

[BushCountry]

This is Huge! Series!!

[Conspiracy Guy]

It's obvious that Henry knows all that I could never know including what I know so to disagree with his all knowing opinion would be futile.

But in my humble opinion he knows nothing and wasted a lot of my time showing me.

CG

[smith288]

This author could use a little lesson in Bible studies to find out what the heck its really saying rather than hyperbole.

Sounds to me like they picked up a Bible, made them feel guilty and trashed it labeling it evil. Perhaps a good look in the mirror would show where the evil lies.

They get terrified by "secular humanism" or "Godless atheists" because pretty much the only exposure to such things has been from socialists, communists, and suchlike. Hell, how do you think the destroyers of the United States were able to hoodwink people into putting "Under god" in the pledge of allegiance, in the first place? The sales-pitch was to make us different from the "Godless Commies". In the popular mind (controlled and shaped as it is by the "activists" and their social agendas), the concepts of Communism and Atheism were skillfully and secretly blended, so that the Common man can no longer tell one from the other.

Yep...It was a conspiracy to keep atheists down under the boot of militant Christians... *sigh*.

No, the fear of atheistic society is brought on by people like Mao, Stalin, Saddam and Hitler who, at the time of their power, were viewed simply as powerful atheists like this guy considers himself to be.

There is some crappy religious leaders out there. I have no doubts about that. But one of the major foundations of Christianity is that man is not perfect. Expecting that from anyone who claims Jesus as their savior is wrong and is either too ego-centric to figure it out, or plain ignorant about the subject.

[reed_inthe_wind]

"We must take up the torch, fight for all that is good and genuine and beautiful and true"

good, genuine, beautiful and true all add up to the self; and as Howard Dean says; "that's pretty inspiring, when you think about it"

[azcap]

The Evangelical-Atheism of some Objectivists is precisely the reason that its valuable lessons of self-reliance, liberty, and free-market economy will never be listened to by millions of people who would otherwise support it. It is like the fixation of a few Libertarians with drug legalization that keeps their whole movement relegated to the fringes. There is no reason an observant Jew, a Christian or any or person of faith cannot live happily in Gult's Gulch. As a Pure-Holier-Than-Thou-Objectivist you may believe their theologies are myths and delusions. You are welcome to that belief. Knowing what you know about a believer doesn't keep the two of you from entering into any mutually acceptable transaction or relationships. If the best deal on oil comes from the Christian are you not going to buy it from him because you think his personal theology is delusional. If the best music teacher is a Jew will you not let him teach your child. That is not objectivism. It is bigotry.

 

[ought-six]

Reads like elitist swill, if you ask me. The author seeks to lump all "conservatives" into the same basket, but what he actually accomplishes is to advertise the sad limits of his own sophistry, and show how poor and bankrupt his narrow opinions are. Generally, I enjoy discussions with the true objectivists, as I do with the true subjectivists, as they usually bring a sense of excitement and discovery to their arguments. The writer of this pap, however, casually discounts anything not conforming to his own established parameters of what is acceptable, and thus he serves only to stymie constructive discourse.

[RLK]

I was reading Rand long before most people were born. Fountainhead was a cheap drunk and a course of psychotherapy.

I have two serious problems with Rand.

1) She is no longer alive and is hence unable to defend herself from people who claim to be her disciples.

2) She is Wagnerian in the sense of seeking the glorified position of emotionally sterile all-powerful aweing Germanic gods. It is a hollow life.

[ladyinred]

Even a cursory examination of history will reveal a pivotal fact; namely, that "paradigm shifts" – massive changes of gestalt thinking NEVER originate from WITHIN the old paradigm.

So this guy is a new ager then? This is also their thinking. Somehow I don't trust his views of Christianity if this is his belief. (Among other reasons)

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>>>We are a slave rebellion, friends: an "Underground railroad" of the Human Spirit.


In the absence of God, is the Human Spirit (capitalized out of respect for it's apotheosis, I assume) something that I would find in the AD&D Monster Manual?

I understand why Objectivists find some elements of modern religion as objectionable as a Tammy Faye Bakkar makeover, but I'm not sure how they can disbelieve in God and still posit a spiritual world. Are there any Objectivists that believe quartz crystals cure herpes?

Who is John Galt, and what was he smoking when he wrote this article?

[Quix]

HOGWASH.

SHRILLERY TAINTED HOGWASH.