The Happy Heretic: Resurrected? Back in Action? Well, She's Back...
Tuesday February 26, 2008
Judith Hayes' column The Happy Heretic appeared monthly between 1996 and 2005, then it stopped and she seemed to disappear. I'm not sure what happened to cause her to stop writing, though it appears to have been related to an illness. Her absence was a loss to the online resources available to atheists, but now Judith Hayes has begun writing again; February 2008 marks the relaunch of her column.
I will definitely write monthly, but I may also write more often. And this time I’ll be including a place for your comments, something many people wanted before. ...My target audience is, and always has been, fence-sitters and closet atheists. Based on some of my recent mail, though, I think I’ll include outraged atheists. Our number is legion. There are more of us than anyone realizes. The true number would startle most Americans and would definitely frighten evangelicals. And now more than ever, it is truly politically incorrect to say you are an atheist. That’s why I will SHOUT IT!
I reviewed her book, The Happy Heretic, which was a collection of her columns and I look forward to seeing more new material from her. Her first is "What's Your Favorite Bible Verse," something that should be a religious question but which she observes has become a political question as well:
The debate was held at Hanover, New Hampshire on September 26, 2007 and was moderated in part by Tim Russert of MSNBC. It was plodding along, boring and predictable, when Russert asked a final, startling question. With a smarmy smile on his face he said, “Before we go, there's been a lot of discussion about the Democrats and the issue of faith and values. I want to ask you a simple question. Senator Obama, what is your favorite Bible verse?” I listened with a slack jaw and open mouth. This is when my eyes and ears seemed to fail me. What the hell was this all about? In a Republican debate, yes, of course, it would be expected. They can’t work in enough god-talk. But the Democrats?
I wish one, just one of the eight Democratic candidates had asked back, “What’s that got to do with being President of the United States?” Alas, no one had the cojones to demand an explanation for this out-of-the-blue religious test. Every one of the candidates answered this outrageously irrelevant question without blinking an eye. The candidates scrambled for references. Obama mentioned the Sermon on the Mount, which certainly is not a verse, Clinton mentioned the Golden Rule, Kucinich said something about some prayer of St. Francis, certainly not in the Bible, and so forth, after which my husband tells me I growled, “Son of a bitch! Do you believe that?”
The only reason Tim Russert felt emboldened enough to ask such a religious question has to do with the unhealthy, obsessive nature of this entire 2008 political landscape. It is steeped in religion. It is oozing religion. When and, more important, why did we let this happen?
Sadly, it has happened. What can we do to turn things around again?
Comments
The links for posting at Judith Hayes are not working. She asks: what is your favorite bible verse. Ok to post here? Thank you! Deuteronomy 14:21
The beautifully lyric Ecclesiastes 1:5 is proof positive the Sun orbits the Earth: The Sun also rises and the Sun sets and He returns to the place from which He arose. I also like Genesis 3:22, which I think is THE most important verse in the Bible. It goes, in part; And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil…
OK so who is this ‘us’ and if ‘us’ knew all about good and evil before the creation of humans then why would this ‘us’ expect humans to be perfect? But the biggest point is the perfect cynicism of condemning man to die when this ‘us’ knew what was going to happen anyway. It is the foundation stone of the religion but it’s own illogic instantly condemns it if one has “ears to hear.”
I have a sign on my car window which says, “Religion is an allergic reaction to silence”. Others could do the same.
Too bad one of the Dems didn’t mention the entire book of Ecclesiastes and reference it as “an early example of agnostic and existential thinking.”
That might’ve gotten some ink.
As for what we can do about the religious saturation of today’s politics? Well, more of what we’ve been doing, unless and until such time as more promising and effective techniques are developed. Speak out, as firmly and persuasively as possible, whenever opportunities present themselves: Letters to the editors; Websites; Blogs; Support secular organizations and those combatting the blurring of church-state lines with time and/or money.
I’m starting to think (hope?) that, with sufficient time and relentless, if often low key, resistence, the whole religious right engine’s just going to run out of steam in a few years, a victim of battle fatigue and American impatience with anything that hangs around long enough to be considered “same ol’ same ol’.”
I’m wondering if, just maybe, they’re starting to wear out their welcome with a lot of folks.
This is unless, of course, they get themselves a nice, new, shiny issue, something to really rile up the war-weary base. Don’t know yet what that might be though.