On Monday night Richard Dawkins will carry on where he finished with his last series 'The Root Of All Evil' in his new Channel 4 series 'The Enemies of Reason'.
This time he will turn his fire away from christians/muslims to those people who believe in new age mysticism and astrology.
Should Channel 4 allow this individual to upset people by trying to undermine and ridicule their belief systems?
2007-08-10 08:30:28 · 25 answers · asked by pagreen1966 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
We should be applauding Channel 4 for giving another perspective equal airtime. Usually the popular media gives a disproportionate amount of time to religious expression and entertaining superstitions like astrology, and don’t give the equivalent airtime for the debunking of these beliefs.
A truly free society is one that gives both sides in an argument a fair hearing, regardless of how offensive ones thesis is. Channel 4 should be held as a paradigm of a TV station that should be emulated across the world. Western democracies have long boasted about freedom of thought and expression. It is time that our media outlets start to live up to this ideal.
Beliefs in astrology or in Christianity are primarily articles of faith. If these people are afraid in having their beliefs undermined by Dawkins’ lucid presentations of rationality, then these people don’t obviously have that strong of a faith to begin with. He definitely should not be barred from the public eye due to the weak faith of other people.
2007-08-10 15:15:37 · answer #1 · answered by Lawrence Louis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the majority of the answers on here that say YES of course he should be allowed to undermine peoples belief systems. We are not in a police state, we can say what we want.
We have had these beliefs shoved down our throats for thousands of years, its about time people started fighting back against these fairy tales.
You're obviously very insecure in your beliefs if someone questioning them on a television show undermines you.
I'm looking forward to it personally
2007-08-11 03:08:43 · answer #2 · answered by GayAtheist 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think, since Channel 4 isn't BBC, they work on what people WANT to watch. So clearly, a lot of the population are fine and dandy about it. And even those who aren't may well watch!
I don't think it undermines anyone's belief. He has a right to say what he believes (if sometimes too forcefully) and people have a right to either watch or choose not to. People need a bit of a sense of humour about him. He's such a smug b*stard!
2007-08-10 15:22:57 · answer #3 · answered by serf m 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what would you say if there was a series about capitalism or socialism. would you complain about the person undermining others' political beliefs or is that ok?
I love Richard Dawkins, the man is a genius and should get government funding. Long live the teapot theory
2007-08-10 08:48:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It's called freedom of speech - as opposed to censorship. I am a Christian but Richard Dawkins in no way threatens my faith, I think the more people talk about these things the better. Bring it on!
2007-08-10 09:38:54 · answer #5 · answered by Jude 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
any belief system that cant stand up to a bit of scrutiny must really be weak. and for those people who don't like Dawkins and called him an intellectually stunted toad (or something like that) , try having a face to face discussion with him and he will leave you crying from a combination of knowledge, intelligence and good old common sense. oh and hell yes it should be aired
2007-08-11 11:01:13 · answer #6 · answered by gramps 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is wrong with undermining people's belief systems? If their beliefs are stupid, then he's doing them a favour. If their beliefs make sense then he won't be able to undermine them. Isn't that simple enough?
2007-08-10 09:14:03 · answer #7 · answered by Dolly Dewdrop 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
So long as Thought For the Day on Radio 4 does not allow atheists then he *must* be allowed this series.
2007-08-10 08:47:44 · answer #8 · answered by godron_wookie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If belief systems enter and are talked about in the public forum, they must accept the criticism that comes with it. If people don't want their beliefs discussed, they should keep them private.
If someone has the right to assert in public that "Jesus is Lord", I have the right to say that Jesus may have existed, but his divinity and miracles are a myth.
2007-08-10 08:48:46 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
A belief that cannot cope with challenges is not worth having.
Even the Dawkin's Delusion has the right to be aired. If it is worth watching is a separate question.
2007-08-10 08:41:09 · answer #10 · answered by alan h 1 · 8⤊ 0⤋