A Third Way To View Religion Recently I was forwarded from a friend a video from the RidhardDawkins.net group on Clergy. In the video Pat Condell makes a number of over generalizations and unsubstantiated claims such as: - Religion exists for the sole benefit for the clergy - Clergy work for the sole benefit of the clergy. - Religion demands obedience outside the bounds of reason - Religion is anti democracy He then goes on to refer to clergy as humanities head lice who are engaged in the willful misdirection of the human race. He argues that clergy seek to eliminate as much creativity and pleasure as possible. The rant continues with specific attacks on Catholic policy on birth control as if this was proof of his case. Then Condell attacks the Archbishop of Canterbury by gross miss characterizations of the Archbishops statements and attempts to make his case against clergy because of the living residences provided the Pope and the Archbishop. From these clearly fallacious arguments Condell concludes that therefore there is no truth in religion. It occurred to me that the rant against clergy was no different than one might expect from Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh. In both the Atheist Rant which you can watch at http://tinyurl.com/ychyslx and the type of Right Wing extremist rants you get from Beck and Limbaugh one finds: o over generalizations o false statements o faulty logic o ad hominem personal attacks and/or hate speech What I found must disturbing was that when I confronted my friend with these facts he admitted that the rant was full of generalizations, faulty logic, and personal attacks but actually said that he could see no connection to how this was similar to Beck or Limbaugh. Furthermore despite admitting to the faulty logic of the rant he said he agreed with everything said anyway. Now my friend you might think is some sort of backwoods uneducated person like some of the fundamentalists of the rural south. Not the case at all. In fact he is a best selling author, Ph.D.., and quite an articulate person who holds up Reason to be one of his primary values. I am sure one could find many things wrong with Clergy, politicians, or whoever one wants to attack. Abraham Lincoln once said “When you look for the bad in someone you will surely find it. What is most troubling is that with the attitudes of fundamentalists or followers of people in the Richard Dawkins network like my friend, there can be no real discussion because both groups claim they agree with everything their leaders say despite the contrary evidence that those leaders are making false statements, over generalizations, and using faulty logic. Like the fundamentalists my friend said lets just agree to disagree. The agree to disagree to me is often another way of saying “Don’t confuse me with the facts or with logic, my mind is made up.” Fortunately there may be a third way where healthly discourse can return to reliigious issues being proposed by Frank Schaeffer who left the religious right for these very reasons and has now written a new book coming out later this month titled Patience with God: For people who don’t like Religion (or Atheism) Frank emailed me this description of the book that seems to be right on target for the issue I identified above. I have already pre-ordered my copy. Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) Frank Schaeffer has a problem with Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, and the rest of the New Atheists—the self-anointed “Brights.” He also has a problem with the Rick Warrens and Tim LaHayes of the world. The problem is that he doesn’t see much of a difference between the two camps. As Schaeffer puts it, they “often share the same fallacy: truth claims that reek of false certainties. I believe that there is an alternative that actually matches the way life is lived rather than how we usually talk about belief.” Sparing no one and nothing, including himself and his fiery evangelical past, and invoking subtleties too easily ignored by the pontificators, Schaeffer adds much-needed nuance to the conversation. “My writing has smoked out so many individuals who seem to be thinking about the same questions. I hope that this book will provide a meeting place for us, the scattered refugees of what I’ll call The Church of Hopeful Uncertainty.” You can pre-order the book from the Amazon site at the Global Healing Store http://www.amazon.com/dp/032152036X?tag=globalheali0e-20&camp=211493&creative=379973&linkCode=ez&creativeASIN=032152036X&adid=08GT70ZVEDQF37022VD0& What others are saying about the book: Here are some comments on "Patience" .... "Frank Schaeffer is a patient writer but a passionate one too. This beautiful argumentative and even funny book is popular theology at its best, an explanation of tradition and its absence from a man who has lived both, a writer who knows better than most that God --  whether you do or don't believe -- is always a brilliant story." Jeff Charlet, New York Times best selling author of "The Family." "Ever feel straitjacketed by the Church? Convinced that God can't be put in a box? You've got to read Frank Schaeffer's explanation of why you're not alone, and how contradictions can be a paradox to be celebrated. You'll be intellectually challenged and spiritually heartened by his life story and lessons learned." Richard Cizik, President, The New Evangelicals, Fellow, The Open Society Institute "Patience With God does more than celebrate the gift of paradox-it's a feast for those hungering for something truly greater than themselves and their own ideas." Charles E. Moore, editor, "Provocations: The Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard" "With remarkable skill Schaeffer exposes the flaws of fundamentalists and atheists alike, only to reveal the true meaning of faith." Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Princeton University