The gravest threat we face from terrorism, as the killings in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik underscore, comes not from the Islamic world but the radical Christian right and the secular fundamentalists who propagate the bigoted, hateful caricatures of observant Muslims and those defined as our internal enemies. The caricature and fear are spread as diligently by the Christian right as they are by atheists such as Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. Our religious and secular fundamentalists all peddle the same racist filth and intolerance that infected Breivik.

Harris was understandably pissed.  It’s just unfair to put him on the same intellectual level as Pamela Geller.

That is, until I saw some of his posts on Facebook. He points to a video about Sharia Law in the U.K.:

It’s a terrible story, and no doubt people need to be wary of this development. But Harris appends this note:

Watch the whole hour. Love to see Karen Armstrong, Reza Aslan, Scott Atran and Chris Hedges tell them what Islam *really* is.

So for Harris these extremists represent all of Islam. That is, in fact, bigotry. Here’s the lowdown about one of the people in the video:

Omar Bakri Muhammad (Arabic: عمر بکری محمد‎ `Umar Bakrī Muḥammad; born Omar Bakri Fostock in 1958 in Syria) is an Islamist militant leader who was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir into a major organization in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading another Islamist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, until its disbandment in 2004.

For several years Bakri was one of the best-known, high-profile Islamic radicals based in London, and was frequently quoted and interviewed in the UK media. He vowed in December 2004 for example that Muslims would give the West “a 9/11, day after day after day,” if Western governments did not change their policies

He’s a radical. It’s not news whatsoever that there are Muslim radicals espousing this kind of rhetoric. It would be news if a moderate came out with this kind of statement. The fact that movements like this might be gaining power is not the same thing as: this is Islam.

But it’s worse than that – which goes back to the point made by Chris Hedges. On Harris’ posts come comments like this one:

As long as islam has a future anywhere we need to be worried. If we don’t come up with a final solution to the moooslim question, we’re all dead.

That comment got 4 likes. Another:

These fucking troglodyte camel jockeys are saying that THEY are advanced and the rest of us are in the Middle Ages ? WTF ???

These comments were barely called out, if at all. They just sat there. One person said to the Final Solution poster – “You’re getting ahead of yourself” – rather than: you sick, demented fuck. I didn’t realize the atheist community had this sort of antipathy towards religion. It’s scarcely different than the (incredibly depressing) responses to Breivik on Glenn Beck’s site.

Is Sam Harris responsible for the comments on his Facebook page? Well, yeah, partly. If he’s saying something so irresponsible that a radical represents all of Islam, he has to be there in the comments saying – hey now, that’s not what I’m advocating. He needs to understand the impact of his rhetoric. That’s what Chris Hedges was saying – Sam Harris creates an environment where hatred festers. Initially, I thought Hedges was overstating the problem. After reading the comments on Harris’ page, I think he might be onto something.

“We decided to put the Quran on trail,” he told ABC News. “I was the judge but I did not determine the verdict. I was just a type of referee so that people got their time to defend or condemn the Quran.”

Jones said that a “jury” of people from all over Florida debated the radicalism of Islam, and the “Quran was found guilty.”

“If the Quran was found guilty then there were four forms of punishment: burning, shredding, grounding, a firing squad,” he said. “The one that the people chose was burning. That is why the Quran was burned after it was found guilty.”

The Afghan protests Friday started peacefully but took a violent turn after a radical leader told those gathered that multiple Qurans had been burned. People angrily marched on the nearby U.N. compound, despite police who fired AK-47s into the air in hopes of subduing them.

The same book which says homosexuality is evil advocates slaughtering people who don’t believe in God, or women are inferior or polygamy’s OK, and many, many other incongruities.

Not to mention how many people God killed. Handy table:

Meanwhile, here’s Sam Harris talking about the relationship between science and morality (via TDG). If science is about objective evidence, how can science define something as potentially subjective as morality?

How can you prove that having five wives is immoral?  The answer is: you can’t.  However, there are some issues of morality that make immediate intuitive sense – murder is illegal, and it should be. Frankly, polygamy should be legal as well – morality should be set by an action that does or doesn’t harm another person. Voluntarily entering into polygamy shouldn’t be a problem if everyone likes the arrangement.

I’m not normally a great Sam Harris supporter because he tends to lump God and religion together, but the rebuttal to his book is fallacious.  On Scientific American:

Consider the harm done in the name of Marxism and eugenics, pseudoscientific (not religious) ideologies that inspired two of the most lethal regimes in history—Stalin’s U.S.S.R. and Nazi Germany.

A clear argument could be that these were “scientific” regimes, but religious – blind devotion to the Nazi party was scarcely different than the devotion to the Catholic church during the Crusades.  The entire Nazi ethos of Aryan superiority is based on belief – it might have had cover within the “science” of eugenics, but it was brought to be via fundamentalist/religious devotion.  And the Nazis violated the basic law of morality – don’t harm other people.

Of course, you can use this argument to justify horrible atrocities. You could rationalize killing whole swaths of people if it was determined to help the long-term, greater good.  That’s the argument for going to war against the Nazis in World War II.  Nazis were evil, so killing millions of Nazis was a lesser evil. Is that science? Could you then use the “lesser evil” hypothesis to justify many atrocities – or even to kill those we think are “lesser people”? It allows us to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the 3000 who were killed on September 11.  There are many who likely see this as a fair trade-off, as American lives are worth more.  Again, this kind of patriotism is not science-based, but closer to religious-based devotion than fact-based reasoning.

So what’s the answer? First, don’t legislate morality based on the Bible. Easy.  Fundamentalist devotion to a scientific method that can’t – currently – prove morality isn’t the answer either, but it’s certainly closer than thinking gays are evil because the Bible told me so.  Until we have a real conception about how consciousness might be connected (if it is) or if there’s an afterlife, all of this is a best guess. For the moment, the moral law of “if it doesn’t harm other people” seems immediately provable.

But this is interesting.  Terry Jones is a cult leader:

When Jones left Cologne 26 years later it was as a disgraced preacher who was accused of running a sect-like community with an iron fist, forcing members to give him a percentage of their earnings, making them work for little or no money and causing the breakup of families and friendships. He also faked a title as “Doctor of Theology”, for which he was fined.

As tension mounted ahead of Jones’s plan to burn Qur’ans at his Florida church, it emerged that he had been dismissed by the board of the Christian Community of Cologne in 2008 after years of strife…

“He has clearly not been able to cope with the immense loss of his power and significance,” said Schäfer.

People have been calling him a fame-seeking narcissist, and I haven’t seen it, I’ve just seen another idiot preacher, many of whom seem to be built from the same cloth.  But like a cult leader, he’s addicted to power.  So he’s loving all this attention and probably sees it as God’s will. This part is the most telling:

Jones had hoped to replicate the community across Europe. “His goal had been to awaken the whole of Europe,” said Schäfer.

So to him Islam is evil because it’s also trying to spread its message across the world.  So he’s the American equivalent of Osama bin Laden – one dominionist against another.  In a weird way, though, it’s a testament to him that he’s burning books instead of people.  Part of his impulse may be to start a religious war, but he’s not doing it with car bombs.  Though Christianists bomb abortion clinics, this kind of violence is mostly the method of Muslim fanatics.  And one wonders why that is, given the fact that Terry Jones is clearly deranged, power-seeking, and willing to inspire violence.

My answer is that Christian fanatics are more primed for a war of ideology, of “spreading the faith.” Violence is not as part of American culture, in the same way that soccer is not a part of the American culture.  That could be a statement suggesting that violence is part of Islamic culture  – no, it’s just more a part of the countries where Islam is based.  You don’t see people with AK 47’s riding around in the U.S.

But overall, their intentions are the same.  Christian fundamentalists want the Rapture – a global war in which only they will be saved.  Muslim fanatics are taking it to the streets a bit earlier.  But the impulse is similar, in that both ideologies are based on violent ends.  This should be the story about the Koran burning – not only the affront to Muslims, but what this signifies about fundamentalist Christianity’s ultimate desire to set things on fire. But the media would probably never touch that issue.

Update: An hour after I write this, I read this – Self-Described ‘Christian Counterpart To Osama Bin Laden’ Arrested In Plot To Bomb Abortion Clinic:

A study released today by former leaders of the 9/11 Commission finds that “terrorism is increasingly taking on an American cast.” Warning of “a much more diverse threat,” the report urges the U.S. government to prepare for “the radicalization and recruitment of Americans to terrorist ranks.” While the report rightly warns of threats from radical Muslim extremists, law enforcement officials should also be concerned about right-wing zealots, as a 2009 Homeland Security report warned.

For instance, this past Tuesday, the FBI arrested 26-year old Christian radical Justin Carl Moose in Concord, NC for “providing information to create explosives” to “blow up a North Carolina abortion clinic.” Through his conversations with an FBI informant and his Facebook page, Moose expressed virulent “anger at abortion doctors, President Barack Obama’s health care plan, and plans to build a mosque near ground zero in New York city.” He goes on to describe himself as “the Christian counterpart to Osama bin Laden” who “has learned a lot from the muslim terrorists and have no problem using their tactics”

Stories like this are going to become more frequent as the right becomes more radicalized. Of course, if you’re going to take this from a truther slant, “leaders from the 9-11 Commission” would just be setting up another false flag. I’m not aggressively paranoid that everything in the media is coordinated psy-ops, but isn’t it strange that this report should be released today in the midst of the Terry Jones controversy?  The radicalization of this guy is no surprise, but the timing is impeccable.  True paranoids would say the guy’s under the influence of mind control.  You don’t need technology to do that.  Religion does it just fine.

Update 2: The Dove World Outreach Center’s Academy Rulebook is a pretty amazing document. Page 4:

And so too it goes for skeptics, who come to “non-science” topics with the preconceived notion that they’re stupid and beneath consideration.  The result?  These topics are rarely smartly considered by those with the non-speculative critical thinking skills that are required – that, or they think speculation is anathema to scientific consideration. Scientific investigation requires the imagination.  Greg Taylor on The Daily Grail has a great post on fundamentalist skepticism, saying,

Yes, skepticism is a tough sell – it’s basically about doubting yourself, your beliefs and assumptions 24/7. However, skepticism should *not* be about conveying the message that there is “no afterlife, no higher moral authoritative father figure” etc. There may be doubt about these things – but in the end, they are unfalsifiable, and so no true skeptic should be arguing that they don’t exist as part of their central message. One of the core failings of the modern skeptical movement – and it goes back to its origins in the likes of Martin Gardner and CSICOP – is the belief that skeptics’ raison d’être is to fight off ‘irrational’, supernatural beliefs. It has become so entrenched in the skeptical system that I’d imagine only theistic skeptics would have noticed this statement during the talk….

I would quite genuinely say that I am more skeptical than, at the very least, 50% of self-described skeptics. So are some of the top researchers in ufology, near-death experiences, and other areas – and they regularly get labeled as ‘woo-woos’ by ’skeptics’ that are not deserving of the title. Skeptics would do well to realise that the title does not get bestowed simply because you don’t believe in God/magic/religion – it comes from doubting things and using critical thinking (if applicable) to come to your conclusions. By insulating themselves, skeptical ‘evangelists’ make it more difficult to engage with people, as they have already built a wall between them.

The reason that Leslie Kean’s UFOs is so important is that it can potentially reach the skeptical community – those who look to debunk certain ideas before understanding what they’re debunking.  It’s important to remember that the earth revolving around the sun was seen as irrational, as was quantum theory, and other scientific advances.  That’s a potentially slippery slope in that it could imply, “If it’s irrational, it could be true.”  But this is no worse than, “If it’s irrational, it’s false.”  And just because something is currently unprovable doesn’t automatically imply that it’s false.  We’ll be able to prove the afterlife after we die.  Today, not so much.

This is how skeptics seem to gauge their sense of importance:

We skeptics are not contrarians, we try to make the world a safer place and to encourage advancements in technology and medicine. We strive for intellectual enlightenment not solely for ourselves but for everyone. We are one-part science communicators and one-part consumer protection advocates. But even with these idealistic good intentions we are often times the odd woman/man out at parties or around the water cooler. We are looked at as naysayers and argumentative, faithless, curmudgeons out to ruin fun and hope for everyone else. We are called know-it-alls or incorrectly considered close-minded. We are after all the ones that stand up and speak out when the majority wants to believe in homeopathy or angels or some sort of warm and fuzzy magical thinking. We burst bubbles, we dispel myths and sometimes we squash the fun of irrational fantasy. We explain how things really are. This outspoken bravery in the name of rationality often places us in the minority and that can be a very lonely and difficult place to be.

Skeptics are superheroes!  It’s difficult to imagine people so enamored with their importance are able to think entirely rationally.  Perhaps they need to be more skeptical about their belief in themselves.  This entire paragraph is full of “warm and fuzzy magical thinking.”

Hey there, Friend !

I have a question for you, a serious question, and please,
think about it seriously…

Do you know that after you die, you will have to spend the
ETERNITY in Heaven or HELL ?
There is no other place…

What if you die today, or tomorrow ?
Have you ever think about this ?

Please make the right decision and take this matter
seriously…

Please take a look at this:

I hope you will choose right !!!

Thank you very much, and once again, be careful, this is no laughing matter !
It’s about your ETERNITY !

… and don’t forget:
Only Jesus Christ can save you !!!

-Repent (Forsake your sins) and start a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ and you will be saved !!!-

Her experience is actually interesting and parallels the abduction phenomenon, except through a different lens. Which makes me sound like some other kind of fundamentalist, but there are interesting open questions about how the brain processes mystical/alien/near death/etc. experiences. And there’s a similarity between many of these stories throughout history, as read here:

Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds

This excerpt is taken from this post:

A man looking not much younger than Kenny stood. “Sir, if I may argue our side of the issue –”

“Your side? You are accursed! Or are you a believer, confident you shall live past your hundreth birthday?”

“It merely happens that I respectfully disagree –”

“Respectfully? You are fortunate you remain on this Earth, for God willed that your young compatriots become examples for the rest of this nation.”

“But, sir, that is precisely our point. What kind of a loving God is so capricious that He would –”

“Demolish this building!” Tison roared. “Rebuild it as a temple to the Lord. Delight in His ways. Seek His face. Follow His statutes. Never again disobey His commands. And henceforth this land shall be known as Osaze, `loved by God.’ Lest you fear that his wrath evidences something other than His love, imagine what He could have done in the face of this ultimate insult.”

“Now we His servants shall travel throughout Osaze, teaching the whole counsel of God to the wicked and the undecided and the unbelieving. Woe to anyone who attempts to hamper this effort! While the Lord has not told us when He will restore the life-giving waters, He hereby confirms His immediate judgment of sin. There shall be no more even temporary tolerance of disbelief. Those who choose their own way will continue to perish by their hundreth birthdays, and anyone who dares blaspheme before that shall immeidately surely die.”

As Rayford followed Tsion and the others out, the entire auditorium was filled with weeping and men and women pleading for forgiveness and mercy.

It’s amazing how singularly fucking dangerous this is.  It’s God as fascist dictator.  The Left Behind series is a holocaust fantasy about persecuting non-Christians.  No wonder fundamentalist Christians protest mosques or want to go to war with Iran.  Non-Christians don’t deserve to live.

Even people who like the books see that it has very little in it about the Christian faith:

Although the main characters in the book become Christians, very little is said about actually following Christ in life. Little is said about any real conversion with regard to living lives of love and service. Nothing is said in this series about embracing the way of the cross as those who are left behind face the years of Tribulation. To be sure, there is some discussion of martyrdom, but it is along the vein of soldiers in Afghanistan giving their lives to the cause. Instead of leading lives that are renewed in daily following Christ, these so-called believers seethe with anger and wish constantly for the privilege of being able to kill the Antichrist.

In other words, this is a book about war, not peace. Meanwhile, Tim LaHaye gets a seat at the table with potential presidential candidates.

The message that I don’t understand is this – why on earth is LaHaye upset that Obama is ushering in the Apocalypse?  No End Times means no Second Coming.  The same problem occurs in the books.  The Tribulation Force tries to stop the rise of Nicolae Carpathia, the Anti-Christ.  Why stop the Anti-Christ if he’s a necessary part of the Revelation story?  Furthermore, why fear that Obama’s the Anti-Christ  – same issue.  It’s adding a whole new layer of stupidity to this death cult.

Plainly, the Left Behind series has no common sense. And it’s 70-million strong.

Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Facts don't stain the furniture
Facts go out and slam the door
Facts are written all over your face
Facts continue to change their shape

- Talking Heads, “Crosseyed and Painless”

Via Technoccult comes this fascinating study.  It’s also kind of depressing.

Recently, a few political scientists have begun to discover a human tendency deeply discouraging to anyone with faith in the power of information. It’s this: Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger….

What’s going on? How can we have things so wrong, and be so sure that we’re right? Part of the answer lies in the way our brains are wired. Generally, people tend to seek consistency. There is a substantial body of psychological research showing that people tend to interpret information with an eye toward reinforcing their preexisting views. If we believe something about the world, we are more likely to passively accept as truth any information that confirms our beliefs, and actively dismiss information that doesn’t. This is known as “motivated reasoning.” Whether or not the consistent information is accurate, we might accept it as fact, as confirmation of our beliefs. This makes us more confident in said beliefs, and even less likely to entertain facts that contradict them.

Calls to mind this quote I read earlier today:

I am always fascinated by the movements of Christian fundamentalists and still feel a touch of empathy with them. I cannot help but admire their commitment and drive… I know how much effort it requires. It can get tiring. You must constantly fight not only the skepticism of those around you, but the doubts that arise within yourself. Mainly fundamentalists evoke from me a sense of sadness. Their pathos is that they expend such energy on such a losing cause. – Harvey Cox

Also, of course, calls to mind my own biases.  This is why Tea Partiers watch the self-reinforcing Fox news, or why they seem so angry and are digging in so hard – as if their souls are under attack, not just the country, or “liberty.”  If somehow we were hit with some great new piece of knowledge – like about the origin of consciousness or UFOs – there’d be legions of people trying to prove otherwise. This might be the worst effect of all the misinformation on cable news.  All opinions are treated as equally valid.  They’re not.