New to Oldspeak: Frank Schaeffer Talks Candidly with John W. Whitehead About New Atheism and Its Similarities to Christian Fundamentalism

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - OldSpeak, an online publication of The Rutherford Institute, hosts a provocative discussion between Frank Schaeffer, the son of Christian evangelist Francis Schaeffer and author of Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) (Da Capo Press, 2009), and John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.

The interview, "Patience with God: Taking on Atheists and Christian Fundamentalists," is a candid discussion of religion and its impact on American politics between two individuals, Schaeffer and Whitehead, whose ideas and actions have shaped our national dialogue on matters of religion and politics.

WHITEHEAD: In your book Patience with God, you point out that the New Atheists are just as dangerous as you consider fundamentalist Christians to be.  Can you explain why?

SCHAEFFER: I would go even further and say that the New Atheists are fundamentalists.  They have just changed a few words and instead of trying to get everybody to believe in a certain theological idea, they are trying to enforce a kind of philosophical morality on the rest of the country. They actually argue that you are stupid if you believe in God.  There is a lot of mockery involved.  It is found in the tone of Bill Maher's documentary film, Religulous. It is also shown in the tone of his TV show. What you are watching is the flip side of Pat Robertson or James Dobson. It is the same kind of intolerance towards diversity and people who disagree with you as you see from the Right.  In my book Patience with God, I make the argument that these two movements-religious fundamentalism and the New Atheism-are parallel movements. They come from the same lack of understanding and spirituality which involves celebrating paradox. It lacks mystery. We simply don't have to answer every question.

The interview, "Patience with God: Taking on Atheists and Christian Fundamentalists," is available at Rutherford Institute.

Frank Schaeffer is a prolific blogger and a New York Times best-selling author. His most recent books include Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back (2007) and Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps (2003) about his son's military service in Iraq. He also co-authored AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service-and How It Hurts Our Country (2006) and How Free People Move Mountains: A Male Christian Conservative and a Female Jewish Liberal on a Quest for Common Purpose and Meaning (2003).

OldSpeak, the online journal of The Rutherford Institute, is dedicated to publishing interviews, articles and commentary on subjects often overlooked by the mainstream media in the areas of politics, art, culture, law and religion. The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.

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written by Dennis N, November 02, 2009

So ignorant, I lost a lot of respect for Frank Schaeffer. Atheists are not forcing anything on anyone. They're not in government trying to determine what women do with their bodies or trying to keep children from getting proper sex education. They're simply talking openly and frankly about ideas. It is such a horrible comparison for him to make, there is no equivalence here. Additionally, I don't see him saying a word about their content. You critique the form of the message when you have nothing to say about the message itself.

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