Atheist church has first schism

http://ift.tt/1f0lDEa



Some excerpts:

Quote:

Founded by two comedians, Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, the Sunday Assembly is a symptom of what Theo Hobson identified in this magazine as ‘the new new atheism’, the recognition that the new atheism of Professor Dawkins et al had, in rejecting God, gone too far in rejecting all His works. Churches, the founders felt, had much to recommend themselves — a space for inspiration, reflection, and a sense of community in an atomised city — and they found a willing audience. The Sunday Assembly now has branches in 28 cities across the English-speaking world, with more on their way.

Wait, there's a "new New Atheism" now?

Quote:

Three former members of the New York franchise broke away and formed a group called ‘Godless Revival’, complaining about the institutionalisation of what they had assumed would be nothing more than a parody church. The prophet of Godless Revival, Lee Moore, argued that Jones and Evans ‘are trying to get rich from their new-age religion…Moreover, Moore claimed, ‘The Sunday Assembly has a problem with atheism.’ The Sunday Assembly denies any backsliding or apostasy, and argues that, by not focusing on ‘the atheist community’, it is merely trying to be as inclusive as possible. Moore calls this ‘milquetoast atheism’, but it’s not: the two denominations have different definitions of atheism. For the Sunday Assembly, an atheist church is one that has no belief in God; the schismatics think it should be one with a belief in no God. This confessional difference is not insignificant — it’s as immense as the difference between the phrases ‘He was unmarried’ and ‘He was a confirmed bachelor’ in a Telegraph obituary — but it goes unspoken: the new new atheists are no fonder of nice philosophical distinctions, especially not that one, than the new atheists. So now the Sunday Assembly has the institutions and structure of a religion, and the Godless Revival the proselytising faith.

This kind of nonsense is exactly why I avoid joining any organized atheist groups.

Quote:

The service starts with the Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m So Excited’ projected on to the back wall. At the prompting of Sanderson Jones, the charismatic leader, everyone stands up and sings along to the small band on stage. Most clap their hands; many are swaying, holding their hands in the air — and, during the instrumental section, where the lyrics are replaced with the words ‘Jumping Break’, some do start jumping. After everyone has applauded themselves, we segue into the next song: Daft Punk’s ‘(I’m Up All Night To) Get Lucky’. On first hearing the lyrics of this song, you might assume that it was about someone searching for a missing dog — and who, amongst the dogless, doesn’t have a dog-shaped hole in their life? — but it’s actually about a man hanging around until a woman is drunk enough for, or otherwise disposed towards, sexual relations. The lyrics have been altered, though: the charismatic leader jumps up and points out that ‘If you change the “I” and “she” to “we”, the song is a lot less creepy.’ [...] He introduces, first, a reading. Not having any sacred texts, the Sunday Assembly can make use of wisdom from any work of world literature, and today’s reading is taken from the American science fiction writer Terry Bisson, the author of Star Wars: Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive and the novelisation of The Fifth Element. It’s a short story, a dialogue between two sentient but incorporeal entities (aliens, presumably, rather than angels), who are horrified to discover the human brain is made of meat.

via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/1f0lFfi