Dawkins on unbelieving priests

[davros]

LINK (http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/richard_dawkins/2010/03/the_faith_trap.html)

Dawkins being very sympathetic to priests who have ceased believing in god. The last paragraph is amazingly powerful, what do you think?

[nettybetty]

I wonder if this has anything to do with Daniel Dennett's recent study on priests who don't believe.

PZ Meyers had a link on his blog to the study (it's a pdf so you need to download it):
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/03/priests_who_dont_believe.php

[Praxis]

Dan Barker mentioned specifically in his GAC lecture about how he knows plenty of ministers (or whatever they call themselves) who don't believe but can't say they're atheists for whatever reason.

I've got no doubt there's a great many of them.

I think it's profoundly sad really.

[Made Of Stars]

Dennett's new paper on non-believing clergy can be downloaded freely from here. (http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/Non-Believing-Clergy.pdf)

(I tried attaching it, but it's ~105kb and I received a 'too big' message.)

[Made Of Stars]

I have spent years avoiding Dawkins.

Every time I had a view on something, some xtian would eventually tell me I was emulating Dawkins.

Dawkins this, Dawkins that, High Bloody Priest Of Atheism (whoever coined that doozy should be collecting a tithe from his/her faith-afflicted colleagues), people recommending his books...
Before RD.net tanked we would frequently get people trotting out the same nonsense. I was always happy to retort that I'd only ever read one of his books, and I'd only read that one once. Hardly 'Acolyte of the High Priest' material, me. :rolleyes:

[ozeb]

I remember with much merriment the episode of "Yes, Prime Minister" when the Archbishop of Canterbury was about to be selected by Jim Hacker.
One of the candidates was described as being a bit different to the rest. He actually believed in God.
I chuckle every time I think of it.

[wearestardust]

I remember with much merriment the episode of "Yes, Prime Minister" when the Archbishop of Canterbury was about to be selected by Jim Hacker.
One of the candidates was described as being a bit different to the rest. He actually believed in God.
I chuckle every time I think of it.

I was thinking of exactly the same episode. I think the line goes "theology is the means by which atheists remain in the church".