"This Season, Celebrate Reason" Okay, if you insist! {g!}



Yep, doing that already, thanks! {ironic g}

Reason, by the way, tells me it isn't a myth. Not in the limited sense of 'fictional' being implied by the atheist group who sponsored the billboard. C. S. Lewis, the famous convert from atheism, the most famous proponent of the Argument form Reason, and arguably the greatest apologist of the 20th century, was very favorably impressed by the mythical characteristics of that story: the myth was as important to him, in his conversion to Christianity, as the history.


But anyone putting up that billboard is more interested in rhetoric than reason anyway (billboards not being very conducive to reasoning in the first place, admittedly.) And it should be noted that we Christians put up signs at least as annoying to atheists and others--there's a good chance this is a satiric echo of such advertising or promotion.

Still, their ad campaign at Christmas (is this the third year in a row now?) is always amusing, if not always in the way they may have intended. "Reasonable since 1963", eh? That isn't very long! Not sure I would have boasted about that... Also, the counter-cultural protesting going on back then was explicitly the reverse of reason--probably not the best marketing plan, to put yourself on the ideological map with drug-fueled emotional hippies while telling people when you started being "reasonable" in a counter-cultural fashion!

Fortunately, I know better than to attribute this kind of attention-whoring "village atheist" attitude to all atheists everywhere. (Not least because every year atheists on the internet line up to decry this particular effort, as well as to cheer and defend it.)


Anyway, back to celebrating Reason this season (including ultimately the Reason for the season) tomorrow.

Comments

Jason Pratt said…
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BK said…
I guess I'm wondering why they can't celebrate their own holiday. You know, "Us Atheists are the Only Rational People Day." Oh, I know: not enough people would agree enough to celebrate. So, they have to try to throw a damper on Christmas. Sad, really.
Jason Pratt said…
Including, ironically, among atheists themselves.

I kind of wonder if the billboard this year is supposed to be in-house evangelism. Y'know, to those atheists who know it's a myth, but who insist on respecting the ideas of the myth anyway and celebrating the season in principle.

I've been thinking of doing a more in-depth post on the topic before Christmas, although I wouldn't mind if someone else beat me to it. {g}

JRP

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