He’s at it again. Josh Rosenau has another post up On accommodationism. He ends with:
…I've occasionally used the term "enabler" to describe the folks who oppose whatever accommodationism might be.
(Sigh.)
I called Josh on this piece of projection before.
Think about this. Considering a drug addict, say - which is the enabler:
- The one who helps the addict get drugs, lends him money to get drugs, who tells him drug addiction is not that bad, tells him you can do drugs and live a normal life, would never tell him to give up, or
- The one who tells the addict to stop doing drugs, says doing drugs is stupid, hides his drugs, hides his drug money, points to studies saying drugs are bad, gets angry at the addict when he’s high.
Clearly the enabler is #1.
Now, question for the class, which one (# 1 or # 2 above), by analogy, is the accommodationist, and which the new atheist?
As I wrote in a comment on Josh’s blog:
“You (the accomodationists) tell the addict (religious believer) that their religious delusions are OK and totally not inconsistent with science at all. You (the accomodationists) are the ones who actually do enable the addicts (religious believers) by providing them with their drugs (reasons why religion and science are compatible). I realize you are acting out of love for the religious people you come into contact with, but in reality, you’re making the problem worse. That’s up to you, but you really should stop this dishonest labeling of the non-accomodationists with what you are actually doing yourself. It’s called projection.”
Of course, Josh is under no obligation to respond to what I wrote, to justify his use of the word. But, if he’s not going to respond, then he should at least have the intellectual honesty to stop parroting this nonsense.
Does he think that accommodationism is a disabling strategy?
Posted by: AndyD | October 06, 2009 at 12:55 AM
It's certainly an optimum strategy for disabling critical reasoning and self-esteem.
Posted by: Big Al | October 06, 2009 at 01:31 AM
Gee, maybe Josh is right after all!
Donegal grotto statue 'took on human form'
Visitors to a remote grotto have claimed a statue wept and crosses appeared and disappeared in the night sky this week.
That is indeed another way of knowing, which has given these people knowledge which science is not capable of passing judgment upon, because God won't repeat this for a bunch of faithless scientists. (I just kinda know He won't, all right?)
See, these people would believe in evolution as well if Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne hadn't told them that their ideas aren't compatible with science.
Posted by: yakaru | October 06, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Perspectivism: There are no religious phenomena at all, but only a religious interpretation of phenomena.
Posted by: anti_supernaturalist | October 07, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Quick question: *Could* the "accommodationists" be considered the people who try to move addicts to say methadone then (presumably) off drugs altogether?
Posted by: czrpb | October 08, 2009 at 07:49 AM
I have often wondered how putting someone on an addictive substance that works just like heroin is supposed to wean them off... heroin.
Posted by: Big Al | October 08, 2009 at 10:57 AM