Peace Through Elimination of Fervor

I found this on Religious Freaks. Ariane Sherine, Bitish comedy writer and atheist, is behind an ad campaign to “get the word out” about atheism. There’s a lot in this video on both sides that could be picked apart. The thing I’m interested in talking about though is a statement she made at about the 3:50 mark, “If there were a lot less passion about religion then the world would probably be a lot more peaceful.”

What do you think? I am soliciting guest bloggers to write from as many sides of this aisle as possible. It’s a good debate to have and as the Christian in that video said, “bring it on”. So how do you bring it on?

1) Write a post at around 1,000 words (if it’s interesting you can go more, but honestly in my experience that’s the longest thing anyone is going to read at one go). Be respectful and tasteful in your language.

2) Email it and your name, a brief statement of faith/unfaith, and any linking that you want along with it to scott @ this here domain. Make sure the text is in the body of the email, not in an attachment.

3) I well begin posting these daily on Monday the 12th provided I get some responses by then.

I am welcoming all sides and all points of view. My readers can assure you that I’m a fair guy when it comes to this sort of thing. I may not post every offering, but if I don’t I’ll at least tell you why.

  • http://sidfaiwu.com sidfaiwu

    Sounds like a good idea. I’ll put something together and send it to you. Less than 1,000 will be a bit of a challenge. Are you writing one? Has anyone else offered as well?

  • Scott

    Oh rest assured you guys won’t get all the fun. I’ve got five or six interested so far. You, Nobilis (erotica podcaster not sure of his beliefs), another atheist (MolsonFL), John Wilkerson (JesusGeek), Monsterkid, and Salguod. Looks like six. That’s only if everyone contribs though and it’s all good stuff.

    As far as word count goes, like I said I’m flexible. You could write a book on this topic. I just don’t think that most people like to read 2-3000 word posts.

  • http://sidfaiwu.com/blog sidfaiwu

    Is Noblis the guy who contributed a short story to the Metamor City podcast?

    “I just don’t think that most people like to read 2-3000 word posts.”

    That explains the lack of readership on my blog ;)

  • Scott

    He might have, I don’t recall.

    Your posts are usually a pretty good length, but you do get a little esoteric sometimes. ;-)

  • http://pinakidion.org pinakidion

    I think that sentiment would be called negative peace by some…

  • http://www.thejenanddaveshow.com DAVe

    1000 words? really?

  • Scott

    Ah come on, you can do it. Besides I’m more interested in jumping off points for discussions than monologues. Think of it that way.

  • http://thesnurp.blogspot.com Snurp

    That explains the lack of readership on my blog ;)

    And as the words increase, the readership . . .
    Anyway, I’d be willing to contribute something here. I’ve got three good days here just before the semester starts with nothing on my plate, and I’m sure I can come up with a few words (I’ll try to keep it as short as I can).

  • http://thesnurp.blogspot.com Snurp

    That explains the lack of readership on my blog ;)

    And as the words increase, the readership . . .
    Anyway, I’d be willing to contribute something here. I’ve got three good days here just before the semester starts with nothing on my plate, and I’m sure I can come up with a few words (I’ll try to keep it as short as I can, and I’ve already got an idea for a “jump point”).

  • Scott

    Please do!! I look forward to hearing what you’ve got to say.

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