I picked up a couple of new words this week. I know, I know ... "What??? There are words Stan doesn't know?" Yes, indeed! But I'm willing to admit that I don't know them and to share them with you now that I have them.
You've seen the outrage in the media and public over the horrendous story of Karen Pence, the Christian wife of the vice president, going to work for a homophobic Christian school, I assume. CNN compared it to "The Handmaid's Tale" which, as I understand it, is a novel and TV series about a near-future New England that is a dystopian, totalitarian theonomy (where laws are made by God) and women are subjected to men in the extreme. (I'm missing the connection between that story and the Christian school, but, hey, what do I know?) The Pence story is that the school, Immanuel Christian School, has a statement of faith from its parent, Immanuel Bible Church, which requires that staff and students abide by their rules. Actually, all schools require faculty and students to abide by their rules, so that's not unusual in the least. Included in their list of prohibited behavior (because they're a Bible church school) are things like "participating in, supporting, or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity" (and they include Bible references), which is what has the media in such an uproar. That the world would be shocked that a Bible church and its school would stand on Bible principles -- on standard, historical, traditional, 2,000-year-old values -- is baffling to me. That they would disagree? Fine. That they are shocked? I'm not getting it.
Also included in their list of banned behavior is ... wait for it ... "contumacious behavior." That is without a doubt the first time I've seen the word, "contumacious." According to my trusty dictionary, contumacious means "stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient." It comes from Latin meaning "to swell with wrath." Interesting. It is the haughty, the insolent, the obstinate. It is ... oh, hang on, it is most of America today. Ok, maybe not most, but a whole lot of what I see in the world around me these days on the road, in the stores, in people interacting with police, in the media and the loudest voices regarding the president, just about everywhere. Maybe I'm overstating, but it seems to me like we should be well aware of this term because we live in it.
In a conversation between two well-known atheists, Richard Dawkins admitted that He didn't care anymore about evidence. The question was "What would it take for you to believe?" and the answer essentially was "Nothing at all." Admitting that science usually goes with evidence, Dawkins also admitted that in the case of theism no evidence would do. That, dear reader, is a very clear "I don't care about the existence of God." An old story tells about a teacher who asks Johnny, "What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?" Johnny says, "I don't know and I don't care." The teacher says, "Right!" Apathy is "I don't care." Enter the second new word this week: "apatheism." It is a collision of two words -- apathy and theism. There is the belief (theism) or non-belief (atheism) in God, and the new, rising position is apatheism. "Is there a God? I don't care." It is, in fact, an absolutely stunning position. There can be no more important reality than the existence of God. The fact changes everything. If He exists, obviously we need to know Him, to have a relationship with Him, to acknowledge Him. He would be the Creator, the Lawgiver, the Sovereign. And so much more. If He does not exist, nothing else matters. There is no higher purpose, no point, no defensible morality, no reason for being. Do what you want; it doesn't matter. Not fact is as important and impactful than that one. "Meh. I don't care," isn't a rational response. But it is a growing one. They have their own church. Worse, it is often a default of believers. We affirm we believe in God and then act like we don't care. Practical atheism. Do your actions and attitudes look like you believe in God? If not, that's a good look at apatheism.
There you go. "Contumacious" and "apatheism". Just spreading the new words. You're welcome.
7 comments:
I hadn’t heard apathesim, but it makes sense. I do respect Hitchens for his honesty and for finally acknowledging that in matters of science as well as faith that evidence means little to him.
Yes, a surprising admission of what we already suspected. (It was Dawkins, though.)
Sorry, I was thinking about Hitchens coming up in another context and made the error. You would think that this would undermine Dawkin's credibility among those who claim science as the final arbiter of things. That admission, from someone who is put forth as an expert should be seriously damaging to scientism and specifically to those who claim that the evidence supports Darwinian theory.
In the interview I referenced he admitted that. Something along the lines of "I know I'm not supposed to do this as a scientist, but I would ignore the evidence."
Given his fairly prominent position as spokesperson for the scientism we see, one wonders how widespread this practice really is. Especially after the recent news about how easy it is to get false studies published in scientific journals.
Given the number of believers who operate as practical atheists -- "Sure, I know what God says about that, but I'm going to do it anyway" -- I'd guess that practical apatheists abound among the anti-theist community. "We really care about this," they might affirm, but when it comes down to it "Well, we really don't. Don't bother me with your evidence; we know we're right."
Good point.
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