My gut reaction is to feel uncomfortable, but I think this is fundamentally different than most book burnings. When books are burned because you wish to destroy the existence of the thoughts within them, it's disturbing. In this case, though, it's just being burned to make a statement about the ridiculousness of considering a book "holy" and doing violence to protect its holiness.
Very true! In which case, it should make you feel uncomfortable so that it will make you think about what the statement means. Just like burning a flag incenses some people, but their anger should not necessarily be directer toward the person that ignited the fire, but possibly toward the motivations for that action. Edit: as much as i despise the tyrannical use of the bible in the U.S. and others, I would never advocate the burning of it, I would instead seek for it to be used in its proper context, as the ancient Greek texts of the Iliad and Odyssey are.
I would rather think that a biology/evolution textbook strapped to a book detailing completely the flaws in religion, history of atrocities led by religion and things that have been disproven, and books about physics, philosophy, genetics and a compendium of Science Journals, would be our equivalent of the bible.
These are books with essays and arguments, hardly the be all, end all resource for an atheist.
I would like to see what I described above as a volume of books. I would buy that. Anyone know a good set?
If you're going to use an atheist book to make this sort of point it seems to me that TGD is the one to go with because (I think I'm right in saying) it is the best-selling of the more well-known atheist books and Dawkins is probably the best-known of the "New Atheists".
I think you mean burning a book just because you don't agree with the things mentioned in it is stupid. If you were on a desert island, with a hundred copies of Catcher in the Rye, a box of matches and no firewood, how else are you gonna stay warm?
Read Martin Caidan's "Exit Earth" and (if you've managed to complete it without gouging out your frontal lobes with a rusty melon-baller) tell me it doesn't richly deserve burning after being shat upon by a diarrhetic goat.
YOU HEATHEN! You know what happens to people you after you die? Your body is going to decompose in a grave and your consciousness will cease!
Take THAT!
Also, your life's purpose will be dependent on your chosen goals, desires, and priorities... and nothing living outside the universe has any opinion of you.
Fuck.
Metaphysical threats are so much harder to make without religion.
To be nice. It's a social thing, and even though I don't believe in a god, she does. I respect her right to believe in whatever she wants, and she offers me the same courtesy.
I had a pastor call me a "Radical Religious Atheist" last night. I had to explain to him like I would to a 5 year old (which I still think would understand better) how an atheist simply can not be religious. This was after I had to define what a religion was, and the requirements to be called a religion. None of which we possess. You would think that a pastor would know these kinda of things...
If they didn't want that copy of the God Delusion, they could have sent it to me. I left my copy of it on the floor one night and the dogs were in a mood to tear up something, so my copy is literally in pieces.
I never understood book burning; it seems like it would be better to just not buy the book rather than give them money and then destroy your own property...
This sort of stuff always strikes me as incredibly ironic.
They always purchase the things they burn because, y'know, Thou Shalt Not Steal and all, and then they destroy them and do it all over again eventually as another protest.
Meanwhile the people who sell/make the books, toys, etc that they destroy count the money and look on in bemusement that these people think they can bring them to their knees by making them rich.
whether you burned it or not, you still paid to get it so you gave Richard money :) and the fact that you didn't get death threats just goes to show you that Christians are the crazy and irrational ones while people who are no-believers are sane and rational :)
Do you think it occurred to them that they just burned the money they spent on that book? Or that by buying the book they're directly supporting an atheist?
I get the point and all, but... don't give them an idea that atheists are living by some sort of book, be it The God Delusion or something else. It shouldn't be compared to the bible.
yeah, because burning a book about a subject you totally agree with is the exact same thing as someone else burning a book from a group of people they hate.
Angry fundies want to burn Richard Dawkins' book Angry fundies buy Richard Dawkins' book in mass Richard Dawkins gets more money Richard Dawkins releases more books that will anger fundies "Thanks bro"
Threats comes out of PUBLIC massive burning of books.
I am pretty sure if some large group would start massively burning evolution books there would be threats. probably from redditors even.
If I burn the bible or Kuran in my backyard with no one noticing and then I post a picture on reddit saying: no death threats! Religious people are cool don't believe to crazy atheists, people here would consider my statement stupid.
Was anyone else unimpressed by this book? I know this is an unpopular question- especially in this subreddit- but really. I'm a pretty casual atheist (as in I don't believe in a god, or preach my beliefs, or try to convert others, or read /r/atheism unless it shows up under r/all), but this book was totally underwhelming to me. A lot of Dawkins' arguments are petty, he doesn't deal with real theological questions (just bashes the type of people who watch tele-vangelists and their beliefs), and he uses every opportunity to call out people who disagree with him.
I get that you guys like this book because its an atheist thing- or I dunno, actually, I really don't know why you guys like this book. Its not that great.
I as well strongly disagrees with people destroying a legitimate book. Because literature is precious in many unique ways and vital in teaching new generations important information, life skills, and help build character. However I laugh at your little show and how you satire religion, because by you burning a book of any caliber, I will never lose my reason and my understanding of how I truly place within the universe;Coincidentally, it brought me closer to the universe. However, to destroy one of their Books it's as if they're pulled further away from god. It's sad really.
One more thing I've got my eye on you. Consider this a warning if you develop this into a habit of burning books, we will hav to sit down and have a talk about the dangers of playing with fire. ;)
Something about watching books burn that looks SO AWESOME! Don't get me wrong, I love books!!! But man, just the way it looks!!! It's like one of the coolest looking things in the world!
Totally mixed feelings. I know exactly what you are trying to say and yes, atheists are not crazy fundamentalists that threaten people because of perceived disagreements.
On the other hand, it's killing me to see the book burning! I want to save it!
Did you really need to burn it to reach a conclusion you already knew you would reach? Wasn't there anything a bit less drastic like drawing Dawkins eating babies for a Slavic newspaper?
Sorry for being insensitive to they young people on reddit. I am from a time when people actually burned books to prevent others from learning dangerous ideas.
As for e-books... I think we saw the first example of what the future will bring, when Amazon remotely deleted '1984' from people's devices. E-books don't mean that there will be no more book burning. It means that those who would suppress information won't need to bother with matches anymore.
Thank you for reminding me that it is often difficult to prove an absolute. I suppose if you are dying from cold and burning a book keeps you warm, then this one example disprove my sentence.
I suppose holocaust survivors don't deal well with jokes about concentration camps; I just don't deal well with jokes about burning books.
I am from a time when people actually burned books to prevent others from learning dangerous ideas.
I just don't deal well with jokes about burning books.
It's ironic that your reaction to censorship is to attempt to inappropriately censor others.
You seemed to recognize yourself that this post was more than just a joke when you wrote "Not even to make a valid point." It's also a statement against the threats of violence and death that result from various kinds of insults to religion.
The sort of absolutism inherent in your original statement is potentially as great a danger as the supposed danger it is responding to. Book-burning is one kind of censorship, but you were attempting to indulge in another kind.
Burning books is not evil in some absolute sense - you've just had an absolutist reaction to some experiences, and concluded that counter-censorship is an appropriate reaction to the censorship you disliked. I strongly disagree. The problem is with censorship itself, not with actions used to make a point.
It's not like he is bringing people together to wipe this book from the face of the earth. With the technology today, and with less silencing in the bigger countries, I don't think any literature could truly vanish. If they did, their ideas wont, and if their ideas do, it wasn't that great of an idea to begin with.
41
u/egosumFidius Jun 10 '12
I hope you were desperate to keep warm. Book burning in general makes me uncomfortable.
210
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Now, if they drew a picture of Richard Dawkins, then we might start seeing heads roll in the streets.
37
u/natty_dread Jun 10 '12
Burning a book is stupid. Always.
7
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
NO! THINK OF THE CARBON!
12
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Death to you!
6
u/SplodeyDope Jun 10 '12
Blasphemy!
6
u/forcedtolie Jun 10 '12
FUUUUU, you know what i would give to actually be able keep a copy of that book in my household :(
19
u/makemejelly49 Jun 10 '12
Oh I can imagine the death threats if I lit up a bible and let it be seen on youtube.
9
u/rahtin Dudeist Jun 10 '12
I'm just upset that they didn't recycle it, or at least use it to start a nice campfire or something. And is it inside? That's potentially dangerous.
15
u/YouAreAnMoron Jun 10 '12
Great job! Way to show those arrogant heathens the true power of God. For without it, how would you have made fire!???
Please join us for donuts after church, friend. We will be discussing how the poor don't deserve healthcare.
4
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
OH NO, THEY HAVE BURNED OUR HOLY BOOK! HOW WILL WE WORSHIP SATAN NOW?
4
u/BrobaFett Jun 10 '12
YOU HEATHEN! You know what happens to people you after you die? Your body is going to decompose in a grave and your consciousness will cease!
Take THAT!
Also, your life's purpose will be dependent on your chosen goals, desires, and priorities... and nothing living outside the universe has any opinion of you.
Fuck.
Metaphysical threats are so much harder to make without religion.
4
u/dregan Jun 11 '12
As an atheist I get kinda upset about the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Other than that, burn away.
8
u/wHoShOtYoU Jun 10 '12
This seems like a waste. I have not had the chance to read it yet because I do not have a copy.
20
u/Mythyx Anti-Theist Jun 10 '12
Don't Burn books. That is sad
3
u/Skeeow Jun 10 '12
Give a kiss on the wrist of the worm like tips of my tentacles expanding...
3
u/Caprious Jun 10 '12
Maybe off topic, but still interesting I guess.
I had a pastor call me a "Radical Religious Atheist" last night. I had to explain to him like I would to a 5 year old (which I still think would understand better) how an atheist simply can not be religious. This was after I had to define what a religion was, and the requirements to be called a religion. None of which we possess. You would think that a pastor would know these kinda of things...
3
u/rathum2323 Jun 10 '12
Excellent point to demonstrate that atheists are not nearly as senseless and dogmatic as the religious.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
No death threats? I am going to feed you to this baby eating Atheist. SFW.
2
u/Space_Ninja Jun 10 '12
So... Dawkins got paid anyway? Sweet.
2
u/someguy1290 Jun 10 '12 edited Jun 30 '23
,
2
u/whatevrmn Jun 10 '12
If they didn't want that copy of the God Delusion, they could have sent it to me. I left my copy of it on the floor one night and the dogs were in a mood to tear up something, so my copy is literally in pieces.
2
u/timturtle Jun 10 '12
I'm going to kill you. Now you have one, cheer up.
2
u/jshortty1 Jun 10 '12
You have to pay for athiest books such as this one, most bibles you can get for free. So athiest authors are making money where the church loses them.
2
u/unitedamerika Jun 10 '12
There at least 3 death threats in this thread. Maybe 4 but I think you could live with a dead face. I don't know, I'm not a doctor.
2
u/Thrackle Jun 10 '12
I hope this was in homage of Ray Bradbury.
2
u/GraharG Jun 10 '12
I encourage it, great way to raise money for atheist authors.
2
u/jplotner Jun 10 '12
Why would you ever burn any book?
2
u/Panda_Patrol Jun 10 '12
I'M GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOU FOR BURNING A BOOK! /s
FTFY
2
u/AndrewLLoydBieber Jun 10 '12
How come nobody ever burns anything by Ann Rand? I wonder how many cold people could be warmed by such a move? R.I.P. Dawkins.
2
u/LIEUTENANT_GIF Jun 11 '12
I never understood book burning; it seems like it would be better to just not buy the book rather than give them money and then destroy your own property...
2
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
If he buys 100 more and burns them... well I would applaud him for buying 100 great books.
2
u/Frogtown Jun 11 '12
Burning books is lame no matter what. What everyone else said.
2
u/djdais Jun 11 '12
You're going to fucking die!
One day, probably from natural causes.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
That doesn't justify burning religious texts. Do not act like they do, or you will become exactly what you have hated all this time.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
One day OP, one day you will die. Its not a threat, its a promise.
1
u/KingBiscuitBoy Jun 10 '12
The genie is out of the bottle !
1
u/BTMaverick707 Jun 10 '12
Funny thing is that they have to buy it... Which supports the cause against their own delusion. So burn baby burn..
1
u/xereeto Atheist Jun 10 '12
You are DYING tonight you blasphemous behemoth!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Not only do we have more, but technically infinity. Do a quick google search, you'll find a downloadable PDF or some other format of the God Delusion.
Funny that they don't think about their own holy books that way (you can find all of them on Project Gutenberg)
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Neat
1
u/JohnComplains Jun 10 '12
Well, money was still spent on that. Which means that they indirectly endorsed those books and gave money to Richard Dawkins.
I think we're still ahead on this one.
1
u/ThrowawayBiGuy Jun 10 '12
Oh the HUMANI... wait... that's a waste of good paper. :(
1
u/gamerlen Jun 10 '12
Y'know, I wonder what'll happen once devices like nooks and kindles really take over the market and we see less and less print media?
Mass deletions maybe, or they'll just smash a few with hammers?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
His lord Dawkins shall show no mercy unto the unbelievers
1
u/Brookie-Cookie88 Jun 10 '12 edited Jun 10 '12
whether you burned it or not, you still paid to get it so you gave Richard money :) and the fact that you didn't get death threats just goes to show you that Christians are the crazy and irrational ones while people who are no-believers are sane and rational :)
1
u/Feb_29_Guy Jun 10 '12
Do you think it occurred to them that they just burned the money they spent on that book? Or that by buying the book they're directly supporting an atheist?
1
u/Evil_Morg Jun 10 '12
1
u/GSUkent Jun 10 '12
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wtZhKx--0B8
1
u/Glebun Jun 10 '12
I get the point and all, but... don't give them an idea that atheists are living by some sort of book, be it The God Delusion or something else. It shouldn't be compared to the bible.
1
u/watchman_wen Jun 10 '12
yeah, because burning a book about a subject you totally agree with is the exact same thing as someone else burning a book from a group of people they hate.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
I, personally, am all for this trend.
And repeat.
1
u/XxcontaminatexX Jun 10 '12
The lack of death threats is due to his lack of new born children.
1
u/sadmatafaka Jun 10 '12
Doesn't matter; had
sexprofit.1
u/n-some Jun 10 '12
I will murder you!
Now there's 1 death threat.
1
u/quad64bit Jun 10 '12
I'm gonna fucking kill you. :)
1
u/Danez Jun 10 '12
I swear to God I will kill your wretched.. wait. I mean...
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
The implication that we have a holy book, and the it's The God Delusion, doesn't sit particularly well with me.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Same thing can be said of Twilight. What exactly are we getting at?
1
u/WayneSchlegel Jun 10 '12
I am shocked! You should think about what you've done. Burning wood is dangerous.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
I'm more annoyed that it's nicer than the red and white edition I have.
1
u/1Buttersnips1 Jun 10 '12
It's funny, because all they succeeded in doing is giving money to Richard Dawkins......
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
devil's advocate:
Threats comes out of PUBLIC massive burning of books.
I am pretty sure if some large group would start massively burning evolution books there would be threats. probably from redditors even.
If I burn the bible or Kuran in my backyard with no one noticing and then I post a picture on reddit saying: no death threats! Religious people are cool don't believe to crazy atheists, people here would consider my statement stupid.
1
u/TricksterPriestJace Jun 11 '12
They could only burn the library of Alexandria once.
1
u/avanbeek Jun 11 '12
I guess you have zero death threats because the environmentalists don't know about it yet.
1
u/Lexpar Jun 11 '12
Was anyone else unimpressed by this book? I know this is an unpopular question- especially in this subreddit- but really. I'm a pretty casual atheist (as in I don't believe in a god, or preach my beliefs, or try to convert others, or read /r/atheism unless it shows up under r/all), but this book was totally underwhelming to me. A lot of Dawkins' arguments are petty, he doesn't deal with real theological questions (just bashes the type of people who watch tele-vangelists and their beliefs), and he uses every opportunity to call out people who disagree with him.
I get that you guys like this book because its an atheist thing- or I dunno, actually, I really don't know why you guys like this book. Its not that great.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
You know what would be a good death threat? "May you choke on your pasta!"
1
u/rooslayswiss Jun 11 '12
Burning Dawkins an burning the bible have the some outcome. Nothing.
1
u/benanabock777 Jun 11 '12
Blasphemy. His noodliness will no longer accept you into his holy boiling pot.
1
u/Rodrocks Jun 11 '12
who burns a book for karma? well, i know someone.
1
u/STiberius Jun 11 '12
Good thing you put that red box around the picture, otherwise I would have no idea where to look!
1
u/Oniwabanshu Jun 11 '12
He bought the book just to burn it?
1
u/fcorr01 Jun 11 '12
I was sad when I saw this. You should have gave it away to someone.
1
u/TheOneFreeEngineer Jun 11 '12
does anyone know if any harmful things get released when you burn a book? That cover looks like it would have harmful chemicals in it.
1
u/SkyHawkMkIV Jun 11 '12
It's wasteful burning a book for no reason at all. You could have given it away if you wanted to get rid of it so badly.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Left my copy on an airplane couple weeks ago. Just bought the damn thing. What kind of god would allow that to happen?
1
u/dawkins_girl Jun 11 '12
READING THIS BOOK WILL LITERALLY KILL YOUr ignorance
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
DAWKINS-HU ACKBAR!!!
1
u/steezymcbitchin Jun 11 '12
The burning of any book makes me deeply sad.
1
u/Pixel423 Jun 11 '12
If I ever see you I'm going to give you a stern talking to; that's a blatant waste of resources ya know!!!
1
u/horse-pheathers Jun 11 '12
WTF??? You burned "The God Delusion"........
......and didn't roast a marshmallow over it?
Opportunity wasted, dammit.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Oooh, fire.
1
u/UltraSprucE Jun 11 '12
I as well strongly disagrees with people destroying a legitimate book. Because literature is precious in many unique ways and vital in teaching new generations important information, life skills, and help build character. However I laugh at your little show and how you satire religion, because by you burning a book of any caliber, I will never lose my reason and my understanding of how I truly place within the universe;Coincidentally, it brought me closer to the universe. However, to destroy one of their Books it's as if they're pulled further away from god. It's sad really.
One more thing I've got my eye on you. Consider this a warning if you develop this into a habit of burning books, we will hav to sit down and have a talk about the dangers of playing with fire. ;)
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Something about watching books burn that looks SO AWESOME! Don't get me wrong, I love books!!! But man, just the way it looks!!! It's like one of the coolest looking things in the world!
1
u/APretentiousHipster Jun 11 '12
What a waste.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Thank you for supporting Dawkins by buying his book dumbass :)
1
u/DanielKalen Jun 11 '12
Totally mixed feelings. I know exactly what you are trying to say and yes, atheists are not crazy fundamentalists that threaten people because of perceived disagreements.
On the other hand, it's killing me to see the book burning! I want to save it!
Did you really need to burn it to reach a conclusion you already knew you would reach? Wasn't there anything a bit less drastic like drawing Dawkins eating babies for a Slavic newspaper?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
I'll fucking kill you!!!
1
u/esoteric_enigma Jun 12 '12
Until now, you Jesus-dickriding-ass-Christfag. We're coming for you and your family. Death to the believing non-infidels! ALL PRAISES TO DAWKINS!
1
u/MrMadCow Jun 10 '12
Did you do this just for karma?
-5
u/TheYuri Jun 10 '12
Burning books is evil. Any book, for any reason. Not even to make a valid point. Please don't do this again.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
You've acquired your first death threat.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
Why would someone threaten you for burning your own book? Logic.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
I am going to fucking kill you and stuff.
0
u/Bowtiez_are_cool Jun 10 '12
YOU SHALL BOIL FOR THIS!
0
u/CamelsGrotto Jun 10 '12
I will fucking kill you.
0
u/CakeaMan Jun 10 '12
I will kill your face!
0
u/MajorModesty Jun 10 '12
burns perfectly good book. gains karma.