'Fat Boy' Onen has been speaking in the UK of his fight against superstition and

Printable View

10-14-2011
thir

'Fat Boy' Onen has been speaking in the UK of his fight against superstition and

From today's Guardian:

James 'Fat Boy' Onen has been speaking in the UK of his fight against superstition and religion in Uganda

"An atheist talkshow host and 12 "like-minded people" are attempting to tackle superstition, mysticism and witchcraft in Uganda. James "Fat Boy" Onen is an on-air presenter for Sanyu FM and a co-founder of Freethought Kampala. Through Facebook campaigns, newspaper articles and regular monthly meetings, Onen believes Freethought Kampala is providing the only rational platform for tackling superstition in Uganda."

"This month, Onen has been speaking at events around the UK after being invited by the British Humanist Association (BHA). Addressing small gatherings, he said everyday Ugandans were over-reliant on a "mixed bag" of belief in black magic and Pentecostal Christianity."

He told a story of how a Ugandan primary school was shut down because "demons had possessed the children and the management couldn't keep the children under control". Pastors were called but to no avail, explained Onen, who says the children demonstrated symptoms of mass hysteria. This story was not a one-off and was all too common, he said. Meanwhile, Aids victims die because their spiritual leaders advise them not to take antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), he claimed. On top of this, Uganda lives under the shadow of the proposed anti-gay bill, which suggests the death penalty in some cases.

"Onen "came out" as an atheist in 2008 after a spate of reports on child sacrifice. He said reading all the "bullshit" about superstition and witchcraft in the press made him co-found Freethought Kampala. "I decided that enough was enough. I and some like-minded individuals decided that we should get together to make a rational viewpoint part of the national conversation."

The whole article + criticism is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...sts-james-onen
10-15-2011
Thorne

Interesting. According to Onen, in the article, ""Charismatic Christianity is making things worse by over-emphasising it, by advertising it, by lending credence to the validity of claims that witchcraft is efficacious, by fully absorbing that worldview into their worldview."

I just finished reading a chapter in Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things" in which he claims that religious organizations actually depend upon a belief in witchcraft because, "Empirical data for the existence of witches would support belief in Satan which, in turn, would buttress belief in God."

I find it rather bizarre that they try to fight one superstition with another, rather than using rational thought and evidence. I'm beginning to think that the world is getting nuttier by the day. I dread the thought of fighting the idiocy my grandchildren will have to face as they grow up.
10-16-2011
thir

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thorne

Interesting.
I just finished reading a chapter in Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things" in which he claims that religious organizations actually depend upon a belief in witchcraft because, "Empirical data for the existence of witches would support belief in Satan which, in turn, would buttress belief in God."

I guess a lot of Christians need an evil power to keep people in place - though certainly not all. Some go by the love message.

Quote:

I find it rather bizarre that they try to fight one superstition with another, rather than using rational thought and evidence. I'm beginning to think that the world is getting nuttier by the day. I dread the thought of fighting the idiocy my grandchildren will have to face as they grow up.

If you mean this guy, he is trying to fight both I think.

I don't think you need worry about your grandchildren, there are more atheists every day, and by showing the way they could give also religious people freedom to break away from oppression and dogma and to shape their own religion, if they want one. Individual religions are good for some, and no problem for others.
10-16-2011
Thorne

Quote:

Originally Posted by thir

I guess a lot of Christians need an evil power to keep people in place

If they didn't invent an evil power that fights against their gods, they'd have to admit that their gods aren't all that good after all.

Quote:

Individual religions are good for some, and no problem for others.

I think history shows us that every religion ultimately devolves into dogma and rigid disciplines. They split into two or more groups when one side thinks they aren't being dogmatic enough. They are, IMO, essentially bad. Individual FAITH is good, maybe, as long as you don't deny reality with your faith.
10-18-2011
thir

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thorne

If they didn't invent an evil power that fights against their gods, they'd have to admit that their gods aren't all that good after all.

I think the 'good' gods are recent - for a given value of recent - and they are supposed to have a reason for everything, right? But many gods were - and are- simply forces. Not specifically good or bad, just there and very powerful.

Quote:

I think history shows us that every religion ultimately devolves into dogma and rigid disciplines. They split into two or more groups when one side thinks they aren't being dogmatic enough. They are, IMO, essentially bad. Individual FAITH is good, maybe, as long as you don't deny reality with your faith.

I am trying to come up with a religion that hasn't gone that way..Hinduism? Buddism?
10-19-2011
Thorne

Not Hinduism: "The Hindu tradition encompasses four major sects—Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, and Smarta—and dozens of minor subsects."

Nor Buddhism: "Buddhism continued to evolve after the Buddha's death. Philosophical innovations led to new sutras and new divisions of Buddhism emerged."

And if you can tolerate it, this is relevant.