Radically enlightened thinkers, not prophets, should be our heroes

[SeattleUte]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/bo..._r=1&ref=books

Not long ago, the world lived in near-total eclipse. Men and women fumbled in the dark, and in their ignorance and fear they gave credence to all manner of superstition and injustice — God and the angels; aristocracy and the divine right of kings; empire and slavery; and the oppression of women, people of color and the poor. But then, in tenebris lux, a few bold philosophers marched forward. Spreading reason, tolerance, a love of liberty and humanity, they fostered a revolution of the mind, setting the world on its modern course. . . .

The real heroes were hard-nosed atheists, materialists and revolutionaries who brooked no compromise with the status quo.

Even if you find this somewhat hyperbolic, as I do, Spinoza et al. got it so much more right--in terms of social justice, seeing the future, and interpreting history-- than did Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, et al., that they make the concept of modern prophesy impossible to take seriously.

[Clark Addison]

Here is the subtext of this post:

"Basketball is not going as well as I had hoped."

[SeattleUte]

Here is the subtext of this post:

"Basketball is not going as well as I had hoped."

Actually, the Hoyas have a very big game tomorrow.

[Moliere]

My heros aren't the thinkers, but the doers.

[marsupial]

My heroes have always been cowboys.

[lambdacoug]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/bo..._r=1&ref=books



Even if you find this somewhat hyperbolic, as I do, Spinoza et al. got it so much more right--in terms of social justice, seeing the future, and interpreting history-- than did Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, et al., that they make the concept of modern prophesy impossible to take seriously.

Definitely painting with broad brushstrokes, but there is a lot of truth in there. There are also plenty of heroes that were not atheists that paved the way for those that came along later.