Aggressive Atheists
There has been a spate of books published recently by particularly aggressive atheists, including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, Christopher Hitchens and several other more or less infamous personages. One thing these authors have in common is their vague pretense to scientific underpinnings of their argument, and a shrill put downs of religion in all its forms. They are competing with each other in the vociferousness of their attacks, and seem to try to compensate the lack of even basic understanding of religious doctrines with intensity of their own beliefs. Yes, beliefs. The kind of rhetoric they employ can best, and perhaps only, be understood within the confines of religious discourse. It is no wonder then that during my last visit to Borders I found all these authors shelved in the "Religion and Beliefs" section of the store. One doesn't have to have an overly refined sense of irony to appreciate this.